8 DAYS IN OAXACA | NOVEMBER 2019
OPTIMAL TIMES OF YEAR FOR THIS ITINERARY: Anytime July - March (avoid super hot rainy months of April / May / June). Great wintertime getaway to find some sun!
NOTE ON THIS ITINERARY: We took this fairly leisurely, with lots of much needed “recharge time” on this vacation. This same itinerary could feasibly be done in 4-5 days (then combine it with Mexico City or one of the Oaxacan beaches, 1 hour plane ride away - Puerto Escondido or Huatulco).
INTERACTIVE GOOGLE MAP: All of the recommendations on this itinerary (and extra bonus ones) are pinned in the map embedded here that you’re welcome to copy over into your own google maps and customize to your own liking. You can also click on any of the dots once in Google map view to read a little blurb about each spot. Yellow = lodging, Green = activity, Blue = food.
Day 1: Arrive in Oaxaca!
Recommended to fly into OAX airport. Snag a ticket from the one official taxi booth that will be obvious on the right hand side as soon as you leave baggage claim (just before stepping outside). I recommend this Airbnb (for 1 or 2 people) in particular because the hosts are amazing, the water is purified, there is both heat AND air conditioning (a rarity), and is in a super perfect location. But any other Airbnb close-ish to this one is also fine.
You likely had to take at LEAST two flights to get here, so you’ll probably be exhausted! Evening relaxed dinner stroll to Los Danzantes. You will likely be fine without a reservation to sit in the lounge area (or can make a reservation in advance for a table).
Day 2: Authentic breakfast, Spanish class, and rooftop evening
Morning: La Cosecha, or “Organic Harvest Market” on Google maps, is a cute local breakfast market where elderly women will serve you anything of your choosing! Fresh juices, smoothies, quesadillas, tacos, eggs, etc. - take your pick!
Afternoon: No matter what level of Spanish you are, whether it’s a conversational brush-up or a beginner’s guide to food, contact Becari Conzatti Spanish language school a week or so before your trip and schedule a private 1:1 lesson (only ~$11!). If you like it, you can always book more later in the trip!
Evening: Enjoy Casa Oaxaca’s beautiful rooftop restaurant - salsa and guac made right at your table, and traditional food while overlooking the church (reservation required).
Day 3: Teotitlan Day Trip + Famous Dinner
Half day trip: Teotitlan is only a ~35 minute drive from the city center, and will give you a flavor of the artisan communities in the area. Teotitlan is known for textiles and candles. We booked this Airbnb experience and loved meeting really authentic rug making artisans, candle-making artisans, and exploring the tiny small community (including the town’s art gallery). There are other artisan villages (example: Taller David Hernandez, known for alebrijes), which are a bit farther away.
Dinner: Save your appetite for an artisinal 5-course dinner at Criollo, a restaurant by Enrique Olvera, who is the chef behind the most celebrated restaurant in Mexico City (Pujol). Criollo is on an unassuming out-of-the-way stretch of Avenida de la Independencia in 2016. Be sure to try 1-2 of their mezcal cocktails, too! Set menu dinner for two + two cocktails each = $160 USD.
Day 4: Cooking School
Morning exercise: By now you’ve gotten a sense of the town; there are several running routes where you can get a solid 3 mile jog in with minimal stoplights / traffic. Many people also run laps around “El Llano” park.
Cooking school + market tour: Enjoy the market tour + cooking class at La Olla, a full day that begins with a market tour and ends with a lunch feast! The female chef is extraordinary and this is a super cute, authentic restaurant with a beautiful rooftop.
Day 5: Ceramics and mezcal
Brunch: Long walk or short taxi to Pan : Am, a stone courtyard set with multicolored Acapulco chairs and equipped with an excellent in-house bakery. Try the avocado toast on fresh baked English muffin or the queso en salsa, and enjoy fresh pastries!
Ceramics for your kitchen: Right next to the Airbnb is 1050 Grados, a coletivo that sells ceramics for the kitchen from small villages. It is a high-end ceramics place with plates at approx $20 per piece. I opted for slightly cheaper (~$12 per piece) but still super high end La Chicharra, which is ~15 minute taxi ride away (but close to Pan:Am), because their pieces are dishwasher, oven, and microwave-safe. Bring cash for significant discount.
Evening: Reserve in advance a ~45 minute tasting at Mezcaloteca to try high end, small batch mezcal in a personalized tasting session. Be ready for a few shots of STRONG alcohol! If you are craving a mixed mezcal drink afterwards, head to Sabina Sabe.
Day 6: Archaeology and chocolate
Morning: Hire a taxi to go to Monte Alban, archaeological ruins at elevation just 20 minutes outside the city. Aside from being one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica, Monte Alban was also the economic and sociopolitical center of the region for over 1,000 years. It was founded in 500 BC. Exploring the area takes about 45-90 minutes on foot (plus extra time to browse the museum on-site).
Afternoon: Time for Oaxacan chocolate making class! Mama Pacha is the most well-reputed one; they were on vacation during our trip, so we did this Airbnb experience instead (also great!) And good to do towards end of trip so you can take it home as gifts for friends & family. The course not only taught us how to make chocolate starting from the mortar & pestle grinding of the cacao bean itself, but our instructor also shared interesting historical context on the important role of cacao throughout Mexican history as a former currency.
Day 7: Sweat lodge & artisinal modern Mexican dinner
Temezcales are sweat lodges. In ancient Mesoamerica they were used as part of a curative ceremony thought to purify the body after exertion such as after a battle. It was also used for healing the sick, improving health, and for women to give birth. Facebook message to make reservation + arrange transport (~30 min outside the city) at Cevariem Temezcal Oaxaca. For the adventurous, go for the herbal bath sweat lodge. Thxperience is weird and surreal — your ‘guide’ walks you through ritualistic traditions to leave behind emotional stress and physical stress, so you emerge feeling clean and healthy.
For dinner, the contemporary Mexican set-menu at Origen is worth a try; the presentation and creativity is worth it! We also enjoyed an evening rooftop bottle of wine at a nearby bar.
Day 8: Finale day!
We enjoyed using our last day to go visit our “favorites” one more time, and pick up things to bring home:
Breakfast at La Cosecha (“Organic Harvest Market”) one more time, purchasing a big ball of Oaxacan cheese to take home
Smoothies, sushi, & chilling on the upper deck level of Mercadito Gourmet
Fresh coffee from a local market
In the evening (8:30pm onwards), Boulenc, the award-winning bakery, turns into a mezcaleria & pizza joint. Get your favorite mezcal cocktail one more time and enjoy a pizza (and maybe a sourdough loaf for the plane ride home!)
