La Paz, Mexico Named Best Weekend Escape as Part of Outside’s Active Travel Awards

7 May 2013
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La Paz, BCS, MEXICO  La Paz, Mexico has been selected by Outside, America’s leading multimedia active-lifestyle brand, as a recipient of its second annual Active Travel Awards.  La Paz, Mexico was honored as Best Weekend Escape. The full list of award winners will be published in the April issue of Outside magazine, available on newsstands March 12, 2013, and at Outside Online.

To select this year’s awards, Outside tapped our global network of correspondents, who spent months on the road traveling from the Philippines to Switzerland to Namibia and then some, to report a definitive roundup of the best new adventures, secret paradises, mountain epics, stunning beaches, airline deals, gorgeous islands, and more. The result is 42 fresh trips that we guarantee will change your life, plus smart travel strategies, the best travel gear, and five exciting new frontiers.

"Outside magazine has long been one of the world's most trusted advisors for active and adventurous travelers," says Outside Editor Christopher Keyes. "In addition to truly award-worthy destinations and travel providers, this year we unearthed a handful of amazing new frontiers in active travel. Our annual edit franchise honors the year’s best trips, hotels, lodges, luggage, islands, and new destinations that will be an invaluable travel resource for years to come."

Those fortunate enough to find La Paz are careful about sharing their secret. They are passionately protective of its white sand beaches guarded by dreamlike rock formations and forests of cardón cactus, its bay after aqua bay open to discovery and teeming with sea life.

It was Cousteau who deemed the Sea of Cortez “the world’s aquarium,” as it offers one of the planet’s most diverse ecosystems. It is from La Paz he launched many expeditions. Its surrounding seas are home to harbor porpoises, whales, dolphins, sea lions, mantas and sharks, while its rocky coasts are home to hundreds of resident and migratory birds.

The diversity of La Paz is social as well as natural. It is a close-knit community that feels like a small town but with the conveniences of a city. Its cultural life mixes sophisticated international tastes with pure Baja values. Its friendly and open residents admire the city as much as its visitors. Both groups stroll the malecón boardwalk safely any time of the day or night, but especially at day’s end to get a front-row view of the stunning sunsets.

In celebration of the Outside Active Travel Awards, Outside will launch the “What Trip Are You?” Facebook promotion, which will allow members of the Outside community to take an adventure travel quiz to determine what type of vacation best suits their adventure style from five categories. The categories include: Whitewater Addict, Powder Slayer, Castaway, Globe Trekker, and Easy Rider.  Participants will be able to choose between a series of travel themes—Culture or adrenaline? Tropical escape or powdery heaven? Water or land?—that will lead to their ultimate adventure travel escape.

Five grand prize winners (one per category) will get the chance to go on their dream adventure provided by Outside’s travel partners. Trip options include: Rafting Idaho’s Main Salmon River with OARS; backcountry glacier skiing/boarding in Alaska with Alaska Mountain Guides & Climbing School, Inc.; a Galápagos islands expedition with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic; an Amazon rainforest adventure in Ecuador with ROW Adventures; and cycling and wine tasting in the Santa Barbara countryside with Duvine Cycling + Adventure Co.  In addition, participants who take the quiz can come back for daily adventure travel gear prizes.

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