Planning a Trip

Getting There & Departing

By Plane -- Continental ExpressJet (tel. 800/525-0280 in the U.S., or 01-800/900-5000 in Mexico; www.continental.com) has direct service to/from Houston on a regional jet. Mexicana (tel. 800/531-7921 in the U.S., 01-800/502-2000; www.mexicana.com) and AeroMéxico (tel. 800/237-6639 in the U.S., or 01-800/021-4000; www.aeromexico.com) both have flights to and from Mexico City. Aviación de Chiapas (Aviacsa; tel. 993/316-5700 or 01-800/006-2200; www.aviacsa.com) flies to and from Mexico City and Mérida. The regional airline Aerolitoral, a subsidiary of AeroMéxico (tel. 800/237-6639 in the U.S., or 993/312-6991), goes through Mexico City with a connection to Veracruz, Tampico, Monterrey, and Houston. Click (tel. 01-800/122-5425 in Mexico; www.clickmx.com), a Mexican budget airline, provides nonstop service to and from Mexico City.

By Car -- Highway 180 connects Villahermosa to Campeche (6 hr.). Highway 186, which passes by the airport, joins Highway 199 to Palenque and San Cristóbal de las Casas. The road to Palenque is a good one, and the drive takes 2 hours. Between Palenque and San Cristóbal the road enters the mountains and takes 4 to 5 hours. On any of the mountainous roads, road conditions are apt to get worse during the rainy season from May to October.

By Bus -- The bus station is at Mina and Merino (tel. 993/312-8900), 3 blocks off Highway 180. There are eight nonstop buses per day to/from Palenque (2 1/2 hr.). There are eight nonstop buses per day to Mexico City (10 hr.), six deluxe service on ADO-GL, and two super deluxe on UNO.

Arriving

Villahermosa's airport is 10km (6 1/4 miles) east of town. Driving in, you'll cross a bridge over the Río Grijalva, then turn left to reach downtown. Taxis to the downtown area cost $15 (£8.25).

Parking downtown can be difficult; it's best to find a parking lot. Use one that's guarded around the clock.

Visitor Information

The State Tourism Office (tel. 993/316-5122, ext. 229) has two information booths. The one at the airport is staffed daily from 10am to 5pm; the one at Parque-Museo La Venta (next to the ticket counter for the park) is staffed Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

City Layout

The downtown area, including the pedestrian-only Zona Luz, is on the west bank of the Grijalva River. About 1.5km (1 mile) upstream (south) is CICOM, with the large archaeology museum named for the poet Carlos Pellicer Cámara. The airport is on the east side of the river. Highway 180 passes the airport and crosses the river just north of downtown, becoming Bulevar Ruiz Cortines. To get to the downtown area, turn left onto Madero or Pino Suárez. By staying on Ruiz Cortines you can reach the city's biggest attraction, the Parque-Museo la Venta. It's well marked. Just beyond that is the intersection with Paseo Tabasco, the heart of the modern hotel and shopping district.

Getting Around

Taxis are your best way to get around town. Villahermosa is rare for being a Mexican city without meaningful public transportation.

Fast Facts

American Express is represented by Turismo Creativo, Av. Paseo Tabasco 1404, Col. Tabasco 2000 (tel. 993/310-9900). The telephone area code is 993. There aren't a lot of casas de cambio, but you can exchange money at the airport, the hotels, and downtown banks on calles Juárez and Madero. ATMs are plentiful.