Planning a Trip

Getting There & Departing

By Plane -- The airport (airport code: OAX) gets limited international service. Continental ExpressJet (tel. 800/231-0856 in the U.S., or 01-800/900-5000 in Mexico; www.continental.com) has nonstop service to and from Houston. Mexicana (tel. 800/531-7921 in the U.S., or 951/516-8414; www.mexicana.com) has nonstop service to and from Los Angeles. Volaris (tel. 01-800/786-5274 in Mexico) is a discount domestic air carrier that flies to and from Tijuana. AeroMéxico (tel. 800/237-6639 in the U.S., or 951/516-1066; www.aeromexico.com.mx) offers flights daily to and from Mexico City through its regional carrier, Aerolitoral (tel. 01-800/800-2674 in Mexico). Click, a Mexicana affiliate (tel. 01/800-122-5425 in Mexico; www.clickmx.com), has nonstop service to and from Mexico City and Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Aviacsa (tel. 01-800/006-2200 in Mexico, or 951/514-5187; www.aviacsa.com) connects Oaxaca to Mexico City and Acapulco. Aerovega (tel. 951/516-4982) flies a six-passenger twin-engine Aero-Commander to and from Puerto Escondido and Bahías de Huatulco once daily (twice if there are enough passengers). Make arrangements for Aerovega at the Monte Albán Hotel facing the Alameda (next to the zócalo, or town square). The cost is 1,450 pesos.

By Car -- It's a 5 1/2-hour drive from Mexico City via the toll roads. Take Hwy. 150D east toward Veracruz to Cuacnoapalan, 80km (50 miles) beyond Puebla (250 pesos in tolls), and then south on Hwy. 150D to Oaxaca (270 pesos in tolls).

By Bus -- First-class and deluxe buses to and from Mexico City use the toll road, or autopista, and take 6 to 7 hours to complete their journey. A few make a short stop in Nochistlán, which isn't much of a delay. Most buses leave from Mexico City's TAPO (east) bus station. There is infrequent service to and from Mexico City's Central del Norte (north), and the Central del Sur (south, also called Taxqueña). No service runs from the Mexico City airport. The main bus station in Oaxaca is on Calzada Niños Héroes.

ADO (Autobuses del Oriente) and its affiliates handle most of the first-class and deluxe bus service. Your options are: primera clase (ADO), with almost hourly departures and a one-way fare of 388 pesos; de lujo (ADO GL), with between three and seven departures per day for 464 pesos one-way; and servicio ejecutivo (UNO), with one to five departures per day for 658 pesos one-way. De lujo has the same seats as first class, but more legroom, free soda and bottled water, and separate bathrooms for men and women. Servicio ejecutivo has all this plus super-wide seats that recline far back. During holidays, you need to reserve a seat. Native Oaxaqueños living outside the state fill the buses for the Days of the Dead, Holy Week, and Christmas. It's possible to reserve seats over the Internet for the higher levels of service, and to check departure times and prices at www.adogl.com.mx and www.uno.com.mx.

Buses serve Tuxtla Gutiérrez and San Cristóbal de las Casas (two overnight buses); Puebla (10 a day); Tehuacán (4 a day); Veracruz (4 a day); Villahermosa (2 a day); and Huatulco and Puerto Escondido, on the coast (2 a day). These last buses take 10 hours to reach Puerto Escondido because they go by way of Huatulco; for a faster trip, see below.

You can buy your tickets ahead of time at one of the downtown offices of Ticket Bus. There's one on 20 de Noviembre 103-D, near the corner of Hidalgo, 1 block from the zócalo (tel. 951/514-6655). Office hours are Monday through Saturday from 9am to 10pm, Sunday from 9am to 4pm.

Orientation

Arriving by Plane -- The airport is south of town; it's about a 20-minute cab ride. Buy a ticket at the window on your left as you exit the airport. A private cab is 140 pesos; a colectivo is 44 pesos per person for downtown locations, more for outlying areas.

The same company provides service from the town to the airport. Go to Transportes Aeropuerto Oaxaca (tel. 951/514-4350), on the Alameda, in the building facing the cathedral. It doesn't accept phone reservations, so drop by Monday through Saturday from 9am to 2pm or 5 to 8pm to buy your ticket and arrange hotel pickup. The cost is 44 pesos from downtown hotels, 83 pesos and up from outlying hotels, and more if you have extra luggage.

Arriving by Bus -- The ADO first-class bus station is a short distance north of the center of town. A taxi ride to downtown is 30 pesos. If you're coming from the Pacific coast, you may arrive at the Central Camionera de Segunda Clase (second-class bus terminal), next to the Abastos Market. It's 10 long blocks southwest of the zócalo.

Visitor Information -- The State Tourist Office (tel./fax 951/516-0123) is at Murguía 206, between Reforma and 5 de Mayo. There you will find an information desk open every day from 8am to 8pm. Tourism also has an information office at Calle Independencia 607, corner of García Vigil, in front of the Alameda. It shares the building with a museum, Museo de los Pintores, and shares the same hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 8pm.

City Layout -- Oaxaca's east-west axis is Independencia. When streets cross Independencia and the north-south axis, Alcalá/Bustamante, their names change. The city's center is the zócalo, a large square surrounded by stone archways, and the Alameda, a smaller plaza attached to the northwest part of the zócalo. Oaxaca's cathedral faces the Alameda; its Palacio del Gobierno faces the zócalo. A few blocks to the north is the Plaza de Santo Domingo. The area between these two open spaces holds most of the historic district's shops, hotels, and restaurants. Two of the streets that run from Santo Domingo toward the zócalo -- Alcalá and Cinco de Mayo -- are partly closed to traffic.

Getting Around

By Car -- If you want to rent a car, try Arrendadora Express, 20 de Noviembre 103-B (tel. 951/516-6776). Rental cars in Oaxaca are expensive, and the process is not exactly streamlined.

By Taxi -- If you want to reach some of the outlying villages, I recommend hiring a taxi or signing up for a tour. Most taxi drivers have set hourly rates for touring the Oaxacan valleys. A trustworthy and careful taxi driver who speaks English is Tomás Ramírez. You can reach him at home (tel. 951/511-5061; tomasramirez@prodigy.net.mx).

By Bus -- Buses to the outlying villages of Guelatao, Teotitlán del Valle, Tlacolula, and Mitla leave from the second-class station just north of the Abastos Market. Colectivos leave for nearby villages from Calle Mercaderes, on the south side of the Abastos Market.