Some brief background….

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Veracruz is the name of both the state where we live and of the city where our wedding will take place. It is an old port, a city steeped in history since it was the starting point of the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the 16th century. It is located an hour & a half directly east of our adopted city of Xalapa, which is the capital of the state of Veracruz. If you plan on coming to the wedding and wish to catch a glimpse of Xalapa and of our home, you should plan on staying in the area at least through Tuesday Oct.29th, and perhaps scheduling your departure on Wednesday, Oct.30th. For more details about the events being planned for the entire week of Oct.26th to Nov.3rd, please see the ‘Itinerary’ link.

 

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Flights to Mexico and to the port city of Veracruz

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In order to attend our wedding, the final destination of where you need to arrive is the port city of Veracruz, sometimes referred to as "Veracruz-Llave" (its full name). The name of the city’s international airport is "General Heriberto Jara" and its official abbreviation is VER.

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If flying from the US, by far the easiest way to get to Veracruz is from Houston, which has daily non-stop flights that last approximately 2 hours.

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For those of you flying from Europe, the trip to Mexico can last anywhere from 11 to 12 hours (depending on where you're departing), so it might make sense to break it up by flying to a city in the US with good international connections such as Houston, Dallas, Atlanta or Miami. Once there, you could get a good night's sleep and then fly out the next day (with a separate round-trip ticket) to Veracruz. See above for the easiest way of getting from the US to Veracruz (via Houston). 

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For those of you staying with us for the entire 10 days, we will be taking public transportation both to Xalapa on Oct.29th and to Mexico City on Oct.31st.  We will be riding on nice, comfortable buses (for more information, please see the Transportation link) and at the end of the official activities on Nov.3rd, you can return to Veracruz on your own (or at a later date) either by the same bus or by a one-way, non-stop flight (Mexico City-Veracruz).

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Alternatively, you could make Mexico City as your base (your arrival and departure city) and then purchase a one-way ticket to Veracruz to arrive there a day or two before the wedding...as stated above, we will be taking a bus back to Mexico City at the end of the week. 

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Hotels

 

Port of Veracruz

 

Our wedding will take place at the Grand Fiesta Americana, a very comfortable 4-star hotel, located approximately 20 minutes south of downtown Veracruz, right on the beach, with a beautiful wrap-around pool and terrace. We will be staying there from Thursday Oct.24th to the morning of Tuesday Oct.29th (when the wedding party will leave for our hometown of Xalapa) and we'd love it if our friends and family stayed there as well. Following are two links, one for the hotel’s website, and another with information on how to obtain a discounted rate when making your reservation.

 

Grand Fiesta Americana Veracruz Website

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Grand Fiesta Americana Discounted Rate

The information for this link is in Spanish, but easy enough to understand.  Simply email the address or call the phone number listed on the informational flyer and ask to speak to Araceli Arreola, who speaks fluent English.  Be sure to mention that you are with the “Manuel y David” wedding party and that you’d like to reserve a room with the special code G1QVDK. Araceli is available Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 2 pm, and then again from 4 pm to 6:30 pm. That being said, it is entirely possible that you will find an even cheaper rate for the Grand Fiesta Americana by using a hotel booking site (like “kayak.com”), so please do your homework first.

 

The cost, however, of staying at the Grand Fiesta Americana (whether you end up reserving a room via a hotel booking site or by calling the hotel directly) might be prohibitive, so we have prepared a list of alternate hotels that you may find useful: Alternate hotels for port of Veracruz. Included on the list are the 3 hotels where we have previously stayed and which we fully recommend. 

 

Either way, please make your hotel and flight reservations as soon as possible, and kindly let us know once you have. While October is not 'peak' tourist season, Mexico itself is still a peak destination throughout the year, and flights and hotels tend to fill up fast. Please let us know in the “Contact” link if you have any questions or need any further assistance.  We'd be happy to help.

 

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Accommodation in Xalapa

 

For those of you who plan to travel with us to Xalapa on Tuesday Oct.29th and Wednesday Oct.30th, we will be blocking rooms at a nice hotel downtown. We have not yet decided which hotel, but once we do, we will send an email and add a note to the “Updates” link on this site regarding the type of room and cost. While there may be a cancellation fee, guests who have confirmed their presence with us in Xalapa will most likely not need to pay for their rooms until arrival.

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Mexico City

 

For those of you who plan to continue with us to Mexico City (Oct.31st to Nov.3rd), our strong recommendation is that you reserve a room at the Hotel Catedral. This is where we will be staying and is a nice 3-star hotel right smack in the middle of the Centro Histórico (by far the nicest and most colorful neighborhood for the Day of the Dead festivities). We reserved through booking.com, but you can also do so via a variety of other search engines or by consulting the hotel’s official website:

 

Hotel Catedral:  

https://www.hotelcatedral.com/en

Calle Doncéles 95, Centro Histórico. Located two streets behind the Metropolitan Cathedral.

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Other recommended hotels (once again, be sure to compare prices on hotel websites to those on a booking site):

 

Hotel Marlowe:  

https://en.hotelmarlowe.com.mx/

Calle Independencia 17, Colonia Centro. Our go-to hotel where we normally stay, but Hotel Catedral is more strategically located for the Day of the Dead festivities. Located just 2 blocks away from the Palacio de Bellas Artes, one of the city’s loveliest and most iconic buildings.

 

Fiesta Americana Reforma:

https://www.fiestamericana.com/en/hotels-resorts/fiesta-americana-reforma-mexico-city

Paseo de la Reforma 80, Colonia Juarez. Located on the city’s famous, large, tree-lined, and attractive thoroughfare, but also within walking distance to the Centro Histórico.

 

Hotel Maria Cristina:

https://hotelmariacristina.com.mx/english/el-cristina/

Rio Lerma No. 31 Col. Cuauhtemoc. Located a block away from Paseo de la Reforma and just down the street from the British Embassy, this hotel has a wonderful old European feel to it, yet all the rooms are modernized and comfortable. Its main advantage is its lovely interior courtyard and gardens. Its disadvantages are its physical distance from the Centro Histórico and the fact it becomes rather lonely at night without much to see or do in the immediate vicinity.

 

Grand Fiesta Americana Chapultepec:

https://www.grandfiestamericana.com/en/hotels-resorts/grand-fiesta-americana-chapultepec

Calle Mariano Escobedo 756, Colonia Anzures. Located in one of Mexico City’s swankiest neighborhoods, with a large concentration of museums just around the corner, including the fabulous Museum of Anthropology (one of the best in the world). Too far to walk to Centro Histórico, but easy Uber access.

 

Hyatt Regency Mexico City:

https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/mexico/hyatt-regency-mexico-city/mexhr/rooms

Campos Eliseos 204, Polanco. Located in the same neighborhood as above hotel.

 

 

Once you’ve made your flight and hotel reservations, please let us know so that we can begin to get an idea of how many people to expect. The official invitation will be sent out sometime in June or July with an RSVP date, but the earlier we have a head count, the better.