My Favorite Things to in Oaxaca After Living There for Six Months

Last updated on July 10, 2024 by Shannon

If you’re planning a trip to Oaxaca, I likely don’t have to convince you that it’s a beautiful with a lot to offer. If you have a few days in the city, you’ll definitely want to split your time between the city center, and in the valley doing one of the day trips I recommend.

Many of the most gorgeous sites and communities are just a short ride outside of the city, in the Oaxaca Valley. It would be a real shame to visit and stay in the city center, so pick a few things to do that interest you and plan on heading out of town.

But note that I lived in Oaxaca for nearly six months, so you probably can’t hit all of these things to do or recommended day trips and tours unless you have a couple of weeks in the area!

In addition to the traditional things to do, use Que Pasa Oaxaca‘s event’s guide to check the upcoming shows, lectures, arts performances, etc. Because Oaxaca is popular with expats living on the cheap, it has a heap of events in both English and Spanish.

Things To Do in Oaxaca City

Oaxaca is both a state and a city, so let’s assume that you’re visiting the city, with the intention of visiting the Oaxaca Valley as well. If you’re visiting the entire state, then you’ll likely fly or bus to places like Puerto Escondido before or after exploring Oaxaca, which is the culinary heart of Mexican cuisine—home to the country’s seven famous moles—and a broad mix of indigenous Mexican cultures.

These things to do are both traditional and off-beat recommendations that will ensure you see below the surface and really get to know why people leave Oaxaca raving about its food and culture. And note that I also offer a complete Oaxaca Travel Guide with tips and advice for safety, transportation, and more.

Hang out in the zócolo.

Nearly every Mexican town has a zócolo, which signifies a park or plaza at the center of town. When the Spanish colonized Mexico, these zócolos became the central meeting spot in town and often feature a gorgeous cathedral as well. Oaxaca’s zócolo teems with activity at any time of day and it’s beautiful and shady—one of the prettier ones I’ve seen.

This is an easy place for a meal if you speak no Spanish (restaurants line the sides), and in the evenings you can find a few street food carts offering fried plantains, corn, and the perennially favorite of hot dogs. Sometimes you’ll spot dances, wedding receptions, or a host of other activities throughout the day and night. It’s fun and you should make a point to visit multiple times.

Visit Oaxaca’s beautiful churches.

Three main churches in town are worth a visit. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in the zócalo is gorgeous and be sure to pay attention to the engraved glass windows inside. The Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán is just a few blocks from the cathedral and you really will want to ensure you’re there during visiting hours to glimpse the gilded interior—it’s much fancier than most Mexican churches!

And on your wanders, bookmark the The Basilica of Our Lady of Solitude to round out your visit to the city’s important churches. This is dedicated to the patron saint of Oaxaca and is notable for the gorgeous carvings and unique green cantera stone.

Perfect your Spanish.

Spanish lessons are cheap in Oaxaca. I paid 250 pesos for a two-hour private lesson once a week (about 12 dollars). There are even cheaper options, and more expensive, too. I loved my teacher Letty and I can connect ALA readers to her, just shoot me an email if  you need her information. If you want intensive language lessons—several hours a day, every day—it’s likely best to find a small group class (or private lessons).

Unless it’s off-season, Letty will likely have daily lessons with other students, so you’ll need to contact a Spanish school in the city. Consider ICO or Oaxaca International. This page also provides a full list of Spanish schools in the city.

Take an En Vía tour.

I volunteered with Fundación En Vía and came to deeply respect its tourism model and how it supports microfinance projects in the valley east of Oaxaca. The En Vía tours are affordable and take half a day. You’ll visit four to five of the women in the microfinance program and learn about their lives and how they use micro-loans to better their lives and the lives of their families.

One hundred percent of the tour fees go directly into the microlending program 2.5 times (once the money’s been lent and paid back twice, the third time half is used to fund the five full-time employees, and the other half remains in the loan pool). These tours are the single best way to learn about the indigenous cultures in this region of Mexico.

Take a mezcal tour into the valley.

You couldn’t do better than a tour with Omar Alonso, a local Oaxacan who runs food and mezcal tours in the city. Alvin runs educational mezcal tours in the region; these are small and less frequent than some, but you he offers fluent English, small groups, and a passion for the topic. Read Alvin’s story in this great piece.

Do some shopping.

From the alebrijes—intricately carved “spirit animals”— to incredible hand-woven wool rugs, there are a number of souvenirs that will beautifully speak to your time in Oaxaca. I am not one for accumulating a whole lot of stuff, but these are two items that show true artisanship and history, and they’d make a great gift or souvenir.

You can find these wool rugs anywhere, but Teotitlán del Valle is the most famous spot for its historical weaving designs. And if you buy a rug from one of the women in the En Via program, then you know the money is going toward a good cause—directly into the pocket of a woman entrepreneur supporting her family.

