Oaxaca, Mexico

Nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains and brimming with colorful centuries-old buildings - Oaxaca is a magical place. The region is full of artists, from artisans selling colorful tapetes (rugs), alebrijes (spirit animals), and textiles of all kinds in the markets to print-making shops plentiful enough for a print shop crawl. Meandering the streets can be both peaceful and eventful, ducking into quiet courtyards one minute while stumbling upon a celebratory parade the next.

I visited Oaxaca in August with my friend Sam as part of a 9 day trip, 3.5 days in Mexico City, 5.5 in Oaxaca. When people ask us what we we loved about Oaxaca it’s hard to pinpoint one specific thing, as it’s really the overall vibe and the spirit of the town that captures hearts. And of course some delicious food an Mezcal everywhere didn’t hurt either. We both agree that we would happily go back.

Brightly colored buildings line the streets.

Where we stayed

We stayed In an airbnb not too far from the Museo de Texti and Santo Domingo which was a great location. There are plenty of small hotels, airbnbs, and guesthouses in the center of town that are within easy walking distance to everything. Try to stay off of Calle Macedonio Alcalá because that’s the busiest street in town that hosts more bars and frequent parades, so it will be loud!

Wandering the colorful streets. Sabina Sabe (the mint building) has some delicious cocktails

Oaxaca Favorites

Wandering the streets. Soak in the centuries-old buildings, shops, and delicious food and libations.
Hanging around Plaza de Santo Domingo and Zócalo. Both are lively squares to relax, people watch, shop for locally made goods, or listen to music performances.
Print Walking Tour - There are so many amazing print shops like Espacio Zapata, Cooperativa Gráfica Oaxaca, Taller Oaxaca Gráfico in Oaxaca. Stop in one and pick up a Pasaporte Gráfica which has a map of all the different studios.
Browsing all the beautiful handmade goods. Mercado Benito Juárez, Mercado 20 Noviembre, Plaza Santo Domingo, Zócalo are all great places for this plus there are stores everywhere.
Mezcal Cocktails - In Situ, Zandunga, Los Amantes Hotel Rooftop, Sabina Sabe were some of our favorites but you won’t have a problem finding them anywhere.
Eating and drinking delicious food. Check out our guide to Food and Drink in Oaxaca
Teotitlán Del Valle
Free Museums - Oaxaca has a ton of hidden little free museums! Museo de Textil, Fotografia, Museo de la Filatelia Oaxaca, Graphic Arts Museum are a few we checked out.

One of many cocktails I ordered that came with a baby clothespin. I was unfamiliar with this trend but loved the drink. This is from Sabina Sabe

We stumbled upon a parade on the main street

We loved wandering around, admiring the architecture, looking at the buildings, checking out the textiles, popping in and out of bars and restaurants, or eating some delicious food from local vendors on the street. Some of our favorite restaurants were Zandunga, Marito & Moglie, Casa Oaxaca, Rooftop of Los Amantes hotel, Boulenc, Sabina Sabe, Hierba Dulce, and Tacos del Carmen.

Walking down Calle Macedonio Alcalá, the main street between Plaza Santo Domingo and the Zócalo. You may stumble upon a casual parade or two running down this street.

Teotitlán De Valle Day Trip

We took a taxi from the Zolaco to Teotitlán De Valle. After all my googling it was a challenge to figure out exactly when the big vendor markets were, and what we found when we arrived is that they had already ended by the time we got there. I believe you have to go around 8am on Sundays to be there when the place is buzzing. So we found a super sleepy little town which was still very lovely and enjoyable. We popped into a shop across the street from the main church and they showed us all about the process while being very friendly and not pushy we we appreciated. After wandering around for a couple hours we wanted to head back, and someone at a hotel had told us we’d be able to find a taxi back. Well turns out this was not really true, so luckily some locals helped us figure out we needed to take a local colectivo (shared taxi) to the crucero (freeway crossing) where we could hop on a bus that took us to the bus depot in Oaxaca. It was way cheaper this way than a taxi and worked just fine, just a bit more time consuming. It would be pretty easy to rent a car and drive there for a day as well, maybe looping in a stop at a Mezcaleria on the way.

The tuk-tuks around Teotitlán De Valle were adorable.

Photo op in the back yard of one of the weaving shops in town.

