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The Perfect 3 Days in Oaxaca City, Mexico (Itinerary)

Last Updated: July 27, 2023 · Oaxaca

Is spending three days in Oaxaca City enough to soak in the all sites, architecture, and gastronomy that Oaxaca has to offer?

Certainly not, but three days is a great amount of time to immerse yourself in some of Oaxaca City’s top things to do and see.

Woman with blonde hair looks up in downtown Oaxaca at the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán in Oaxaca City, Mexico.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links that may earn me a small commission should you decide to click through and make a valid purchase (at no extra cost to you). Thanks so much for your support!

If you’re unsure of how many days in Oaxaca you need, rest assured that three days is plenty.

With 3 days in Oaxaca City, you have ample time to slurp up its rich gastronomy, marvel at its centuries-old architecture, stroll through its sprawling local markets, and stand in awe as you explore ancient Zapotec ruins.

If you are ready to see the best of Oaxaca City in as little as three days, I’ve got the perfect, detailed itinerary right here.

After spending two months in Oaxaca, and having lived as nomads in Mexico on and off since 2018, I can guarantee you will fall in love with Oaxaca just as much as we did when we first visited.

Let’s go!

Table of Contents show
The Ultimate 3-Day Oaxaca Itinerary
Day 1: Discover Oaxaca’s Historic Center
Day 2: Explore Beyond the City
Day 3 in Oaxaca: Street Food, Mezcal, & Markets

The Ultimate 3-Day Oaxaca Itinerary

Blonde female digital nomad posing for photo in front of pink wall with a sign that reads, "Oaxaca Te Amo" in Oaxaca City, Mexico.

Here is a brief overview of what you can expect to do and see during your 3 days in Oaxaca City.

In my itinerary, you will get to see a bit of everything, including the artsy neighborhoods, the archaeological sites, (some) museums, and, of course, the main local markets to immerse in Oaxaca’s incredible food and textile cultures.

Of course, feel free to customize the below itinerary to find what piques your interest the most!

Bookmark these Oaxaca guides for later:

  • 🚶‍♀️ Best DIY Self-Guided Walking Tours of Oaxaca City
  • ✨ The 12 Cutest Boutique Hotels in Oaxaca
  • 🗺 How to Spend 4–5 Days in Oaxaca City Itinerary
  • 🎒 9 Best Backpacker Hostels in Oaxaca City

🌴 TULUM HEALING ALL-INCLUSIVE RETREAT 🌴

Use my personal code “BRI” to get 10% off!

✨ Click here for pricing + itinerary ✨

Tulum Retreat

Day 1: Discover Oaxaca’s Historic Center

Colorful hostels, restaurants, and buildings line cobbled street in Oaxaca City Historic Center.

Even though you have three full days in Oaxaca to spare, it’s always best to start in the heart of the city center.

The city center of Oaxaca (also referred to as downtown) is a registered UNESCO World Heritage Site.

You will find everything in the center—from gourmet restaurants to local eateries to renovated historic monuments to modern museums and much, much more.

Get familiar with Oaxaca by kickstarting your 3-day itinerary with a tour around the Zócalo (main square).

I recommend you follow my DIY self-guided walking tour of Oaxaca to learn more about each point of interest.

One of the places to visit here is the bustling Alameda de Léon square connected to the main park on its northwest corner.

The Teatro Macedonia Alcaná de Oaxaca.
Teatro Macedonio Alcalá

Here, you’ll find a bustling square adorned with the 16th-century Catedral Metropolitana de Oaxaca.

Two blocks east sits the equally stunning Teatro Macedonio Alcalá. If you take a guided walking tour of Oaxaca, your departure point will be at this beautiful and historic building.

There are tons of interesting activities to do in the center of Oaxaca, such as visiting the San Pablo Cultural Center, the Oaxaqueño Painters Museum, and the free Regional Textiles Museum of Oaxaca.

While the main markets of 20 de Noviembre and Benito Juárez are located about 700m south of the Zócalo, there is the Atemporal design market hidden right around the corner from the pedestrian-only street of the Anador Turistico you should check out.

Inside this market, you can shop for artisanal jewelry and clothes, and treat yourself to fancy ice cream, mezcal, and other treats!

✨ Read more about the must-see markets of Oaxaca here!

Artisanal ice cream with mezcal, lime, and blackberry.
Atemporal design market in covered outdoor courtyard

The Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán is a must-see on any Oaxaca itinerary.

And during your three days in Oaxaca, you’ll pass by the ornate church and ex-convent aplenty.

Surrounding this sprawling plaza are tons of independent art studios, rooftop bars, boutique stores, mezcal bars (mezcalerías), museums, and more!

