Self-Launched Hernán Cortés Route: Veracruz to Mexico City (11 Days)

Arrive at Mexico City airport and head straight to TAPO or Observatorio bus terminal. ADO GL/Platino buses run México City–Veracruz roughly hourly, around 6 hours, £22–28 — book 24h ahead on the ADO app for the cheapest fare. Arrive in the port city and check in near the Zócalo. Evening stroll along the malecón and Plaza de la República; grab an early dinner of arroz a la tumbada or a café lechero.

🚌ADO GL bus ~6h, £22–28

🛏Hostel or guesthouse near Veracruz Zócalo (£12–18/night)

• →ADO bus Mexico City to Veracruz
• →Evening malecón and Zócalo walk

Walk or take a cheap taxi to San Juan de Ulúa fortress on the waterfront and tour the ramparts and dungeon cells (£4 entry). Then the Acuario de Veracruz (£8) — one of Latin America's better aquariums. In the afternoon take a local bus or collectivo to Mandinga village (~40 min, £1.50) and hire a lancha through the mangroves (£8–10 per person, shared), with a stop at a palapa for fresh seafood. Finish with the evening zócalo scene — free danzón dancing and live music, an easy stand-in for the paid tram tour.

🚌Local bus/colectivo to Mandinga £1.50 return ~£3

🛏Hostel or guesthouse near Veracruz Zócalo (£12–18/night)

• →San Juan de Ulúa fortress (£4)
• →Acuario de Veracruz (£8)
• →Shared boat through Mandinga mangroves (£8–10)
• →Zócalo danzón and live music (free)

Morning at the Museo Histórico Naval on the waterfront (£4). In the afternoon book a half-day Veracruz cooking workshop (Airbnb Experiences or GetYourGuide, £25–35) — you'll make arroz a la tumbada or pescado a la veracruzana. Cheaper alternative: a market food walk with a local guide (~£20) through Mercado de la Unidad or Mercado Hidalgo instead.

🚌Walking / local bus £2

🛏Hostel or guesthouse near Veracruz Zócalo (£12–18/night)

• →Museo Histórico Naval (£4)
• →Veracruz seafood cooking workshop (£25–35)
• →Evening walk along Plaza de las Armas

Hire a driver-guide for the day (negotiate at the Veracruz terminal or pre-book via GetYourGuide/Local Guides, £45–60 per person shared among 2–4) — the sites are spread out and public transport is slow. Sequence: La Antigua (first Spanish town, Cortés' house and the 16th-century chapel), Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz site, Quiahuiztlán Totonac cemetery with clifftop tombs above the sea, and Cempoala, the largest Totonac city, where Cortés first allied with the Totonacs (all sites £2–3 entry each). Return to Veracruz for the night or overnight nearer Cempoala if you're continuing north.

🚌Shared driver-guide day hire £45–60 pp

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Veracruz (£12–18/night)

• →La Antigua and House of Cortés (£2)
• →Quiahuiztlán Totonac cemetery (£3)
• →Cempoala archaeological zone (£3)
• →Villa Rica site (£2)

ADO bus Veracruz–Xalapa (~1.5h, £6). Deposit bags at a Xalapa guesthouse and go straight to the Museo de Antropología de Xalapa (£5) — the second-best Olmec collection in Mexico. In the afternoon take a local bus to Xico (~40 min, £2) for the waterfall and café culture, then continue to Coatepec for coffee-farm visits and the orchid greenhouse. Overnight in Coatepec (cheaper and prettier than Xalapa).

🚌ADO Veracruz–Xalapa £6 plus local buses £4

🛏Family guesthouse in Coatepec (£15–22/night)

• →Museo de Antropología de Xalapa (£5)
• →Xico town and waterfall
• →Coatepec coffee farm and plaza

Bus Coatepec → Xalapa → Puebla (ADO, ~4h total, £15), then a local bus to Tlaxcala (~2h, £3.50). Visit the Fortaleza de San Carlos (free/£1) and wander the compact colonial centre — the Palacio de Gobierno murals on Tlaxcalan history are free and superb. Tlaxcala is the most underrated stop on this route; it's where Cortés made the alliance that decided the conquest.

