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December 11, 2017 By Kymber Leave a Comment

Active, Kid-Friendly Oaxaca Itinerary

The Oaxaca Itinerary Roundup

We spent two weeks in the Mexican state of Oaxaca with kids – well, tweens! I am writing this with a spot of mole on my glasses as I cook up a pot of my new favorite dish for friends. Oaxaca surprised us with its ability to transition us from big city bustle to cool, wet pine forests with wild mushrooms and silent trails to the heat of its isolated beaches monitored by black iguanas. All the while, the friendly people of Oaxaca gave us directions, taught us about ancient traditions and cultures, and blew us away with the life of their art. We had a wonderful time and would love to inspire you to have your own Oaxacan experience. I hope this Oaxaca itinerary will help you plan your own trip. I break up the post to cover four phases: the city, the mountains, the farm, and the beach.

General Tips

  1. Read first. Check out our Oaxaca reading list. One of my all-time favorite books is on the list.
  2. Rent a car. Driving was easy, the roads were smooth (except for several thousand topes – speedbumps), and GPS worked with our cell phone data.
  3. Pack well. Be prepared with a variety of clothing types, especially if you hit both the mountains and the beach. Check out the link for a printable packing list for four.
  4. Talk to people. Be ready to initiate conversation, people are welcoming and interested in being helpful.

Oaxaca Itinerary

This is a map of our 14-day trip, starting in Oaxaca City and looping around the state.

Summary of all the good stuff

Trip Length: Two weeks
Time of year: Early August
Car rental: Europcar (don’t recommend this company but there are lots of others to try)
The City: Stay at Casa Ollin
The Mountains: Work with Sierra Norte for hiking, horseback riding, ziplines, mountain biking, etc.
The Farm: Stay at Dixza Rugs and Organic Farm with Samuel and his family
The Beach: Stay with Fran and Alfonso at Casa Calypso

Oaxaca Itinerary
Just a taste of the ubiquitous art in Oaxaca City.

The City!

Oaxaca City

We arrived in Oaxaca City late on a Saturday night so we woke to Mexican sunshine quickly warming the morning air; a mouth-watering tamale con mole negro; and a sleepy, clean neighborhood. What a welcome! Casa Ollin lived up to its top rating on Trip Advisor. Judith and her team made us feel welcome, well-fed, and gave recommendations for the city. The girls loved having their own room and being able to have “siesta” in the pool. I thought that having a siesta meant a nap, but I guess not.

Oaxaca Itinerary
Does this look like a siesta to you?

With only two full days in the city we had more on our to-do list than we got to. I guess that leaves us some new discoveries on our next trip. Here are some of the best things we did (this doesn’t include random wanderings through the city and different parks). We wrote about some of these in this post.

  • The Centro Cultural de Santo Domingo‘s spiky, imposing landscaping is somehow quite welcoming. We only wandered through a portion of their comprehensive exhibits, focusing on the library and antiquities from nearby Monte Alban.
  • The Jardín Etno-Botánico de Oaxaca felt like we were walking through a living art piece – tall cacti, blooming trees, and reflecting pools. There are tours in English Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 11am. The entrance is at the back of the Centro Cultural de Santo Domingo.
Oaxaca Itinerary
A rare moment of stillness and reflection looking over the botanical gardens.
  • We spent a fair bit of time in the bustling center of the zócalo where you can take in sidewalk dance performances, enjoy open-air cafes, buy freshly made horchata or lime drinks, and learn about the protests that take place there every day.
  • MARO is a women’s collective art market (we like girl-power things in our family). MARO stands for Mujeres Artesanías de las Regiones de Oaxaca. They showcase art made by women in all parts of Oaxaca. Their prices are great and I love what they stand for.
  • Mercado Juarez is the perfect place to explore with the family. You should wander until you get visual, olfactory, and taste overload. We walked around gathering the elements of a fabulous picnic and a few souvenirs: roasted peanuts, mole paste, tortillas, quesillo, bananas, fingernail clippers (not part of the picnic), and big chunks of chocolate. Don’t miss this purely Oaxacan experience!
Oaxaca Itinerary
Just a few of the delicacies you can sample in the market.
  • El Llano park was a great spot in the early evening. We wandered around for a couple of hours with Oaxaqueños roller skating, eating roasted corn, walking their dogs, and just chatting with one another. It was wonderful people-watching and was an experience made for locals and temporary locals like us.
  • Another fun thing we often do is walk with no real direction. We saw a big white roof at the top of a hill so we felt our way through back alleys and steep walkways all the way up to an amazing view of the city and Auditorio Guelaguetza. The perspective on the city and surrounding mountains was breathtaking and we tried to trace our footsteps from different landmarks earlier in the day and where we were headed in the mountains the next day. We had quite an adventure on the way down…more on that soon.
  • On our last day in Oaxaca City we had planned on going to Monte Alban. I realized that it was a Sunday (sometimes we lose track of the days when we are on vacation) and entrance is free to Mexicans on that day. Knowing that, getting there immediately when it opened at 8 am seemed like the best approach. After a rushed and decidedly unhealthy breakfast at a gas station, we were the first car in the parking lot. We paid our $5 entrance fee and ran across the field in the center of Zapotec and Mixtec life going back to 500 BC. The climb up the South Platform was fueled by the promise of seeing the sun rise on the empty ruins before the hundreds of tourists started trickling in. Fabulous and worth the early roll out of bed!
Oaxaca Itinerary
Doing box jumps on the South Platform at sunrise to feel solidarity with prior inhabitants of Monte Alban.

The Mountains!

