8 Best Oaxaca Tours You Don’t Want to Miss

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There are so many great Oaxaca tours worth taking when you visit Oaxaca City. Whether you are planning to stay in Oaxaca for your entire trip you are splitting your time between the city and the beaches, there is so much to explore in this magical state.

It’s almost right in the center of the state, making it a great place to base yourself if you want to tour the surrounding region. There are mountains in every direction, incredible artisans, and fields full of agave begging to be turned into mezcal!

While you’re in Oaxaca, enjoy the museums, the restaurants, and the colorful streets (especially in the Jalatlaco and Xochimilco neighborhoods!). But consider taking a few tours while you’re here. You can take a tour to explore the fun day trips from Oaxaca or just to experience the city itself a little bit deeper. You won’t regret learning more about the culture and history of Oaxaca.

Read: A One Week Oaxaca Itinerary

How to Get to Oaxaca

Flying into Oaxaca is one of the best options if you’re coming from the US.

There is an airport only a few miles away and it’s cheap enough to get from the airport to the city center with a shared taxi. Simply look for the taxi sign when you come out into the arrivals area (the airport is tiny, you can’t miss it).

You can also get direct flights several times a day between Mexico City and Oaxaca. This is the cheapest option if you want cannot find direct flights from your city to Oaxaca – simply connect in Mexico City with one of Mexico’s many budget airlines.

The other option is to take a bus. The ADO bus network connects Oaxaca with most large cities and towns around the country including Mexico City, Puerto Escondido, Cancun, and destinations to the south (like Guatemala).

Where to Stay in Oaxaca

There are a ton of great boutique hotels and Airbnb places in Oaxaca that are comfortable and relaxing and that don’t break the bank (unless you WANT to break the bank, in which case you should stay here).

These are some of my favorite boutique hotel options:

• Hotel Parador San Miguel Oaxaca: Central location, clean, breakfast included, good reviews, and beautiful courtyard. Rooms start at $100 USD per night. Book here.
• Casa Arnel: In the barrio magico of Jalatlaco, this is a budget-friendly place to stay with a stunning and quiet courtyard, a fantastic cooked breakfast each morning with fresh fruit, yogurt, and bottomless coffee, and the location is truly unbeatable for walking everywhere in the city. There’s a fantastic rooftop to relax on in the shade. Rooms start as low as $40 USD with shared bathrooms or $60 USD with private bathrooms. Book a stay here.
• Casona Oaxaca: Central location, affordable rooms, huge outdoor pool, clean rooms (although a little bit dark), and nice courtyard. Rooms start at $60 USD per night. Book here.
• Oaxaca Real: VERY central location, good food options including big breakfast, cute courtyard, small pool, and very affordable. Rooms start at $60 USD. Book Here.
• Casa de Adobe: Located on the edge of the city to the north of the center, this is an ideal location if you plan to take a few Oaxaca tours since it’s easy to get picked up and dropped off here. There is a pool in the courtyard for swimming, the breakfast is exquisite and healthy, and the rooms are plush and comfortable. This was one of the best sleeps I have had in all of the different hotels I’ve stayed at in Oaxaca. The location allows it to be totally affordable luxury. Book a stay here.

The Best Oaxaca Tours

1. Gualaguetza Show & Dinner

Gualaguetza is an annual cultural even that takes place every year during the month of July in Oaxaca.

It is highly sought after and often books out very quickly. It takes place in a stage that sits at the top of a hill that overlooks Oaxaca and each night there is a show with dancers in beautiful costume, amazing music, and lots of celebrations afterward.

If you are in Oaxaca in July, you’ll be able to see plenty of dancing around the Zocalo and Santo Domingo square, but outside of that month, it can be hard to see the dancing and outfits.

This tour is offered one day a week – every Friday, and it is the perfect way to learn more about Gualaguetza while you’re in Oaxaca. I didn’t learn about this tour until after my trip was over and I’m so bummed, because the dances are amazing and the costumes are unlike any I’ve seen before.

Most dances are with both men and women and they are very traditional. The music is also unique to Gualguetza, so it’s a pretty special show to see.

The only place I’ve seen this tour offered is through Get Your Guide.

I’ve used this company before on my travels around Mexico and they are very trustworthy (no canceling at the last minute like some companies) and it pairs you up with local companies. You get a bilingual guide and this tour in particular, includes dinner.

Check out the Gualaguetza Show & Dinner tour here – $90 per person

2. Oaxaca Tours of the Ethnobotanical Gardens

This was my absolute favorite of all the Oaxaca tours that I took while I was in the city. It’s only offered in English on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 11am, so make sure you don’t miss it!

The guides are incredibly passionate, it only costs 50 Pesos to enter (you can’t enter without a tour) and I learned so much not just about the native plants that are in the gardens, but about what Mexico is doing to keep their native flora alive.

This garden is doing more than just showing you some cactus, they are working to promote Mexican agriculture, to ensure that the government continues to ban GMO seeds, and they’re also creating a relaxing place for visitors to simply enjoy a slice of Mexico.

There’s no need to book in advance, simply show up at the Ethnobotanical Gardens, which are located behind the Santo Domingo Church, a few minutes before the tour starts to get your ticket.

3. Oaxacan Cooking Class

I wish I had taken a Oaxacan cooking class while I was touring Oaxaca.

It is the culinary hub of Mexico.

It’s the home of mole and a wonderful variety of corn, amongst other ingredients. There are several options when it comes to food tours in Oaxaca.

The Flavor of Oaxaca Class & Food Tour sounds like a fantastic option and is one I considered for my trip.

It costs $100 per person, which is someone expensive for the area, but it takes you to a market where you can learn all about local ingredients that are the mainstay of Oaxacan cooking.