The main things to do around Santo Domingo are:

  • Tour the Ethnobotanical Garden (with a guide only)
  • Visit the on-site cultural and archaeological museum
  • Step inside and visit the interior of the ex-convent
temple santo domingo oaxaca city

I recommend stepping into a few that attract your eye, but don’t linger too long! Plenty more activities await you on your first day in Oaxaca.

While the Templo Santo Domingo is supposed to be open daily, it’s not really. Visiting hours for tourists vary.

You are better off visiting the Jardín Etnobotaníco (Ethnobotanical Garden) for the morning tour and then swinging by the cathedral in the late afternoon.

For the garden tours, you need to join a guided group (for English tours, that’s at 10 am, 11 am, or 12pm and costs $100 MXN pesos).

Blonde woman walking through garden of cacti in Oaxaca City, Mexico.
Jardín Etnobotanico de Oaxaca

If you don’t decide to do the ethnobotanical garden tour, you can take advantage of your available time and continue visiting the historic center beyond the temple.

A block north of the temple lies even more points of interest to visit in the vicinity.

  • The House-Museum of Benito Juárez
  • La Cosecha Organic Market
  • Aqueducts (Arches) of Xochimilco
  • The oldest neighborhood of Oaxaca, Xochimilco
  • Mercado Sánchez Pascuas (local food/produce market as featured in a Netflix episode)
Downtown Oaxaca City

Luckily, all of this can be done on foot.

If you are strapped for time on your very first day in Oaxaca, you can always come back in your spare time on days two and three and complete the above-mentioned activities.

🌴 TULUM HEALING ALL-INCLUSIVE RETREAT 🌴

Use my personal code “BRI” to get 10% off!

✨ Click here for pricing + itinerary ✨

Tulum Retreat

Day 2: Explore Beyond the City

Woman standing overlooking the Zapotec archaeological ruins of Monte Albán near Oaxaca Mexico.

When you have 3 days in Oaxaca City, I recommend spending one of those exploring more of Oaxaca City’s surroundings on a day trip.

Here are a few of the most popular Oaxaca day trips.

  • Monte Albán — explore the ruins of this Zapotec archaeological site overlooking Oaxaca City
  • Hierve El Agua — wade in spring pools at the top of this popular petrified waterfall
  • Tlacolula Sunday Market — stroll through this large, sprawling market featuring everything Oaxaqueño
  • Mezcal distillery tour — learn about the entire culture and process behind mezcal on a mezcal tour from Oaxaca (read my review)
  • San Antonio Arrazola — journey to the small pueblo where the Oaxaca alebrijes figurines originate
  • Mitla & Yagul Caves — visit the town and archaeological site of Mitla and the prehistoric caves of Yagul/Mitla

If you decide to visit Monte Albán, my advice is to go as soon as it opens. This ancient Zapotec capital city and archaeological site is a must-visit.

In fact, for all the day excursions, start early so you can make the most of your afternoon and evening back in Oaxaca City.

Hierve El Agua is by far the most popular choice for day trips, but note that it takes about 1.5 hours to reach one way—even more if you go by bus (from Oaxaca, you’ll have to first shuttle to Mitla).

The easiest way to visit Hierve El Agua from Oaxaca City is with a half-day or full-day guided tour like this top-rated one.

Screenshot of Viator tour of Hierve El Agua.

🌴 TULUM HEALING ALL-INCLUSIVE RETREAT 🌴

Use my personal code “BRI” to get 10% off!

✨ Click here for pricing + itinerary ✨

Tulum Retreat

Day 3 in Oaxaca: Street Food, Mezcal, & Markets

Inside the Noviembre 23 Mercado de Oaxaca
Tlayuda and michelada - Oaxacan food and drink at market in Oaxaca

For your third and final day in Oaxaca, you may not have a full 12 hours cut out for you to explore, which is why I recommend doing some lighter activities today, such as:

  • Eating your way into Oaxaca’s street food culture
  • Going on a street art tour of Oaxaca’s Jalatlaco neighborhood
  • Ducking inside the local markets of the city
  • Finishing the day in a swanky mezcal bar at Mezcalogia

For starters, you don’t need to pay for a guided food tour, but if you are keen to learn more about the culture and history of the gastronomy of Oaxaca, then I would definitely recommend doing just that.

Luckily, the food tours are affordable and they offer so much value.

Recommended Oaxaca Food Tours:

  • 🦗 Eat Like A Local Authentic Oaxaca Food Tour
  • 🌮 2x Oaxaca Markets Street Food Tours by Locals
  • 🌽 Earth, Corn & Fire: The Roots of Oaxacan Cuisine
Oaxacan street food

If you prefer to discover Oaxaca’s street food and markets at your own pace, then start on foot near the Zócalo and head south.

