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MASA
El Marquesado, Oaxaca
north america

OaxacaTravel Guide

Mexico4 stories

Mexico's culinary capital: land of the seven moles, smoky mezcal, tlayudas, and markets where breakfast is an event.

Is Oaxaca right for you?

When to come

October to March (dry, mild)

Around 35°C by day in April, 29°C in January — recorded at the local weather station.

What it costs

Cheap by regional standards — eating, sleeping and moving around all cost little.

What we've planned, and who for

We publish a multi-day route for this one.

Oaxaca is inWarm in JanuaryKind to a budgetWhere the food is the reason
When to go
January: around 29 degrees by day, 10 at night, 2 millimetres of rain, dry and hot. We recommend this month.
February: around 31 degrees by day, 12 at night, 5 millimetres of rain, dry and hot. We recommend this month.
March: around 33 degrees by day, 14 at night, 18 millimetres of rain, dry and hot. We recommend this month.
April: around 35 degrees by day, 16 at night, 47 millimetres of rain, some rain.
May: around 34 degrees by day, 17 at night, 98 millimetres of rain, wet.
June: around 31 degrees by day, 17 at night, 188 millimetres of rain, very wet.
July: around 30 degrees by day, 16 at night, 119 millimetres of rain, wet.
August: around 30 degrees by day, 16 at night, 132 millimetres of rain, wet.
September: around 29 degrees by day, 16 at night, 164 millimetres of rain, very wet.
October: around 29 degrees by day, 15 at night, 63 millimetres of rain, some rain. We recommend this month.
November: around 29 degrees by day, 12 at night, 9 millimetres of rain, dry and hot. We recommend this month.
December: around 29 degrees by day, 11 at night, 9 millimetres of rain, dry and hot. We recommend this month.
Cold to hot, by dayDry to wetWhen we would go

October to March (dry, mild)

Average daily highs, recorded at Oaxaca, 1991-2020 normals.

Where this comes from

Servicio Meteorologico Nacional; Deutscher Wetterdienst (via Wikipedia 'Oaxaca City')

Budget level

Budget

Typical cost profile for visitors

Combine it with
Plan itWhere to stay in Oaxacaad · Booking.comTours and tickets
On the map

Finding Oaxaca

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The stories

Reading Oaxaca

A Mexican market stall selling cacao beans, pepitas, pipián powder, dried herbs and spices loose by the kilo, under hand-lettered peso price signs
01
Food

Cheap Eats in Oaxaca That Punch Far Above Their Price

Oaxaca’s best cooking is rarely its most expensive. A guide to the market stalls, comales and street corners where a few pesos buy something remarkable.

Mexico · 2 min
A bowl of Mexican-style hot chocolate with its carved wooden molinillo whisk, served with a sesame-topped sweet bread roll
02
Itineraries

Build Five Days in Oaxaca Around a Sunday

Oaxaca deserves five days, and the valley's market and museum calendar, not your stamina, should decide the order you take them in.

Mexico · 11 min
A pedestrianised street in central Oaxaca lined with green-stone colonial facades and wrought-iron balconies
03
Hidden Gems

The Oaxaca Neighborhoods Most Visitors Walk Straight Past

Step three or four streets beyond Santo Domingo and Oaxaca stops being a tourist centre and becomes what it actually is — a collection of old barrios, each with its own church, its own plaza and its own hour of the day.

Mexico · 13 min
Two soft corn-tortilla tacos piled with vegetables, herbs and salsa on a white plate at a turquoise wooden table
04
Food

What to Eat in Oaxaca: A Dish-by-Dish Guide

Mole negro, tlayudas, string cheese, grasshoppers, and mezcal — a plate-led tour of the city many call Mexico's greatest food destination.

Mexico · 2 min
In pictures

Oaxaca, framed

Barrio de la Noria, Oaxaca
Photo: Anastasiia Malai / Unsplash
Barrio de la Noria, Oaxaca
Photo: Roman Lopez / Unsplash
El Marquesado, Oaxaca
Photo: Sergio Mena Ferreira / Unsplash
El Marquesado, Oaxaca
Photo: Jorge Fernández Salas / Unsplash
Our picks

What we'd do in Oaxaca

Eat and drink

Before you go

Practical essentials for Mexico

Money

Mexican peso (MXN)

Language

Spanish; English is common in Mexico City's tourist districts and the Riviera Maya, much less so around Oaxaca

Power

Type A/B, 127V 60Hz

Getting around

Long-distance coaches such as ADO cover the distances between regions; in Mexico City the Metro, Metrobus, Tren Ligero and Cablebus run on the Movilidad Integrada card, and the Metro turnstiles now also accept contactless bank cards.

Tipping

10–15% is expected in restaurants — check the bill first, because some tourist restaurants now add a service charge, which is not legally mandatory.

Tap water

Tap water is not safe to drink — use bottled or filtered water, including for brushing your teeth.

Driving

Right-hand side; a photocard licence from home is accepted for a short visit, with no International Driving Permit required.

Emergency

911

Country-level guidance, checked against official sources. Currency, fares and entry rules change — confirm anything time-critical before you travel.

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