Oaxaca is a colonial city in southern Mexico famous for its food, mezcal, markets and crafts, with the ancient Zapotec site of Monte Albán on a hilltop nearby. Its UNESCO-listed center is compact and walkable, and cheap rooms are plentiful in guesthouses and small hotels.
Finding cheap rooms in Oaxaca is easier when you know where to look. We compare live hotel rates across the top booking sites and point you to the neighborhoods where hotels are cheap but the location is still great.
Rooms come in more shapes than hotels — in Oaxaca you can also compare apartments with kitchens, vacation rentals for families, B&Bs and budget hostels in one search.
The zócalo, markets and churches — the most convenient base, with every budget.
A quiet, colorful old neighborhood of cobbled streets, small guesthouses and cafés.
The pedestrian street leading to the great Santo Domingo church, lined with galleries and boutique hotels.
A peaceful historic barrio just north of the center, often with better-value rooms.
A historic hotel in the former 16th-century convent of Santa Catalina, in the city center.
Check rates at Quinta Real OaxacaZoom and pan the map to compare hotel prices by neighborhood; rates come live from the booking sites.
October–April is dry and sunny. Hotels book up and rates rise for Día de Muertos (late October–early November), Christmas, Easter week and the Guelaguetza festival in July.
Guesthouses in the Centro Histórico, Jalatlaco and Xochimilco are usually the best value, and all are walkable to the zócalo.
Around Día de Muertos, Easter week, Christmas and the Guelaguetza in July — book early for those dates.
Monte Albán, the Tule tree, the ruins of Mitla, Hierve el Agua and the craft villages of the valleys are all popular trips.