Experience the Oaxaca Food and Wine Festival
Need To Know
The festival is geared around local purveyors and restaurants that are not set up to accommodate large groups. We strive for our events to be personal and up close.
What's Included
Full VIP Package with Lodging
* 5 nights lodging at select hotels, See Lodging
* all 8 events (workshops, guided tours, meals as listed in the program)
* all food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages served as part of the scheduled events
* group transportation when noted in the program
* special memorabilia for each VIP guest to take home
Full VIP Package without Lodging
All of the same noted above except you book your own lodging
If you prefer to buy tickets individually for specific events, go to the Events tab, click the day and find your specific event.
What's Not Included
* Airfare to/from Oaxaca City
* Ground transportation to/from Oaxaca airport to a hotel, and any other private transportation during. your stay
* No meals or beverages other than what is listed in the program
* Accomodations, activities or meals for days prior or after the festival program
* Personal purchases, gifts or hotel incidentals
Dietary Restrictions
If you have specific restrictions, please tell us when you register, and we'll do our best to accommodate these at participating restaurants. Some prepared Oaxacan dishes may not be available with substitute ingredients so a substitute dish may be necessary. If you are gluten free, many of the corn-based dishes found in Mexican cuisine will work for you. If you're not sure about your specific food needs, talk to us first to see if this trip can accommodate you.
Drinking the Water
When traveling out of the US, everyone wants to know if it's safe to drink the water. Overall, yes. Most, if not all, restaurants and even food stalls in the markets are using filtered water for customers. Hotels typically will have bottled water dispensers in the lobby, and individual bottles in the rooms. You will see the big 5-gallon blue water bottles being delivered everywhere. So even when water is poured at the table, it would be bottled water. If you're visiting a remote village out in the country, think twice and bring bottled water with you.
Activity Level
Oaxaca is a walking city, and it's mostly flat. Be prepared to walk several miles each day just getting to and from the hotel and various events. There is only 1 activity where group transportation is necessary and will be provided. Many of the streets are of cobblestone, so bring comfortable shoes and, ladies, you might want to leave the heels at home.
What to wear
Though Oaxaca is located in southern Mexico, the city does not follow a tropical, beach attire. In fact, you'll see very few men wearing shorts. Long pants (and jeans are fine) are the standard, day and night. Same goes for women with nice sundresses being perfectly appropriate; just nothing too skimpy that looks like you just walked off the beach.
The weather in February should be perfect (about mid-70s), and you might want a light sweater for evenings,or a long sleeve shirt could do the trick. Tennis shoes and any comfy footwear are essential since you'll be doing a lot of walking, and the cobblestones can be tiring on your feet. Ladies, a wedge heel shoe is probably the most you'll want to bring.
Cell Phones
Check to see if your current plan already includes Mexico, many plans do. If so, you'll call and text just as you would in the US. If you need to add Mexico to your plan, it's usually a reasonably priced add-on. Aside from this, you can always use WhatsApp, a free international calling app. You must have the app on your phone as well as the person you are calling or texting. In general, talk and text communication to/from Mexico is pretty easy and the quality is good.
Pre & Post Festival Activities
If you plan to arrive early or stay later (and you should), we have a variety of Exclusive Festival Tours , which we have personally vetted, that will enrich your overall experience. If you have questions or need to book tours on dates other than what is shown, please ask us for additional help.
Oaxaca Food and Wine Festival
How to pronounce Oaxaca: wah-HAH-kah
Oaxaca’s often mis-pronounced name comes from the Nahautl-speaking Aztecs. After establishing their garrison around what is now called Cerro del Fortín, they named the site Huāxyacac, meaning “place of the guaje trees.”
You can still find these trees of Oaxaca’s namesake scattered about the city’s streets and hillsides. Just look for the narrow foot-long green and seed-filled pods that hang from its branches and you’ll know you’ve spotted one. But how did “Huāxyacac” become “Oaxaca”?
Enter the Spanish conquistadors who transliterated the pronunciation of the x in Huāxyacac from “sh” to the modern Mexican Spanish “j”. Today, Oaxaca is pronounced “waˈhaka” instead of its original Nahautl pronunciation of “waˈshaka”.