Our favorite table in the back patio of Marito & Moglie, our favorite Oaxaca cafe.

Squash blossom quesadillas at Tacos Del Carmen. Yum!

Prints from my woodcut printmaking class at Cooperative Gráfica Oaxaca.

Decided to just cut around my design so the edges were clean

Woodcut Printing-Making Class

One of my favorite things I did in Oaxaca was to take a two day printmaking class at Cooperativa Gráfica Oaxaca. Wandering around Oaxaca there are so many amazing art studios so I couldn’t resist making one of my own. I will admit, I am a graphic designer with an art degree / printmaking concentration so I may be a bit biased in my love for this class. However, they teach people of all skill levels and the other prints I saw from past participants looked amazing! If you have any interest in art I would recommend it.

The class was two days, 3 hours each day. Day one sketching and carving, day 2 printing. My particular class was just me and they were very flexible scheduling a time. There’s also a walking tour of all the print making shops in town as part of Pasaporte Gráfica I would highly recommend. Any of the shops can give you a map, and also many of the shops also teach classes, so just pick your favorite.

Initial sketch, the white parts get carved out and the black says

Final print! Prints always turn out backwards from your sketch

This wall was just asking to be photographed. I obliged.

Cocktails on the rooftop of Hotel Los Amantes is a must. Lovely view of Santo Domingo and great cocktails.

The rooftop hot tub or cold pool or fancy fountain, it was hard to tell but looked pretty cool.

Embracing the cactus dreams of the Jardín Etnobotanico de Oaxaca

Santo Domingo makes a lovely backdrop for the gardens

Jardín Etnobotanico de Oaxaca (Botanical Gardens)

This is behind Santo Domingo, beautiful old building with lovely gardens. When we were there, the only way we could see the gardens was to do the free guided tour, check their website for times. We just showed up 15 min before one of the English tours and didn’t have a problem getting a spot. Bring a hat and some sunscreen!

What we didn’t realize was that this was a full 2 hour long tour of the gardens. And although Sam and I love our plants, we found this was a bit exhausting. If you have the option to wander the gardens on your own and snap pics, that would definitely be worth it. If you’re suuuper into plants it would also be worth it. Just a warning that you will be hearing a lot of intel which could be a bit much on a hot sunny day.

The botanical gardens made for a great backdrop for all the future Linkedin photos

Appreciating the environmental designers of the past at Mitla

The Tule Tree (honesty tricky to photographic it was so wide!)

Hierve El Agua Day Trip

We took a day trip that we found on Airbnb Experiences, that ended up being a local travel agency that booked various excursions. We have kinda mixed feelings about our tour. We loved getting out of the city but this particular tour was a packed van that didn’t leave a lot of room for freedom and you did feel like you were herded tourists. If I were to do it again, I would probably spend a bit extra to get a private driver and customize our itinerary. Here’s what we did: We enjoyed going to Teotitlán del Valle as I mentioned earlier, but would return when the markets are on! Hierve El Agua did have some great views, but it’s definitely a reality check of instagram vs. reality, as those serene photos we’d seen online did not really reflect the super busy and touristy scene we encountered at some springs that were full of tourists and people snapping photos for the gram. I did really enjoy my spicy mango I bought at the top though! The tour stops included:

Tule Tree - The widest tree in the world! It does feel a bit silly as the tree is fenced off and you have to pay 10 pesos to “see” it. But I felt like visiting a super wide tree was nice.
Teotitlán del Valle - We stopped at a store where they explained how they make the vibrant colors that go into their weaving using natural materials. We didn’t go into the actual town on this tour, just the store outside town.
Hierve el Agua - Petrified waterfalls on the edge of a cliff overlooking some green hilly mountains. It was a bit less majestic than it looked in photos since there were a lot of people and not all that much water when we were there, but it was still cool to see.
Mitla - archeological Zapotec ruins. I enjoyed all the awesome patterns carved into these buildings, they don’t make buildings like that anymore!
Mezcal Factory - We didn’t love the particular Mezcal factory we went to but there are others in the region that have a more picturesque setting.

Cities, Latin AmericaAmy YoungJanuary 27, 2020Oaxaca, Mexico, Weekend, Woodcut, Printmaking, Travel, Mezcal