How to Spend a Long Weekend in Oaxaca
Our first parents-only getaway after our daughter was born was to a destination that’s been on our list for a very long time — Oaxaca City!
We’ve loved all our travels to Mexico together — Mexico City, Ensenada, Tulum for my 30th birthday — and couldn’t wait to visit one of the cultural and culinary hearts of the country. We went for three full days over Memorial Day weekend and feel like we did a pretty good job getting to know the area in such a short time, although we would have loved to stay for much longer! Check out our tips on what to do, where to stay, where to eat, and what we would’ve done if we had more time in Oaxaca City, Mexico.
BEST TIME TO GO TO OAXACA
The best time to visit Oaxaca is generally during the dry season, from October until April. The rainy season is from May until September and can also be a good time to visit Oaxaca to avoid crowds. We went at the end of May — over Memorial Day weekend — and only got a couple brief, light rain showers.
GETTING TO AND AROUND OAXACA
We flew Aeromexico from Denver to Oaxaca International Airport with a brief layover in Mexico City. Just the weekend before, thousands of people had been stranded at Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City due to the ongoing eruption of Popocatépetl (El Popo) volcano. We thought our chances of making it to Oaxaca were slim to none, but surprisingly our flights went without a hitch. We even got to see the smoking volcano from the plane on our return flight.
Once you’re in Oaxaca, you can hail taxis to get around as long as you’re prepared to speak basic Spanish. You can also hire drivers through your hotel. You can request an English-speaking guide if you go this route but keep in mind that the hotel will take a cut so prices can be twice as much. Since we arrived later at night, we arranged airport pickup through our hotel so we wouldn’t have to worry about it. Then, we got our driver’s number to arrange future trips with him directly.
OAXACA BUDGET BREAKDOWN
At the time of this post, 1 USD = 16.83 Mexican pesos. Coming from the US, everything from our accommodations to our meals to artisan goods felt like a really good deal. That said, some of the nicer dining experiences and guided tours in Oaxaca were priced only slightly lower than they would have been at home.
Here’s how our Oaxaca trip costs broke down.
Parking at Denver airport: $86
Round trip flights from Denver to Oaxaca: $759 (~$380 per person)
4 nights at Boulenc Bed and Bread: $582 ($145.50 per night)
Airport pickup and ride to hotel (arranged via hotel): $45
2.5-hour food tour in Abastos market: $130 (~$65 per person)
All day tour and driver: $120 (~$20 / hr)
1-hour mezcal tasting: $78 ($39 per person)
Ride to airport (arranged directly with driver): $30
Other (dining and souvenirs): $395
Total: $2,225 ($1,112 per person)
WHERE TO STAY IN OAXACA
We stayed at Boulenc Bed and Bread, a beautiful boutique hotel in the heart of Oaxaca City, conveniently located above Boulenc bakery and restaurant. Overall we loved our stay there!
The pros: Great location walking distance from all the main attractions and restaurants in town, complimentary french press coffee and pastries from the bakery every morning and tapas every afternoon, gorgeous decor and local art, and the absolute best plant-covered rooftop terrace with a view — amazing for enjoying breakfast and lounging with tapas and wine after a long day.
The cons: It’s on a street with a lot of bars, so many of the reviews mention that the rooms with street-facing windows are noisy at night. We got an interior room so we didn’t deal with noise issues, but interior rooms feel darker and less inviting since they don’t get the benefit of natural light. So not sure which one we would’ve preferred! Maybe the interior room since we only spent time there at night!
If we get the chance to go back, we’d like to stay at Casa Antonieta next time as we’ve heard amazing things about this female-owned business.
WHERE TO EAT & DRINK IN OAXACA
And now for the main event. As one of the culinary capitals of Mexico (and the world), we couldn’t wait to taste all the traditional flavors of Oaxaca. Here’s where we ate and where we would have gone if we had more time.