Cuajimoloyas, Latuvi, la Nevería, Benito Juárez

We worked with Sierra Norte to help us coordinate a four day hut-to-hut hike in the Zapotec communities of the Sierra Norte mountains. This group of communities, Pueblos Mancomunados, collaborates to create sustainable ecotourism that supports their members. They will customize your hikes based on time, distance, and activities you’d like to do. We hiked through the mountains from town to town with local guides learning about the flora, fauna, and culture. At the end of each day there was a cozy bunkhouse and loads of delicious food.

Oaxaca Itinerary
Do you notice anything strange about this picture? Hint: someone is suffering from altitude sickness.

Elevation was definitely an issue the first day since we went from about 5,000 feet above sea level in Oaxaca City to nearly 11,000 feet in the village where we started our hike. The gorgeous scenery and flowers distracted us to some degree, but we probably could have used a little more time to acclimatize before we tackled the ambitious hike.

Oaxaca Itinerary
A well-balanced load and an experienced muleteer.

In between days of hiking we did a morning of horseback riding and rode a towering zipline over the village of Cuajimoloyos. We also visited some wonderful greenhouses, a trout farm, and learned to make mole on Rufina and Eli’s farm. Of course the biggest draw was always the puppies. I also took a traditional temazcal (a version of a sweat lodge) after a day of hiking.

Oaxaca Itinerary
Rufina’s mole ingredients. She makes a mean tortilla!!

Looking back, the Sierra Norte was a highlight of our trip. It offered real views into mountain life and opportunities to connect with the local guides. We were able to challenge ourselves physically and mentally and see what we were made of. For those thinking about this wonderful option I’d like to introduce a dose of reality – it was VERY difficult hiking for lowland weekend warrior-types. The altitude and climbing (how can there be so much *up*?) made for excellent nights of sleep. The rain on a couple of days added a new level of trial and some gastrointestinal distress made us look deep into our souls  for our last bits of strength to climb the next incline. I’d consider your level of fitness and grit before building a full four days of this incomparable element into your trip. Probably not for small kids or the semi-fit.

Oaxaca Itinerary
And do you notice the same thing wrong with this picture?

The Farm!

Dixza, Teotitlan del Valle

After four long days of hiking the girls were tired of proving how resilient they were. We were all looking forward to renting a car (read more about driving in Oaxaca here) and heading toward Teotitlan del Valle to stay on a small farm and learn about Zapotec weaving.

Oaxaca Itinerary
How many goats do you need for a goat rodeo? This seems like more than you actually need.

“Come, it is time to feed the goats!” was the first thing Samuel said after we exited our car and stretched. The girls didn’t need to be asked twice. They went directly to the pile of alfalfa and acted like they’d grown up with farm chores. While they made “friends” with the bull and chased the chickens Jay and I immediately plugged in to what Leonor was working on when we arrived – dying wool with local cochineal bugs and native plants. She invited us to lift the wool out of the baths to see the colors and asked for help putting the wool on the clothesline to dry. This seemed especially helpful since Leonor can only call herself four foot four on a very good day.

Oaxaca Itinerary
Even though Leonor didn’t speak English she found lots of ways to give weaving tips.

We spent the next few days weaving, wandering through the market to find the most delicious tamales, visiting their horses, drinking Leonor’s delicious Oaxacan chocolate, and taking mezcal shots with the local ladies at Samuel’s aunt’s store. It was a short visit, but we all felt like we made some special friends. We are really looking forward to visiting again this summer with our girls’ camp.

The Beach!

Playa Estacahuite, Puerto Angel, Zipolite

Vacation dessert. That is what the beach was for the girls after time in the city, mountains, and small town. They spent hours every day in the water being buffeted about by the waves. See Pacifica’s post on the waves here. We rented the most wonderful set of rooms called Casa Calypso in tiny Playa Estacahuite through Airbnb. The upper floor was Azul and downstairs the girls stayed in identical room Rojo. Fran and Alfonso were lovely hosts and made us feel like visiting friends. Ask them to tell you their story.

Oaxaca Itinerary
Don’t mess with mother nature or she’ll mess with you.

One morning I woke up early to watch the sunrise and went to look for Beija to go to the beach. Her side of the downstairs bed was empty and I had one of those mom moments of panic. I rushed down to the beach and found that she had been lured out by the sunrise too. It is so fun to see your 12 year old sitting rapt with her toes in the sand watching the pinks and oranges rise above the calm ocean. It made me realize that despite all the eye rolling when I point out a great view, she is a romantic girl with deep ties to nature. Then I upbraided her for making me lose my mind with worry…but only for a minute. Then we watched the morning waves roll in together in silence.

Oaxaca Itinerary
Neither Beija nor I could think of a better way to start the day.

Anyway, Estacahuite was minutes away from slightly larger Puerto Angel and much larger Playa Zipolite (yes the one with the nude beach). Both had a variety of restaurants once we’d tired of the great ones at Estacahuite and made us feel like we did a little something other than swim and roll around in the hammock. It was the perfect end to an amazing vacation. We flew out of Huatulco and back home from there.

Oaxaca Itinerary
Puerto Angel as the fishing boats started coming home.

Oaxaca itinerary wrap up

We had such a wonderful time in Oaxaca that I’ve been recommending it to everyone we talk to. We have never gone back to the same place twice before, but we are already finalizing plans to see Oaxaca again this summer with our two travel camps. I can already taste the mole and smell the crisp mountain air. I can’t wait to share it with other kids!

Are you ready to go with this Oaxaca itinerary? Let us know if you have questions about Oaxaca with kids!

Filed Under: Mexico, Tips

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