I’m a full-stack software engineer with a background in transportation and city planning.

We visited Oaxaca at the end of the Día de los Muertos festivities in 2019, and it was amazing! I would highly suggest planning far ahead and visiting during that time if you can. I found Bricia Lopez’s list of Oaxaca favorites useful as I planned my first trip. I went back to Oaxaca for two weeks in 2022 and loved it even more… and again in 2024 and 2026!

Most of the time in town you’ll be able to walk between everything, but for trips outside of the city (including returning to the airport) I suggest Taxi Aeropuerto y Tours. You can arrange taxis through them in advance or on demand through Whatsapp, and they speak both Spanish and English there and can accept payments by cash or Paypal (though sometimes they’ve asked me to pay cash). Great for getting to nearby towns or the airport.

Activities

We enjoyed just exploring the Oaxaca city center on foot. Everything was beautifully decorated for Día de los Muertos. There was a courtyard we walked past that was turned into an impromptu arts marketplace with a DJ and mezcal tasting for the first two days we were there, as part of the Día de los Muertos celebrations.

  • Tlacolula Sunday Market 🛍️ (map) is a huge market on Sundays about 40 minutes away from Oaxaca city. We took a taxi to get there. There was lots of delicious food and so many vendors selling all kinds of things.
  • Vida Nueva Women’s Weaving Cooperative (map, site) was an unforgettable experience! I called ahead to let them know we wanted to come by, and they were expecting us. They gave us a tour, explained the cooperative’s work, and demonstrated how they create their natural dyes (magical!), and we bought a few stunning rugs from them. There are many beautiful rug vendors in Teotitlán del Valle, but I was especially excited to support their amazing work empowering women. Read more about them in the NYTimes and Slow Diaries. We took a taxi from Oaxaca city to get to Teotitlán del Valle. While there, we also sampled some local chocolate at El sabor ancestral de Oaxaca (map). I didn’t get to go yet, but my friend also was effusive with praise about visiting the Casa Viviana candle store (map, and read more about them in Vogue).
  • Markets 🛍️ abound in Oaxaca city as well! Mercado de la Merced and Mercado Benito Juárez are the two biggest markets, but there are a few other markets near Mercado Benito Juárez as well.
  • A cooking class 👩‍🍳 is a fantastic way to experience Oaxaca’s unique cuisine. We had a wonderful time learning how to make mole negro from Nora at Alma de mi Tierra. We visited the Mercado de la Merced to shop for and learn about ingredients, and then all got to work roasting the many ingredients that go into mole, learning a ton and having a great time with the other folks who signed up for the class. I’ve since had really wonderful experiences with both of these Airbnb Experiences as well with these cooking classes with Su and with Sonia. You can’t go wrong with any of these!
  • Mezcaloteca 🥃 (site, map) offers guided mezcal tastings in Spanish or English. You must make a reservation on their website. This was a great introduction to mezcal!
  • Huaxe 🥃 (instagram, map) is a mezcal company I first came across in a popup market, but they now have their own space and do tastings. Their mezcal is excellent! I arranged an appointment with them over instagram messages.
  • Subterráneos 🎨 (instagram, map) is an incredible art cooperative mostly making woodblock prints. They also have classes which we didn’t do, but swing by and browse the art!
  • Museo de Arte Prehispánico de México Rufino Tamayo 🏛️ (site, map) is a small, free museum with an incredible collection of artifacts presented as art. Right in the center, easy to dip into when you’ve got some time!
  • Hierve el Agua 🏞️ (map) is the other experience I missed out on because I got sick, but it is a beautiful natural waterfall/rock formation that we were excited to visit and will have to visit next time. There were a lot of exciting tour options on Airbnb Experiences and TripAdvisor.

Food & Drink

  • Los Danzantes 🍽 (site, map) is a famous restaurant that also has a popular outpost in Mexico City. It was a beautiful space, incredible food, and amazing mezcals (which they are particularly famous for). Everything was so delicious. Reservations recommended, but sometimes it’s not possible… if so, show up early and put your name in with the host, and maybe grab a drink while you wait at…
  • La Selva 🥃 (site) is the beautiful upstairs bar at Los Danzantes, which had very good cocktails and a nice ambiance.
  • Boulenc 🍽 (site, map) is my favorite breakfast in Oaxaca. When it’s a busy time of year, I would suggest lining up ~10-15 minutes before opening if you don’t want to wait too long, but when I visited recently in late January there wasn’t ever too much of a line.
  • Sanzin Cocina Oaxaca 🍽 (instagram, map) was incredible! It’s Japanese food made with locally available ingredients, made in a small space with strange hours (currently 1pm-5pm). Do the tasting menu! Truly an unexpected highlight.
  • Doña Ceci 🌮 (map) makes very inexpensive and delicous tacos, tortas, memelas, tlayudas, empanadas, tetelas, etc. You can customize them with whichever fillings you’d like from the ones available at the time, and they’re always amazing! Check ahead on the hours on Google maps.
  • La Atolería (site, map) is affiliated with Tierra del Sol restaurant upstairs, but is a smaller space for tasting a variety of atoles (a corn based beverage, with different flavors that include fruit, chocolate, etc.). It’s really fun to taste different ones! And the restaurant upstairs is also excellent.
  • Casa Oaxaca El Restaurante 🍽 (site, map) was so stunning. Every dish we had surprised us. Soups, salsas, tacos, tortillas that you bite into and realize you’ve never tasted corn like that before… it was amazing. Make a reservation in advance (they’re on OpenTable)!
  • Zandunga 🍽 (site, map) focuses on istmeño cuisine (of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, home of the matriarchal Tehuana society whose dress Frida Kahlo adopted). The food was rich and delicious, and the mezcal selection was also amazing. We made a reservation by email.

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