Food Tour in the Abastos Market
The Mercado Central de Abastos is one of the largest markets in Mexico, spanning over 800 acres. Stalls such as Memelas Doña Vale have even become famous thanks to Netflix shows like Somebody Feed Phil. While it’s possible to use Google Maps to find some of the most famous stalls, one thing we learned in Mexico City is that a guide can be invaluable in the local markets. In a market so huge, it’d be impossible to pick out the most delicious and trustworthy stalls without someone who knows the market through and through. Plus it would be so easy to get lost in the winding, busy paths! Enter our guide, Javier! Javier grew up in Oaxaca and took us to stalls and vendors his family has known for decades. We tried Oaxacan empanadas with different types of mole, seasoned crickets (chapulines), goat barbacoa tacos, mezcal, the famed Doña Vale memelas and hot chocolate, and more! We were honestly so stuffed we wished there were a few fewer stops on the tour. You can book Javier’s food tour on Airbnb here.
Levadura de Olla Restaurante
C. de Manuel García Vigil 304, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax., Mexico | Website
That night we hit another spot that was featured on Somebody Feed Phil, Levadura de Olla. Here, owner and head chef Thalia Barrios showcases the flavors and cooking styles native to her pueblo, San Mateo Yucutindoo, located in the southern mountains of Oaxaca. The famous native tomato dish was the star of the show for us. Dozens of tomatoes of all hues and flavors — from tart to sweet — arranged beautifully on a bed of beetroot puree. The cocktails also had fresh and delicious flavor profiles but were on the small side. Sadly, the dining room felt a bit bright and commercial for us compared to the immaculate vibes of some other Oaxaca restaurants and bars — and even the service felt impersonal and rushed. We also didn’t love our entrees — we got mole-based dishes and we are just not the biggest mole fans despite trying it many times since it’s a staple of Oaxacan cuisine. We loved the less common green and yellow mole on our food tour that morning, which had us feeling confident, but black and coloradito mole were not our favorite. If we went back, we might try Levadura for lunch. We’d definitely stick with the tomato dish, but maybe venture into some of the other soups and veggie-based dishes that we’ve heard great things about.
The iconic Levadura de Olla celebration of tomatoes.
Crudo
Av Benito Juárez #309, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax., Mexico | Instagram
This feels kind of strange to say because the locals don’t identify Crudo as a representative of traditional Oaxacan cuisine, but it was by far our favorite dinner of the trip. This tiny omakase restaurant combines Japanese cuisine with Oaxacan flavors to bring you one of Oaxaca’s most unique dining experiences. We enjoyed eight outstanding courses that we wish we could try again immediately! When you make a reservation at Crudo, you can choose from two experiences — private room (a 6-seater where you may be served by Chef Ricardo Arellano himself) or “La Casa” (a 10-seater). We booked La Casa, and our omakase meal was around $81 per person, half of which is due as a deposit upon booking. We ended up bonding with the rest of the group and hanging out with them afterwards. It was a super special experience!
Tlacolula Sunday Market
Tlacolula de Matamoros is a town 45 minutes away from Oaxaca City, and it hosts one of the oldest continuous markets in Oaxaca. Every Sunday, hundreds of vendors set up at the market to sell food, trinkets, home goods, and handmade traditional wares, and thousands of locals flock to do their weekly shopping. We went to the market after our visit to Hierve el Agua (more on that later) so we were hangry and made a beeline straight to the grill area towards the back. There, you can grab fresh meat and veggies to toss on one of dozens of grills. We grilled up some carne asada, sausage, peppers and onions and enjoyed them with tortillas, hot sauce and agua frescas.
Some other traditional food and drinks to enjoy at the market include: barbacoa (stewed goat or lamb), chicharrón (fried pork rinds), nieves (water-based ice cream), tejate (a cornflower and cacao drink), and more.
Lunch at the Tlacolula Sunday Market
Los Danzantes
C. Macedonio Alcalá 403-interior 4, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax., Mexico | Website
Our last dinner of the trip was at Los Danzantes, which boasts a beautiful open air dining room complete with hanging vines and water features. According to their website, Los Danzantes prides themselves on socially responsible and zero waste philosophies, and utilizes traditional Oaxacan cooking styles and local ingredients in innovative ways. We enjoyed fresh fruit cocktails, yellowfin tuna tostadas, fish and pasta dishes, and the famed guacamole with Oaxacan bugs which made us feel like Timon & Pumba (but was surprisingly delicious).