🚌ADO buses £15 plus local bus £3.50

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Tlaxcala (£15–22/night)

• →Fortaleza de San Carlos
• →Palacio de Gobierno murals
• →Tlaxcala cathedral and convent circuit

Bus Tlaxcala–Puebla (~1.5h, £4), drop bags at a Puebla hostel in the Centro Histórico, then local bus or Uber to Cholula (£2). Walk the tunnels inside the Great Pyramid (£5) and climb to the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios church on top. Return via San Francisco Acatepec and Santa María Tonantzintla — two of Mexico's most extravagant baroque interiors, ambos free/£1 — reachable by colectivo from Cholula. Evening: Puebla's Zócalo and a cemita or mole poblano dinner.

🚌Bus £4 plus colectivos £4

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Puebla Centro (£15–22/night)

• →Cholula pyramid tunnels (£5)
• →Church of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios
• →Santa María Tonantzintla baroque interior
• →San Francisco Acatepec
• →Puebla Zócalo at night

Self-guided day on foot. Biblioteca Palafoxiana (£3), Museo del Barroco (£3), Cathedral (£2 tower climb) and the Forts of Loreto and Guadalupe (£3, good city views). Add a 1-hour Talavera ceramics workshop with a certified taller (book direct, £15–20) or just visit the Uriarte factory showroom. Late afternoon: Barrio del Artista and the Parián market for street food. Book your evening bus to Mexico City for tomorrow.

🚌Walking / short Ubers £4

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Puebla Centro (£15–22/night)

• →Biblioteca Palafoxiana (£3)
• →Museo del Barroco (£3)
• →Forts of Loreto and Guadalupe (£3)
• →Talavera workshop (£15–20)
• →Barrio del Artista

ADO or Estrella Roja bus Puebla–CDMX TAPO (~2h, £8). Check into a hostel in Centro or Roma/Condesa, then metro to the Zócalo. Templo Mayor archaeological zone and museum (£6), the Diego Rivera murals in the Palacio Nacional (free with ID), the Parque del Árbol de la Noche Triste and the Church of Jesús de Nazareno in Popotla, plus a walk through Chapultepec's first section at sunset. A DIY walking route you can do entirely on the metro (£0.35/ride).

🚌Bus £8 plus metro £2

🛏Hostel in Centro or Roma (£12–20/night)

• →Templo Mayor (£6)
• →Palacio Nacional Diego Rivera murals (free)
• →Parque Árbol de la Noche Triste & Popotla church
• →Chapultepec park

Take the metro to Autobuses del Norte and a local bus to Teotihuacan (£4 each way, 1h) instead of a tour — arrive at opening (8am) to beat the crowds and climb the Pyramid of the Sun (£6 entry). Optional hot-air balloon flight at sunrise if you want to splurge (book on Klook/GetYourGuide, £110–140). On the way back, get off at La Villa de Guadalupe for the Basílica (free) and the Old Basilica tilting on its foundations. A shuttle/teotihuacan bus combo costs under £15 total.

🚌Metro + local bus £8

🛏Hostel in Centro or Roma (£12–20/night)

• →Teotihuacan pyramids and museum (£6)
• →Basílica de Guadalupe (free)
• →Optional sunrise hot-air balloon (£110–140)

Morning free for Coyoacán, the Frida Kahlo Museum (£10, pre-book online) or the Ciudadela craft market. Then metro to the airport (£0.35) or an Uber ($8–12). If you have time, the Anthropology Museum in Chapultepec (£5) is worth an extra half-day if you can flex the flight.

🚌Metro to airport £1

• →Optional Museo Frida Kahlo (£10)
• →Optional Museo Nacional de Antropología (£5)
• →Metro to airport