Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Mexico: Mexico City, Puebla and Oaxaca
8 days from Mexico City to Oaxaca: Teotihuacan at opening and a food walk, a night in Puebla with Cholula, then three nights in Oaxaca with Monte Albán, a mezcal village and a cooking class.
8 days · Mexico City to Oaxaca · up to 12 guests
Teotihuacan, north-east of Mexico City Photo: Syced, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:June_2007_Teotihuacan_21.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 8 days, 7 nights
- Start and end
- Mexico City to Oaxaca
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Longest drive
- 4.5 h on day 5
- Activity level
Moderate
Mostly city walking, 6 to 10 km on the busiest days on cobbles and stone paving. Teotihuacan (about 4 km on uneven stone with little shade, at about 2,300 m) and Monte Albán (steep platform stairs) are the most demanding mornings. The altitude is the main effort: Mexico City sits at about 2,240 m. Every climb is optional and you can sit out any part of a day.
- Meals included
- 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 495 (estimated price)
- Season
- October to April
Highlights
Why this trip
- The National Museum of Anthropology at opening, then a food walk and lunch in the Centro Histórico
- Teotihuacan at opening with a local site guide, before the coaches and the midday heat
- The Great Pyramid of Cholula and a mole poblano lunch on the way to a night in Puebla
- Grilling your own lunch in the smoky Pasillo de Humo of Oaxaca's Mercado 20 de Noviembre
- Monte Albán early, then a black pottery workshop in San Bartolo Coyotepec
- A family mezcal palenque in Santiago Matatlán, Teotitlán weavers and the stone fretwork of Mitla
- A last-morning market visit and cooking class before your flight home from Oaxaca
What makes this trip different
Short drives, all published
Every drive is listed day by day. The longest is 4.5 h, on day 5.
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 495 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
The longest drive is 4.5 h, on day 5.
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Mexico City
Mexico City International Airport to your hotel in the centre
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Mexico City
- Drive about 45 min
Fly into Mexico City International Airport (MEX), where a driver meets you in the arrivals hall with your name and your tracked flight time, so nobody waits at the kerb. The drive to our central hotel takes 30 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic.
Evening
Plan to land by about 3 pm to reach the evening briefing; the exact latest arrival is confirmed with your final itinerary. Mexico City sits at about 2,240 m, higher than most visitors expect, so the first afternoon is for a slow walk, plenty of water and an early night rather than a museum marathon. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week: how the days are paced, what the altitude feels like, what to eat and where to be careful with street food. Then we walk to a welcome dinner at a local restaurant, a long table of tacos, salsas and regional dishes, with time to meet the people you will travel with.
Included
- Pick-up at Mexico City International Airport (MEX)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Activity: Mexico City is at about 2,240 m. Drink water, take it slowly today and go easy on alcohol at dinner.
Museum at opening, the Centro Histórico on foot
Chapultepec Park to the Centro Histórico
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Mexico City
- Drive about 30 min
We start at the National Museum of Anthropology in Chapultepec Park when it opens at 9 am, before the school groups arrive. Your guide takes you straight to the rooms that matter for the week ahead: Teotihuacan, the Mexica (Aztec) hall with the Sun Stone, and the Oaxaca rooms on the Zapotec and Mixtec cultures, so the sites you see later already have a story.
Afternoon
Late morning we cross to the old centre for a food walk: tamales and atole at a street stand, the stalls of Mercado San Juan with their cheeses, fruit and chiles, and a sit-down lunch at a long-running fonda. In the afternoon we walk the Zócalo, laid out over the ceremonial heart of Aztec Tenochtitlan, step into the Metropolitan Cathedral and visit the Templo Mayor, the excavated great temple of the Aztec city, with its museum. Diego Rivera's murals close the day if the Palacio Nacional is open to visitors; if the group is tired, the murals and the cathedral are the first things we drop.
Evening
The evening is free, with the hotel a short walk away.