Eatin’ bugs
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This might just be us, but compared to Mexico City which also has an amazing culinary scene, we felt that the flavors of Oaxacan cuisine were a bit more subdued and we enjoyed our meals in CDMX more overall. That said, Oaxaca’s mezcal and cocktail scene was next level. Here were a few of our favorite stops…
Mezcaloteca
Reforma No. 506, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax., Mexico | Website
The biodiversity of agave found in Oaxaca is greater than anywhere else in the world, making it a prime destination for mezcal. We first tried mezcal in Mexico City. For Ray, it was love at first sip but for Sam it was more of an acquired taste. We both love it now, and wanted a special mezcal tasting experience. Enter Mezcaloteca, the original mezcal tasting room in Oaxaca founded in 2010. As evidenced by the name, the bar looks more like a library (biblioteca), and is equipped with a collection of mezcales from all over Mexico. Our guide asked us a series of like a dozen questions each to get to know our tastes (it was honestly kind of intimidating) and then tailored the experience to us. You can try either 3 or 5 mezcals (of course we tried 5) over the course of an hour, while going deep on the different types of agave plants, distilling methods, and distillers themselves. Did we retain all of the info? Definitely not. But still a fun private experience and a must-do!
Selva Oaxaca
Calle Macedonio Alcalá #403-int. 6, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax., Mexico | Website
Selva means jungle, and it’s a perfect name for this cocktail bar on the second floor of Los Danzantes restaurant. The focus is on local ingredients traditionally used in Oaxacan healing, with those aromas, flavors, and textures playing into the rotating menu of drinks — heavy on mezcal — by co-founder and beverage director Alexandra Purcaru.
Selva Oaxaca
Sabina Sabe
5 de Mayo 209, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax., Mexico | Facebook
Sabina Sabe was included on the list of the World’s 50 Best Bars, and in our eyes it lives up to the hype. Sabina Sabe boasts one of the largest mezcal menus in the world. First we tried mezcal cocktails, and then we moved on to espresso martinis for our second round which were also beautifully done.
WHAT TO DO IN OAXACA
We usually have a limited amount of time in a new city, so we like to jam-pack our itinerary with as many experiences as possible to really get to know it. This trip was no different! Despite only having three days, we did a pretty solid job exploring Oaxaca City and the surrounding areas. Here’s everything we did, and what we would have done if we had more time.
Visit local markets and take a food tour
The heart of any culture beats in its markets, and they’re important places to get a feel for a city. While we recommend a food tour as seen in the food section above — especially in the Abastos market — it’s important to visit the local markets no matter how you do it. Some of the top markets to visit in Oaxaca City are Mercado Benito Juarez, Mercado 20 de Noviembre, Mercado Orgánico El Pochote, and of course Mercado Central de Abastos.
Wander the city center
There’s plenty to see in Oaxaca’s city center, although you can probably do it all in a day. Walk along Calle Macedonia Alcala — the city’s main thoroughfare — from the Zocalo (town square) to the iconic Santo Domingo de Guzman church, which has an attached art and cultural museum. Then, visit the Oaxaca Botanical Gardens right next door. You’ll find plenty of shopping, sightseeing, eating and drinking in the Oaxaca city center.
Walk around Jalatlaco
Jalatlaco is a vibrant and charming small neighborhood just a 10 minute walk from Oaxaca’s city center. Its cobblestone streets, colorful murals, bougainvillea flowers, and papel picado hanging overhead make it an idyllic spot to spend a morning or afternoon wandering around grabbing ice cream or coffee. While Jalatlaco has definitely gained popularity as a tourist attraction in Oaxaca, we didn’t see many tourists and got more of a local feel. From quick research, there actually aren’t many popular restaurants in Jalatlaco. We stopped for lunch at a local cafe and then got ice cream at a place called Dark Heladeria which boasts black sesame ice cream and a spooky vibe. Most of all, we just loved walking around seeing the colorful murals covering every wall in sight. We came across a local artisan market in Jalatlaco where we purchased some beautiful white onyx shot glasses. We even ran into a local wedding at the church in the main plaza, and weddings in Oaxaca are a must-see! There’s traditionally a wedding parade with a marching band and giant paper mache replicas of the bride and groom, manned by people on stilts! So happy we got to witness it!
