Monte Albán tour with ruins, workshops & chocolate tasting

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Free cancellation

1/13

Duration9h

GroupUp to 20

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Walk the plazas of a Zapotec city built on a mountaintop, then watch artisans shape alebrijes and black clay by hand.

This nine-hour guided tour from Oaxaca takes you to Monte Albán, the most important archaeological site in the region, built by the Zapotec culture. You'll explore the ruins with a live guide in English or Spanish, then travel to San Antonio Arrazola to visit an ancestral mezcalería, watch alebrijes being made in a workshop, see black clay ceramics being shaped, and stop at a traditional Oaxaca restaurant for lunch. The day ends with a chocolate tasting at an authentic shop. Pickup is included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Monte Albán and local crafts

Visit Monte Albán archaeological site
Visit ancestral mezcalería
Tour Alebrije workshop
Enjoy traditional Oaxaca buffet lunch
See black clay ceramics elaboration
Visit prehispanic factory

The Experience

If you're arriving in Oaxaca without a car or want a structured day that covers the region's archaeology and craft traditions, this tour handles the logistics. You get picked up in an air-conditioned vehicle and driven to Monte Albán, the most important archaeological site in Oaxaca and a former Zapotec city. A live guide walks you through the plazas and explains the history as you move through the ruins. The site sits on a mountaintop, so you're moving between structures and taking in the landscape as the guide talks.

From the ruins, the tour moves to San Antonio Arrazola, a village known for its artisans. You'll stop at an ancestral mezcalería to taste mezcal and learn about the production techniques, then visit an alebrije workshop where you watch the elaboration process—these are the hand-painted wooden figures Oaxaca is known for. A separate stop shows you black clay ceramics being made, another traditional craft. Lunch is at a buffet restaurant serving traditional Oaxaca food: moles, meats, salads, tortillas made on the comal. The day finishes with a chocolate tasting at an authentic chocolate shop.

The whole experience runs nine hours. You're moving between archaeological ruins, working craft studios, and food stops, so there's no single location where you sit for hours. The guide speaks English or Spanish depending on the group. Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller, and service animals are allowed. The archaeological zone itself is not adapted for people with physical disabilities, so that's a constraint worth knowing before booking.

What’s included

Air-conditioned vehicle pickup.
live guide in English or Spanish.
entry to Monte Albán archaeological site.
visits to an ancestral mezcalería, an alebrije workshop and a black clay ceramics workshop in San Antonio Arrazola.
mezcal tasting.
chocolate tasting at an authentic chocolate shop.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot for heart conditions

Operated by Oaxaca Dreams

Is this one for you?Book this if you're staying in central Oaxaca without your own car—pickup and drop-off mean you skip the taxi coordination between Monte Albán, the craft workshops, and Cuilapam.