Included
- National Museum of Anthropology at opening with your guide
- Food walk in the Centro Histórico with Mercado San Juan
- Sit-down lunch at a fonda
- The Zócalo and the Metropolitan Cathedral
- Templo Mayor ruins and museum
- Diego Rivera murals (at the Palacio Nacional when open, otherwise the murals of the Secretaría de Educación Pública)
Optional experiences
- Lucha libre at Arena México on the evenings it runs (ticket price shown when you book)
Easier option: Skip the cathedral, the Templo Mayor and the murals after lunch and walk back to the hotel for the afternoon.
Free time: Evening free
Activity: About 8 km on foot over the day, on flat city paving.
Teotihuacan at opening
Mexico City to Teotihuacan and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Mexico City
- Drive about 2 h
Afternoon
We leave the hotel at about 7:45 am and drive about 50 km north-east, an hour or a little more in morning traffic, to reach Teotihuacan at opening, while the air is cool and before the tour coaches and the midday sun. The city was built centuries before the Aztecs, who found it already in ruins and gave it the name it still carries; UNESCO listed it in 1987. With a local site guide we walk the Avenue of the Dead from the Ciudadela and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, with its carved serpent heads, past the Pyramid of the Sun and on to the Plaza of the Moon, about 4 km on foot in all, on uneven stone with little shade. The Pyramid of the Sun has been closed to climbers since about 2020 and access to the Pyramid of the Moon varies, so we confirm before you travel; the plaza platforms still give wide views. Lunch is a sit-down meal near the site, and we are back in the city by mid-afternoon. The rest of the day is free.
Included
- Teotihuacan at opening with a local site guide: the Ciudadela, the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, the Avenue of the Dead, the Pyramid of the Sun and the Plaza of the Moon
- Sit-down lunch near the site
Optional experiences
- A sunrise hot-air balloon flight over Teotihuacan, weather permitting, with an earlier pick-up (price shown when you book)
Easier option: Walk the central part of the Avenue of the Dead only, about 2 km, and wait in the shade at the Plaza of the Moon.
More active option: Climb the front platform of the Pyramid of the Moon if it is open on the day; the Pyramid of the Sun is not climbable.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free
Activity: Teotihuacan is at about 2,300 m with little shade: bring a hat, sunscreen and water.
Cholula and a night in Puebla
Mexico City over the Río Frío pass to Cholula, then Puebla
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Puebla
- Drive about 2.5 h
Morning
After breakfast we drive east over the Río Frío pass, about two hours and a little over 120 km, to Cholula. On a clear morning Popocatépetl, an active volcano, and Iztaccíhuatl stand to the south as we come down into the valley. The Great Pyramid of Cholula looks like a hill because most of it is buried, with the yellow church of the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios on top. We walk up to the church for the view, through the excavated side of the pyramid and into the tunnels when they are open.
Afternoon
Lunch in Puebla is mole poblano, the city's dark sauce of chiles, spices and chocolate, at a sit-down restaurant. In the afternoon your guide walks you through the historic centre, listed by UNESCO in 1987: the cathedral, the gilded Rosary Chapel in the church of Santo Domingo, the Palafoxiana Library founded in 1646, a Talavera pottery workshop and Calle de los Dulces for sweets.
Evening
The evening is free among the tiled facades and plazas.
Included
- The Great Pyramid of Cholula and the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios
- Mole poblano lunch in Puebla
- Puebla historic centre walk: the cathedral, the Rosary Chapel and the Palafoxiana Library
- Talavera pottery workshop visit
- Calle de los Dulces
Easier option: Stay at the foot of the pyramid instead of climbing the path to the church.
Free time: Evening free in Puebla
Activity: The path up to the church on the pyramid is steep and about 15 minutes' walk. Puebla sits at about 2,150 m.
