Oaxaca and Puerto Escondido trip

When you walk through the colorful streets of Oaxaca you can hardly believe that no fewer than 265,000 people live here. The whole city consists of low-rise buildings that make you feel like you are walking in a small town. There is a cozy atmosphere and the streets are really beautiful with the many flags and umbrellas hanging above the streets and the colorful houses. Oaxaca is also often seen as the food capital of Mexico. You can find many food markets and restaurants here. Oaxaca is a wonderful city to spend a few days and has great sights both in the city and in the vicinity of Oaxaca.

Comala Bed & Breakfast is the perfect place to stay in Oaxaca!

These beautiful botanical gardens are open every day and can only be visited with a tour at 10:00, 11:00 and 12:00 according to the website of Jardin Entobotánico de Oaxaca. We were there ourselves at 11:45 am and heard at the entrance that the tour of 12:00 pm was cancelled. No one knows why but it seems they are rather vague about when you can visit the gardens. Our advice is to just walk there and ask at the entrance if you can enter. The entrance fee is 100 Pesos per person with an English guide.

Discover Oaxaca on a free tour with a local guide. Every day at 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, the Free Walking Tour starts from Teatro Macadonia. You can recognize the local guide by the yellow hat or umbrella. During the 2.5-hour walking tour, the guide will show you all the beautiful places of the city and you will learn more about its history. It is best to sign up for the free tour by sending a message via WhatsApp to +52 951 525 7240. At the end of the tour it is appreciated if you give a tip.

A very popular tour of Oaxaca is to visit Hierve el Agua. You can easily visit this beautiful limestone rock formation with a kind of natural infinity pool on top with a tour.

A 30-minute drive from Oaxaca you can visit the archaeological temples of Monte Albán at an altitude of 1940 meters. Monte Albán is the capital of Zapotec culture. It is a large historic site and from here you have a beautiful view over the surrounding valley. You can easily book a tour to Monte Alban.

In Oaxaca you can find several nice markets that are all worth a visit! For example, visit Mercado Benito Juáraz. Even if you don't need anything, this local market is very nice to visit. This large market hall is full of food stalls selling all kinds of vegetables, herbs, dishes and more. Another nice market is Mercado 20 de Noviembre. It is best to score a local breakfast or lunch here. This market is open every day until 19:00.

Right in the center of Oaxaca you can find the beautiful church of Santa Domingo de Guzman. The church is only open from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. The afternoon is also the best time to take pictures here as the sun is on the right side of the church. There are a total of three streets leading to this church and all these streets are very nice to walk through. We especially recommend that you stroll around and discover different streets in Oaxaca.

From Oaxaca you can take the ADO night bus to Puerto Escondido. Many indicate that this ride is very intense because of the many mountain roads. We also got the tip to bring a puke bag, but we found this 10.5 hour ride not too bad. If you suffer from motion sickness, do not forget to take this pill in advance and it will be fine.

We recommend staying in the La Punta district and Casa Gio  is really the perfect place. The Belgian owner and his Mexican wife do everything they can to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. It is also just outside the center so that you wake up from the roosters instead of being awake all night by the loud music.

Puerto Escondido is located on the west coast of Mexico and has stolen our hearts! This is really one of those places where you end up staying longer than planned and we did that too. We recommend staying here for at least 5 nights and if you have the time, at least 7 nights. Puerto Escondido is located on the west coast of Mexico, is about 8 kilometers long and you can stay in four different neighborhoods. La Punta is the backpackers area with many cozy bars and restaurants, Zicatela is in the middle and is more developed and a perfect place for Digital Nomads as the internet connection is the best here, the center of Puerto Escondido where you will find more traffic and crowds and the 4th district is Rinconada from where you can easily go to the most beautiful beaches.

Whale season in Puerto Escondido runs from December through March. If you travel during these months, we definitely recommend taking a boat trip and looking for these beautiful underwater giants. Of course it is and remains nature and you never know if you will see a whale, but the chance in these months is very high. Besides the whales you can also spot many dolphins, turtles and manta rays. A good and eco friendly tour is Eco Adventures Puerto Escondido.

Beautiful beaches can be found in the vicinity of Puerto Escondido. From small bays to rugged stretches of beaches. Puerto Escondido is therefore a fantastic beach destination. But which beaches should you definitely not miss? Below is a list of the most beautiful beaches of Puerto Escondido. #1 Playa Bacocho is a beautiful pristine long sandy beach where there is more than enough space to find a quiet spot. The waves can get quite high here, which is great fun to 'play' in. There are two resorts on the beach where you can only have a drink when you stay there, strange but true. So bring plenty of drinks and snacks. #2 Playa Coral is a beach which is located in a bay next to Playa Bacocho. You can easily walk here from Playa Bacocho. It is very nicely situated, quite quiet and on the sides there are beautiful rocks from which you can perfectly watch the sunset. #3 Playa Carrizalillo is a small bay where the water is very calm and you can float peacefully. There are a number of restaurants where you can eat and drink something and this bay is also very popular with Mexicans.

The most special and cutest activity you can do in Puerto Escondido is releasing baby turtles. A really special and exciting moment when you see your little baby turtle go out into the wide world. You can release a turtle every day at 5:00 PM at Playa Bacocho. There is really only one building on the beach and that's where you should be. We recommend arriving here at least 15 minutes in advance as it can get very busy. For the release of 1 baby turtle you pay 100 Pesos (around €4,-). To get here you can either take a taxi for 60 to 80 Pesos or the collectivo to Bacocho and then walk for about 30 minutes for 10 Pesos per person.