Travel to Oaxaca

[Eleni]

Hello, I will be traveling to Oaxaca in January 2007.I am presently looking for a hotel. Any suggestions?

I hope to capture some good photos. I will probably be doing some day trips by auto. Again, any suggestions would be helpful. I am working with a travel agent and have a travel handbook. I was hopeful that someone could offer a more personal perspective.

Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

[StrykerGT2001]

For car trips, i suggest Monte Alban, Mitla if you're into ruins, the Tule tree, and Santiago Matatlan - a town in between Oaxaca and Mitla that is a gigantic mezcal producer. Go to one of the distilleries (I suggest the El Famoso one) and they will show you the process of making mezcal from agave-bottle...plus they have free samples. A visit to SAN BARTOLO COYOTEPEC is a must to shop for the famous barro negro pottery(shiny black stuff) of Oaxaca, also there is a nearby town (the name escapes me) that is the home of the carved-wood alebrijes that you will see in many of the markets. Prices and selection are much better in these towns that in Oaxaca itself - in fact I think Oaxaca has a pretty poor selection in its artisan markets.

I would definitely recommend against taking the car trip to San Pablo Guelatao(birthplace of Benito Juarez). The roads are EXTREMELY curvy and while it doesn't look far on the map, it can take almost 2 hours depending on traffic conditions. Plus once you get there, all they have is a reproduction of his house, a decent park around a pond, and the town. Booor-ing.