Digital Nomad Guide to Oaxaca, Mexico
Traveling to Oaxaca as a digital nomad was fun! It was a great short-term base. I really enjoyed this colorful, artistic, foodie place! I only spent 2.5 weeks in Oaxaca City, though I could have easily spent a full month or two there. Here is my digital nomad guide to Oaxaca, Mexico.
The Vibe in Oaxaca
Personally, I’d say the vibe in Oaxaca is chill and relaxed, and definitely quieter during the afternoon (also when it is hot from the sun).
It felt very different compared to Mexico City or another large metropolitan city. For example, there are no high-rise buildings in the city center. The buildings are colorful and artistic - and really beautiful! - but nothing is extremely modern-looking if that makes sense.
Still, there is liveliness and nightlife (I DJed at Cozana Prime, Cozana bar, and there’s another cool club called Mistereo to name a few!)
Also the locals were really nice, but I find that to be common anywhere in Mexico :)
Language
Spanish is the official language of Mexico, so knowing Spanish goes a long way in Oaxaca. Outside my travel friends, I spoke Spanish almost entirely the whole time. Even if you know a little bit of Spanish, a little goes a long way!
If you’d like to learn or improve your Spanish, there seem to be a bunch of Spanish tutors offering classes here - I saw a ton of flyers around the streets.
Weather
Oaxaca City is a desert, and the weather in Oaxaca is split into two seasons: dry season and rainy season. Dry season is October through April and rainy season is May through September.
I visited Oaxaca from mid-end of March and besides one random rain shower, it was dry, hot, and sunny daily.
What to Wear in Oaxaca
Despite the sky-high temps (it was in the 80s-low 90s Fahrenheit when I was there), locals tend to dress more conservatively in the sense. For example, many locals (both men and women) will wear jeans or long pants and a short-sleeve top, even when it is very hot outside.
It’s a Catholic country and there are no rules around what to wear, so I wore what I felt like (typically sundresses or shorts) - though sometimes I’d bring a light linen button-down to throw over my shoulders to cover up a bit to match the local vibe a bit better.
Internet in Oaxaca
I stayed at a co-living/co-working house in Oaxaca (Outsite), so my internet was very strong and I never had issues.
Since I use T-Mobile’s ONE Plan in the US, it works the same in Canada or Mexico, so I never had issues or extra charges when I was out and about. Not every cafe has WiFi but the ones that do were decent enough for me to check in on clients or design work.
A friend and I also did the $30 USD each food/beverage credit to spend a half day at Hotel Sin Nombre, which has a small pool, cocktails, food, and good internet!
Co-working Spaces in Oaxaca:
Selina
Co404 Oaxaca
Gubixi Coworking Space
Centrico Cowork Centro
Cafes known for Internet in Oaxaca:
Muss Cafe
Oaxaca en una Taza
Ooooa Studio
Note: Internet in Puerto Escondido: One thing I will note is that the internet in Oaxaca, for me personally, was far better than in Puerto Escondido (which is the beach area in the state of Oaxaca, and where I went for a 2-day trip).
In Puerto Escondido, it was tough to send text and WhatsApp messages, even sometimes on WiFi at a cafe/restaurant/hotel, and I don’t think I could properly stay there while working unless I found a place with at least semi-strong WiFi. Puerto Escondido was beautiful, though!
Where to Stay in Oaxaca
I stayed in the Jalatlaco neighborhood, which I loved! It is very artsy, a little quieter, and beautiful. I personally liked not being right in the middle of Centro as it was a little busier and more touristy. However, it was nice to be within easy walking distance (10-30 minutes depending where you’re going) from Centro or also the Xochilmico neighborhood.
Transportation in Oaxaca
At the ADO bus station in Puerto Escondido, on my way back to Oaxaca City
I felt Oaxaca was really walkable! Since I enjoy walking and getting solid movement during the day between sitting on my laptop, I didn’t mind the 15-20 minute walks I’d take to meet a friend for lunch, for example.
The ADO bus station is right off the highway in Oaxaca if you are planning to go to or from other cities in Mexico, or take local transportation to other parts of Oaxaca.
There are plenty of taxis around, and the app DiDi (an Uber alternative) are easy to use. Bring cash (pesos) for a taxi!
For DiDi, you can use cash or hook up a credit card to the app. DiDi will call a regular taxi through the app, but the app works like Uber where you can track the ride and pay with card.
I didn’t see colectivos around Oaxaca City, but they offer colectivos from the airport. However, it is a small airport so colectivos might not be available (when I arrived at 9:00am there were hardly any people at the airport, let alone enough people wanting to take a colectivo, so I took a taxi).
Oaxacan Food
There is an abundance of mole and mezcal, as well as quesillo (not just queso - quesillo, like a baked cheese), tlayudas, tacos, memelas, and more.
So many bakeries offer beautiful pastries of all types. It isn’t the easiest place to find healthy food but there are cafes, organic stores, and local markets!
Coffee & chocolate are abundant too. My favorite coffee I had was at Once in Oaxaca. I went daily!
For going out to eat, costs vary based on whether you are eating at a fancy restaurant (there are many!), casual restaurant or cafe, or eating street food.
When I was there, street tacos were $0.25 USD per taco, an entree and cocktail as a casual restaurant was around $12-20 USD, and an entree and a cocktail and water at a nicer restaurant was around $15-50 USD depending on what the order was.
For groceries, I went to both the local market and organic store for food, and there are regular supermarkets around town as well.
Day Trips
Oaxaca city is inland and has its own airport and is also very connected by bus. We did a private day trip to Hierve al Agua & Mitla with our group which was cool!
Monte Alban (konwn for ruins) and San Jose del Pacific (known for mushrooms) are also popular.
Beaches
The highway that connects Oaxaca to the coast is complete! It takes two hours each way to get to Puerto Escondido. More ideal than the 12-hr overnight bus I’ve heard stories about.
This means that Oaxaca City does not have an easily accessible beach as it is very much inland, though it is doable for a weekend or as a next stop on your travel itinerary.
Don’t Forget: Travel Insurance
One thing you don’t want to forget to take care of when traveling is your travel insurance! I’ve used Safetywing for years, due to the ease of the signup process and also how it can act as a subscription - which is a game-changer for nomads who are traveling without a set end date)!
Safetywing helped me out in a pinch when I needed specific travel insurance during the pandemic to enter Chile (the other kind I had did not have enough coverage) and I’ve never looked back. I’ve even filed a claim with them and received funds when I had a 2-day delay in Abu Dhabi and they are helpful and quick to clarify claim questions too. Check out their rates and information here*.
This only scratches the surface of this beautiful city! Have you been to Oaxaca? Would you travel here as a digital nomad?