Our female readers have spoken! Get their recommendations here.
By Fern Corraini
To get the full list, download our complete Girl’s Guide to La Paz here: A Girl’s Guide to La Paz
Where do you go to get your shopping, hair, nails and socializing done? The women of La Paz have spoken! Thanks to their responses to our informal survey, finding a good fit for your girly needs will no longer be a matter of trial and error.
Whether you are a newcomer to La Paz or someone who’s lived here for years, we hope you’ll find our list of personal recommendations helpful. Following are just a few highlights.
You’ve recently made the move to La Paz, or you’re here on vacation, and you find yourself wondering: How in the heck am I going to find someone who knows me like my favorite hairdresser back home? We get it. Whenever you move to a new place, finding the perfect stylist can be a challenge. Fortunately, there are several great options to choose from here in La Paz!
Several of our readers recommend Kathy Rupert in Chametla. Her clients adore her. She is young and hip, but with years of experience and a natural talent for cuts and color. She works alone, has perfect timing for appointments, and is bilingual. Simple and unpretentious, her small shop on the highway between La Paz and El Centenario is a revolving door of happy regulars. Young or old, Mexicana or expat, curly or straight, Kathy can update your look or faithfully maintain your existing one without requiring you to spend a whole afternoon in the chair.
Rocio Garcia of RG Salon in La Paz is another tried and true favorite. Her pretty, modern shop is in Plaza Nautica on Abasolo, right next door to Jiro Sushi. Rocio brings years of expert cut and color training and experience to her salon. She is also bilingual and speaks excellent English. Our readers love Rocio for her ability to give a fresh look to any cut or color. She stays on top of the trends, and is also an artist and amateur photographer.
Have a special event coming up, or just want to feel pampered for a day? Another local favorite is Aviva Salon, with two locations in La Paz offering both hair and makeup services. Visit the newly remodeled salon on 5 de Febrero to try out a new makeup look, get instantly longer locks with hair extensions, or for a professional cut and color.
Massage Therapists
One of the true perks of living in La Paz is that you can get a first-class professional massage for a third of the cost you would pay in the US or Canada. With several choices in town, our readers were passionate about their massage therapist’s ability to work out the kinks, relax and heal.
No matter how many massages you’ve had, you’ve never had one from Beatriz Pratt. Our readers insist she is a miracle worker as well as an institution in La Paz.
Foremost, Beatriz knows her kinesiology and how our separate parts interact. Her years of experience, commitment to ongoing education and her natural ability will wow you. She puts her knowledge into her work with the help of warm towels, hot stones, warming blankets and her good Zen. Beatrice is bilingual, but no words are necessary, because she can read your body like a book. Her studio, BP Masoterapia Clinica, is located just off 5 de Febrero near Waldo’s.
Jimena Chagoyan is another caring and naturally gifted healer who can work wonders on your body. Her studio, Masajes y Faciales con Jimena, is adjacent to the El Angel Azul Hacienda on Independencia. 100% paceña, Jimena is bilingual.
Another local favorite for a therapeutic massage is Tanya Jamieson. She is a Canadian-trained expat who has been giving massages for over 10 years. One of her many regular clients says she has “witch fingers that know exactly what to do”…a lovely compliment. Tanya also sells CBD products and offers bioresonance therapy to help heal any energy blocks that might be causing you pain or holding you back.
Coffee Shops
Where do you go when you’re craving a really good cup of coffee? Hands-down, the favorite place to buy whole roasted coffee beans is Café La Choya on Calle Colima, where you can find many varieties of excellent quality beans and house blends to choose from. Enjoy the delicious aroma of the wee shop, and get a coffee to go!
For a great coffee in a sit-down atmosphere, the women of La Paz love Dulce Romero and Doce Cuarenta. Both of them offer great coffee and tempting items from their in-store bakeries.
Dulce Romero Panaderia & Organico, on Calle Allende just a few blocks up from the malecón, is a full-service café offering breakfast, lunch, dinner and full bar service. There are several seating options: inside the bustling café, on the street patio or in the new roomy addition upstairs. The food is great, the service excellent. Happy Hour is from 6-8 pm. Try their delicious mescal cocktails served in chilly copper mugs.
On Calle Madero in El Centro you will find Doce Cuarenta, a hip, modern retreat for a great coffee and a healthy meal. Whether you’re inside this casual, cool-vibe café or on the courtyard patio, it’s a great place to hang out with your friends or your computer thanks to the free Wi-Fi. They also sell local souvenirs including t-shirts, cookbooks, mugs and more.
