Your expert guide to spending 3 days in Oaxaca
If you are lucky enough to be spending 3 days in Oaxaca you are in for an absolute treat because Oaxaca is a gorgeous city that promises to wow you at every turn. If you want to see ‘everything’, you’ll need to plan your time well but if you’re a happy wanderer then Oaxaca will suit you perfectly too.
I have been visiting Oaxaca for many years and am excited to help you plan your Oaxaca trip and ensure you don’t miss anything that you should see. This article will highlight my favourite activities in the city and then suggest a 3 day itinerary to help you plan your trip.
Other useful MexicoCassie Oaxaca articles
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Where to stay in Oaxaca
These are my 3 top picks for places to stay with in Oaxaca
🏨 MexicoCassie top hotel recommendation: Santa Helena Plaza – moderately priced, beautiful, well located and with a pool that’s open year round, this is a perfect choice for a trip to Oaxaca.
🏨 MexicoCassie top family friendly apartment recommendation: Casa Guanab – this recently renovated modern apartment located just 30 minutes from zocalo is perfect for families – free yoga, bikes for rent. 4 bed/2 bath, garden and parking on site.
🐶 MexicoCassie top pet friendly apartment recommendation: Casa Los Colibris – a beautifully decorated traditional 3 bed apartment with a terrace offering views over the centre of Oaxaca
🗺️ Or, if these aren’t what you’re looking for, why not use the MexicoCassie interactive hotel finder map to choose something more your style
Oaxaca highlights
Oaxaca is a wonderful city to explore on foot because it’s not too big, it’s mostly flat and it’s incredibly beautiful with both brightly painted colonial buildings and stunning, modern street art to feast your eyes upon.
Mostly people visiting Oaxaca hang out in the centro historico. This area, the historical center is actually a UNESCO World Heritage site (along with nearby Monte Albán).
Centro Historico
The two main plazas are the Zocolo (officially called Plaza de la Constitución plus the attached Alameda) where you’ll find the city cathedral, bars, shops, a market, plenty of street performers and people enjoying life; and the area in front of the Templo de Santo Domingo Guzman (photo above), Here there are plenty of trendy artisan stores, street markets, art galleries, and funky restaurants & bars.
⭐️ Walk along the gorgeous Calle Macedonío Alcalá between the two main squares (and even further) and you’ll come across art galleries, artisan cooperatives, great restaurants and again, more street vendors.
📚 Most popular museums in Oaxaca
Museo de las Culturas – next door to the Templo de Santo Domingo Guzman. This museum is housed in a 17th century former convent and here you’ll find artefacts, including Zapotec items, on display.
Rufino Tamayo Museum of Pre-Hispanic art – a great selection of pre-hispanic art (as the name suggests 😉).
🌵 Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca
The botanical garden is often considered a must-see on people’s list of what to do in Oaxaca because of the opportunity for the Instagram inspired cactus wall photo you see everywhere.
My personal opinion is that it’s a nice enough place but if you’re not interested in following a tour around a cactus garden, don’t go. You can find cacti everywhere. I went in 2016, before instagram was super cool and we did happen to take a photo of the famous cacti wall, as you can see.
🛍 Markets and shopping
Oaxaca city is second only to San Cristobal de las Casas for souvenir shopping, in my opinion. There are numerous markets, street markets, shops, artisan cooperatives and art galleries where you’ll be able to pick up some fabulous souvenirs.
The best markets in Oaxaca are:
🛍 Mercado Benito Juárez – good for souvenirs, street food (considered the main market for visitors)
🛍 Mercado 20 Noviembre – fresh food and street food sit down options
🛍 Mercado de Artesanías – souvenirs
🛍 Central de Abastos de Oaxaca – absolutely everything you can imagine
➕ there are street stalls and ad-hoc souvenir markets all over the place that you won’t want to miss.
Typical Oaxaca souvenirs
Many of the day trips from Oaxaca city include in the villages where the souvenirs are traditionally made. If you’re taking day trips (see below), I recommend checking prices between the villages and what you can find in Oaxaca city – sometimes you’ll find they’re cheaper in the villages than in the markets but not always.
