Accessible by paved road, Finca Argovia (Carr. Nueva Alemania Km 39, tel. 962/692-3051, www.argovia.com.mx) is a coffee and flower farm that is popular with tour groups. It is a lush, tropical place with updated 19th-century buildings and a river that runs through it.

Three tours of the finca are offered to visitors: the Tour de Flores (US$12.50 pp), a Jeep and walking excursion of the flower nurseries and fields; the Tour de Café (US$8.50 pp), a walking tour of the beneficio (wet mill); and the Tour del Mirador (US$8.50), a 520-meter (0.35-mile) walk through the coffee fields to a lookout tower that has glorious views of the Ruta del Café and Volcán Tacaná (not to mention good bird-watching too).

Finca Argovia’s accommodations are comfortable enough but lack the amenities and charm expected at these rates. Prices mostly reflect the size of the room, not its sophistication. The four categories offered are: hotel rooms, which open onto the gardens of the main house (US$67 s/d); smallish cabañas (wood cabins) with basic bathrooms and pine floors and porches (US$75 s cabaña, US$84 d cabaña); casitas (little houses) that are bigger and more modern than the cabins but lack the porch (US$100 s/d); and a bungalow, a small fully equipped two-bedroom house (US$134). None of the accommodations have TV, radio, or telephones.

Tierra de Café (8 a.m.–10 p.m. daily, US$5–12) is a welcoming 2nd-story restaurant that overlooks a lush, tropical landscape. Specializing in international cuisine, it has pretty much something for everyone. Next door is a breezy palapa-roof lounge, which offers all sorts of cool drinks.