Best Things to Do in Oaxaca, Mexico
Oaxaca is another must-visit place when traveling in Mexico. Here's our list of the best things to do in Oaxaca you cannot miss. Wander the historic city center while enjoying the indigenous culture, take a day trip to Hierve el Agua and explore Monte Alban ruins towering on the hill above the city.
Oaxaca is not a small city it is actually the capital of the same name Mexican state Oaxaca, but when walking its streets, you would have never guessed that nearly 300 000 inhabitants live right in the city or its near surroundings.
Oaxaca was surprisingly one of the most authentic cities we've visited in Mexico.
You can shop on the markets, wander aimlessly cobbled stone streets in the city center, see a large number of churches which date many centuries back, indulge in local cuisine, photograph colorful houses, or get to know the indigenous culture better in one city's many museums.
This is only a short and for sure not an exhaustive list of the best things you can do in Oaxaca.
To make sure you will see it all (or at least attempt to see as much as you can), we recommend you to allocate at least three days for Oaxaca in your itinerary.
The reason why you will need at least three days is simple. Exploring Oaxaca city is not the only thing you can actually do here, as its surroundings are just as interesting and worth visiting.
We are now talking about taking a one-day trip to calcified waterfalls of Hierve el Agua, or a half-day tour to Zapotecs ruins, Monte Alban overlooking the deep valley where Oaxaca resides.
The rest of your free time can be spent by eating your way through the city's exquisite cuisine, which we could, unfortunately, taste only lightly as both of us were sick when in Oaxaca.
Still, we were able to taste some delicious meals.
Here are the three best things and the main reasons why you should put Oaxaca on your Mexico itinerary.
EXPLORE OAXACA
Oaxaca is famous for mezcal, food, markets, museums, and churches. With limited time, it is not possible to see and do everything the city has to offer, but you can at least try.
Put some of the things mentioned below on your Oaxaca itinerary, and set off exploring the city.
Markets
If you've been following our blog for a while, you know that when there is a market in the city, we will never miss it out.
We often stumbled across terrible markets made for tourists selling only overpriced stuff, but luckily all markets we visited in Oaxaca (all within walking distance from Zocalo) were awesome.
When short on time, make sure you visit Benito Juarez Market and 20 de Noviembre market where we found so good (and of course cheap) mangos, that we could not believe it.
Mezcal Distillery
Drinking mezcal, a Mexican liquor made from the agave plant traditional for this region (do not confuse it with tequila), is one of the most popular activities if we can call it this way, in Oaxaca.
You can either buy a bottle in one of many shops in Oaxaca, taste a shot in a restaurant, or even better, take a tour.
This Mezcal Factory Tour is quite popular.
Colonial architecture
Oaxaca is a UNESCO-listed city, especially because of the well-preserved colonial buildings which are lining the plazas and streets in the historic center.
Templo de Santo Domingo
One of the busiest streets from Oaxaca's center will take you to baroque Templo de Santo Domingo, a true architectural gem from the 16th century.
If you think the exterior is impressive, go and visit the interior which is drenched in gold.
City Walking Tour
We always prefer to explore the city on own and look for the highlights ourselves, however, we know that most of the travelers prefer to hear more about the architecture or the history from a local guide.
That's why you can consider taking this Oaxaca Walking Tour which shows you the best Oaxaca's city center has to offer.
Street Art
If you are a fan of street art, you won't be disappointed in Oaxaca, where you can find interesting murals almost at every turn.
To learn more about the street art culture in Oaxaca, and to find some of the true hidden gems, you can check out this Oaxaca Street Art Tour.
Museum
Oaxaca has a large number of museums, and every traveler will be able to choose a topic which interests him.
Because the city is home to many indigenous people or descendants of indigenous people, it is a good idea to visit one of the museums which focus on this culture.
For example, Museo de las Culturas or Museo Textil de Oaxaca.
Local Food
When in Oaxaca, you should for sure taste tacos or tortas from the stalls on the streets, to get the real sense why is the Oaxaca's cuisine so famous.