Alebrijes – these are sculptures of fantastical, hybrid creatures. Many are made in the village of San Martin Tilcajete but you can find them all over Oaxaca. Quality, size and price can vary dramatically.
Rugs and textiles – traditionally from Teotitlan del Vale you can also find them in the markets and shops in Oaxaca.
Pottery – the black pottery comes from San Bartolo Coyotepec & and green pottery comes from Atzompa. I picked up some pottery mugs that are a modern take on the traditional wares when I was in Oaxaca in 2024.
♥️ It’s also possible to visit a red clay women’s co-op to learn about how one woman broke gender norms in her village through clay making.
Clothing – You’ll find traditional Zapotec clothing in the markets, tourist t-shirts and excellent modern t-shirts in the stores of Oaxaca.
Art – it’s impossible not to fall in love with the art in Oaxaca. From handmade postcards on the street to political statement art and everything in between. This is an art lover’s paradise. And, of course, don’t forget the street art.
Food & drink – if you are in town for the food, why not take some home? You could take traditional Oaxacan chocolate, jars of mole sauce, chapulines (crickets), a bottle of mezcal or even mezcal gummies.
Eating & drinking in Oaxaca City
Oaxaca is one of the most foodie places you can imagine so if you’re interested in knowing more about the city and its culinary scene, I highly recommend taking a food tour.
🌽 While the market & cooking tour I took in Oaxaca in 2009 no longer exists, in its place I recommend taking a very similar sounding ancestral food tour of Oaxaca. This tour allows visitors to engage with locals and their ancestral recipes – you’ll learn how over thousands of years the food you’re trying has impacted on the culture in this region.
Even if you don’t want to take a food tour, be sure to try the local food. You can visit the delicious food stalls in the markets, restaurants (both local and high class), eat street food or simply grab tacos as you explore.
→ Use the MexicoCassie guide to Mexican drinks to learn more about your options, including local Oaxacan drinks
Don’t miss out on:
📌 Mole negro (pronounced mol-é) – a traditional sauce for chicken
📌 Tlayuda – a large tostada covered in beans, salad and meat
📌 Nieves (ice cream) – there is ice cream everywhere you look in Oaxaca and it’s really a way of life so don’t miss out on trying some (many) of the weird and wonderful flavours you see. I recently tried “Beso Oaxaceño, which is a delicious mix of carrot, pineapple, apple, and coconut” and Cempasuchil flavour – the special Day of the Dead flower.
📌 Mezcal – obviously you can’t come to Oaxaca and not try mezcal, the local alcohol that to the uninitiated could be described as ‘smokey tequila’. Try it, learn about it and come tell me off for referring to it this way 😉.
📌 Quesillo – have you heard of the traditional local cheese? In Oaxaca it’s called quesillo, everywhere else in Mexico they call it “Queso Oaxaceño” (Oaxacan cheese). Try it, it’s scrummy.
And, of course, tacos – you must eat tacos.
➕ Top tip: don’t miss out on exploring on the ‘other side’ of the city. Cross the 190 road and head into a very cool, residential area with some great cafes and restaurants. I stayed up here last time I visited and loved having the chance to wander the streets
MexicoCassie Oaxaca restaurant recommendations
🥑 Best street food / truck: Tortas La Hormiga
🌮 Best tacos: Que Buen Taco!
🥑 Best slow food market: La Cosecha
🍦 Best ice cream: Chagüita in Mercado Benito Juarez for traditional ice cream & Sherbet Helados Florales for trendy ice cream
🥑 Best Oaxcacan restaurant: Ancestral Cocina Tradicional
🥘 Best Indian restaurant: Señor Naan
How to plan your 3 days in Oaxaca
OK, so we’ve looked at what there is to do in Oaxaca, so now let’s consider an itinerary to ensure you don’t miss anything you really should see. For the sake of this article I’ll assume you have 3 full days in Oaxaca.