South to Oaxaca and the grill aisle
Puebla to Oaxaca on the toll highway
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Oaxaca
- Drive about 4.5 h
Today is the trip's one longer drive: about 340 km and four and a half hours on the toll highway from Puebla to Oaxaca, just over our usual four-hour cap.
Morning
There is no passenger train and no practical flight between the two cities, so we leave at about 8 am after breakfast and break the drive with a coffee and stretch stop around the Cuacnopalan junction, where the Oaxaca highway leaves the road to Veracruz, and a second short stop in the Mixteca hills, where the road climbs through cactus country.
Afternoon
We reach Oaxaca at about 1:30 to 2 pm and go straight to the Mercado 20 de Noviembre for a late lunch in the Pasillo de Humo, the smoky grill aisle: choose your meat, have it grilled in front of you and eat at the long tables with tortillas, salsa and grilled spring onions. After checking in, an easy walk takes in the Zócalo, the cathedral, the pedestrian Andador Macedonio Alcalá and the baroque church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. Oaxaca sits lower, at about 1,550 m, and feels warmer.
Evening
The evening is free.
Included
- Drive from Puebla to Oaxaca with your guide, with two stops
- Late lunch in the Pasillo de Humo at the Mercado 20 de Noviembre
- Orientation walk: the Zócalo, the cathedral, the Andador Macedonio Alcalá and Santo Domingo de Guzmán
Easier option: Skip the orientation walk and rest at the hotel after lunch.
Free time: Evening free in Oaxaca
Activity: About four and a half hours of driving, the only day over four hours, broken by two stops. The vehicle has more seats than guests.
Monte Albán and black pottery
Oaxaca to Monte Albán and San Bartolo Coyotepec, then back to Oaxaca
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Oaxaca
- Drive about 1 h
Monte Albán is a 20-minute drive from the centre, on a levelled ridge about 400 m above the valley floor, and we are there at opening, before the sun is high on its open plaza where shade is scarce. Founded around 500 BC, it was the Zapotec capital for more than a thousand years and shares its UNESCO listing (1987) with Oaxaca's historic centre. With a local site guide we walk the Great Plaza, the ball court, the arrow-shaped Building J and the carved stones of the Danzantes, and climb the North or South Platform for the view across the valleys. On the way back we stop at San Bartolo Coyotepec, where a family workshop shows how barro negro, the black pottery of the valley, is shaped by hand, polished with quartz and fired to its dark sheen.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down Oaxacan meal before we return to the city at about 2 pm.
Evening
The afternoon and evening are free: the Santo Domingo cultural centre, a café in Jalatlaco or a rest at the hotel.
Included
- Monte Albán at opening with a local site guide
- Black pottery (barro negro) workshop in San Bartolo Coyotepec
- Sit-down Oaxacan lunch
Easier option: Stay on the Great Plaza and skip the platform stairs.
More active option: Climb both the North and the South Platform for views over the whole site.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 3 km on foot at Monte Albán, with steep stone stairs on the platforms and little shade.
Tule, weavers, mezcal and Mitla
Oaxaca through the Tlacolula Valley to Santa María del Tule, Teotitlán del Valle, Santiago Matatlán and Mitla
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Oaxaca
- Drive about 2.5 h
We head east into the Tlacolula Valley. First stop is Santa María del Tule and its Montezuma cypress, the Árbol del Tule, whose trunk is among the widest of any tree. In Teotitlán del Valle, a Zapotec weaving village, a family shows how they card and spin wool, dye it with cochineal, indigo and plants, and weave rugs on foot looms.
Morning
Further on, in Santiago Matatlán, we spend the late morning at a family palenque, a small mezcal distillery: agave hearts roasted in an earth pit, crushed under a stone wheel, fermented in wooden vats and distilled in copper or clay.
Afternoon
A tasting comes with a long lunch at the palenque or in the village. In the afternoon we visit Mitla, the Zapotec religious centre whose walls are covered in geometric fretwork made from thousands of small cut stones.