Of course, the city has many famous and proclaimed restaurants, but we think that if anyone wants to know how the real food in Mexico taste, they should eat where locals do.
Zocalo
The center of almost every city in Mexico is called Zocalo and the situation is no different in Oaxaca.
The main square in Oaxaca called Plaza de la Constitution is a large place with many tourists admiring the architecture or the cathedral, many vendors selling almost everything you can think of, local people sitting on benches in the shade.
So do not be shy and sit here for a while as well to enjoy the lively atmosphere.
Oaxaca Cathedral
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption is often simply called the Cathedral, and because of its both architectural and religious importance, it is one of the best things to see in Oaxaca.
The construction of the cathedral began in the 16th century, but as it suffered from many earthquakes, it was rebuilt or reconstructed in almost every century.
Guelagetza Stadium
Oaxaca is set in a valley surrounded by hills, and this location calls for hiking and viewing the city from above.
If you love viewpoints and seeing Oaxaca from Monte Alban was not enough for you, it is possible to take a short but strenuous hike to Guelagetza Stadium.
Learn Spanish
When traveling around South and Central America, we found out that very similar cities are famous among backpackers for learning Spanish.
One of them is Oaxaca because it offers many things to do for students, it is safe and bars and restaurants are plentiful.
Parque el Llano
If you want to get away for a while from the touristy city center and see how locals live, do not hesitate, and walk a bit to Parque el Llano, where you can relax, read a book, eat a picnic, and simply chill.
Botanical Garden
Oaxaca has several botanical gardens, but the most conveniently located one is right next to Templo de Santo Domingo.
It is great that by visiting the botanical garden you can learn about the native plants for the region, and additionally, you can spend here a peaceful afternoon away from the busy streets.
It is possible to join an English tour on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 11 AM for Mx 100.
A DAY TRIP TO HIERVE EL AGUA
Mexico has so many must-visit destinations, most of them revolving solely around colonial cities, Mayan ruins and sunbathing on Riviera Maya, that chances are you've never heard about petrified natural formations and calcified waterfalls near Oaxaca in southern Mexico.
Although Hierve el Agua is not completely unknown, the place is more often visited by locals, and often skipped by foreign visitors, who usually do not know about is existence.
Hierve el Agua means 'the water boils' in Spanish, but the water in the pools is not boiling, rather the opposite, it is surprisingly refreshing.
You can spend a couple of hours by the pools, sunbathing and swimming, improve your photography skills while trying to capture the outstanding color of the water inside the pools, soak in the views from the edge or take a short hike in the area and admire the calcified waterfalls.
Although the color of the water suggests you will smell sulfur here, you won't, so the visit is really pleasant, and you can spend here as much time as you want.
To get to Hierve el Agua from Oaxaca, you can either take a Oaxaca Full-Day Tour, so you don't have to take care of arranging the transport, or you can travel there independently by colectivo from Oaxaca to Mitla, and in Mitla take another colectivo to the pools.
We decided to visit Hierve el Agua independently, but we recommend this option only when you have enough time as it is a bit time-consuming.
We've written an in-depth post on how to visit Hierve el Agua independently, so you can check it out!
MONTE ALBAN RUINS
Centuries ago, approximately between 500 BC and 800 AD, Oaxaca was a center of Zapotec culture, and until today we can admire remnants of what once was one of the most important and largest cities in Mesoamerica.
It does not matter that only ruins remained, even now, when walking inside the archeological site of Monte Alban, it is not hard to imagine the former grandeur of this ancient city.
Although Mexico for sure has more famous ruins on the Yucatan Peninsula such as Chichen Itza or Uxmal, if you happen to be around Oaxaca, visiting Monte Alban is one of the best things to do in the area.
Monte Alban lies on the hill towering 400 meters above Oaxaca, 10 kilometers from the city, and there are many ways how to get there, but the best money and time-wise is to take a shuttle bus from the city center.
