06/17/2024
The trip is booked but I'm taking names for a waiting list in case anything changes.
Don’t miss out. Please contact me before sending a deposit
Oaxaca 2025 Taking Reservations NOW
The hotel, Hotel Cazomalli is booked from Oct 29 to November 4, 2025. Each room has two double beds and is $118 per night (split between 2 people makes it a super affordable $59 per night). This is a new hotel to me as hotels are now filling up more than 2 years in advance and my go to choices are booked. I do however know the location, and it’s a short walk to the cathedral and botanical gardens and about 10 minutes to the zocola (town square). Its in a quiet but convenient part of the city center.
If you are interested a $100 deposit is required to secure your room. Please let me know if you are traveling alone, if you want to share a room, or if you will have be traveling with one or more persons (and sharing your room). Please note the deposit is refundable if you cancel prior to December 26th or if after that date if someone is able to fill your spot). A second deposit of $200 will be due in January and the hotel balance will be paid 30 days prior to the trip. Excursion fees will be paid the week prior to departure.
The hotel does not have a restaurant on site although a café half a block away has coffee and pastries to start your morning.
All the activities listed in the itinerary are optional. Oaxaca is vibrant and safe and you can fill your days just wandering around the city center taking in the sites, sounds, and smells while shopping, sampling food (think street corn or if adventurous the crickets and grasshoppers roasted up and being served by the bag full) or you can select the activities below which interest you. Some of the activities will need to be secured in advance, others can be decided on closer to the trip. I’ll discuss options with each person individually.
The proposed itinerary with associated costs for each activity is below. After the proposed itinerary is additional optional items (and approximate costs) that I can help you book if its of interest to you.
Wednesday October 29 arrive in Oaxaca Flights are your responsibility. I generally fly delta trough Mexico City and if you want to see the Frida Kahlo Museum or other sites in Mexico City its easy to book an extended layover there. American has a flight that’s straight from Houston to Oaxaca.
Airport transfers are your responsibility and are about $15 per person. If several people arrive at the same time I can have my go to cab driver pick you up. These details can be worked out when we know schedules and the number of people attending.
We will have a group welcome to Oaxaca dinner that night (see note below regarding food/ dinner checks)
Thursday October 30 10am-4pm Artisan visits. A short 30-40 minute drive outside of the city center takes us to Ocotlan de Morelos and the home and studio of Concepcion Aguilar. Read up on her and her clay art as she is rather famous within Mexican folk art circles. This is a great article about her: https://gallery30south.com/aguilar/
Note the prices in this article are 10x what you will pay in person for her imaginative and unique pieces. She is one of my favorite artisan visits and her items are a perennial favorite in the store.
After a visit to Concepcion’s we will stop in San Martin Tilcajete and visit Jorge, an alebrije artist. These whimsical figures are the consummate Oaxacan souvenir. Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alebrije.
Jorge will give a demonstration of craving and painting of the alebrijes and am working on the possibility of us trying our hand at painting an alebrije and experiencing the complexity of this art form.
The cost will be approx. $50 per person to cover transportation and lunch.
Friday October 31
The morning will be a trip to Monte Alban, the Zapotec archeological site. A fascinating site and the location of one of the earliest cities in Mesoamerica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Alb%C3%A1n
This component will be $30 and includes transportation, a guide and entrance to the site.
Return to city center for lunch and free time
At approx. 8pm we depart for the Pantheon Tour The tour for the night of pantheons (graveyards) is only for October 31 from 8pm to 12am approximately. After midnight on the 31st cemeteries are closed to outsiders and for local families only. This is your only chance to visit such a somber and important part of the day of the Dead celebration. This component MUST BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE as it will fill up and space is extremely limited.
We visited the 3 main pantheons of the city, the General pantheon, the Xoxocotlàn pantheon and the Atzompa pantheon.
The cost is $54 per person
Includes transportation, coordinator per unit, passenger insurance And also an offering that is, Bread, Mezcal, Chocolate, Candle and flowers to leave at the site to show our respect
From the guide: Day of the Dead, a celebration of memory and a ritual that favors memory over oblivion.
