Xalapa travel guide
Olmec heads at the MAX, Callejón del Diamante cafes and coffee hills
The hilly capital of Veracruz, a university city with the country's second great anthropology museum, lively cafes and coffee towns at its doorstep. Visit from March to May, the warmest and driest stretch before the summer rains; two or three days is about right. Prices are moderate, and many nationalities enter Mexico without a visa.
Veracruz's state capital climbs over a ridge of green hills about halfway between the Gulf coast and the high plateau. At roughly 1,400 metres, it looks out on the snow cone of Pico de Orizaba and the flat-topped Cofre de Perote. The big public university, the Universidad Veracruzana, sets the tone. Its students fill the theatres and cafes, and a symphony orchestra founded in 1929 helps earn the city its nickname, the Athens of Veracruz.
Most visitors come for the Museo de Antropología, whose giant Olmec heads from San Lorenzo rival anything in Mexico City, and stay for the cafes. Coffee grows on the slopes all around, and Coatepec and Xico, two old coffee towns, are short rides south. The pepper that carries the city's name in English, the jalapeño, takes its name from here too.
Expect steep streets, cool air and a fine drizzle the locals call chipi-chipi; an umbrella is part of daily life. Two or three days are enough for the city with a side trip to the coffee towns.
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Top things to do in Xalapa
Olmec sculpture, a Diego Rivera collection, city parks with volcano views and coffee towns nearby.
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Best time to visit Xalapa
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Highs of 24 to 28 C and the clearest views of Pico de Orizaba; showers pick up in May, with about 110 mm.
180 to 280 mm a month, highs near 26 C; mornings are often fine before afternoon rain, and the coffee hills are at their greenest.
Highs of only 21 to 22 C and lows near 10 C, with grey drizzle that can last for days; pack a sweater.
Cold fronts from the Gulf, called nortes, bring days of chipi-chipi drizzle between November and February; plan museum time for those.
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Getting there
ADO from TAPO and the CAXA bus station on 20 de Noviembre
Most visitors reach Xalapa by coach: ADO and AU run almost hourly from Mexico City's TAPO terminal, about four hours via Puebla on the toll road, to the CAXA bus station on 20 de Noviembre. Puebla and Veracruz port also have very frequent services. Coaches arrive at the Central de Autobuses de Xalapa (CAXA) on Avenida 20 de Noviembre Oriente, on the east side of the city; taxis from the rank outside reach the centre in about 10 minutes. The closest airport with airline service is Veracruz International (VER), about two hours away; take a taxi to Veracruz's bus station and an ADO coach up the hill, or arrange a private transfer. Xalapa's own El Lencero airfield handles only light aircraft and helicopters. Drivers use the MEX 140D toll highway between Puebla and Veracruz.
- Coach from Mexico City TAPO
- ADO or AU, almost hourly, about 4 hours
- CAXA to the centre
- Taxi, about 10 minutes
- Veracruz airport (VER)
- About 2 hours by road
- Mexico City airport passengers can also catch ADO coaches to Xalapa from the terminal, avoiding a cross-town ride to TAPO; check current departures.
Where to stay
Parque Juárez blocks, Avenida Xalapa or Los Lagos
Stay near Xalapa's Parque Juárez, the cathedral and the Callejón del Diamante to walk to the Pinacoteca, the theatre and the best cafés, though hills are steep and weekend nights loud. Avenida Xalapa hotels sit near the anthropology museum, and Los Lagos is quieter; budget options are plentiful. The leafy area around the Paseo de los Lagos, by the university, is quieter, with the Hotel Los Lagos on 13 de Septiembre and joggers on the lake path in the morning.
- Centro and Parque Juárez
- Walk to cafes and museums; steep and lively
- Avenida Xalapa
- Near the MAX; taxis to the centre
- Los Lagos
- Quiet lakeside streets by the university
Getting around
Steep streets by taxi, city bus or rented scooter
Xalapa's centre is walkable but hilly, with twisting streets that climb more than expected. Cheap taxis are the best way to the anthropology museum and the botanical garden, and city buses with destinations on the windscreen cover every district for cash. Hilly, compact Xalapa is also a fine scooter city: rent one and the back streets and outer colonias open up. For Coatepec and Xico, buses leave regularly from the south side of the city and reach Coatepec in about 30 minutes.
- Taxi
- Plentiful and cheap; best for the MAX
- City bus and scooter
- Cash on board; scooters for the hills and Coatepec road
- Carry an umbrella and wear shoes with grip; wet cobbles are slippery.
Know before you go
What makes Xalapa worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The Olmec heads at the MAX, set in a long garden museum that descends the hill in stages.
- The terrace at Parque Juárez, with Pico de Orizaba and the Cofre de Perote on a clear morning.
- An evening in the Callejón del Diamante, a narrow lane of cafes, bars and craft stalls.
Good to know
- The MAX closes on Mondays, like most museums in the city.
- The drizzle can last for days in winter; bring a waterproof layer.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Xalapa, month by month
Xalapa is mild and often misty, with drizzly chipi-chipi days in winter and heavy summer rain. Tap a month for averages.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Xalapa-Enríquez (Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, NOAA, via Wikipedia).
Olmec giants, the Pinacoteca and Coatepec coffee over a weekend
Begin a Xalapa weekend at the Museo de Antropología de Xalapa (MAX) on Avenida Xalapa when it opens; it closes on Mondays. Its halls and gardens step down the hillside through the Olmec, Totonac and Huastec cultures of the Gulf coast, with the colossal San Lorenzo heads as the stars, and two to three hours is right.