There are a couple of markets down here to visit.

  • Mercado 20 de Noviembre
  • Benito Juárez
  • Mercado de Artesanías

Mercado 20 de Noviembre is the big and sprawling market right across from Benito Juárez Market.

For food, head to Noviembre. For everything else, head to Benito Juárez. At Benito, you can find everything from produce to crafts to souvenirs to crispy crickets, and more!

Alternatively, or additionally (if you have time), visit the old, artsy neighborhood of Jalatlaco.

The neighborhood of Jalatlaco in Oaxaca City, Mexico.
The San Matias Jalatlaco Temple with a colorful belfry.

Jalatlaco is a 10-minute walk east of Templo Santo Domingo, and there is no excuse to miss out on it.

Here, you will be enamored with the colorful street art and quaint cafes, restaurants, and independent art galleries/studios that have taken up residence inside the historic converted buildings.

Aside from the little crown jewel of the neighborhood, the San Mátias Temple, there are lots of cute shops, studios, and cafes.

The best way to visit is with a guided street art tour by bike, but the neighborhood is small enough to get lost on your own. It’s pretty neat to glean your local guide’s insight and stories about all the artists and murals you see, though!

I love Jalatlaco because it is a nice way to wind down and conclude your trip to Oaxaca.

I’m sure you’ll love it so don’t forget to tack it onto your 3-day Oaxaca itinerary!

To top off your stay in Oaxaca, head to one of the mezcal bars around the Santo Domingo Plaza for a final slurp of that smoky goodness before you go home!

If you have any questions at all about what to do and see in Oaxaca in three days, drop me a comment below and I’ll get back to you. ☺️

Bookmark 3 days in Oaxaca guide for later!

By: Bri · In: Oaxaca

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Comments

  1. Kat says

    July 24, 2023 at 12:00 pm

    Queremos visitar durante el festival del día de los muertos.
    Que cosas hay por disfrutar?
    Hay que viajar a otra parte para power celebrar

    Reply
    • Bri says

      August 1, 2023 at 2:34 pm

      Hola Kat! Hay tanto que ver! Habrá muchas festividades. Recomendaría visitar los cementerios de los pueblos cercanos incluyendo Xoxocotlan, San Felipe, y luego explorar Centro y Jalatlaco en Oaxaca. Hay bailes, desfiles, comida y muchos altares hermosos 🪅

      Reply
  2. Martin Talavera says

    May 21, 2023 at 1:26 pm

    Estaremos en el estado de Oaxaca al rededor de 9 días en nuestro plan está visitar Oaxaca, Huatulco, Puerto Escondido y Mazunte de acuerdo a su experiencia es preferible rentar carro o comprar los tours

    Reply
    • Bri says

      July 20, 2023 at 12:18 pm

      Hola Martin! Creo que lo mejor sería rentar un carro por tener mas flexibilidad 🙂

      Reply

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Where to Stay in Oaxaca City in 2023 (Best Neighborhoods)

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I’m Bri, an adventurous digital nomad living abroad full-time since 2015. It is my hope to inspire you to live a life of adventure, seek out meaningful experiences, and travel slowly and mindfully!

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As a full-time travel blogger and blogging coach, As a full-time travel blogger and blogging coach, I am always looking for ways to boost my passive income. I mean, earning $100+ per day passively is a pretty sweet deal, right?! 

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Folks are always surprised when I tell them I’ve Folks are always surprised when I tell them I’ve been living abroad and traveling for the last 8+ years! 

Fun and rewarding travel doesn’t have to be expensive. 

Here’s how you can make mindful nomadic travel more affordable ⬇️ 

1. For finding free house/petsitting opportunities in cool places, I use @trustedhousesitters . There is a yearly membership to join but it’s worth it because you can sit in so many places around the world for ✨ FREEEEE ✨ and we’d never get to stay in cool (erm... expensive) places as we have — our previous sits have been in Vancouver, British Columbia / Bend, Oregon / Asheville, North Carolina! The other day I found one in Koh Samui, Thailand for 1.5 months and I was honestly this 🤏 close to applying on a whim. 

2. Local, slow travel (traveling in one place for longer periods of time 6 months > 6 days) is how we’ve afforded to live abroad for years on end. We live well below our means and try to match the local rent as best we can. We often find local apartments for rent on destination FB groups. I have tons of slow travel / digital nomad guides on my blog if you need extra help for getting started! ✨ 

3. Work/cultural exchanges and (responsible) volunteer programs can be a great way to integrate into a host destination and community mindfully while on a budget. Check out programs like @workawayinfo or @worldpackers 

Let me know if you’d like more tips like these or if you have any questions! 🫶 

#digitalnomad #budgettravel #housesitting #petsitting #workexchange #nomadiccreators #mindfultravel #responsibletravel #slowtravel #workaway #worldpackers #trustedhousesitters
Our last road trip? 🥲 Is anyone keen to buy o Our last road trip? 🥲 

Is anyone keen to buy our vintage 1990 Dodge Ram Roadtrek with only 110k original miles?? 

