Colorful charmy vibrant cultural city in inland Mexico. (One of my top 3 favorite cities in Mexico.)
Amazing culture, food, visually beautiful, haven for artists (and street murals), and off-the-path hipsters…great for a fast tourist visit or to live for a long time. I absolutely loved this place. Can’t say enough. Come here and see a very authentic lively Mexico that isn’t burned out by tourists and cliche marketing.
Oaxaca City is like a small city with big city benefits. I liked it so much, the first time I came here was during (super) rainy week and I was still dying to go back. And when I came back 2 weeks later and saw the city in the sun…man oh man. How pretty. The expats who live here really love its peaceful, cozy, artsy, community vibes. (Oh, and things are cheap.) The only thing it doesn’t have is a beach, and I’m alright with that.
Hostels:
- Iguana Hostel – the default option if you’re not sure. Great friendly community vibe. Lots of space to lounge and cowork. Great environment for feeling at home and watching TV with others, coworking, hanging out on the rooftop terrace, or going out to party with other guests. It has a very comfortable casual vibe. Free breakfast in the morning is also a great way to meet people and plan activities together.
- Selina Hostel – very clean and professional posh looking hostel. A great 2nd choice option if Iguana is full or you just want something much more professional looking. The coworking room and rooftop terrace here is muuuuuch more fancy. Some people love the super clean professional hotel-ish vibe. Others complain the community vibe here is not as strong (compared to Iguana).
- Hostel Centro – has great reviews, everyone loves it. A “hostel” that’s run and feels more like a hotel. Great pricing and probably a good idea if you prefer more quiet personal space (or private rooms) rather than trying to meet other folks. Some people say it’s still good for meeting people, but maybe not as easily as the other ones.
- Hostal De Las Americas – I enjoyed the private room at such a cheap price and great service, also free breakfast. Everybody I met here was nice, but Iguana is still far better for meeting people and fun activities. The people at this hostel tend to be in their own groups and doing their own thing.
- I already did my research…these 3 are by far the best options.
Neighborhoods to explore:
- Templo de Santo Domingo – first time visitors, you definitely want to stay by here and visit the surrounding area. Big church thing with lots of life, shops, restaurants, cafes, etc. Lots of community events, protests, weddings, celebrations, and always things happening here (especially on weekends).
- Jalatlaco – walk past the nice El Llano park on your way to this super cool hip neighborhood…full of murals and craft beer on every corner. This neighborhood is where many expats and foreigners like to live. Although the park looks super safe, I have heard of people getting robbed there, be careful.
- Zocalo – this would be their main downtime area. I don’t see any point of being here unless you just want to see where tons of locals congregate and lots of cheap market stalls in the street. The restaurants here are pricy and crappy. There isn’t anything pretty to see except for just how locals live. You can walk around here anyway “just to see” a classic busy local marketplace.
- Up in the hills – if you ever get bored…you can keep wandering around more and more north of the city, going up and around the hills. Will you get rewarded with breathtaking views or cute boutique streets?…not so much. But that’s what we did looking for interesting photo opportunities. What we found was mostly cool murals (but you could easily find that in a more condensed manner in Jalatlaco).
Cafes and Coworking:
- Cafebre – literally every foreign and ex-pat is here. Very hipster spot.
- Muss Cafe – really beautiful spot, looks great! Feels like you’re coworking in an outdoor museum/art-gallery.
- Selina Hostel – terrace is really nice for coworking as well.
Restaurants:
- Casa Oaxaca el Restaurante – fucking beautiful interior, amazingly delicious food with excellent presentation, super attentive wait staff. Feels like you’re royalty eating in an art museum.
- Los Danzantes – super fancy sexy sexy! Make a reservation.
- Boulenc – went here like 2-3 times a week. Run by a housewarming Italian chef who lives here and cooks great stuff. Small but cute elegant restaurant run by passionate people. At night, you see him feeding the street dogs.
- La rambla Antojeria – it’s fancy. Make a reservation!
- La Matatena Pizzeria – if you’ve hung out with any expats or been here long enough, you’ll eventually go to this pizza place at some point. This is where I had my giant chapulines (grasshopper) pizza.
- Le Campane – not my favorite but a popular destination.
- Calabasitas Tiernas – nice vegan restaurant, and my favorite reason…I enjoyed the walk to this restaurant. Quiet residential area with old walls and passageways.
- Craft beer & Mezcal pops – Oaxaca has craft beer, and ice cream popsicles with alcohol in them. Great for staying cool in the hot sun.
You can’t go wrong…they are sooooo deliciously good and cheap! There are so many great ones with damn near 5-star ratings and RIGHTFULLY SO! (And cheap…so there’s no reason not to eat at 5-star restaurants every night here.) Keep in mind, they might close early if it’s raining. I will also say that while I tried many restaurants, I didn’t get to try all. There are many others that are just as good as the ones I recommend. You’ll get easily distracted as you see nice restaurants everywhere and right next to each other.
I do love all the bugs in food stuff. Like chapolines (grasshopper), ants etc. They put them in casual foods like pizza and tacos…but also in really fancy foods (grinded up so you don’t see it)…and they taste amazing.
Bars & Clubs:
- Txalaparta (pronounced “chala-parta”) – this is pretty much the default spot to go every night. Bottom floor has live rock band, upstairs terrace has a mix of every genre (latin, hip-hop, techno). Check out both, and enjoy the neon walls. I really liked this spot. You can dance or just sit and chat, lounge/smoke.
- Bars – follow the crowd and hit up any of the bars nearby. Some have more foreigners, others have more locals.
Things to do:
- Art galleries – I loved them! I never considered myself an art gallery person but art here is everywhere in this city. My favorite was Galeria Cuatrosiete, but there are many others that look fancy and have different kinds of stuff (I just don’t remember their names). The cool thing is there’s an art gallery like every block, so you can just do an afternoon walk eating ice cream and casually enjoying yourself. Easy way to take shade breaks from the sun while exploring the city.
- Museums – I didn’t bother with any but heard great reviews from everyone who did. The famous one here is the textile museum.
- Shopping – the shopping scene here is really underrated. Tons of boutique arts, crafts, textiles and fashion stores. One of the only cities in Mexico where I was inspired and actually bought something. One day we stumbled onto a hidden alleyway that led to a cute courtyard with tons of awesome little shops (with unique designs). If you beg, I’ll hunt down my photos and tell you where it is.
- Photoshoots – bring your pretty outfits because you will definitely want to run around town snapping pictures among its colorful buildings and art murals. Your photos will actually look exotic and different from the usual Mexico beach-shots that you got too many of.
- Monte Alban ruins – yes, you’ve probably seen tons already (like I did) but I still found this one worthwhile to visit. Take a taxi ($10 USD) from your hostel/hotel. And then on the way back, you can wait at the bottom of the hill (near the parking lot) and a bus takes you back into town for super cheap (less than $1).
- Gyms – I was surprised to see how many gyms were nearby and easy to walk to. Pop in and pay the day rate and do your thing. I love that Oaxaca is small enough to walk but big enough to have all the city benefits.
- Other cities to visit – Mazunte, Zipolite, Puerto Escondido, San Jose Del Pacifico.
Miscellaneous tips:
- Mosquitos – lots of them here. Watch out.
- Safety – Oaxaca is safe and feels safe, but there are many quiet streets (away from busy areas) in daytime and night where opportunist muggers can rob you. The city is small enough and feels so safe that you’ll be tempted to walk everywhere alone or without a care at night. Nothing happened to me or anyone I know but I suggest you be careful. Single females should definitely take a taxi or walk home with a friend.