Learn how to make chocolate.

The CACAO Cooperative is a very small social enterprise still growing its business. For that reason, you’ll need to schedule a workshop through email and bring a couple of friends as it might be a private class just for your group—it’s family-friendly for kids as it’s very hands-on and interactive through most stages. The class used to be located in Huayapam, but it’s now conveniently offered in Oaxaca centro at La Auténtica Chocolatería, located in Crespo St. 319 (on the corner of Manuel Bravo St.).

It’s a fascinating process and you’ll prepare chocolate from scratch, roasting cacao beans, grinding, sweetening with neat ingredients, and then shaping the chocolate. A great way for chocolate lovers to learn the history of how cacao has shaped Mesoamerican history, as well as food sovereignty in the region and food as a social fabric.

The fair-trade mezcal offered for sale is also a fantastic souvenir. Only one of the partners speaks conversational English, so confirm ahead of time if you need the workshop conducted English.

Take a cooking class.

While there are many options in Oaxaca offering a great cooking class, El Sabor Zapotec is run by Reyna Mendoza, one of the women in the En Vía microfinance program, and it’s well done. Tours offer transport out to Teotitlán, where she lives and where she has a beautiful kitchen.

Oaxaca is renown for its cuisine, and it’s only become more famous in the past decade. Prioritize a cooking class if you have a love of food—you’ll learn a lot and have some of the best food of your trip!

Mow down at the Mercado 20 de Noviembre.

If you eat meat, there are people better suited to helping you suss out the local food scene—start here for a look at the exciting things happening in Oaxaca’s Mexican fusion food scene. If you missed it, I outline how to eat vegetarian in Oaxaca and share an extensive Oaxaca Travel Guide with more food safety tips.

That said, there were meat eaters in my expat group and we could all enjoy dinner at Mercado 20 de Noviembre.

Located just a couple of blocks south of the zócolo, this large market is the best place in town for cheap eats. Plan on eating dinner here and you’ll find tlayudas, tacos, and plenty of mole dishes.

Vendors also sell chocolate and bread—a staple drink/dessert and this is a good spot to try that too. There is a hall of meats in the market too, and stalls of spices, baskets of chilis, and loads of dry goods—it makes for an interesting wander even when not hungry.

Enjoy organic vegetarian eats.

And all the fancy fusion restaurants have at least one vegetarian item on the menu. But if you want to try some of the more famous aspects of Oaxacan cuisine—namely the moles, which are not inherently vegetarian—then you should head straight to Calabacitas Tiernas (Porfirio Díaz 1105).

La Jicara is the book shop that shares the premises, and this restaurant offers some of the more interesting vegetarian dishes on a rotating basis of what’s fresh and delicious at that time of year. My travel guide covers extensive information on how to eat vegetarian.

Dine at a fancy fusion restaurant.

Oaxaca is a good place to splurge because you can have a beautiful dining experience for a quarter the price of back home. The city is gaining a global reputation for the innovations chefs are making with the traditional flavors and signature Oaxaca dishes.

I recommend Los Danzantes or Catedral as the most vegetarian-friendly upscale restaurants. Casa Oaxaca is not a good bet for vegetarians, and I did not eat at Pitiona so I can’t weigh in there.

Eat the street food.

Even as a vegetarian I was able to mow down on street food, including delicious quesadillas with flor de calabaza (squash blossom flowers), tlayudas, esquites, and so much more.

When you’re walking around Oaxaca, slow down and pay attention to where the locals line up for lunch, snack time, and dinner. If you follow the crowds and eat at the same time of day as most locals, then eating street food is safe—you won’t get sick—and it offers incredible cultural insights.

Sip chocolate at Majordomo.

Everything you do in town need not be highbrow and fancy. Mayordomo is a Oaxaca institution. It’s a delightful experience for both chocolate enthusiasts and curious travelers alike.

This renowned establishment offers a unique opportunity to witness the traditional process of making Mexican hot chocolate, from roasting and grinding cacao beans to blending them with sugar and cinnamon.

Not only do you get to observe this fascinating process, but you also have the chance to savor the rich, aromatic flavors of freshly made hot chocolate, a quintessential Oaxacan delight.

Grab an artisanal coffee.

If you need a quick coffee, pop into one of the town’s Café Brújulas—they serve a very nice coffee and the berry muffins are rad. My favorite tiny spot is Alma de Cafe (Margarita Maza de Juárez 211-A)—the sisters who run it are so sweet and they have gorgeous salads alongside fresh-baked muffins and cookies.

Drink mezcal at least once.

You can find mezcal on most any menu in town, but it’s best enjoyed with friends in one of the city’s laid-back bars and roof-top spots. Mezcalarita is one good option (Macedonio Alcalá 706). Mezcalogía is perennially popular (García Vigil 509). And if you’re really into the drink, this list is better than many I’ve seen online.