Monte Albán
Monte Albán is a UNESCO World Heritage site located just outside Oaxaca. It’s an ancient living complex that was inhabited by various cultures (Olmecs, Zapotecs, Mixtecs) over an estimated period of 1,500 years beginning around 500 BC. We spent about an hour and a half there which required us to make a quick circuit…including climbing to the top of both large temples in the main plaza as Ray insisted. Having been to Teotihuacan outside of Mexico City, Bagan in Myanmar, Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Tikal in Guatemala, and many small temple complexes, our expectations were low for Monte Albán, which we had never heard of before visiting Oaxaca. That said, we were blown away by the size, the large temples that you’re still allowed to climb (this privilege is being stripped slowly from many of the world’s archaeological sites, for good reason), the detailed, well-preserved carvings, and the nice views of surrounding valleys. We wouldn’t recommend a tour unless you’re really into diving deep into the history and architecture (we’re more of Wikipedia it and go people for something like this), but it’s definitely worth a visit! We ordered a taxi through our hotel and arranged with him to meet us back in the parking lot at a specific time.
Hierve el Agua
Hierve el Agua is a set of natural travertine rock formations in San Lorenzo Albarradas — about an hour and half from Oaxaca City — that resemble waterfalls. According to Wikipedia, these formations are created by fresh water springs that are oversaturated with minerals. As the water trickles over the cliffs, the excess minerals are deposited, similar to how stalactites are formed in caves. Hierve el Agua is fully set up as a destination that attracts many locals and tourists alike. Upon paying a small entry fee and arriving at the parking lot, you first encounter an area with bathrooms, an artificial pool on the cliff edge (which was not filled at the time we visited), and vendors selling snacks and drinks. We noticed most local families stocking up on food and drinks in preparation to spend time at the falls, so we followed suit and grabbed some cold beers. You then walk down a steep path to an area of small natural pools you can also swim in. The waterfall formations are located on the steep cliffside below, and you can take a short hike over to the overlook near the biggest one. We didn’t bring our swimsuits, so after walking around for awhile in the hot sun and fully checking out the area, we made the steep climb back up to the parking lot. Hierve el Agua is definitely cool, but we didn’t expect just how isolated it is. We drove on windy dirt roads through some tiny villages to get there, and didn’t prepare to spend much time swimming. We’re glad we saw it, but probably wouldn’t take the time out to go back for a second visit.
If we had more time…local artisan villages and mezcal distilleries
We hired a driver for the full day to take us to the Tlacoluya Sunday Market and Hierve el Agua. Our intent was to also stop at Teotitlan del Valle (a local village known for artisan woven goods) and a mezcal distillery. However, after hiking around on a super hot day at Hierve el Agua and roaming the busy market, grilling our lunch and eating it in the heat, we were so tired we decided to head back to Oaxaca City and enjoy some wine and tapas on our hotel rooftop before getting freshened up for dinner.
Knowing how tired we were, I still fully support our decision looking back. However, Teotitlan del Valle and other artisan villages near Oaxaca are definitely a must if you’re in the area, and if we go back we will make visiting them a priority. We’d love to support the local craftsmen and women in the area and bring back some beautiful wares for our home.
Since we did an elaborate mezcal tasting at the Mezcaloteca tasting room, we didn’t feel bad about skipping the distillery. We were a little worried about how tourist-trappy it might be since we didn’t hand-pick which distillery we wanted to go to and were planning to let our driver choose. So, we can’t speak to that but if you have extra time, it would be cool to tour a distillery and enjoy mezcal closer to where it gets made.
That’s a wrap on our first parents trip after baby. We’re looking forward to more of those, plus many more family trips with our daughter in tow in the future!
Oaxaca questions? Tips of your own? Comment here or on our latest IG post.
Happy travels!
