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I could use some help with travel logistics in Mexico....

My intent is to climb Orizaba (with acclimatization hikes up Malinche and one or two others) with three friends. Unfortunately however, I'm working with a limited budget. They are all flying direct from NYC to MEX to the tune of $600 which is out of my current budget. However, I have an ace in the hole.... a free flight to Cancun in the form of a voucher from Airtran, as well as vouchers for checked baggage for free.

What are my options from getting from Cancun to Tlachachuca? I imagine the simplest thing to do would be to fly direct to Puebla or Veracruz and then taxi/bus to Tlachachuca. I would obviously prefer a flight for simplicity and speed, but I'm not opposed to a ~24 hour overland bus trip if one exists and is economical. I can't find any flights to Puebla or Veracruz from Cancun (but I'm admittedly unfamiliar with Mexican airlines) and I don't even know where to begin searching for buses either. Any and all assistance/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

why not just take the bus down from the states? i think greyhound can usually hook you up with connections to mexico city, at least, or just buy a ticket at the border - matamoros/brownsville, for example, probably isn't much further from where you're trying to get than cancun is- if not, buses should be pretty easy within the country - keep in mind that prices are actually negotiable - if you show up last minute before a bus leaves (think smaller 18-seat colectivos, not big luxury buses) and there are extra spaces, you can probably bargain the price down, they'd rather sell a seat for half price than not at all, but of course that would be tough without decent spanish skills - i can't recall what bus prices are in mexico, i've driven down when i've gone lately, but i imagine $100 each way should be more than enough from yucatan to puebla, even for a gringo - of course, keep in mind that cancun is probably the most expensive place in all of mexico (even tulum cost about twice as much as anywhere else i went during a 4-5 month trip a couple years back) - of course, puebla is also spendy, but i digress - but again, i'd really suggest just busing down from the border, maybe you can get a free flight to texas instead of cancun - and the border is no big deal, just don't linger, and don't worry about what you see on tv - just stay away from juarez - anyway, good luck, have fun, be safe - oh, also if you can find a cheap flight from cancun to mexico city, the bus to puebla should be super easy - hitchhiking in mexico is also a viable option, much more common and easier (and presumably safer?) than it is in most of the usa - but again, that can be tricky if you don't know the language, and it depends how much time you're working with - peace

Not sure about flight info. I do know that you can bus from Mexico City to Cancun. So I would imagine you could do the opposite and just book to Puebla instead of Mexico City. It's roughly a 24hr ride to Mexico City so around 22hrs to Puebla. The cost in 2009 was around 95$ for a 1st class ticket and 110 for deluxe. First class is nicer than any greyhound by far and was good enough for me. Saving that extra 15 bucks will buy alot of tacos and tortas!

The bus line is ADO and there website is http://ticketbus.com.mx. Hope this helps. Good luck! Orizaba is a great experience. Let me know if you need any other info. I'd be glad to help.