Day Trips Around Oaxaca City

Having spent nearly six months in Oaxaca, I had plenty of time to visit the nearby towns and take the most common day trips. As a volunteer for a microfinance organization, I also spent more time than most tourists in a few of these places, so you’ll find café recommendations and additional details wherever I have them.

There are a ton of day trips in every direction from the city. I found this Oaxaca Mio map is the best visual way to sort the ruins, markets, and artisan towns that you’ll see referenced here, as well as in any other research you conduct.

All the trips I recommend below are day trips from Oaxaca City, but the map shows plenty that are ideal for a weekend or a stopover en route to somewhere else.

Monte Albán Ruins

Soaring blue sky and views far into the distance, Monte Alban is a dead-simple day trip from Oaxaca City and highly recommended. This spot was the most important Zapotec site for more than a thousand years. It dates back to 500 BC. The pyramids had similarities (the ball court) and differences (round columns) from the Maya pyramids you find in the Yucatán and in Guatemala. This was the political center of Zapotec society, with the nearby Mitla ruins providing the religious center.

How to Get to Monte Albán Ruins

The easiest way to get to Monte Alban is to take a bus from Oaxaca Center, just west of the zócolo. Buses leave regularly throughout the day and for less than $5 it buys you a round-trip ticket. The ticket agent will explain when the buses return and you simply hand the driver your second ticket. It’s a quick 20 minute bus ride out town (a bit longer if you’re leaving during rush hour) and up into the nearby mountains.

Plan on spending at least an hour and a half to tour the ruins and the on-site museum. Bring a guidebook or download the information on your phone beforehand as the information and signage is thin throughout the site. Round trip, the entire experience will take you a few hours.

Hierve el Agua

This is one of the prettiest day trips outside of Oaxaca City. For a few years, this day trip was closed to tourists. As of January 2024, it remains open! Research before you go to confirm that it’s still open. The name translates to “the water boils” in Spanish and it’s a calcified waterfall that rains down the side of a mountain.

There are also gorgeous pools of icy-blue water and a few gorgeous viewpoints above it all. Small springs feed the pools of water, which is full of calcium carbonate and minerals, causing cool, variegated pools of green and turquoise. It’s all swimmable and it’s a little like a nature-made infinity pool with views over the mountains.

This day trip is 1.5 hours outside of Oaxaca and you have three options to get there. Take a day tour, take a colectivo, or rent a private taxi. I went with a group of friends and we used a fantastic driver named Ivan, who took us out to the ruins and also stopped at a couple other sites on the way back into town. Jodi’s thorough post on Hierve el Agua shares the history of this pretty spot..

El Tule Tree

This Montezuma Cypress is the stoutest tree in the world. It measures in at a whopping 137.8 ft circumference.

The Árbol del Tule is located just outside of Oaxaca City and sits in a quiet church courtyard, which is an ancient sacred site. Local Zapotec legend dates the tree to about 1,400 years old, but estimates vary and some date it to 3,000 years even.

Sadly, as this area grows the tree has begun to show signs of dying. Pollution, traffic, and water shortages have caused the tree to show signs of stress. It’s sad to think after several millennia that this site might be felled by inadvertent human influence.

How to Get to Santa Maria del Tule

Santa Maria del Tule, the town holding the tree, is very close to Oaxaca centro and it’s affordable to take a taxi there, or easy to visit via colectivo, too. Head to the colectivo spot in the northeast of Oaxaca and then wait for a colectivo to pass that has “Santa Maria del Tule” on the side.

You can also catch one from Abastos market if that is closer to your accommodation. These colectivos, shared taxi, leave when full. If it sets out partially full then it will stop along the way and pick up other passengers, but it will eventually drop you near the Tule tree before turning around and heading back to Oaxaca City. The entrance fee is nominal and the tiny restaurants nearby offer cool drinks and either quesadilla or empanadas.

Teotitlán del Valle

Teotitlán is another easy day trip from Oaxaca, and the best place to go if you’re keen to buy a tapete, the gorgeous hand-woven rugs you see all over town. This town has a long history of weaving and you won’t lack for options. The majority of the population is Zapotec and they speak this as their first language, although all the vendors will speak to you in Spanish (don’t count on much English).

There is a great coffee shop in the town center, Dulizun—tasty coffee, free Wi-Fi, and they can often whip up a vegetarian tlayuda on request. But if you’re hungry, head to Artesanías Jaguar Cafe, which is a better bet for a filling meal. Isabel will easily handle your request for interesting vegetarian food, and she also serves delicious meat dishes if that’s your thing.