Evening
We are back in Oaxaca by about 5 pm, with time to rest before a farewell dinner together at a restaurant serving Oaxacan moles.
Included
- The Árbol del Tule in Santa María del Tule
- A weaving family's workshop in Teotitlán del Valle
- Mezcal palenque visit and tasting in Santiago Matatlán
- Lunch at the palenque or in the village
- Mitla with your guide
- Farewell dinner in Oaxaca
Optional experiences
- In place of this day: a guided village hike in the Sierra Norte (Pueblos Mancomunados) with a community guide, about 2 hours each way by road and 3 to 4 hours on forest trails at around 3,000 m (price shown when you book)
Easier option: Every stop is short and flat; sit any of them out in the vehicle or a café, and skip the tasting if you do not drink.
More active option: Add Hierve el Agua after Mitla: about 40 minutes further on mountain roads to mineral springs and rock formations that look like frozen waterfalls, with a steep path down and back of about an hour (price shown when you book; back in Oaxaca about 7 pm).
Free time: Late afternoon free before dinner
Activity: Mezcal tastings are small pours; non-alcoholic drinks are always offered.
Market, cooking class and home
A Oaxaca market and kitchen, then Oaxaca International Airport
- Breakfast and lunch
- Drive about 30 min
Morning
Your last morning is in the kitchen. A Oaxacan cook meets the group at a city market to buy what the class needs: dried chiles, herbs such as hoja santa, fresh masa and quesillo, the local string cheese. Back in the kitchen you toast chiles and seeds for a mole, press and cook tortillas on a clay comal and grind salsa in a molcajete, a stone mortar.
Afternoon
Lunch is what you have cooked, with the recipes to take home. Your bags wait at the hotel, and after lunch we drive you about 10 km south to Oaxaca International Airport (OAX), around 20 to 30 minutes. Your guide checks your flight before saying goodbye. If your flight leaves before about 4:30 pm, skip the class and we take you to the airport at whatever time you need. Many routes home connect through Mexico City; if you would rather end your trip there, ask us when you book about a flight back to Mexico City and extra nights.
Included
- Market visit with a Oaxacan cook
- Cooking class, with the lunch you cook
- Drop-off at Oaxaca International Airport (OAX)
Easier option: For a morning flight, skip the class: we drive you to the airport when you need to go.
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 4:30 pm to join the class.
- Mexico City3 nights
- Puebla1 night
- Oaxaca3 nights
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: October to April is the dry season, with sunny days and cool to cold mornings in Mexico City and Puebla in December and January. From June to September afternoon rain is common, so the early starts keep the sites dry. Day of the Dead (around 31 October to 2 November) and the Guelaguetza in July fill Oaxaca.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Food-led travellers who want markets, a cooking class and mezcal included, not sold on the road
- Travellers who like three-night bases and a free afternoon or evening in each city
- Archaeology fans: Teotihuacan, Cholula, Monte Albán and Mitla with site guides
- First-time visitors to Mexico who want transfers, entries and the long drive handled
Not for you if you want
- Beach time: there is none on this trip (Puerto Escondido is an extension we can quote)
- Step-free access: archaeological sites mean uneven stone, steep stairs and little shade
- Travellers who struggle at altitude: Mexico City and Puebla sit above 2,100 m
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
7 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Mexico City3 nights
- Puebla1 night
- Oaxaca3 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 7 nights in central hotels: 3 in Mexico City, 1 in Puebla, 3 in Oaxaca
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Mexico City International Airport (MEX) and drop-off at Oaxaca International Airport (OAX)
- A private air-conditioned vehicle and driver for the group, with more seats than guests
- Every transfer in our vehicle, including Puebla to Oaxaca: no public buses
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip, with local site guides at Teotihuacan and Monte Albán
Activities
- Mexico City: the National Museum of Anthropology, a food walk with Mercado San Juan, the Zócalo, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Templo Mayor and Diego Rivera's murals
- Teotihuacan
- Cholula: the Great Pyramid and the Santuario de los Remedios