Afternoon. Return to the centre and walk to Parque Juárez, next to the government palace, for the view toward Pico de Orizaba from the terrace of the Ágora cultural centre. Nearby, the free Pinacoteca Diego Rivera shows a collection of Rivera's work (closed on Mondays), and the cathedral, begun in 1641 and remodelled in neo-Gothic style in 1896, is two minutes away.
Evening. Spend it in the Callejón del Diamante, a narrow lane of cafes and bars, or catch a concert by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa at the Tlaqná cultural centre or a show at the Teatro del Estado.
Day two. Visit the Francisco Javier Clavijero botanical garden, much of it preserved forest on an old coffee estate, on the road to Coatepec. Continue to Coatepec, a colonial coffee town about 30 minutes away, for a coffee tasting and lunch, and if time allows go on to Xico and its Texolo waterfall.
Enfrijoladas, mole xiqueño and café de olla for chipi-chipi weather
Xalapa cooks for cool, damp chipi-chipi weather, with big corn-based breakfasts and a serious coffee habit. Start with enfrijoladas, tortillas dipped in thick black-bean sauce, folded and topped with cream, fresh cheese and onion, then try mole xiqueño from nearby Xico and a mug of café de olla.
Start the day with enfrijoladas, tortillas dipped in a thick black-bean sauce, folded and topped with cream, fresh cheese and onion, or with gorditas and tostadas sold at fondas and market stalls. Chicken turns up everywhere, in broths and stuffed into tamales. The jalapeño pepper, named after the city, is common pickled with carrots and onion.
In nearby Xico, the local mole xiqueño is a dark, slightly sweet sauce of chiles, dried fruit and chocolate served over chicken or turkey, and many restaurants in Xalapa offer it. The coffee towns around the city also serve acamayas, freshwater crayfish, and river fish.
For something sweet, look for cocadas (coconut sweets), jamoncillo (a fudge-like milk candy), candied fruit and dulce de leche, sold by street vendors and in sweet shops around the centre.
Above all, drink coffee. Beans from the Coatepec slopes are among Mexico's best, and the Callejón del Diamante and the streets around Parque Juárez are lined with cafes roasting their own. Try café de olla, brewed with cinnamon and piloncillo sugar. For a quick meal, try Tacos San José on Justo Sierra, or Pozoles El Dique for a steaming bowl of pozole.
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How we research our Xalapa travel guide
Xalapa's museum hours, coach links and Coatepec trips are checked against the official Xalapa website and the city's Wikipedia record, with entry rules from Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Migración.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of XalapaInstituto Nacional de MigraciónUNESCO World Heritage Centre
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Xalapa.
General
Because of its strong cultural life, centred on the Universidad Veracruzana, its theatres, museums and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa, founded in 1929.
From TAPO, the eastern terminal, where ADO and AU coaches leave almost every hour for the four-hour ride.
Pre-Hispanic art from the Gulf coast, including colossal Olmec heads from San Lorenzo, Totonac sculpture and Huastec pieces, in halls and gardens that step down a hillside.
Yes, the pepper is named after the city, whose older spelling is Jalapa, although today it is grown across much of Mexico.
The local name for the fine, persistent drizzle that often hangs over Xalapa, especially when winter cold fronts arrive from the Gulf.
From the terrace of the Ágora by Parque Juárez in the centre, best on a clear morning in spring.
It is liveliest from Thursday to Saturday, when students pack its cafes and bars, but its cafes stay open and busy most evenings.
It is mild, seldom cold. Winter highs reach only 21 to 22 C with lows near 10 C, so bring a sweater, while spring highs reach 27 to 28 C.
Xalapa's centre is walkable but hilly, with twisting streets that climb more than expected. Cheap taxis are the best way to the anthropology museum and the botanical garden, and city buses with destinations on the windscreen cover every district for cash. Hilly, compact Xalapa is also a fine scooter city: rent one and the back streets and outer colonias open up.
Getting there
Veracruz International (VER), about two hours away by road. The local El Lencero airfield handles only private and light aircraft.
Regular buses and taxis run south to Coatepec in about 30 minutes, passing the botanical garden on the old road.
Timing & weather
The best time to visit Xalapa is Mar to May. The warmest, brightest months, highs of 24 to 28 C before the June rains.
- Warm spring: March - May (Highs of 24 to 28 C and the clearest views of Pico de Orizaba; showers pick up in May, with about 110 mm)
- Wet season: June - October (180 to 280 mm a month, highs near 26 C; mornings are often fine before afternoon rain, and the coffee hills are at their greenest)
- Cool winter: November - February (Highs of only 21 to 22 C and lows near 10 C, with grey drizzle that can last for days; pack a sweater)
May is the warmest month in Xalapa, with average highs of 28°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 10°C. June is the wettest month, at about 284 mm of rain; February is the driest. Xalapa is mild and often misty, with drizzly chipi-chipi days in winter and heavy summer rain.
Visa & documents
Tourist stays in Mexico are visa-free for citizens of the US, Canada, the UK, the EU and many other countries. Immigration officers decide how many days you can stay (up to 180) and stamp your passport or issue a digital record. Holders of valid US, UK, Canadian or Schengen visas may also be exempt.
Health & safety
Most tourist areas are visited without problems, but violent crime linked to organised crime is high in some states. Governments advise against travel to parts of several states. Petty crime and scams occur in tourist areas.