In this Day of the Dead celebration, death does not represent an absence but a living presence; death is a symbol of life that materializes in the offered altar. Every year many families place offerings and altars decorated with cempasúchil flowers, chopped paper, sugar skulls, pan de mu**to, mole or some dish that their relatives to whom the offering is dedicated liked, and as in pre-Hispanic times, incense is placed to aromatize the place. Likewise, the festivities include decorating the graves with flowers and often making altars on the tombstones, which in indigenous times had great meaning because it was thought that it helped lead the souls to transit through a good path after death.
Saturday Nov 1nd Botanical Gardens Tour/ Free Day in the City
Jardin Etnobotánico de Oaxaca: I highly recommend this 2 hour tour that costs $8. There is limited availability and is a first come first serve basis so we will need to get to the garden early (pay on site). This tour provides insight into the development of the area and how the plants and geography shaped the food, culture and day to day life of Oaxacans across the centuries. I was truly surprised at how fascinating it all is.
This is two hours of standing /walking and limited sitting. Be sure to take water and a sun hat and sunglasses.
https://jardinoaxaca.mx/
Sunday Nov 2nd Free day or Trip to Tlacolula Market (price will depend on # of people attending but we will hire cab driver for the day or if you want a true cultural experience we can look into the taking a local bus)
Tlacolula Market: what beautiful chaos! If you’re in the city on a Sunday, it’s an absolute must that you experience this Oaxaca Sunday market in Tlacolula. The small town of Tlacolula (full name Tlacolula de Matamoros) is 45 minutes by bus from the centre of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Local people come weekly from towns and villages all around to sell their wares, and the market spreads for seemingly miles. The Tlacolula Sunday market is one of the oldest and most traditional markets in Oaxaca, Mexico. It has a history that dates back to pre-Hispanic times, when the Zapotec civilization dominated the region.
The market was an important meeting place for traders and farmers from the surrounding villages who would come to exchange their goods. This holds true, even today.
Monday Nov 3rd A visit to learn about the weavers and the dying process. The tentative plan is to depart very early and get to a nearby village and meet Orlando, a local weaver. He has proposed we go to the morning market with his wife and select the eggs and other items for our breakfast. We will then get a lesson on and assist in the preparation of a traditional Oaxacan breakfast. Next we will venture to his workshop where we will learn about and try our hand at the natural dying processes of the wool used in the local weaving projects. We will spend some time time trying our hands at the looms and learning about the patterns and techniques used to create Oaxacan textiles. We will have lunch (late for us but the usual time for locals) at a local café. We will make our way back to the city center for a free evening of exploration. This experience will be approx $60 per person. May be slight adjustment depending on number of people
Tuesday Nov 4th Fly Home (if you want to stay extra days or arrive earlier please let me know and I can arrange extensions at the hotel
Additional Options/ Notes:
We can help arrange a mezcal tasting, cooking class or a day trip to Mitla, another fascinating archeological site that offers unique insight into the history of the area for either Saturday or Sunday. (In some cases, a minimum number of people is required)—I can help you connect with a local company that provides the service and is reputable if no one else is interested.
Read up on Oaxaca and if you are interested in an activity I have not mentioned, please let me know and I’ll discuss with my local contacts and find you the best option to meet your interests.
Food/Dinners- Its is very difficult and not customary for restaurants to split checks generally it easiest if I pay and then each person can Venmo me their payment. I have each person pay me $100 in advance toward dinner bills. If we have more than one group dinner, it’s easiest for me to keep a running tab and we can settle at the end of the week if you owe more than $100, or if less for me to refund you. Because its high season food is a bit more expensive and depending upon choice of restaurants, dinners can run $10-$40 per person.
Please keep in mind I am not a tour guide. I can help with many questions and logistics but generally I am acting in a coordinator role and here to help make Oaxaca more accessible for you but not to handle your every need.
I reserve the right to decline participation of any individual
To fully enjoy this trip you must be able to walk 5-6 miles per day and stand for extended periods
