Mexico
Where to stay in Veracruz
Veracruz is a city in Mexico, home to about 406,000 people.
- Best months
- December and January
- Nearest airport
- VER7 km · General Heriberto Jara International Airport
- Currency
- MXNpeso
- Time zone
- America/Mexico City
- Language
- Nahuatl, Spanish, Yucatec Maya
About
About Veracruz
Veracruz, also known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico and the most populous city in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located along the coast in the central part of the state, 90 km (56 mi) southeast of the state capital Xalapa.
Veracruz has a rich history. It has been the main gate of the country for sea travelers and products since its foundation. In this region, the Spanish first entered Mexico in the 16th century and remained for three centuries, forever changing the region. About 20 km northwest from Puerto Veracruz, in a town known as La Antigua Veracruz, Hernán Cortés first landed in Mexico. Veracruz would be one of the main ports of the Spanish treasure fleets during the colonial era.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Veracruz
See
- San Juan de Ulúa Castle
- Casa Museo de Agustín Lara
- Zocalo de Veracruz
- Museum of the City
- Museo Naval México
- Museo Baluarte de Santiago
- Casa Salvador Díaz Mirón
- Faro Venustiano Carranza
- Malecon
- Faro Benito Juárez
- Zamora Park
- Centro Cultural Atarazanas
Do
- Carnival
- Aquarium
- Playa Villa de Mar
- Take a jog in the sea air
- Estadio Beto Avila
- ScubaVer
- Mundo Submarino Buceo Veracruz
- Dorado Buceo Veracruz
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Veracruz
3 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Mocambo | 8.1 km | |
| Collection O Hotel Mocambo OYO Rooms | 8.0 km | |
| Hotel Suites Mediterraneo | 9.1 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Veracruz
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Veracruz are December and January. May is the warmest month, with average highs of 35 °C; August is the wettest, with about 257 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Veracruz: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is General Heriberto Jara International Airport (VER), about 6.7 km from the city centre in a straight line.
Getting in
Veracruz has a small international airport, General Heriberto Jara International Airport. The only direct US flights are from Houston, Texas. There are many options from other Mexican cities, including Mexico City. The airport is about 10 km west of downtown. The ADO bus station is a short distance from the city centre. The bus trip from Mexico City TAPO terminal (located next to the San Lazaro metro station) takes 5½ hours. The bus trip from Puebla takes 3-4 hours.
Getting around
Arriving at the bus station, you can buy a voucher for a taxi. The station is located on Salvador Diaz Miron Street. The bus station is only about 10 blocks (1 km) from one of the main tourist attractions of the city, Villa del Mar. It is about a 40-minute walk from the Zocalo. Taxis are very inexpensive. A journey costs between US$2.50 and 5.00 according to the your zone destination. Passengers are advised to agree to the cost before entering a taxi.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
VER · General Heriberto Jara International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Veracruz
Eat
Meals depend on where you eat, you can eat great sea food in Boca del Rio and Mandinga and Alvarado (but for this last one you have to travel about 45 minutes). Look for the palapas (huts) and you can have a great meal for little money. Jarocho cuisine is unique among Mexico's regional cuisines in its pronounced Spanish and Afro-Caribbean influences. The long coastlines make Veracruz a seafood paradise. Seafood dishes include octopus and red snapper (huachinango) prepared a la veracruzana (a tomato-olive based sauce), arroz a la tumbada (tumbled rice) and caldo de mariscos. Baked plantains are a ubiquitous side.
Drink
Night clubs are the most expensive places. They will ask you to buy a bottle (whiskey, rum, vodka, whatever) in order to give you a table to seat. If you don't mind standing you can drink single drinks around US$13 for a Cosmopolitan, for example. Men have to pay at the entrance US$5-10, women enter for free.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Veracruz: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Veracruz?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Veracruz are December and January. May is the warmest month, with average highs of 35 °C; August is the wettest, with about 257 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Veracruz?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is General Heriberto Jara International Airport (VER), about 6.7 km from the city centre in a straight line.
What currency is used in Veracruz?
peso (MXN).
Nearby
Destinations near Veracruz
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.