Historical City of Veracruz & Boca del Rio

We will pick you up - One of our English/Spanish speaking guide will pick you up at your accommodations or wherever you will be in the city of Veracruz on the morning of this one day trip.

Brief History - At one time, a walled fortress was built around the entire city of Veracruz to protect them from foreign invaders ... like France, Spain, the United States, and shiploads of cutthroat gold-seeking pirates. Today, there are only small remnants left standing of the wall that once stood between the locals and those foreigner intruders. One such site is called El Baluarte de Santiago (part of the fortified wall) which takes up a whole city block. To give you an idea of the layout of Veracruz back them, we take you to the Naval Museum which is located a few short blocks from the center of the city to view a small scale model of what this fortress city looked like. There, we will also find several interesting rooms of graphic paintings, scale models, documents, and many historical military artifacts.

Another fort which once stood on an island just offshore from this port city is called, San Juan de Ulúa. Today, a road has been built from the mainland to this island which makes this massive fortification easier to explore. In the 1800's, it became prison to some famous people such as Benito Juarez, a former Mexican president.

Walking Tour to Experience the Culture of this port city - We will wander the many aisles of the big market place where everything from herbal medicines to raw fish are sold. We will also walk the central square called, Plaza de las Armas where we will find the main church (Catedral de la Asunsión), sidewalk restaurants (Los Portales de Veracruz), musicians, and witness everyday "Veracruz life" happening all around us. Do you like ice cream? We will stop to enjoy some of Veracruz's famous ice cream at Guera Guera Guera.

Drive to Boca del Rio - From our tour vehicle, we will travel from the city of Veracruz south with great views of the beaches and ocean to the upscale city of Boca del Rio. It is here where we will see all the main resort accommodations, restaurants, movie theatres, the World Trade Center Veracruz, and Las Americas Mall.