Travel in city Oaxaca

Inexpensive lodging and affordable street food mean Oaxaca delivers plenty of bang for your buck – add a plethora of free attractions to the mix and the colorful city is about as budget-friendly as they come.

Cultural capital Oaxaca's combo of authentic regional flavor and big-city grit makes it one of the most intriguing destinations in Mexico.

Offering a wealth of lifestyle opportunities in an array of sun-drenched havens where the cost of living can be less than half of the average in the U.S., it’s clear why millions of North Americans have chosen to call Latin America home.

Pine forests, wild mushrooms and a sunrise above clouds: not what you might associate with Mexico, better known for beaches, colonial cities and Aztec ruins. The mountains of the Sierra Norte, two hours’ bus journey north of Oaxaca, are home to a cluster of villages, a semi-autonomous community known as “Pueblos Mancomunados” (meaning “united villages”), where you can stay in simple adobe cabañas called “tourist yu’u” (pronounced “you”). This tourist accommodation is a community business venture that has provided an alternative to logging and helped develop schools, roads and health posts in the region.

Mexico boasts a mesmerizing coastline of around 9,330km, with millions of tourists coming here solely for the country’s exceptional beaches. The following are the best beaches in Mexico. They have been selected as much for the scene – whether backpacker or spring-breaker – as much as sand quality, water and scenery.