Getting to Puebla

• Transportation from the Mexico, D.F. airport (airport code: MEX) to Puebla: there is a comfortable bus service by "Estrella Roja" which runs from Mexico City airport to the city of Puebla every 30 minutes. These leave from the airport zone E-1, one floor above the International Arrivals. Search the sign "zona de autobuses" and go through the tunnel. The fare is $150.00 Pesos ($280.00 Pesos if you buy the return ticket) and is paid in a kiosk located in front the bus departing zone. The ride takes about two hours. Those wanting to see the landscape (once outside Mexico City!) should sit on the right hand side of the bus.
• Buses departing at the hour (13:00, 14:00, 15:00, etc...) arrive to Puebla bus station (known locally as CAPU) while those departing at the half-hour (13:30, 14:30, 15:30, etc...) arrive to station of "4 Poniente" located nearer to Puebla's downtown. For a complete timetable, click here. We recommend you to take the bus to CAPU, where taxis have fixed prices.
• If arriving to CAPU we recommend that you get a regulated taxi ticket (at one of the kiosks with a TAXIS sign on it) to Tonantzintla ($80 Pesos, add $8 Pesos if you arrive after 10:00 PM, the ride to Tonantzintla takes some 20 minutes) or to "Puebla centro" if you are hosted in downtown ($22 pesos to Puebla's downtown). Make sure you take a yellow and white taxi. Tell the taxi driver to drop you at "El Observatorio" in Tonantzintla. If you are hosted in a hotel on the city centre, just tell the taxi driver the hotel's name. From the "4 Poniente" station there are only standard (black) taxis. It is recommended to fix the prize in advance (it should also be less or equal to $100 Pesos to Tonantzintla, $40 pesos to downtown),
• We strongly advise you against taking taxis from Mexico City airport to Puebla as the fare will be astronomical (at least 500 pesos).
• If you are highly adventurous and insist on driving to Tonantzintla, the basic instruction is to go to the city of Puebla (120 kms East), then after entering town head to Cholula (8 kms West) and from there to Tonantzintla (5 kms South). Simple, isn't it? To make life easier, exiting the airport you have to take "boulevard aeropuerto" to the south, after some 3 to 5 kms take "Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza", a wide kind of freeway road, towards the East. After some 15 kms it leads to the beginning of the motorway. Mind: take "Puebla cuota" and NOT" Puebla libre" (a rather bad road). You can find a map here of the last part of the adventurous trip.

Local Information

• Money: The Mexican currency is the peso ($). The present exchange rate with the U.S. dollar is about $11.0 = 1.0USD, but this changes more rapidly than we would like. Please make sure you have some pesos with you BEFORE leaving the Mexico City airport, where there are plenty of currency exchange offices. Once in Mexico, not all places take US dollars or traveler's checks. Foreign credit cards are accepted in major restaurants, stores, and hotels. Best exchange rates are found in CASAS de CAMBIO (exchange houses) open only on weekdays, usually from 9 am to 5 pm. Most banks open only on weekdays, also from 9 am to 5 pm. The airport has 24 hour money exchange counters. USA cash or travelers checks are easier to change into pesos than other types of currency.
• Weather: Puebla is located at an altitude of 2200 meters (7100 feet). There is usually no rain during the spring, but it gets rainy during the summer and about the middle of autumn. The temperature varies from some 30 C (85-90 F) in the daytime to about 10 C (50 F) in the night/morning. Note that the air is thin, and it can get cool at night.
• Language: Spanish is the official language in Mexico. Because Puebla is not overly frequented by tourists, very few people speak English. We advise you to have a good dictionary and a phrasebook when you venture out.
• Food: Mexican cuisine is among the best in the world, but those visiting for the time should take some precautions. There are some spicy sauces (salsas picantes) which could be very aggressive to unaware mouths: before adding any sauce to your food, try a small amount of it in a piece of bread. Also, to avoid traveler's diarrhea (or any other stomach disease), do not drink tap water and do not eat raw fruits or vegetables without skin. Drink only bottled water.
• Accommodation and food at INAOE: Rooms are usually reserved for workshop attendants. We will reserve you a room as soon as we have your dates of arrival and departure. Breakfast and lunch during weekdays are provided inside the premises of INAOE. A map of the local facilities is here
• Mexican culture and archeological sites in the region and a page on Tonantzintla itself.

Facilities

Contact Addresses

    Secretaria del Programa Guillermo Haro
    Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica Optica y Electronica
    Luis Enrique Erro 1
    Tonantzintla, Puebla 72840, MEXICO