Then you go back to the cooking school to learn to make your own tortillas, to try your hand at grinding down chilis to make mole, and also learning about tejate, a delicious local drink (non-alcoholic).

You can book the Flavor of Oaxaca Class & Food Tour here. 

Another option for a cooking class in Oaxaca is the Alma de Mi Tierra Cooking Class. It’s offered three days a week (Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays).

This class is $75 per person and is run by a woman who has been cooking Oaxacan food her whole life. Again you start at the market. Then you head to the chef’s home where she will teach your her recipes that have been in her family for generations.

It’s a lovely option for those that want to connect more with a local person. The tour groups are smaller than the above option.

You can learn more about Alma de Mi Tierra Cooking Class here.

For a slightly more budget option, consider taking the cooking class at the Oaxaca cooking school, La Cocina Oaxaqueña.

They offer the same setup – time at the market and then time back in the kitchen learning different recipes. All of the people who run the Oaxaca tours are trained chefs and are bilingual, so in addition to sharing recipes, they can share general cooking advice as well.

Learn more about La Cocina Oaxaqueña here.

4. Monte Alban Oaxaca Tours

You can either opt to go to Monte Alban on your own or you can take a tour.

I recommend taking a tour for two reasons: it makes getting there a whole lot easier and you get a bilingual guide who can explain to you all about the history and culture of the ruins. I had an AMAZING guide that I really loved when I went to Monte Alban.

Read also: What to Know About Visiting Monte Alban

Get Your Guide also offers a good Monte Alban tour option which promises an English-speaking guide. Similarly, this tour does not include your entrance fees (which only end up costing about $5) or any food.

You can read more about the Get Your Guide tour here.

Whichever tour you choose, be sure to bring plenty of water and a hat. Ruins around Mexico notoriously lack any shade and can get incredibly hot.

5. Mitla, Teotitlan de Valle, & Tule

This was one of my favorite Oaxaca tours that I went on during my trip.

Mitla is an incredibly intricate and well-preserved set of ruins about an hour outside of Oaxaca. Teotitlan de Valle is THE place to go for beautiful textiles and rugs.

They use natural dyes and still weave using a loom machine. It’s stunning (albeit expensive). Tule is the widest tree in the world (which is cooler than it sounds).

Read also: Visiting Mitla

This is one of the most popular tour options you can experience in Oaxaca and for good reason. These are spectacular sights to see and they are all somewhat close to each other. You can simply visit Teotitland del Valle with this tour option from Where Sidewalks End.

Of you can package them all into a single-day tour with this option from GetYourGuide. Be sure to pack plenty of sunscreen, water, a snack (or a few snacks) and a hat for this tour. 

If you want to do something really unique to visit Mitla, consider visiting during Day of the Dead. You can book that unique tour with Where Sidewalks End.

6. Journeys Beyond the Surface

I have taken several tours with Journeys Beyond the Surface in Mexico City and I was excited to hear that they also run tours in Oaxaca.

Take a tour of the city center where you can visit several local markets as well as a chocolate mill. You’ll visit some handicraft stores and learn about the different artisans around Oaxaca and the work that they do.

They also have tours that take you out into local villages around Oaxaca, art tours of contemporary and local artists around Oaxaca, or you can customize your tour based on your specific interests.

Read more about Journey Beyond the Surface Tours here.

7. Make Mezcal de Pechuga

Mezcal is one of Oaxaca’s most famous exports and while you’re visiting, you should not miss a visit to a local Palenque or mezcal distillery. Many of the above tours tend to stop along the way back to Oaxaca at a distillery, but the best are around Matatlan, a town about 30 minutes from Oaxaca City.

For a truly special experience, take a hands-on mezcal-making class with Where Sidewalks End. On this experience which I took recently, we got the chance to learn how to make a ceremonial mezcal called Mezcal de Pechuga. It’s exactly as it sounds, mezcal made with chicken! Among other things like citrus fruit, pineapple, and apples.

The experience takes place at a small women-owned and operated Palenque in Matatlan and at the end of the day you get to take a bottle of the Mezcal de Pechuga home with you. It includes a wonderful lunch of organic locally-sourced chicken in mole sauce with handmade tortillas. Both the chicken for the mezcal and the chicken for lunch come from the farm of one of the sisters of the family, so you know it’s fresh!

Learn more about the tour and book it for yourself here.

8. Take a Food and Market Tour

Oaxaca is one of the culinary capitals of Mexico. Whether you want to sample around the best restaurants in Oaxaca or you want to dig deeper to learn about the food culture, you should consider taking a food tour while in Oaxaca.

There are tons of different options depending on whether you want to learn about the ancestral foods of Oaxaca or you want to hop around the markets to eat from local producers. 

To explore further afield, consider taking a biking food tour. With this option, you can cycle to neighborhoods where people actually live which usually means even better food to sample!

If your days are packed with activities, a night food tour is a great way to socialize, scope out the best street food, and still make time for all of the other activities you want to enjoy while you’re in Oaxaca. This night food tour is the top-rated option in Oaxaca.

What Else to See in Oaxaca

Oaxaca is a fantastic place in its own right. It’s great to get out and take tours of Oaxaca’s surrounding area, but I highly recommend spending a few days inside the city and checking out all of the great things to do in Oaxaca.

Some of my favorite things include:

• Wandering Santo Domingo Church
• Mercado Benito Juarez (great shopping)
• Mercado de la Merced (great food stalls)
• Sitting in the Zocalo
• Shopping at the street vendors near Mercado 20 de Noviembre
• Eating chocolate from all of the shops that gave away free samples (follow your nose!)

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