Oaxaca travel guide

Everything you need to plan a trip to Oaxaca, from when to go and how long to stay to the markets, mezcal and day trips I’d put first, plus every guide I’ve written to the city and the valleys around it.

Julianna BarnabyTravel and culture writer

Oaxaca is a vibe. I had only been in the city for a day and I had already seen live concerts and dancing in the streets, and it ended up as one of my favourite stops on my Mexico road trip.

It’s a city shaped by the Zapotec and Mixtec cultures, with gilded baroque churches and some of the best food in the country. I ate my way through its markets, took a cookery class, drank mezcal at the source in Santiago Matatlán and stood above the petrified waterfalls at Hierve el Agua.

This page brings together the essentials, with links to my detailed guides, and every Oaxaca article on the site is listed below.

Some links on this page may be affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you decide to purchase through one of my recommended partners.

Start here

The gold-leaf altarpiece and ornate painted vaults of the nave of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Oaxaca

The best things to do in Oaxaca (grasshoppers included)

A stallholder grilling chicken over smoking charcoal at the Sunday market in Tlacolula, Oaxaca

Tlacolula Sunday market, the real heart of Oaxacan food

Smoking the agave at Gracias a Dios Oaxaca

Mezcal in Oaxaca: why it’s more than smoky tequila

Memelas spread with black bean paste cooking on a large comal at the Mercado de Abastos, Oaxaca

Oaxaca food: what to eat in Mexico’s foodie paradise

When to go

Oaxaca sits at 1,555 metres above sea level, so it’s mild all year. The dry season runs from November to April, with sunny days and cool evenings, while the rains arrive as afternoon downpours from around June to September. December is peak season: I visited then and loved every moment of it, but book well ahead. Late January to March is the sweet spot for weather and prices.

Plan around the festivals if you can: the Guelaguetza on the last two Mondays of July, Day of the Dead from 31 October to 2 November and the radish carving of the Noche de Rábanos in the Zócalo on 23rd December.

Getting there and around

Flights from Mexico City take around 1 hour 15 minutes to Oaxaca airport (OAX). ADO buses from the TAPO station take around 6.5 to 7 hours, and the drive via Puebla is around 5 to 6 hours: I came through on a road trip. The centre is compact and best on foot. For the villages, hire a car, join a tour or use the colectivos.

Where to stay

Stay in the historic centre, ideally around Santo Domingo. It puts the churches, mezcalerías and restaurants on your doorstep, and the pedestrianised Calle Macedonio Alcalá runs straight down to the Zócalo. For a boutique stay, Casa Oaxaca is a stylish hotel on García Vigil with a well-known restaurant. For something grander, Quinta Real Oaxaca is set in a 16th-century former convent in the heart of the old town.

Book well ahead for December, Day of the Dead and the Guelaguetza, when prices rise and the best places fill up months in advance.

Casa Oaxaca Historic centre, García Vigil Check availability

Quinta Real Oaxaca Historic centre, former convent Check availability

Tours

Hierve el Agua, Tule, Mitla and a mezcal distillery Sunday Tlacolula market and a family mezcal palenque Traditional Oaxacan cooking class with a market visit More tours

Know before you go

Top things to do

Start in the Zócalo, the city’s living room, then walk up to the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, whose interior is dripping in gold leaf, and the Museum of Cultures next door.

Then eat. Take a cookery class that starts with a shop at the Mercado de Abastos, try the grasshoppers, and grill your own meat in the smoke aisle of the Mercado 20 de Noviembre. On Sunday, head out to the Tlacolula market, where I had some of the best chicken I have ever eaten.

Further out, Monte Albán, the Zapotec city on a levelled mountaintop, and the petrified waterfalls at Hierve el Agua are unmissable, and the road east passes Mitla and the palenques of Santiago Matatlán. My guide to the best things to do in Oaxaca covers it all.

Suggested itineraries

Four days is perfect, and I wouldn’t do fewer than three. Spend the first two in the city: the Zócalo, Santo Domingo, the markets and a mezcalería or three. Give a morning to Monte Albán, then make the last day a Sunday out east, with Tlacolula market, a palenque in Matatlán and Hierve el Agua. Oaxaca fits neatly into a longer trip too: it’s one of the stops on my two-week Mexico itinerary.

Hidden Oaxaca

Walk the quiet streets of the Xochimilco neighbourhood, which pass beneath the arches of an 18th-century aqueduct. Seek out the Basílica de la Soledad, which gets a fraction of Santo Domingo’s crowds, and the hilltop ruins of Yagul, on the Mitla road, which are usually almost empty.

Dishes and drinks to try

Dishes to try

Tlayuda: a giant crisp tortilla with beans, quesillo and meat, folded over the grill
Chapulines: grasshoppers roasted with lime, chilli and garlic. They taste like an intense peanut
Quesadilla with squash flower and quesillo, the local string cheese
Tasajo and chorizo from the grills of the Pasillo de Humo

Drinks to try

Mezcal, sipped neat with orange and sal de gusano. Start with an espadín, then work up to the wild agaves. Look out for tejate too, a traditional maize and cacao drink that doesn’t look appetising but was one of my biggest surprises.

Must-try bars and restaurants

Eat at Pitiona for the rooftop view of Santo Domingo, Tlayudas Libres Doña Martha for tlayudas late at night and Los Danzantes for mezcal with dinner. For drinks, La Mezcalerita has a rooftop, Los Amantes pours its own mezcals and Sabina Sabe does brilliant mezcal cocktails.

Costs and budgeting

Oaxaca is good value. Market food is cheap, and colectivos cost a few dozen pesos. Entry to Monte Albán is 210 pesos for international visitors, and Hierve el Agua is around 80 pesos plus a community road toll of around 30 pesos.

Safety, health and tipping

Safety

Oaxaca city is one of the more relaxed cities in Mexico for visitors, but take the usual precautions with your belongings at night and in the markets. Skip the walking trail up to Monte Albán, where there have been robberies, and take the bus instead. Check your government’s travel advice before you go.

Health

At 1,555 metres, the altitude is gentle, but drink plenty of water and take it easy on the mezcal on your first day. Stick to bottled or filtered water and pack sun cream: the sun is strong at this height.

Tipping

Leave 10 to 15% at sit-down restaurants and a few pesos for guides and drivers.

Practical tips and info

Tips for travelling

Carry cash in small notes: markets, colectivos and the community-run sites like Hierve el Agua rarely take cards. Agree taxi fares before you get in. Start early for Monte Albán and Hierve el Agua to beat the tour groups, and check Hierve el Agua is open before you set off, as it has closed without warning in the past. Tlacolula market is Sunday only.

How to see the best for free

The Textile Museum and the Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo are both free, and so is the evening show in the Zócalo, when marimba and brass bands take turns in the bandstand. If you hear a calenda strike up, follow it.

Travel insurance

Make sure your policy has good medical cover, and check it covers you for driving if you plan to hire a car for the valleys. Compare policies with AXA Travel Insurance.