Easter in Oaxaca City isn’t just a single day – it’s an entire week of traditions known as Semana Santa (Holy Week). If you’re here during this time, you’re stepping into one of the most culturally significant periods of the year. But don’t expect a party. This is not Día de Muertos or Guelaguetza. Semana Santa is…
Oaxaca is one of those cities that earns every word written about it. UNESCO-listed, culturally extraordinary, and sitting at 1,550 meters in the mountains of southern Mexico — it’s a city that rewards curiosity at every turn. The food alone could fill a week. Add the ruins, the craft villages, the festivals, the mezcal, the…
Oaxaca is best known for its food, mezcal, magical landscape and its indigenous culture and colors. To see the absolute best that Oaxaca has to offer, you’re going of have to get out of the city for a day trip or two. Here you’ll find the best tours to do from nature to ancient ruins,…
Restored heritage and high-level hospitality define Quinta Real Oaxaca, a landmark property that reflects the cultural richness of the city. The hotel is located inside the former Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena and is one of the most representative historic spaces in Oaxaca City. The building retains its original architectural layout, including its walls,…
If you’re staying in a hotel or Airbnb in Oaxaca, you probably won’t notice anything wrong. The shower works. The tap runs. Everything seems fine. But step outside the tourist bubble and a very different picture emerges. Across many neighborhoods in Oaxaca City, running water arrives once every 30 to 45 days — sometimes less….
If you want to understand Oaxaca, spend a morning in its markets. Not a quick walk-through — actually stop, eat something, watch how people move through the stalls, listen to the noise. Markets here aren’t tourist attractions with a side of local color. They’re where the city does its daily business: buying breakfast, picking up…
There are a handful of places around Oaxaca that stop you in your tracks the moment you see them. Hierve el Agua is one of them. Mineral-rich water spilling over a cliffside for thousands of years has created what looks like a frozen waterfall — columns of white rock cascading down the mountainside, with sweeping…
In Oaxaca, it’s called quesillo. Outside Oaxaca, it’s called Oaxaca cheese. Say the wrong one in the wrong place and you’ll get a very specific look from the person behind the market stall. That small naming dispute is the first thing worth knowing about this cheese — because it tells you something important. Quesillo isn’t just…
A really interesting piece of news came out of Oaxaca this week – and if you’re into history, archaeology, or ancient cultures, this one is worth knowing about. Archaeologists have just announced the discovery of a Zapotec tomb that’s around 1,400 years old, dating back to about the year 600 AD. It was found in San Pablo Huitzo,…
Yes. Oaxaca City is generally safe for tourists. Tourism is important to the city, and visitors are a familiar part of everyday life here. I’ve lived here for more than ten years, and I walk around the city every day, take taxis, go out at night and travel around Oaxaca, all with my 8-year-old son. I’ve never had any problems. But let’s be realistic. Safe doesn’t mean nothing ever happens. Petty theft, phone snatching, taxi scams and the…