Trip notes
If you are going yourself
Everything practical for Oaxaca, Mexico in one place — where it actually is, where to sleep, how to move, what to eat, what the weather does, and what to put in the bag. The story itself follows.
Travelled
With family — My mother, who has opinions about mole and turned out to be right about all of them.
The route
6 stops · 1 slept in · 5 nights · 56 km by road
Drag to pan, use +/− to zoom, tap a pin for detail.
Oaxaca Centro
5 nights · base
Reached 8 Nov, 16:40Good with kidsDogs welcome
Five nights walking distance from every market in the story.
Good signal — 4G and 5G everywhere, plus free wifi in the zócalo.
Mercado 20 de Noviembre
Passed through · daily
Reached 9 Nov, 09:15Good with kidsNo dogs
The smoke-filled grill corridor. Buy meat by weight, hand it over, eat standing.
Patchy signal — Signal drops inside the halls. Step out to the street to call anyone.
On foot
Central de Abastos
Passed through · Sat 08:00
Reached 10 Nov, 08:00Good with kidsNo dogs
Southern Mexico's largest market. A small city with a produce problem.
Patchy signal — The network is swamped on a Saturday. Texts get through; data does not.
On foot
Teotitlán del Valle
Passed through · day trip
Reached 11 Nov, 10:30Good with kidsDogs welcome
Weaving village in the valley. Natural dyes, and lunch better than in town.
Patchy signal — 4G in the village centre, nothing on the approach road.
By road · 29.6 km · 26 min driving
Tlacolula
Passed through · Sunday
Reached 12 Nov, 09:40Good with kidsNo dogs
The valley's Sunday market. Go early, eat the barbacoa, leave by noon.
Patchy signal — Fine early, heavily loaded by mid-morning on market day.
By road · 11.3 km · 10 min driving
Mitla
Passed through · day trip
Reached 11 Nov, 11:50Good with kidsNo dogs
Zapotec stonework in geometric fret patterns, plus the mezcal road back.
Good signal — 4G at the site and along the highway back.
By road · 14.6 km · 14 min driving
Centro Histórico — Mercado 20 de Noviembre is a block south17.0606° N, 96.7255° W
Open route in Google MapsOpen in OpenStreetMapDay by day
6 days, start to finish · 8–13 November 2025
Day 18 Nov
Oaxaca CentroSaw: The Centro gridSaw: A tlayuda after darkStaying Centro Histórico
- Overcast, 27°/13°
Day 29 Nov
Starting from Centro HistóricoOn foot toMercado 20 de NoviembreSaw: The smoke corridorSaw: Mole negro and coloraditoStaying Centro Histórico
- Overcast, 28°/12°
Day 310 Nov
Starting from Centro HistóricoOn foot toCentral de AbastosSaw: TejateSaw: ChapulinesSaw: Mezcal in a clay copitaStaying Centro Histórico
- Drizzle, 23°/14°
Day 411 Nov
Starting from Centro HistóricoBy road toTeotitlán del ValleSaw: Teotitlán del Valle and its natural dyesBy road toMitlaSaw: The Zapotec fretwork at MitlaStaying Centro Histórico
- Overcast, 19°/11°
Day 512 Nov
Starting from Centro HistóricoBy road toTlacolulaSaw: Tlacolula marketSaw: BarbacoaStaying Centro Histórico
- Overcast, 24°/10°
Day 613 Nov
Starting from Centro HistóricoBy road toOaxaca CentroTravelling home
- Overcast, 26°/12°
What to pack
Warm days, cold nights, and a lot of standing on stone
- Clothing
- Layers
- Shoes
- Walking shoes
- Money
- Cash for markets
- Medicine
- Motion sickness
Where to stay
Centro Histórico
Boutique hotelGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
Walk to every market and mezcalería. Noisy in the best way; ask for a room off the street.
Jalatlaco
GuesthouseGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
Cobbled, muralled and quieter, ten minutes' walk from the centre. The nicest place to wake up.
Xochimilco
ApartmentGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
Uphill, residential, and cheaper. Good for longer stays with a kitchen.
Getting around
Getting thereGood with kidsNo dogs
Fly to Oaxaca (OAX), or the six-hour ADO bus from Mexico City. The new highway has cut the drive considerably.
In the cityGood with kidsDogs welcome
Walk. The centre is a flat grid and everything in the story is within 20 minutes on foot.
To the valleysGood with kidsNo dogs
Colectivo taxis and second-class buses reach Mitla, Teotitlán and Tlacolula for very little. Tlacolula's Sunday market is the big one.
Altitude
1,550 m. Not a problem for most people, but mezcal hits harder than at sea level.
Food stops
Mercado 20 de Noviembre
MarketGood with kidsNo dogsLittle for vegans
The smoke-filled grill corridor: buy meat by weight from one vendor, hand it to another to cook, eat standing up.
Central de Abastos
Wholesale marketGood with kidsNo dogsVegan options
Southern Mexico's largest. Go by 08:00 on a Saturday; by 14:00 the good things are gone.
Tlayudas
Street stallGood with kidsDogs welcomeLittle for vegans
The size of a bicycle wheel and meant for the table, not one person. Best after dark.
Mezcalerías
BarNot one for kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
Sipped at room temperature from a clay copita, never shot. Let whoever pours it talk you through the agave.
Main attractions
13 in 6 days
The Centro grid
Day 1
A tlayuda after dark
Day 1
Mercado 20 de Noviembre
Day 2
The smoke corridor
Day 2
Mole negro and coloradito
Day 2
Central de Abastos
Day 3
Tejate
Day 3
Chapulines
Day 3
Mezcal in a clay copita
Day 3
Teotitlán del Valle and its natural dyes
Day 4
The Zapotec fretwork at Mitla
Day 4
Tlacolula market
Day 5
Barbacoa
Day 5
The story
Seven moles, three of which change what you think a sauce can be. Plus a smoke-filled corridor where you buy meat by weight and hand it to a griller.
A morning route
- Tejate from a market stall — maize, cacao, and a foam that looks impossible.
- Tlayuda for the table, not for one person. It is the size of a bicycle wheel.
- One mole negro, one coloradito, side by side while you can.
- Chapulines, salted and lime-dusted, on the way out.
Saturday, early
- Central de Abastos is the largest market in southern Mexico. In by eight.
- By eleven it is a crowd. By two the good things are gone.
- Mezcal is not a shot: room temperature, clay copita, and let whoever poured it talk.
How to eat your way through Mercado 20 de Noviembre without ordering the same thing four times.
- #food
- #markets
- #mexico
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