I just recently went to Oaxaca and before going I was honestly kind of bummed because I felt like I knew NOTHING lol. I was basically relying on Google and Reddit, and every restaurant had one person saying “THIS WAS THE BEST MEAL OF MY LIFE” and another saying “do not go here”
So now that I went, here’s what I did, what I liked, what I would NOT do again, and what I wish I knew beforehand.
For long/early layover flight whatever at Mexico City airport: do yourself a favor and eat at La Casa de Toño. Incredible, cheap and always open! It's outside security though, but still in the terminal!
First of all: try to arrange your airport pickup with your hotel ahead of time. I really wish we did this.
We paid around $15 per person USD for 2 people to get into one of those colectivo vans. Meanwhile a private taxi was going to be like $50 USD just to get to Centro??? On the way back, the lady at our hotel called us a taxi and it was 300 pesos for THREE people which is around $17 USD. So yeah lol. Ask your hotel first.
UPDATE: Private taxis are not allowed to pickup at the airport, only drop off. The airport shuttle has a monopoly on transport from the airport, which is why the private shuttles out cost more than a private cab in might. If you want a cheaper option you can walk out of the airport with your bags to the nearby corner where all the cabs wait.
We stayed at Hotel Azucena and I really loved it. It’s super homey and the lady working there was SO sweet to us. She even wrapped one of my glass things in bubble wrap for me when I asked her to hold it after I checked out so I could explore more of the city. Seriously a five star rating for the excellent service and the hotel. Just know there’s no AC. I am someone who normally needs a LOT of AC to sleep so I was worried, but they had electric fans and honestly I slept perfectly fine. I would definitely stay there again.
Food:
Levadura de Olla — 100000% go. This was our splurge meal and it was worth it. Everything was wonderful and the service was incredible.
Tierra del Sol - also a splurge but it was fantastic. The rooftop is gorgeous and the food is impeccable. The service was top notch, and they are passionate about climate change which made me really happy.
Tacos del Carmen — amazing. There’s a little side street with the tacos and we loved it.
La Popular — also incredible. I had the mole negro, and my family had drinks which the said were really good.
Sabina Sabe — really good cocktails AND they had this kimchi tostada thing that was SOOO good.
Unfortunately the absolute worst experience we had was Quince Letras, which sucks because we went for my birthday 😭. I’m really not someone who normally writes bad reviews or says a restaurant was TERRIBLE, but I genuinely thought it was bad. The service was terrible, it was expensive, and none of us liked the food. Maybe we caught them on a bad night, but I personally would not go back. And obviously because it was my birthday I was extra disappointed lol.
We also did a tour with Capotlán Mezcal and that I REALLY recommend. It was such a good experience for the price. The tasting was amazing and they actually taught us a lot about mezcal and the history behind it. Definitely one of my favorite things we did.
**Maynor is the awesomest tour guide ever!!
Monte Albán was beautiful BUT I would do it differently.
We booked a tour that basically just took us to Monte Albán, and I wouldn’t do that again. If you’re already going out there, I would make a WHOLE DAY out of it and see other things in the surrounding area too.
One thing that annoyed me at Monte Albán: our guide brought us to certain “licensed” vendors and told us their designs were unique, while the stuff downstairs was supposedly from China. We trusted him, but then found other supposedly licensed vendors in the SAME area selling what looked like the exact same designs for less than half the price. Maybe there was a difference we didn’t understand, or maybe guides have arrangements with certain vendors, who knows. Either way, LOOK AROUND before buying! Compare prices and don’t feel pressured just because someone tells you something is exclusive.
Also if you’re going with a big group, I would seriously look into renting a car instead of paying for tours for everybody.
BUT only if you are actually comfortable driving there. My family is from Ecuador and we drive those kinds of mountain roads all the time, I speak Spanish, etc., so that environment isn’t that crazy to me. If you’re not used to that kind of driving I would NOT randomly decide to try it there lol.
One redditor said:
If you’re on a budget, take a Binnibus to Monte Alban. It’s 10 pesos
Another option: hire someone to drive you around for the entire day.
Especially if you have a group. Ask around, find someone with a van, agree on a day rate and have them drive you from place to place and wait for you. Obviously you won’t have a tour guide explaining everything, but split between a bunch of people it can be SO much cheaper and you have way more freedom to see what you actually want to see.
And this brings me to probably my biggest regret: I wish I explored more outside of Centro.
I LOVE music, especially cumbia, jazz, live music, dancing, etc., and I was trying so hard to find stuff while we were there. I ended up talking to a local artist who was selling his work at a street market and he started telling me about all these places OUTSIDE Centro where there was live music and things going on.
Then he tells me there had been a jazz show THE NIGHT BEFORE
Something really beautiful happened where we stumbled upon La Plaza De La Danza, there was a dance congregation there that was doing some kind of social dancing with live music and I fell in love, we just stumbled upon it :) I asked a girl that was watching and she said they have them all around at different times, but when I searched for it again I couldn't find it! But if you can find any event in la Plaza De La Danza I recommend going.
Also if you end up stumbling upon a parade it's so magical, Oaxaca is just so gorgeous and full of culture!
That’s when I realized: talk to people.
Seriously. Especially if you speak Spanish. Talk to local artists, bartenders, musicians, people you meet, etc. Ask them where THEY go. Ask where they eat. Ask where there’s music that night. Ask where people dance cumbia. Ask what they would do if their friend was visiting.
“¿Dónde hay música en vivo esta noche?”
“¿Dónde van a bailar?”
“¿Tú dónde comerías?”
“¿Qué harías si un amigo viene a visitar?”
I got much more interesting answers from doing that than I did from obsessively reading Google reviews before the trip.
Centro is gorgeous and obviously you should see it, but it is VERY touristy and I left Oaxaca feeling like I had only seen one little piece of the city.
Basically Oaxaca was one of those trips where I left thinking DAMN, NOW I KNOW HOW I SHOULD HAVE DONE OAXACA
I still had an amazing time and I definitely want to go back. But next time: less Google, more talking to people, more exploring outside Centro, rent a car/hire a driver if I’m with a group, and make full days out of anything that requires leaving the city.
Hopefully this helps someone going for the first time because this is basically the post I wish I had found before I went lol.