Home Decor
There wasn’t a clear favorite in this category, but it’s clear that the women of La Paz enjoy the search and discovery of their latest home treasure in a variety of places and across all price points.
The segundas (second-hand stores for anything you can imagine) and tianguis (outdoor pop-up markets for new/used/homemade/fresh anything) are really popular with our readers. There are deals to be had here, and you can find some unique or kitschy or valuable items, but, as all good garage salers know, it’s all about the hunt. The main segunda area is on the highway in Chametla, and the city’s 2 largest tianguis are listed in the full guide.
At the other end of the spectrum are two beautiful high-end decorating stores: Sevilla Home, located on the malecon, and Dulce Huerta. Both feature unique, artisanal pieces by talented designers, and offer custom-made furniture as well as in-store shopping.
You can also find more mainstream contemporary furniture at stores like San Diego and Ramos, both located on 5 de Febrero, or at the Liverpool department store.
For those who are willing to travel a bit further afield, locals know that El Toro y La Luna in Los Barriles is a fabulous store offering unique, handmade Mexican furniture sourced from Guadalajara, along with interior and exterior decor, artwork, sinks, talavera tile, and more. Follow their Facebook page to watch for sales. They ship to La Paz for a flat fee, and will negotiate a discount if you pay in cash.
Where do the women of La Paz like to get together for a delicious, social lunch? One clear favorite emerged from our survey: Nim This bright, high-ceilinged restaurant on the corner of Hidalgo y Revolución is a superb choice for lunch for many reasons. The menu is fresh and interesting, the service is A+…and the food is consistently delicious. It’s a most enjoyable place to relax with a crisp salad and a cold flute of Prosecco, or a beer and a Reuben. Share and sample from the extensive appetizer list or fall in love with one of the main courses. Lovely desserts (try the baklava!) and excellent coffee are to be had here, too.
Other local gathering places include Dulce Romero Panaderia & Organicos (organic salads, great bread), Anzuelos (seafood tostadas and tacos, in the La Paz marina), Vrentinos (on the malecon), and KM14 in El Centenario.
The women of La Paz had some additional favorite recommendations:
Grocery Shopping
Where can you find the ingredients for your favorite recipes? One of the respondents says that she loves Chedraui (3 locations) and gives a little advice to “Let Chedraui be your everything store”. Made me smile. Check out their international aisle for those hard to find ingredients and spices.
Another person also gave kudos to Aramburo (check out the main store on Forjadores, or the “cow” store on Madero) and Chedraui for importing or stocking things we think we expats think we can’t live without. For her it was Intuition razorblades. For others, it’s Lindt chocolate bars. Rock on!
There is also an organic farmers market in downtown La Paz. It used to be in a single location, now split into three: The first is on Calle Rosales, one block off the malecon, Tuesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. – 12:00, featuring organic veggies, and arts and crafts. There is another on Parque Francisco King across from the mill in the Malecon on Fridays and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.; and the third is at Parque Pajaros on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. featuring more organic products and arts and crafts. Yet another market is held in El Centenario on Sunday mornings at KM 14 restaurant in El Centenario.
There is also Mercado Bravo, an open-air market on Nicolas Bravo that sells fresh seafood and meats (among other things), and Mercado Madero.
Daytime Retreats
Want to just get away for the day? A favorite place for a ladies afternoon is La Concha Hotel, where you can enjoy the hotel’s beach facilities for a day for just $240 pesos, and $140.00 goes towards your lunch and drinks. The facilities include a great little beach area with shade, loungers, chairs and tables, and the staff will bring your beverages and lunch to you on the beach if you desire. Try the mini hamburgers and fries, they are fantastic. There is also a pool for those really hot afternoons when the tide is out. Thanks for this super idea for a fun afternoon. La Posada Hotel also has a daytime charge for non-guests to use the pool and loungers, and the cost is deducted from your bar/lunch bill.
Or, visit Costa Baja Resort to book a treatment at the full service Espiritu Spa, followed by lunch at one of the marina restaurants like Odayaka Sushi or Costa Azul (sister restaurant to our reader favorite Nim).
Another respondent wrote that she appreciates Family Fitness gyms because “they allow you to put your membership on hold when you leave for an extended period.” Perfect for our seasonal residents – thanks for the tip!
We have lots more recommendations from our readers in our Girl’s Guide to La Paz. Download the full guide here.
