We finally got to visit Orizaba, one of Veracruz´ ¨pueblos magicos¨ (magical towns) and it did not disappoint. We live in the hot and humid Port of Veracruz, so it was a nice escape to an interior town with much cooler weather. The temperature ranged from 60 degrees overnight to high 70s during the day.
Getting there
I arrived on ADO bus line from Veracruz city. The ride was about 2 hours and 30 minutes with a stop in Cordoba (a neighboring city to Orizaba). I bought the tickets in advance so they cost 219 pesos round trip instead of the normal price of 412 pesos.
Accommodations
Upon arrival, I found a couple of hotel options but ultimately went with Hotel Posada del Viajero because of the location. It was 350 pesos for 2 adults in a room with a double bed. (just make sure to have cash, they did not have a POS system). The hotel was located in front of the market and on a pedestrian street downtown filled with shops. It was within walking distance to the bus terminal and all of the attractions.
Another budget option was Hotel Plaza Palacio, located near the Palacio del Hierro (Iron Palace) but it was already booked for the night.
Attractions
I went with my neighbor and 2-year-old daughter. We didn´t get to see everything that we wanted to – so I am sure we will be back, but we were able to visit/see:
Teleferico – The cable cars that bring you up the mountain to a park which has amazing views of the city, a small museum, chapel and many places to take pictures. It cost 30 pesos because we went on a weekday, and each ticket included admission to 2 local museums as well. The weekend price is 50 pesos and children under 3 are free.
Alameda Park – We saw this park on our way down on the cable cars and had to visit. It was filled with playground equipment for kids, statues from famous children´s songs, food vendors and paid activities for children like trampolines, bouncy houses and electric cars. Along the park, the street was lined with restaurants.
Dinosaur Park – This is the only time we had to take a taxi while we were there. It was 25 pesos from downtown to this park. The entrance was free. The dinosaur park is based off of the Juarassic Park movies and below is a picnic area with food vendors.
Ciudad de las Sonrisas (City of Smiles) – Further below the dinosaur park is a huge children´s park made from recycled materials. It includes a castle, school bus, helicopter, police and fire station, etc. all made from recycled wood and turned into playground equipment. It is another free attraction.
Local Market – In front of the hotel was the municipal market which sells everything from food, fruits and vegetables, clothes to trinkets and souvenirs. I ate breakfast on the day I left. A large quesadilla and a bottle of coke cost just 30 pesos. For lunch, there are plenty of comida corrida options (typical food in which you receive a soup, an entree and drink for one price) starting at 40 pesos. I noticed that most of the market was not open until 10 AM. At 9 AM, only food stands were open.
Overall
I was very pleased with our visit to Orizaba. There is a lot of cultural activities that we didn´t get to see. For example, there is a Riverwalk with art and animals and many museums, as well as theatrical productions. The prices were so low there that I ended up shopping more than I usually do – buying 20 peso t-shirts for my daughter and bathing suit sets on sale for 60 pesos. There were many American clothing stores in the downtown area and also several large bookstores with decent prices.
Unfortunately, it was cloudy while we were there so we did not get any pictures of the Pico de Orizaba.
The only thing I didn´t like about the city were the amount of beggars on the street at night and in the bus station, soliciting for money, more so than in other cities that I have visited. And the reason we did not get to do the river walk was that is was not stroller friendly with many steps, and the animals along it were very spread out.
Teacher Sara Tyler 