How to Spend 5 Days in Oaxaca (Updated 2023)

Posted: 6/23/23 | June twenty third, 2023

Oaxaca is one in all my favourite cities. From the second I first visited, I knew this was a spot I’d return to repeatedly and once more. I’ve been half a dozen instances now, even main excursions across the metropolis.

Located in southwestern Mexico in a valley surrounded by craggy mountains, Oaxaca has been inhabited for hundreds of years by indigenous Zapotec and Mixtec peoples. Today, it’s a middle for meals, mezcal manufacturing, and artisan textiles and pottery, and incorporates a wealthy historical past, owing to locations like Monte Albán and Mitla.

Take all that historical past, meals, and drink, and bundle it in a spot brimming with colourful buildings, scenic rooftop eating places and bars, distinctive avenue artwork, and picturesque parks, and it’s no shock so many individuals — myself included — love Oaxaca.

Since I’ve visited this metropolis loads, that can assist you plan your journey, I put collectively this five-day Oaxaca itinerary. It covers all of the highlights, my favourite issues to see and do, and a few off-the-beaten-path actions too!

Oaxaca Itinerary: Day 1

Take a free strolling tour
One of the primary issues I do after I go to a brand new place is take a free strolling tour. They’re one of the simplest ways to see the principle sights, get launched to the tradition, and meet an area who can reply all of your questions and provide you with ideas.

My favourite firm right here is Oaxaca Free Walking Tour. They supply free day by day excursions that present you the hidden gems and what life is like for residents. I can’t suggest them sufficient if it’s your first time right here. Just be sure that to tip your information on the finish!

See the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán
While in downtown Oaxaca, don’t miss stopping on this advanced, which incorporates a Seventeenth-century Baroque Roman Catholic church, a cultural museum, and a botanical backyard. Originally used as a Dominican church and monastery, this photogenic website was later used as a barracks and navy constructing throughout Mexico’s revolution (1910–1920) all the way in which into the Nineties.

While right here, see the Museo de las Culturas, which is house to all types of non secular and pre-Columbian artifacts. The “Treasures of Monte Albán” exhibition showcases over 400 relics from a Mixtec tomb that is among the most necessary burial websites in Mesoamerica, together with a cranium lined in turquoise, carved bone objects, weaving instruments, and jewellery product of gold and jade. It is by far top-of-the-line issues to do on the town. Expect to spend a few hours in the complete advanced.

C. Macedonio Alcalá S/N. The Museo de las Culturas is open Tuesday-Friday 10am-3pm. Admission to the church is free, whereas the museum is 85 MXN.

Wander town and admire the road artwork
Oaxaca has a wealth of avenue artwork, starting from political items commenting on social points to murals targeted on indigenous tradition and historical past. The areas of Xochilmilco and Jalatlaco are two of the perfect for murals. You also can be part of a avenue artwork bike tour supplied by Coyote Aventuras (850 MXN) for an much more in-depth look.

Try a street-stall hamburguesa
After a busy day of exploring, feast on an hamburguesa for dinner. It’s a burger topped with a scorching canine, sliced cheese, Oaxaca cheese, ham, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, and jalapeño. I do know it’s bizarre to incorporate this however belief me, you’ll need one. And it’s not made for Gringos and vacationers both. Locals devour these. It began right here. You’ll see stalls throughout city however Cangreburguer close to Santo Domingo sells top-of-the-line.

Oaxaca Itinerary: Day 2

Explore Mercado 20 de Noviembre
This Nineteenth-century lined market has many sorts of scrumptious avenue meals and recent, native produce. It’s additionally my favourite on the town. Named after the beginning date of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, this large market has every little thing and is absolutely good for grilled meats. Also close by is the Mercado Benito Juárez. It has a bunch of meals stalls and retailers price shopping if in case you have extra time.

20 de Noviembre 512. Open day by day 7am-9pm. Admission is free.

Stroll by the Botanical Garden
Located within the former convent within the aforementioned Santo Domingo de Guzmán advanced, the Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca was based in 1994 and opened to the general public in 1999. Spanning six acres, it options crops from throughout the state (a lot of which have been transplanted right here, for the reason that backyard is so younger). In addition to the flowers, timber, and cacti that dot the backyard, there are additionally sculptures and artworks.

Admission is by guided tour solely and there is just one English tour per day (supplied at 11am), which has solely 25 spots and fills up shortly so you’ll want to arrive early to seize your spot.

Reforma Sur, Ruta Independencia. Open Monday-Saturday 10am-3:30pm. Admission is by guided tour solely. Admission (together with the tour) is 50 MXN for Spanish excursions and 100 MXN for English ones.

Learn about mezcal
I like mezcal (which is among the the explanation why I like Oaxaca). This is the birthplace of mezcal, a spirit distilled from agave. Unlike tequila, which can be created from agave, when making mezcal, the guts of the plant is cooked in a pit within the floor earlier than it’s crushed. Then water is added, and it’s allowed to ferment. Since the plant is cooked, mezcal has a a lot smokier taste than tequila.

If you wish to study extra about this common (and scrumptious) spirit, Rambling Spirits runs the perfect mezcal excursions in Oaxaca. Go with them if you wish to study extra. Their guides have unbelievable data and might take you to locations the larger excursions can’t. I discovered a ton on this tour and extremely suggest it! Most excursions depart after lunch so it’s an ideal option to spend the rest of your day.