☠️ A note on Día de los Muertos
Oaxaca, of course, is famous for being one of the most popular places in Mexico to spend Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Here you can take specialised tours, visit cemeteries, learn about the history of the celebration and more. If you’re coming for Day of the Dead then I would really recommend more than 3 days in Oaxaca if you can but if you can’t, just be sure to pre-book your Day of the Dead tours and accommodation.
Oaxaca: day 1 – get to know the city
Your first day in Oaxaca should be spent getting to know this incredible city, strolling through the cobblestone streets, maybe visiting a museum or church or two, and certainly checking out the markets.
👣 If you’re so inclined, day 1 is a good time to book a tour of the city. I tend to recommend either a walking tour or a food tour as a great way to get to know any city.
→ It’s always a good idea to book your tours ahead of time if you can. Oaxaca is a popular destination for visitors to Mexico and if you have your heart set on a particular tour you really don’t want to miss out.
Oaxaca: day 2 – take a day trip
Use your second day in Oaxaca to explore outside of the city but be aware that if you want to get to all the awesome places around Oaxaca then you’ll need more time in the area.
If you’re going to take a day trip from Oaxaca then realistically you either need to
🚘 rent a car – if you feel brave enough to drive around Oaxaca then renting a car is the most freeing of the three options (as well as my favourite)
🚖 hire a private driver/guide – a private driver will go where you want and let you spend as long as you need at a set location. Extremely useful when you’re visiting palenques to try mezcal.
👣 book on a tour – I use Viator, Get Your Guide or Where Sidewalks End when booking trips in Oaxaca. Tours are great because they allow you to see sites stress-free and usually include local guides who can share their knowledge with you.
The most popular day trips from Oaxaca include
💦 Hierve el Agua
The petrified waterfall. Some tours offer only a short time here but if you’re going to hike around and take a dip in the water, you’ll really need at least 2 hours here.
➡️ Book the MexicoCassie recommended tour to Hierve el Agua
🏰 Monte Albán
The archeological site just outside of Oaxaca city. These Zapotec ruins sit proudly overlooking the Oaxaca valley and make for a great half day exploration.
➡️ Book the MexicoCassie recommended tour to Monte Albán
🍹 Mezcal tasting
You really can’t come to Oaxaca and not do a mezcal tasting (or six). The question is to figure out how best to taste the mezcal.
You can
🍹 taste it in the markets and restaurants in Oaxaca City
🍹 take a full-day tour that happens to stop briefly at a palenque (mezcal producer)
🍹 do your research (or take my advice) and visit specific palenques or take a mezcal specific tour and really learn about this beautiful and ancient liquor and the art form that is its cultivation and production.
⭐️ MexicoCassie’s Favourite Mezcal Palenque: Gracias a Dios (you’ll need a driver / rental car to get here)
⭐️ MexicoCassie’s recommended focused mezcal tour providers: Where Sidewalks End – choose between visiting an ancestral or an artisanal mezcal producer.
⭐️ MexicoCassie’s recommended general Hierve el Agua & mezcal tour – visiting El Rey de Matatlan (Artisanal) Palenque.
➕ While these are the three main activities people want for their day trips from Oaxaca, the most common tours generally also include a trip to visit the nearby villages, other, other smaller ruins such as Mitla, and Tule, the world’s widest tree.
Oaxaca: day 3 – souvenir shopping
On your last day in Oaxaca, either
➡️ use your time to soak up the atmosphere, eat well, and pick up the souvenirs you just can’t live without. There really are so many excellent stores that you can easily spend two days enjoying browsing the markets and shops.
or
➡️ book another tour from the list above or find an activity that’s a little different such as:
⭐️ Visit the Mitla Prehistoric caves with a Zapotec guide to learn about the earliest settlers in the region
⭐️ Spend a day learning about traditional pottery with the woman who broke down gender norms through the establishment of a women’s clay cooperative in her village.
Where next?
Have you considered:
🏝 visiting the beautiful beaches of the Oaxaca coast
🏞 checking out the Sierra Norte to visit the Pueblos Mancomunados
✈️ Taking a direct flight to Mexico City to soak up some more Mexican culture
