Oaxaca is a state in the south-west of Mexico, known for its cooking and its Indigenous peoples and cultures, and one of the most biologically diverse states in the country. Its heart is the Central Valleys, with Oaxaca City and the Zapotec towns around it. To the north-east rise the forested mountains of the Sierra Norte, and to the south the Pacific coast runs from Puerto Escondido to Huatulco past Mazunte and Zipolite.
This page helps you choose and combine. Oaxaca City has its own page with the valley day trips. Below are two trips that go further, the surf town of Puerto Escondido and the village trails of the Sierra Norte, and from the Mexico page the valley markets.
Watch the Mexican Pipeline and swim at Carrizalillo
Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca
2 or 3 daysGo alone or with a tour
A Pacific surf town where experts ride the Mexican Pipeline at Zicatela while beginners learn in a sheltered cove nearby.
Book a two-hour surf lesson with a local school in Puerto Escondido, which puts beginners on the gentler waves instead of Zicatela.
What it is
Puerto Escondido, a town of about 30,000 on the Oaxaca coast, is known for its big waves. Playa Zicatela is home to the Mexican Pipeline, with international surf contests every year. It is for expert surfers and very strong swimmers only: even experienced surfers get hurt there, and many people have drowned. For swimming, Playa Carrizalillo is the most scenic and safest beach, a small cove reached down 167 steps, also good for learning to surf. The rocks between Playa Manzanillo and Puerto Angelito are good for snorkelling, with sea turtles and rays often seen.
How to do it
A highway opened in 2024 brought the drive from Oaxaca City down to about three hours, and the small airport near town has daily flights from Mexico City.
Good to know
Watch Zicatela from the sand, and book a lesson at Carrizalillo if you want to surf.
Hike between the Zapotec villages of the Sierra Norte
Sierra Norte, Oaxaca
A full day, or 2 to 4 days village to villageGo alone or with a tour
Pine forests above the Oaxaca valley, where eight Zapotec villages run their own trails, guides and cabins as a cooperative.
Book a small-group day hike from Oaxaca City that drives you to the Sierra Norte, walks a forest loop and includes meals in a village.
What it is
The Pueblos Mancomunados are a cooperative set up by Zapotec communities in the Sierra Norte, the mountains north-east of Oaxaca City, to run tourism on their own terms. Eight villages take part, with community members working as guides, cooks and hosts of guest cabins in each village. A marked trail network of about 100 km links them through the forest, so you can hike from village to village without camping. Benito Juárez is the most visited, with a suspension bridge and lookouts, and Cuajimoloyas holds a wild mushroom festival on the last weekend of July.
How to do it
Expediciones Sierra Norte, the community's own agency, arranges guides, cabins and meals. The villages sit high, Llano Grande at about 3,000 metres, so nights are cold and the altitude makes hiking harder.
Good to know
Long routes suit fit hikers: start with a guided day hike from the city if you are unsure.
From dawn on a Sunday, farmers, butchers and mezcal producers fill the streets of Tlacolula, one of the region's oldest open-air markets.
What it is
Oaxaca City has markets every day, but the towns of the Central Valleys each hold a weekly tianguis, and the day you pick decides the trip. Sunday is Tlacolula, half an hour east of the city, with producers from the surrounding villages. Friday is Ocotlán de Morelos, known for its pottery, Thursday is Zaachila, and Wednesday is Etla, although sources disagree on Etla's days, so confirm locally.
How to do it
Go in the morning. Tlacolula sits on the road to Mitla, so a Sunday there pairs easily with Mitla or the weaving village of Teotitlán del Valle.
Good to know
Carry small notes and coins, and ask before photographing stallholders.
Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.
No traveller picks for Oaxaca yet. Know a place most visitors miss?
Plan your trip
Which places for what
Oaxaca City is the base for food, churches, crafts and the ruins of Monte Albán and Mitla. The Sierra Norte is for hiking and village stays in pine forest. The coast is for beaches: Puerto Escondido for surf and nightlife, Mazunte and Zipolite for small beach towns, Huatulco for calm bays and resorts.
Combining them
In must30's view, four days in Oaxaca City, one or two nights in the Sierra Norte, then three or four days on the coast. The coast and the city work in either order.
Getting around
Buses from Mexico City reach Oaxaca City. A new highway opened in 2024 cut the drive from the city to Puerto Escondido to about three hours, and small planes fly from the city to Puerto Escondido and Huatulco. Federal Highway 200 follows the coast.
When to go
The dry season, November to April, is the easiest time for the valleys and the mountains. Late July brings the Guelaguetza and the turn of October and November the Day of the Dead, when the city fills up.
Questions travellers ask
How long does it take from Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido?
About three hours by the highway that opened in 2024. The old mountain road by shuttle van took six or seven hours, and there are also short flights.
How many days do you need in Oaxaca?
In must30's view, about a week and a half: four days in the city and valleys, one or two in the Sierra Norte and three or four on the coast.
Which beach in Puerto Escondido is safe for swimming?
Playa Carrizalillo, a small cove reached down 167 steps. Playa Zicatela is for expert surfers and very strong swimmers only.
Do you need a guide in the Sierra Norte?
The trails are marked, but the community agency, Expediciones Sierra Norte, arranges guides, cabins and meals, and guided day hikes leave from Oaxaca City.
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