Planning a trip to Cuernavaca
Visitor Information
Cuernavaca's Municipal Tourist Office is at Calle Hidalgo 5, next to the Jardin Morelos (Morelos Garden; tel. 777/314-3920; www.cuernavaca.gob.mx). It's open daily from 9am to 5pm. The Morelos State Tourism Office is located on Av. Morelos Sur 187 (tel. 777/314-3881; www.morelostravel.com). It's open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. There's also a City Tourism kiosk (tel. 777/329-4404) at Morelos Sur 278, beside the El Calvario Church, open daily from 9am to 5pm.
City Layout
In the center of the city are two contiguous plazas. The smaller and more formal, across from the post office, has a Victorian gazebo (designed by Gustave Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame) at its center. This is the Alameda. The larger, rectangular plaza with trees, shrubs, and benches is the Plaza de Armas. These two plazas are known collectively as the zócalo and form the hub for strolling vendors selling balloons, baskets, bracelets, and other crafts from surrounding villages. It's all easygoing, and one of the great pleasures of the town is hanging out at a park bench or table in a nearby restaurant. On Sunday afternoons, orchestras play in the gazebo. At the eastern end of the Alameda is the Cortez Palace, the conquistador's residence, now the Museo de Cuauhnáhuac.
Note: The city's street-numbering system is extremely confusing. It appears that the city founders, during the past century or so, imposed a new numbering system every 10 or 20 years. An address given as "no. 5" may be in a building that bears the number "506," or perhaps "Antes no. 5" (former no. 5).
Special-Interest Vacations
Cuernavaca is known for its Spanish-language schools. Generally, the schools will help students find lodging with a family or provide a list of places to stay. Rather than make a long-term commitment in a family living situation, try it for a week, and then decide. Contact the Universidad Internacional, San Jerónimo 304 (Apdo. Postal 1520), 62000 Cuernavaca, Morelos (tel. 800/932-2068 in the U.S., or 777/317-1087; www.spanish.com.mx); Instituto de Idioma y Cultura en Cuernavaca (tel. 777/317-8947; fax 777/317-0455; www.idiomaycultura.com.mx), Privado Narcisso Mendoza #5, Colonia Pradera; or Universal Center for Language and Social Communication: Innovative Spanish, J. H. Preciado 171 (Apdo. Postal 1-1826, 62000 Cuernavaca, Morelos; tel. 777/318-2904 or 312-4902; www.universal-spanish.com). The entire experience, from classes to lodging, can be quite expensive; the school may accept credit cards for the class portion.
Fast Facts
Area Code -- The telephone area code is 777.
Banks -- Bank tellers (9am-4pm, depending on the bank), ATMs, and casas de cambio change money. The closest bank to the zócalo is Bancomer, Matamoros and Lerdo de Tejada, cater-cornered to Jardín Juárez (across López Rayón from the Alameda).
Drugstore -- Farmacias del Ahorro (tel. 777/322-2277) offers hotel delivery service, but you must ask the front desk of your hotel to place the order, because the pharmacy requires the name of a hotel employee. It has 12 locations around the city, but the individual pharmacies have no phone. Some are open 24 hours a day, while others are open daily from 7am to 10pm.
Hospital -- Hospital Inovamed is located at Calle Cuauhtémoc 305, Col. Lomas de la Selva (tel. 777/311-2482, -2483, -2484).
Internet Access -- There are several Internet cafes around the city; however, they open and close frequently. Most hotels offer Internet access or can point you in the direction of a place that does.
Post Office -- The correo (tel. 777/312-4379) is on the Plaza de Armas, next door to Café los Arcos. It's open Monday through Friday from 8am to 6pm, Saturday from 10am to 2pm.
Getting There
By Car
From Mexico City, take Insurgentes or Periférico south, which will take you to Hwy. 95D, the toll road on the far south of town that goes to Cuernavaca. From the Periférico, take the Insurgentes exit and continue until you come to signs for Cuernavaca/Tlalpan. Choose either the Cuernavaca cuota (toll) or the Cuernavaca libre (free) road on the right. The free road is slower and very windy, but more scenic. The toll road costs about 150 pesos.
By Bus
Important note: Buses to Cuernavaca depart directly from the Benito Juárez airport in Mexico City. The trip takes an hour or longer. The Mexico City Central de Autobuses del Sur exists primarily to serve the Mexico City-Cuernavaca-Taxco-Acapulco-Zihuatanejo route. Pullman de Morelos has two stations in Cuernavaca: downtown, at the corner of Abasolo and Nezahualcóyotl (tel. 777/312-6063), 4 blocks south of the center of town; and Casino de la Selva (tel. 777/312-9472), less conveniently located at Plan de Ayala 14, near the railroad station.
Autobuses Estrella Blanca (tel. 777/312-2626; www.estrellablanca.com.mx) depart from the Central del Sur, with four buses daily from Mexico City. They arrive in Cuernavaca at Av. Morelos Sur 329, between Arista and Victoria, 6 blocks north of the town center. Here you'll find frequent buses to Toluca, Chalma, Ixtapan de la Sal, Taxco, Acapulco, the Cacahuamilpa Caves, Querétaro, and Nuevo Laredo.
Estrella de Oro (tel. 777/312-3055; www.estrelladeoro.com.mx), Morelos 900, serves Iguala, Chilpancingo, Acapulco, and Taxco.
Estrella Roja (tel. 777/318-5934; www.estrellaroja.com.mx), a second-class station at Galeana and Cuauhtemotzin in Cuernavaca, about 8 blocks south of the town center, serves Cuautla, Yautepec, Oaxtepec, and Izúcar de Matamoros.