The women running both of these establishments are En Vía borrowers from the microfinance program I volunteered with while I lived in Oaxaca. If you’re in town during the morning hours, the covered market in town bustles with activity and always makes for an affordable breakfast. Prices on textiles are slightly more competitive than anywhere in Oaxaca Centro since you’re closer to the source and rents are lower.

How to Get to Teotitlán del Valle

Take a colectivo to the town (about 20 pesos and leaves from northeast colectivo spot. Instructions on catching a colectivo are in the transportation section above) and it drops you on the main road in town, it’s just a two-minute walk to the church (orient yourself by looking for the large church towers, or look for the signs pointing to Mercado de Artesanías) and as you walk toward the church you are in the heart of town. The bus drops you at the crucero and you will take a colectivo five minutes into town.

Once there, you’ll see countless small shops selling rugs, textiles, and various souvenirs. Bargain respectfully if you’re buying anything. Colectivos leave from that same main road and nearly all of them head directly to Oaxaca Centro.

If you are having a hard time finding a ride back or if you’re in a hurry, take one of the tiny mototaxis to the “crucero,” which is the highway crossing, and flag down a passing colectivo. To get dropped near the same spot you left, tell the driver “estadio de béisbol” and “la prepa“. They will understand you want to return to the northeast corner of town.

Zona Arqueológica Mitla

If you’re keen to see additional ruins, Mitla is less popular than Monte Albán, but a beautiful set of ruins with many parts restored to resemble what it might have looked like in the heyday. The ruins date back to about the 1520s, but the inhabitants date back as far as 100 CE, and maybe even further, to 900 BCE according to some estimates. This was the religious heart of the Zapotec civilization in the area before the Spanish arrived.

Intricate geometric patterns cover the ruins, and it’s these patterns that you see replicated in the textiles in this part of Mexico. Locals pull inspiration from their artisanal history passed on throughout generations and echoed in the geometric patterns still visible on the ruins at Mitla.

The site is located 45km southeast of Oaxaca, and perhaps easiest to visit combined with the trip to Hierve el Agua if you are renting a car. You could also catch a colectivo or bus from Abastos market or the northeast colectivo spot, you may not get a direct one, in which case you will change at Tlacolula.

The Monastery of Santiago Apóstol in Cuilapan de Guerrero

If you’re visiting Oaxaca for several days, this makes for another interesting day-trip. It’s one of the ones I kick myself for not visiting while I was living there. Once known for manufacturing cochineal, which is still an important dye for indigenous crafts, the monastery is set on a hillside and is gorgeous by all accounts. You can catch a colectivo from Abastos, or take a taxi since it’s just 12km outside of the city center.

How to Visit Oaxaca

Use my comprehensive Oaxaca Travel Guide to actually plan your trip—where to go, how to get around, the best booking platforms, and even extensive information on sustainable tourism in the region.

Where to Stay

Midrange: La Betulia is a cute B&B is run by the owners of En Vía, the social enterprise I volunteered with while I lived in Oaxaca. It was beautifully renovated and makes a nice, central spot from which to wander the city. Also beautiful is the family-run El Diablo y La Sandía, where the little touches and friendly service make the place unique in a city of many accommodation options.

Budget: Casa Angel Hostel is hands-down the best hostel option in town. I visited a friend staying here in a private room and it looked great — clean, spacious, and newly updated. There is a full kitchen and free Wi-Fi and there was always a good backpacker vibe in the common room. Book on Booking.com for the best rates.

Upscale. If you’ve got some cash or a special occasion, there are two spots to consider. Hotel La Casona de Tita is quiet and well-appointed with homey comforts and breakfast features homemade jams. Casa de las Bugambilias gets top marks from guests and magazines alike for its small charms and gorgeous bedrooms.

How to Get Around Oaxaca

Navigating Oaxaca involves well-maintained major roads, ideal for reaching most destinations, though be prepared for winding routes in this mountainous area. For shorter trips, colectivos (shared taxis) are a practical choice, congregating at Abastos market and other city spots.

The northeastern colectivo launching point, useful for day trips, is easily located near a McDonald’s right here. Colectivos are affordable, costing 10-25 pesos, but local buses, safer yet less convenient, are an alternative, especially if you’re familiar with Spanish and local stops.

In Oaxaca City, taxis offer a flat fee, making them a convenient option for late-night returns. However, the city is largely walkable, allowing for easy exploration on foot.

For longer journeys, including trips from Mexico City or Puebla, Bookaway provides a comprehensive guide to routes, including public transport and private or shared shuttle transfers. The Ado bus network, extensive and ideal for budget travel, also connects various destinations efficiently. And if you have rent a car, I always find good deals on RentalCars.com, but I avoid renting cars in Mexico because of the enormous fees tacked onto every rental.

Best pre-reading: Sliced Iguana: Travels in Mexico gives a light touch to all the history and culture she talks about while retelling her journey. It’s a fun read.