19 Oaxaca Tips That Will Save You Money, Time, and One Very Embarrassing Mezcal Mistake
Oaxaca rewards the traveler who arrives ready. Shoot mezcal with salt and lime and the bartender will look at you like you've insulted his grandmother. Drink the tap water and you'll lose 36 hours to your hotel room. But arrive knowing how the city moves — how it eats, drinks, and welcomes — and it opens like few places in Mexico do.
Here's everything worth knowing before you go.
Getting There and Around
1. Fly through Mexico City. Oaxaca International Airport (OAX) is small with limited direct international flights. The Mexico City connection (1 hour flight) is usually the most efficient route. Aeromexico and Volaris run multiple daily flights. Book early for fares around $50-100 USD one-way.
2. The city center is entirely walkable. You can cross the historic center in 30 minutes on foot. Don't waste money on taxis for anything within the centro. Save them for day trips to the valley.
3. There is no Uber in Oaxaca. Local taxis only. Always negotiate the fare before getting in — $30-50 MXN within the city is standard. For day trips (Monte Alban, Hierve el Agua, mezcal palenques), hire a taxi for the day: $600-900 MXN. Or use colectivo shared vans from designated pickup points ($10-30 MXN per person).
4. Colectivos are the budget move for valley day trips. Shared vans leave from specific spots around the city (Hotel Rivera del Angel for Monte Alban, Central de Abastos for most valley towns). They leave when full, which can mean a 15-30 minute wait. But at 20-30 MXN per person vs. 600 MXN for a taxi, the math is clear.
Money
5. Use Banorte or HSBC ATMs. These have the lowest foreign transaction fees. Avoid Citibanamex ATMs in tourist zones — some charge up to 100 MXN per withdrawal. Draw cash in larger amounts to minimize fee frequency.
6. Oaxaca is shockingly affordable. A full meal at the market: $3-5 USD. Mid-range restaurant dinner with mezcal: $15-25 USD. Boutique hotel in the center: $60-120/night. Hostels: $12-20/night. You can do a full 5-day trip on $50-70/day including accommodation.
7. Carry small bills. Many market vendors and small shops can't break a 500 MXN note. Keep a stash of 20s and 50s.
Food
8. Don't refuse the chapulines. Toasted grasshoppers — yes, really. They're crunchy, seasoned with lime, salt, and chile, and taste like savory potato chips. Try them on a tlayuda (Oaxacan pizza — a large crispy tortilla with beans, cheese, and toppings, $40-60 MXN). You'll forget they're insects by the third bite.
9. Eat at the Pasillo de Humo. Inside Mercado 20 de Noviembre, the "Smoke Corridor" is a row of stalls grilling meat over open flames. Pick your cut, and they'll serve it with handmade tortillas, salsa, and grilled onions for $5-10. This is better than most $40 steakhouse dinners.
10. Mole negro at Los Pacos is the correct order. Oaxaca is the "Land of Seven Moles." Mole negro is the king — 30+ ingredients, hours of preparation, a complex flavor that hits chocolate, chile, spice, and earth. Los Pacos does the best version in the city ($12-18 per plate). Try all seven at Mercado 20 de Noviembre for $5-8 per plate.
11. Drink bottled water. Always. Tap water in Oaxaca is not safe to drink. Buy garrafones (large jugs) from any tienda for $15-25 MXN, or stick to bottled water ($10-15 MXN from stores, $20-30 at restaurants). Ask for "sin hielo" (no ice) if you're uncertain about the ice source — though most restaurants in the centro use purified ice.
12. Take a cooking class. Susana Trilling's Seasons of My Heart ($120, full day) includes a market visit, ingredient selection, and hands-on preparation of multiple Oaxacan dishes. You'll learn to make mole from scratch. It's the best $120 you'll spend in Mexico.
Mezcal
13. Never shoot mezcal. This is the mistake that trips up nearly every first-timer. Mezcal is a sipping spirit. Pour a small amount, rub it between your palms to release the aroma, then take small sips. No salt. No lime. That's for cheap tequila, and your bartender will judge you silently (or not so silently).
14. Start with joven (unaged) mezcal. The agave flavor is purest in joven mezcal. In Situ on Morelos Street has 100+ varieties ($3-10 per pour) and knowledgeable staff who'll guide a tasting.
15. Visit a palenque, not just a bar. Santiago Matatlan (50 km southeast) has family-run distilleries where you can see the full process: underground pit-roasting of agave hearts, horse-powered stone mills, and copper-pot distillation. Some tours are free; others run $10-20 with tastings included. Seeing how mezcal is made changes how you taste it.
Culture and Etiquette
16. Ask before photographing indigenous community members. Oaxaca has 16 indigenous groups with living traditions. When visiting artisan villages (Teotitlan del Valle for weaving, San Bartolo Coyotepec for black pottery), ask permission before pointing a camera at people. It's basic respect.
17. Buy directly from artisans. In the villages, buying directly from weavers, potters, and carvers means they keep the full value. Prices in the villages are already fair — haggling aggressively is considered disrespectful. A hand-woven rug from Teotitlan del Valle ($500-2,000 MXN depending on size) represents weeks of work. Pay what it's worth.
18. Learn "diuzhi" (thank you in Zapotec). Most Oaxacans speak Spanish, but many also speak indigenous languages. Saying "diuzhi" when buying from a Zapotec vendor will earn you a genuine smile.
Day Trips
19. Combine Hierve el Agua + Mitla + a palenque into one day. The petrified waterfalls of Hierve el Agua (50 MXN entry, natural infinity pools on a cliff edge), the Mitla ruins (90 MXN, geometric stone mosaics that are genuinely unique in Mesoamerica), and a mezcal distillery are all in the same eastern valley direction. A combined taxi day trip runs $400-600 MXN (split among passengers). Or take organized tours from agencies in the centro at similar prices.
Bring a swimsuit for Hierve el Agua. The mineral pools are cold but the views — you're perched on a cliff edge overlooking the entire valley — are worth the shiver.
The Mezcal Mistake Epilogue
At a small mezcaleria on Alcala, a bartender named Jorge has a gift for rescuing first-timers. Order badly and he won't scold you — he'll pour a proper tasting measure and teach you the palm-rub technique, then pour himself one and clink your glass.
"Now you drink it like someone who respects the agave," he'll say.
Regulars come back trip after trip, and he remembers them every time. That's how Oaxaca works: it teaches you, then it welcomes you back.
