Tuxpan sits on the Tuxpan River in northern Veracruz, close enough to the Gulf that the city feels half port, half beach town. It is industrial around the edges, with oil terminals and naval traffic, but there is enough coast, river life, and odd history here to make a day worthwhile if you are already in the Huasteca or coming down from Poza Rica.
The easiest pleasure is the barrier-island beach east of town. Tuxpan Beach is not polished resort Mexico, and that is part of the point: long sand, seafood palapas, warm Gulf water, and the occasional ship on the horizon. Inland, the river and Laguna de Tampamachoco give the city its greener side, with mangroves, birdlife, kayak trips, and restaurants around the lagoon.
Tuxpan also has a strange little claim on Cuban revolutionary history. The yacht Granma left from here in 1956 carrying Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, Che Guevara, and other rebels toward Cuba; the Mexico-Cuba Friendship Museum tells that story in a modest building near the river. Add the iguana sanctuary and the central square, and Tuxpan becomes more than just a beach stop.