Our van story ⬇️ ✨🚐

In 2019, we were living in Mexico when I (Bri) had the tug to buy a vintage van and road trip North America in it. We found the perfect one, drove it 4 days back to Tennessee to change the plates, and then geared up for our cross-Canada road trip. We drove over 10,000 miles in six months, from Nayarit, Mexico all the way to Newfoundland & Labrador then back across Canada to Vancouver, where we stored it for the winter. 
As you can imagine, our plans to pick up our road trip again in May 2020 weren’t possible. In fact, Canada didn’t open its borders for another TWO YEARS. During that time, our van sat parked outside in a little U-haul parking lot with just a tarp for protection (that ripped and had to be replaced). 
When we finally got back to it in May of 2022—to our surprise—our van started on the 5th try (3x Paul, then 2x me), and only had one flat tire. From there, we drove it across BC and Alberta, crossed the Rockies, and then journeyed on down around the Olympic Peninsula in WA and then explored Oregon for the first time. Since winter in the van (in the PNW) isn’t so pleasant, we had to store it again. So at the end of October 2022, we stored it and flew back to a new state in Mexico to wait out winter. In May 2023 (are you seeing a pattern here), we picked Van Rouge up again and dusted her off, again, and this time she started on the 2nd try. We started road-tripping around WA, then crossed over into Idaho, and then...? And then, nearly abruptly, we decided it was time to stop. 🛑 

For the first time since owning the van, we felt like we were moving forward but in no direction. Chasing a dream of our former selves. 

Letting go, or at least making that decision, made me want to hold on to our beasty Van Rouge even more so that I never forget that feeling of freedom or all those epic memories we made. 

But this sunset-soaked drive reminded me that, letting go, doesn’t mean I will. 

This van and I, we had something special. I found her, and she took me to places that helped find me.🥹

#vanlife #roadtrip #overlanding
Things to do in Taipei ⬇️ [save this to your Things to do in Taipei ⬇️ 

[save this to your Taiwan folder!]

· Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
· Taipei 101 Observatory for awesome city views (NT$ 420)
· Eat at Din Tai Fung! 🥟 
· Street food at NIGHT MARKETS! Shilin Night Market, Raohe Street Night Market*
>> * The one we went to and got a foot massage at hehe 🦶 
· Explore iconic temples: Longshan Temple, Baoan Temple
· Wander through historical streets like Dadaocheng and Dihua Street
· Ximending district for shopping/entertainment/food
· Head to the “Barcade” for a retro gaming-themed night out 💃 

We needed a few more days to hang out in Taipei, it’s SUCH a cool city!! Have you been?

#taiwantravel #exploretaiwan #exploretaipei #nomadtravel #taiwan
The last one lol 😳 — if I kept track well, my The last one lol 😳 — if I kept track well, my grand total for 10 days solo in Japan (Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo) including all transport, accommodation, food, tours, miscellaneous, came to:

… *Stephen Colbert calculator noises* …

✨ $2,158.36 ✨

Or about $215 / day 😬 

I was NOT on a budget, by the way! I pretty much did and ate whatever my heart desired, which was incredibly freeing and I’m so grateful to be able to have given this experience to myself. No regrets 💯 (especially on the Nintendo / Zelda splurge) 😂 

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Thank goodness for a little thing called the inter Thank goodness for a little thing called the internet — and family group chats — because otherwise… living this slow travel nomadic life would be sooo hard! 

Already, by choosing to live abroad I’ve had to miss a lot of core life moments over the last decade like milestone birthdays, deaths, graduations, anniversaries, pregnancies, etc. But it’s also the daily/weekly moments I miss out on most (and miss the most) — nights in watching movies, nights out for dinner, weekends away, and every laugh and tear in between. 🥺

Of course, I miss my family and I love seeing them when I go home (or when they come visit me!). But moving abroad and being the “far away daughter” is honestly the best decision/act I’ve ever made for my life (sorry + love u momma 🥰). 

It was something I felt pulled to do early on in life and it’s shaped me immensely and I’m eternally grateful to this world, this life, and to the family that supports me — the home I get to “go home” to. 

Have you ever lived abroad or do you now? 

#livingabroad #digitalnomadgirl #fulltimetravel #slowtravel #nomadic #lifeabroad #farfromhome
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