We’ve ventured out on brewery tours, we’ve visited distilleries, and we’ve toured our fair share of wineries, but we had never experienced a margarita trail until we arrived in Santa Fe. The city of Santa Fe New Mexico has always been a creative center and unique destination so it’s no wonder that the city put an inventive spin on your typical cocktail circuit.

Santa Fe Margarita Trail

The Santa Fe Margarita Trail includes 45 of the best margaritas scattered around the city. To discover the best craft margaritas, download the Santa Fe Margarita Trail app ($2.99) or grab your paper Passport in downtown Santa Fe. From there, you’ll be able to geolocate delicious margaritas. By purchasing the Passport, you’ll get $1 off of each “signature” margarita.

Once you order your signature margarita, you can ask your bartender or server to “stamp” your passport. You can collect these stamps and earn prizes like a book or t-shirt. The passport completely gamifies margaritas and it’s glorious!

The fun of the Santa Fe Margarita Trail is in the journey itself. It’s almost as if you’re on a treasure hunt and tequila is your gold (especially if you like reposado!). The $1 off margaritas and earned prizes aren’t the largest incentivizes, but delicious margaritas sure are. Here are our picks for the top stops on the Santa Fe Margarita Trail:

The Four Seasons Encantado: Terra Bar at the Four Seasons Encantado has divine drinks and food on indoor and outdoor terraces. The Santa Fe Margarita Trail recommends Betty’s Smoking Jalapeno Margarita, however that was not available when we visited. Instead, we opted for the Margarita Encantado. The Four Seasons Encantado made the best margaritas on our Santa Fe Margarita Trail tour.
The Shed: The Shed has been a Santa Fe institution since the 1950’s. Known for its “creative cooking,” it also has fabulous margaritas. When you visit The Shed Santa Fe on the Santa Fe Margarita Trail, order the Roca Coin margarita, which has Patron Silver and Cointreau. While you’re there, order the Taco plate!
La Fonda: La Fonda is a hotel in downtown Santa Fe with some of the most beautiful bars in the state. We made two stops on the Santa Fe Margarita Trail at La Fonda. Located on the historic Santa Fe Plaza, we stopped at their Terrace Garden Patio and The Bell Tower Bar, two different locations at La Fonda. While the views and atmosphere were different at both, we ordered the same margarita (La Mana). If you’re deciding between the two, The Bell Tower is more of a loungey spot for sunset cocktails while the Terrace Garden Patio can be experienced at any time. While The Bell Tower is more popular, we actually preferred the plaza view at the Terrace Garden Patio.
The Pink Adobe: The Pink Adobe and The Dragon Room Bar was our last stop on the Santa Fe Margarita Trail so we opted for dinner and a drink here. Known for their Dobe Burgers and delicious margaritas, Scott opted for the Grand Gold and Coco had the Pink Dragon with prickly pear.
BONUS! Tesuque Village Market: While this isn’t technically on the margarita trail, it absolutely should be! The Tesuque Village Market is in between downtown Santa Fe and the Four Seasons Encantado. It’s off the beaten path and is a local favorite. We absolutely LOVED their margaritas and their carne adovada truck tacos, but we mostly loved the laidback local atmosphere.