Additionally, you possibly can pop into one of many many mezcalerías on the town to style and study extra concerning the area’s favourite spirit. My private favorites are Los Amantes Mezcalería, Mezcalogia, Tres Hermanas, Mezcalería In Situ, and Comere.

Oaxaca Itinerary: Day 3

See Monte Albán
This website is a pre-Columbian UNESCO World Heritage Site positioned simply quarter-hour outdoors city (with common shuttles to and from downtown). Founded within the sixth century BCE, Monte Albán was one of many earliest Mesoamerican cities and an necessary sociopolitical and financial middle for nearly a thousand years.

Start your go to by stopping in on the museum, because it’ll provide you with context, particularly in case you’re not on a guided tour. Then, wander the sprawling website at your leisure, climbing historic Zapotec pyramids and admiring the tombs, terraces, and canals that span a number of miles. The website takes about 2-3 hours to go to, relying in your tempo. Bring a hat and sunscreen, as there isn’t a lot shade.

Ignacio Bernal S/N, San Pedro Ixtlahuaca. Open day by day 10am-4pm. Admission is 90 MXN.

Take a meals tour
Upon returning to town, discover the culinary scene with a guided meals tour. Oaxaca is taken into account probably the most necessary hubs for gastronomy in Mexico. My favourite tour firm is Oaxaca Eats, which runs a number of excursions, most of which final round 4 hours. You’ll get to pattern over 20 dishes and study a ton concerning the meals and its historical past. It’s one of many oldest meals tour corporations on the town and run by a stunning native lady with a ardour for meals.

Tour costs differ however count on to spend 2,000 MXN.

Oaxaca Itinerary: Day 4

Swim at Hierve el Agua
Hierve el Agua is one in all Mexico’s most lovely pure websites and a sacred place for the indigenous Zapotec individuals. These petrified waterfalls appear frozen in time — they usually virtually are, as they’ve been within the making for hundreds of years. As water from pure springs flows over the aspect of the cliffs, the minerals from the water create rock formations, a lot in the identical method that stalactites kind in caves. Bring your swimsuit, as you possibly can bathe within the pure and artifical swimming pools on the prime!

In addition to admiring the calcified cliffs, there are additionally hikes within the space, which is an efficient option to get away from the crowds.

Open day by day 7am-6:30pm. Admission is 50 MXN.

Explore Mitla
Another historic website that I believe is a must-see, this pre-Columbian UNESCO World Heritage Site was one of many primary spiritual and non secular hubs for the indigenous Zapotec and Mixtec individuals. Used as a sacred burial floor and believed to be a gateway between the realms of the residing and the lifeless, Mitla was inbuilt 850 CE however was largely destroyed by the Spanish within the mid-Sixteenth century. However, some buildings had been left intact (a few of which date way back to 400 CE), which you’ll be able to discover in your go to to the archaeological website, which stands out from different Mesoamerican ruins because of the mosaics protecting the tombs and partitions. It’s one other website I at all times take individuals to see after I information them across the metropolis.

Open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm, Sunday 10am-2pm. Admission is 90 MXN whereas skip-the-line tickets are 160 MXN.

Oaxaca Itinerary: Day 5

On your final day, decide and select from a handful of actions, relying in your funds and journey fashion:

Visit Oaxaca’s artisan cities
Scattered all through the state of Oaxaca are small folk-art villages, the place you possibly can meet artisans, see how conventional items are made, and convey again a memento of your travels in case you select. Each village focuses on a unique craft: Teotitlán del Valle is thought for its textiles, San Bartolo Coyotepec for black pottery, and San Martín Tilcajete and San Antonio Arrazola for (brightly coloured fantastical animal sculptures), to call only a few.

Experience a temazcal
On your final night in Oaxaca, wind down at a temazcal (that means “house of heat”), a conventional Zapotec sweat lodge. You’ll sit in a small domed hut that turns into more and more hotter. You’ll rub every little thing from clay to recent fruit juices and peels in your pores and skin as you warmth up, cooling down by dunking your self in chilly water. It’s a really meditative, non secular expertise with quite a few well being advantages.

Visits often final an hour and value round 600 MXN.

Wander the Sunday market
If you’re on the town on a Sunday, you’ll want to go to Mercado Tlacolula, probably the most common markets within the area. It’s been in operation for hundreds of years and is an efficient place to purchase native crafts, produce, meals, and every little thing in between. It’s positioned 45 minutes outdoors of city, so that you’ll have to drive there or take the bus, nevertheless it’s completely well worth the journey. Thousands of individuals come right here, and there’s tons of fantastic meals to strive. Don’t skip the barbacoa (stewed meat) and chicharrón (fried pork rinds)!

Admire the world’s widest tree
Just 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the middle of Oaxaca, within the humble city of Santa María del Tule, is the world’s widest tree. Estimated to be 1,500-3,000 years outdated, this Montezuma cypress (Mexico’s nationwide tree) has a diameter of about 14 meters (46 toes) and is an impressive sight to behold.

Oaxaca shortly turns into a favourite of everybody who visits and lots of people ending up coming again time and again. There’s loads to see and do right here. This itinerary is jus ta normal define as there are tons of little museums, church buildings, experiences, and markets you’ll find by yourself.

Use this itinerary to see the highlights and fill in the remainder of your time with some wandering!