Location: Oaxaca
Top Things to do in Oaxaca
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What to do and see in Oaxaca, Oaxaca: The Best Things to do Good for Adrenaline Seekers
Easygoing and vibrant, Oaxaca offers the best of southern Mexican charm, pairing lively festivals and entertainment with fantastic cuisine and unique cultural attractions. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Oaxaca is home to the spectacular Macedonio Alcala Theater and a short drive from the inspiring rock formations at Hierve el Aqua.
Restaurants in Oaxaca
1. Horseback Mexico
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 174 reviews
Horseback Mexico's riding tours are based 15 km. east of Oaxaca city. The owners personally guide & offer half-day, full-day,overnight & multi-day guided riding adventures. Ride through rare cacti forest and trek ancient mountain trails to breathtaking vistas. Picnic in the back country or relax over lunch at our ecologically built ranch. Decades of experience. Knowledgeable, English / Spanish speaking guides. Calm but fit horses for all levels of riders. Instruction available. Rates include transport from our city office. Join our new Ruins to Hacienda Ride along ancient trails, lots of birds and big cacti!
2. Coyote Aventuras
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 214 reviews
Unforgettable adventure tours COYOTE Aventuras is a social enterprise dedicated to adventures, outdoors & nature tourism. Our goal: connecting people with nature, culture and adventure. Hiking + Mountain biking + Cultural tours + Social projects
3. Tierraventura Ecoturismo
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 382 reviews
DISCOVER, EXPLORE AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE ! Get to know Mexico in an intense and personal way with a small group of friends..
4. Transierra Norte
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 25 reviews
We lead high-quality mountain bike trips in Oaxaca with professional English spoken and certified MTB guides. We strive to provide professional, fun, and safe outdoor and cultural services in order to satisfy the expectations of our clients.
5. Zapotrek Hike and Bike
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 293 reviews
Zapotrek is a responsible tourism organization located in beautiful Oaxaca, Mexico. We provide one-of-a-kind bicycle, hiking and cultural tours and specialize in Eco-archeology, indigenous cultural experiences and traditional medicine. We also feature an authentic Mezcal plantation tour and offer custom nature excursions, such as various birding and botany expeditions.
6. Anahata Day Spa & Beauty
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 48 reviews
Reviewed By HeloiseJoy - Truckee, United States
Isabella worked on my ravaged traveler's feet and made them beautiful. It was a full, 2-hour session. This place is very professional and uses state-of-the art tools and techniques. The setting is relaxing, and it's conveniently located near Centro.
7. Oaxaca Bike Expeditions
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 37 reviews
Ride miles and miles of singletracks with awesome views and a variety of flora and fauna. We have a variety of different terrains in Oaxaca, from semi-wet forest singletracks to dry rocky multi lines. You will find root and rock gardens, switchbacks and lot of flow! Meet the culture and taste the awesome food of the colonial city of Oaxaca, an UNESCO world heritage site. Meet our culture, taste or delicious food and ride the best trails in Mexico. We do shuttle rides and rent full suspension bikes (Transition Sentinels and Marin Hawkhills) in Large and Medium sizes. We can do tours from 1 to 12 riders and for 1 to 7 days. Our guides speak spanish and english.
8. Mercado 20 de Noviembre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 349 reviews
Reviewed By thelonious22
Mercado 20 de Noviembre was a busy but fun place to get cheap street food. While it can get overwhelming with every vendor shoving a menu in your face, it was a great place to try lot of Oaxacan snacks like tlayudas (like a Oaxacan version of pizza) and tamales. My favorite was the Pasillo de Carnes Asadas where you can pick the meat to be grilled and eat it on the spot buying the condiments and tortillas separately.
9. Hierve el Agua
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,771 reviews
This Place Is Temporarily Close.
Reviewed By Eyecur2nvs - Jacksonville, United States
Beautiful spot near Oaxaca city. The pools are amazing, but you have to arrive early (we hired a taxi for the day per hour at 220 pesos per hour) so leave Oaxaca city by 8am so you avoid the insane crowds. We hired a local guide for a 1.5hr guided trek to get some great views and gave a tip at the end (700 pesos for 3 of us). Bring your bathing suit and a towel if you want to swim and be sure to wear sunblock bc the sun is very intense at that altitude.
10. Pueblos Mancomunados
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 259 reviews
The Pueblos Mancomunados of the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca constitute one of the most outstanding examples of community social organization in Mexico. Their Nature trails integrate a network of more tan 100 kilometers of rural footpaths and country roads suitable for hokers and mountain bikers of all abilities, designed to show its visitors the most relevant aspects of this exceptionally beautiful natural area. This is an intercommunity cooperation initiative which promotes the communities preservation of natural and cultural heritage through the promotion of responsible tourism of high quality, linked to the natural environment, traditions and customs of the pueblos. Please, help us to improve our services and complete our Satifaction Survey (only in spanish, available on our facebook page.Thank you!
Reviewed By kyao16 - San Francisco, United States
We really wanted to visit Pueblos Mancomunados, but we didn't have enough time to stay overnight, and the Expediciones Sierra Norte (ESN) office in Oaxaca was closed on the weekends so we weren't able to buy a tour package. It turns out this all worked out really well for us! TRANSPORTATION: At 9am in Oaxaca, we found a cab to take us to Cuajimoloyas for 1000 pesos (usually around 700 pesos according to our local guide). We knew we were overpaying, but we really needed to get there so we could finish all of our activities before sundown... On the way back, we found a collectivo truck who only charged us 50 pesos per person (usually around 70 pesos per person according to our local guide)! We were lucky to be able to sit in the second row of the inside of the truck with one other lady, so the ride was very comfortable. ACTIVITIES: We got to the tourist office in Cuajimoloyas, which is where you organize all activities. --ZIPLINING (2 hours total for 1km zipline): Costs 240 pesos per person, unless you band together a group of 10+ people in which case it's discounted to 200 pesos per person. Some domestic tourists asked us to join their group in order to get a cheaper price, and it was win-win for everybody and you make new friends! They give you a bag of equipment that you take on a steep hike up to the ziplining spot. As fit mid-20-year-olds, my husband and I didn't have much trouble trekking up to the spot, but others in our group did. Then once at the top, we watched another group get strapped in and zipline one at a time before we got strapped in. When you zipline, you can either sit or fly "airplane style" where you are strapped around the middle and "lie down" in the air like you're hanggliding. The 1km ziplining itself is scary only for the first few seconds, then really fun! After your whole group lands, then you walk back to the tourist office together. --HIKING (3 hour Cañon de Coyote): Only do this if you hire a local tour guide from the tourist office. Not only would the hike have been impossible to follow as there are almost no signs, but it wouldn't have been nearly as interesting. For us, the best part of our entire Oaxaca trip was the hike with our local guide, Hector, a local currently studying in Oaxaca City who spoke some English while we spoke some Spanish. Hector explained the local use and significance of many flowers, herbs, and historical places along the hike, and we asked him many questions ranging from farms we saw to local traditions, which he answered patiently even though there was some language barrier. We ended up learning a ton about their culture with a beautiful visual backdrop, plus there were some fun parts (e.g., rock scrambling, short climbing section aided by rope), and I would recommend this to any adults! WEATHER: Our guide told us the best weather is in the winter, as it rains in much of the rest of the year (May-November). We went in late December, and it was about 70-75 degrees and very sunny during the day. I've heard nighttime is much colder.