- Puebla: historic centre walk, the Rosary Chapel, the Palafoxiana Library and a Talavera workshop
- Oaxaca: the Mercado 20 de Noviembre and an orientation walk
- Monte Albán
- Black pottery workshop in San Bartolo Coyotepec
- The Árbol del Tule, a weaving family in Teotitlán del Valle, a mezcal palenque with tasting in Santiago Matatlán, and Mitla
- Market visit and cooking class in Oaxaca
Meals
- Breakfast daily (7)
- 7 lunches: the food walk, Teotihuacan, mole in Puebla, the Pasillo de Humo, after Monte Albán, at the palenque and the cooking class
- Welcome dinner in Mexico City and farewell dinner in Oaxaca
Not included
- International flights to Mexico City and home from Oaxaca
- Travel insurance
- Dinners not listed (5)
- Drinks, except the mezcal tasting
- Tips
- Optional activities: the Teotihuacan balloon flight, lucha libre, the Hierve el Agua extension and the Sierra Norte hike
- Camera or video fees at sites that charge them
- Personal expenses and shopping
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 495 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Seven nights in central hotels, breakfast daily, seven lunches, a welcome and a farewell dinner, airport transfers at both ends, a private vehicle and driver for every transfer, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, local site guides, and every visit in the day plan, including Teotihuacan, Monte Albán, Mitla, the mezcal palenque and the cooking class.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests, so everyone can hear the guide at the sites and fit around one table at lunch. The vehicle has more seats than guests, so nobody is squeezed on the drive to Oaxaca.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group for all eight days. At Teotihuacan and Monte Albán a licensed local site guide joins us, and in the villages the weaving family, the palenque and the cook lead their own part of the day.
How fit do I need to be, and will the altitude affect me?
Moderate fitness is enough. Expect 6 to 10 km of walking on the busiest days, with uneven stone at Teotihuacan and steep stairs at Monte Albán. Mexico City is at about 2,240 m, so some people feel breathless or get a mild headache at first; day 1 is kept light and every climb is optional.
I am travelling solo. Do I pay a single supplement?
Only if you want a room of your own, which is from CAD 495 more and shown before you book. Solo travellers who are happy to share can ask to be paired with a guest of the same gender; if we cannot find a match, we tell you before anything is charged.
When is the best time to go?
October to April is the dry season, with sunny days and cool mornings at altitude. June to September brings afternoon rain, which the early starts mostly avoid. Day of the Dead (around 1 and 2 November) and the Guelaguetza in July make Oaxaca busy and raise hotel prices.
How long is the drive from Puebla to Oaxaca?
About 340 km and four and a half hours on the toll highway, the only day over our four-hour cap. There is no passenger train and no practical flight between the cities, so we break it with two stops and arrive at about 1:30 to 2 pm for a late lunch at the market.
Do I need a visa for Mexico?
Canadian and US citizens do not need a visa for a tourist stay; the immigration officer decides how many days you are given on arrival, so keep your entry record with your passport. Other nationalities should check Mexico's current rules before booking.
Is there free time, or is every day planned?
Every city has free time: the evening of day 2 and the afternoon of day 3 in Mexico City, the evening in Puebla, and the evening of day 5 and the afternoon of day 6 in Oaxaca. Your guide can suggest markets, cafés and museums for them.
Can I eat vegetarian on this trip?
Yes. Tell us when you book and we arrange vegetarian dishes at every included meal, including the mole lunch and the cooking class. The Pasillo de Humo is a meat grill aisle, but the market around it sells tlayudas, quesadillas and vegetable dishes.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 5,335 per person. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we quote the same hotels, transfers and local guides.
How does booking work?
Prices are per person sharing a room, with taxes. The small group starts from CAD 2,965 per person. Pick your start date and request to book; we confirm your place within 24 hours, and no payment is taken until we have confirmed.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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