Once you get to the entrance, you can go to the museum first to learn more about the Zapotec culture.
Then explore the grounds featuring many large structures and important buildings such as squares like Gran Plaza, North Plaza and South Plaza, large carved stones, Ballcourt, Palace or Observatory.
Zapotecs, same as Maya people were great in astronomy, and they used their knowledge, especially for agriculture and for predicting the seasons as it was crucial for them to know when the rainy and dry season starts.
Visiting Monte Alban showed us yet another example of civilization which lived in Mexico a long time ago, and although we've seen in the country quite many ruins, we couldn't get tired of it.
This archeological site quickly became one of our favorites not only because the architecture was stunning, but also because we could peacefully enjoy our time there as it was not that crowded like Teotihuacan or Tulum Ruins.
If you are still hungry for more ruins, here is our article on the best ruins in Mexico.
WHERE TO STAY IN OAXACA
Oaxaca has a pretty, clean, and considerably safe city center and there is no reason for you to stay somewhere on the outskirt of the city, as you should not have a problem to find a reasonably priced hotel within walking distance to the center matching your budget.
Here are three best hotels in Oaxaca for every type of traveler.
Budget | Andaina Youth Hostel - This hostel is the most popular option on where to stay for all travelers on a budget. Not only it is cheap, but it has remarkable reviews because of the perfect location and cleanliness.
Mid-range | Hotel Victoria Oaxaca - Set in a tropical garden, this reasonably priced hotel offers a great location close to the center (they have a shuttle if you don't want to walk 15 minutes to the center) and features such as a swimming pool so you will have a relaxed holiday feel.
Luxury | Marialicia Suites Hotel Boutique - Professional service, comfortable and clean rooms, great position and attentive staff, these are only a few reasons, why to stay in this hotel.
HOW TO GET TO OAXACA
Oaxaca is a classic stop on almost every travel itinerary, so it is not hard to get to the city by public transport and buy an onward ticket to your next destination.
Bus
The bus terminal is approximately twenty minutes by walk from the city center, so if your backpack is heavy, take a cab. In Mexico, you can buy bus tickets either directly on a bus terminal which is cheaper, or online via ADO website.
From Oaxaca, you can, for example, travel directly with ADO buses to Mexico City, Puebla or San Cristobal de las Casas.
Plane
Oaxaca is a large city, and as it has an airport, you can get here easily by plane.
Rental Car
A popular way to get around Mexico is by rental car.
But it is also possible to rent a car in Oaxaca only to make a couple of day trips in its surroundings, and then carry on by bus.
IS OAXACA SAFE?
We can never stress enough how important is to be careful and aware of your surroundings, but Oaxaca was one of those few cities in Mexico, where we felt completely safe.
We could walk freely around the city with a camera in hand, wander off the main touristy streets, and never had a single problem or weird feeling.
As always in countries like Mexico, it is better not to walk outside after dark and don't flash your valuables around, but once you use your common sense, you should be fine in Oaxaca.
Travel Insurance
We never leave home without travel insurance that was designed to cover our expenses if something goes wrong during the trip.
Travel insurance protects against theft, flight delays, injury, illness, cancellations, and much more.
World Nomads provides travel insurance for travelers to cover their trip essentials, including sports and adventure activities.
SafetyWing is affordable travel insurance for backpackers, long-term travelers, and digital nomads.
Travel smarter and safer!
Travel Resources
Here you can find links to all the travel resources we use and which you might find helpful when planning your next holiday.
Accommodation: When looking for accommodation, we usually search hotels via Booking.com or Hostelworld.
Tours: Although we love to travel independently, some places are better to visit with a guided tour.
We prefer GetYourGuide for its easy-to-use interface and solid reputation. Another great alternative is Viator.
Rental Cars: When going on a road trip, we always use Rentalcars.com, a reliable site for booking a rental car in advance.
Flight Tickets: When looking for flight tickets, you can search Skyscanner to find the best price.
Travel Insurance: World Nomads and SafetyWing cover against risks of travel.
