Oaxaca, Mexico
2025 possible dates
(If you want to travel on specific dates, let me know,
minimum 4 people, maximum 9)!
January 16- 21 2025 March 15-21 2025 May 3-8 2025
October 27-Nov 2, 2025 Dia de los Muertos trip
December 21-27 Christmas and Noche de Rabanos in Oaxaca
Sample itinerary (not during holidays, see below for option)
Day 1 Arrive in Oaxaca City, private van transfer to lodging. Private rooms in our boutique hotel. Start the trip with a fabulous meal on a beautiful terraza with views of the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman, here we will have a late lunch/early dinner and a welcome mezcal cocktail! We will take our time, leisurely walking this area of Oaxaca, getting a feel for the vibe of the city, stopping in a few shops, seeing the beautiful Temple of Santo Domingo and maybe witness a parade and have a cocktail at one of the top 10 bars in the world -La Selva!
Day 2 After breakfast and Oaxacan coffee in the b&b or a cute cafe’ nearby, we will walk to the wonderful Mercado de la Merced, and interact with native Oaxacan farmers and food artisans and taste quesillo (Oaxacan cheese), téjate (an ancestral drink), molé paste, cocoa to make chocolate, mezcal, as well as pan de agua and pan dulce. We will head out on a walking tour of the Zocalo, an historical part of the city, including the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption as well as the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Soledad, then taste some of the ice cream that area is known for! As time permits, we will head back to the hotel, stopping at the artisan market along the way. Free time for museums and galleries until dinner for another fabulous Oaxacan meal.
Day 3 Today we will have a private artisan tour, this is a very unique tour that I have designed with one of the Grand Masters in weaving, Jacobo Mendoza. He has access to other Grand Master Artisans that don’t usually allow tours. We will start with a van ride about 45 minutes from the hotel to visit a couple of small villages to meet some of these artisans in tapestries (they make exquisite rugs) and also wood carvings (alebrijes) and clay artists as well. We will have private demonstrations and a chance to purchase from the best of the best! There will also be other stops on the tour, either ruins or distillery tour and tasting. For lunch we will have a traditional meal! Upon our return we will have a late dinner at a typical hole-in-the-wall taqueria known for their tacos al pastor shaved off el trompo and served with a slice of pina- deliciosos!
Day 4 Today we will take a short walk to the home of a chef to take a cooking class, we will participate in making mole’ and other yummy dishes that we will consume at the end of the 3-4 hour class. This afternoon is free time to head to the hotel for a siesta or museum visits, shopping and sightseeing in town before you can decide to join the group at a fabulous restaurant in the city.
Day 5 options for a private 1/2 day tour of Hierve el Agua mineral pool and petrified waterfall, and/or another unique experience of a traditional Temazcal (Oaxacan hot sauna, cleansing and massage, At the end of the day, we will all meet up for a late dinner at Casa Oaxaca, for one of the best meals in all of Mexico (and the world, in my opinion).
Day 6 We will start the day with a 1.5 mile city-hike (or taxi ride) to breakfast. We will go up the hill on the west side of town where we will enjoy a truly unique setting in Dona Gloria’s tiny tortilleria. Here, Dona Gloria and her daughter, Teresita, will make fresh tortillas, quesadillas, memelitas and eggs with salsa matcha, salsa fresca, quesilla and of course, café del barro. On our walk back down to the city centro, we will see murals, cute shops and print-making galleries. For lunch we will visit the Mercado Benito Juarez and the bigger mercado 20 de Noviembre for last minute shopping and another fun food experience in the pasillo de humo. After a meal in the mercado we will go to La Corona Restaurant for a 7-mole tasting.
Dia de los Muertos in Oaxaca City 2024 SOLD OUT!
This is a very special trip that is unique in every way! We have secured rooms in a boutique b&b in the city centro, private excursions to a cemetery, artisan tour and a mezcal distillery. (Dia de los muertos trip itinerary varies with seasonal events and tours, prices do not include food, drinks or airfare.
Holiday Sample itinerary (ie: Dia de los Muertos, Santa Semana)
Day 1 tour of the city, as we explore, we will put together our “visual map” of this amazingly beautiful town, stopping at cafés for Oaxacan coffee or possibly a juice bar or later, a mezcal bar for yummy snacks. During the tour we will do some shopping at boutique stores and artisan markets as we walk among the colorful architecture and art! We will visit the Zocalo, an historical part of the city, including the Cathedral and the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Soledad, the area outside the basilica is known for their many flavors of nieve, we will taste the refreshing shaved ice. Next is the Mercado Benito Juarez, full of everything you could want or need…and more. Here we can interact with native Oaxacan farmers and food artisans. We can taste chapulines (tiny grasshoppers), also gusanos (worms), quesillo (Oaxacan cheese), téjate (an ancestral drink), molé paste, cocoa to make chocolate, mezcal, as well as pan de agua and pan dulce…then we’ll go across the street to the area of the Mercado 20 de Noviembre and the famous Paseo de Humo for an exciting lunch! Free time for more shopping or a siesta after lunch. Later, we continue the city tour we in the area of Santo Domingo before our dinner reservations at Casa Oaxaca!
Day 2 Early breakfast at the b&b and leave by 8:30 am for a private van ride to start the artisan tour. This is a very unique tour that I have designed in cooperation with one of the Grand Masters in weaving, Jacobo Mendoza. He has friendships with other Grand Master Artisans that don’t usually allow tour groups. Because of this friendship, they have granted us access to their workshops and will give us demonstrations in their craft. We will visit Marter Artisans in weaving, wood carvings (alebrijes), a candlemaker (velas) and black clay and red clay (barro negro y rojo) artists as well. We will have a rare chance to purchase from the best of the best! Dinner reservations tonight at another fabulous restaurant.
Day 3 Today we will enjoy a cooking class with a chef, all hands on, including shopping at the mercado making mole’ and other yummy dishes that we will consume at the end of the 3- hour class. Siesta time, then take an afternoon visit to the Cultural Center galleries, snacks at Bar el Gallo, then dinner reservations at Quince Letras (Michelin star restaurant known for their mole’).
Day 4 Today we have a ½ day private tour of the UNESCO site of Monte Alban. Monte Alban is a large Pre-Columbian architectural site, the most important in the Valley of Oaxaca. This afternoon we have about 3 hours for a leisurely lunch on your own, and head to the hotel for a little siesta before the highlight of our trip…
4 pm-1 am Dia de los Muertos tour! The van ride stops at the archeological site in Santa Maria Atzompa where we will observe sunset at the Conjunto Monumental. We will go to the small mercado to purchase a few items to make an ofrenda at an artists’ home and enjoy a traditional meal on their patio, next we will meet another artisan family and finally head to the panteon (cemetery) to observe the centuries old traditions of welcoming and sending the spirits of their loved ones back to heaven. This experience is truly spiritual and very touching, a day you will not forget. Most of my guests come back from this trip and set up ofrendas in their own home after learning the beautiful traditions they have experiences in Oaxaca!
Day 5 Free day or a walking tour to two unique neighborhoods: Xochimilco to see the aqueducts, stopping at a café for snacks. From there, we will travel by foot to Jalatlaco, my favorite place in Oaxaca city. This barrio has a quaint colonial church and cobblestone streets lined with cafés and a taqueria we can stop for lunch, then we will head back to the b&b or to the mercados for shopping! Our next adventure is a 7 molé tasting. Option to tour the Jardin Etnobotanico. Our final dinner together is at Origén (another fantastic, Michelin star restaurant)!
Prices include lodging, all tours and transfers- Prices do not include airfare, food, drinks or extra activities not listed on the itinerary.