OAXACA MEZCAL DAY TOUR

Our Oaxaca City-based mezcal day tour is a fun, educational, single day experience designed for travelers looking for exclusive access to small, traditional mezcal producers.

Our expert local guides know mezcal inside and out, are bilingual, and were born and raised in Oaxaca. Their knowledge, passion, and friendliness are second to none.

Our focus is on small, family-owned producers of artisanal and ancestral mezcal. However, your custom requests are welcome. You’ll visit at least two palenques (artisanal mezcal distilleries) that are chosen just before your tour to maximize your exposure to active mezcal production and a variety of maguey varietals. Interested in pulque? We can make that happen too.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Two palenque visits and tastings

The itinerary is set within a day or two before your experience, to maximize your exposure to active mezcal production and a variety of maguey varietals. We focus on the real people and families that have been making mezcal for generations, rather than brands, though we are generally able to accommodate your requests as well.

Traditional Oaxacan lunch at a village eatery

We love food just as much as we love mezcal, and Oaxacan cuisine is widely regarded as the best in Mexico. Get ready to try local favorites like memelas, empanadas, and tlayudas direct from a traditional, wood-fired comal. If you’re interested in pulque, there is an excellent producer we visit regularly for tastings and pulque to go.

Tour Details

Duration:

Up to 8 hours, customizable

Group Size:

2 to 4

Dates

Year-round

Cost (US Dollars):

From $200/ person

Payment in full is due at time of booking. If you wish to reserve less than two business days before the requested dates or prefer a private tour, please contact us for confirmation of availability. 

Included

  • Professional local bilingual guide
  • Private transportation, including pickup and drop-off anywhere in Oaxaca City
  • Two palenque visits and tastings
  • Traditional Oaxacan lunch
  • Optional pulque tasting

Not Included

  • Tips
  • Mezcal to take home

Tour FAQs

Private day tour guests will be picked up at 10:00 a.m. We begin picking up public day tour guests at 10:00 a.m., and continue to pick up guests as we head out of town. In either case, your guide will be in direct contact. Please bear in mind that Oaxaca is a rapidly growing city, with serious traffic problems. We appreciate your patience and understanding. 

Wear comfortable clothing and sturdy closed-toe walking shoes. Bring sun protection. If your trip is booked during the rainy season (June through early September), you may want a light rain jacket, an umbrella, and shoes you’re okay with getting muddy.

We plan palenque visits in the days prior to public tours to maximize guest’s exposure to active mezcal production. To reduce drive time, we visit palenques in the the Central Valleys, with public tours heading in the direction of santiago Matatlan and private tours gearing toward seeing clay-pot mezcal production in Santa Catarina Minas. Private tour guests may request specific palentques.

No. For reasons of safety and liability, all tour transportation is provided by our professional insured drivers in comfortable, late-model vehicles.

Yes! We host many solo guests on our public day tours, and they quickly settle in with the group of fellow mezcal travelers. All day tours require a minimum of two guests, and in the event that no one else has booked on that day, we will contact you to try and make other arrangements. In the event that we cancel a tour, you will receive a full refund. Private day tours have a firm minimum of two guests or $400 US dollars.

Yes! You should carry Mexican pesos. Palenques and other stops on the tour are generally not able to accept credit cards or foreign currencies.

Both tour options offer an excellent introductory deep dive into artisanal mezcal, guided by a local expert. Public tour guests may be on a mezcal tour with other guests. The private tour ensures you and your group have a dedicated guide, allowing for additional customization of the tour.

We cannot accommodate groups that include minors (younger than 18), even if they do not taste mezcal.

Still have questions? Explore our FAQ page »

  • We could not have asked for a more thoughtful and hospitable guide than Darinel. He grew up locally and knew all of the mezcaleros from each of the little towns. This wasn’t our first experience with mezcal so we wanted something a little more gritty, and he introduced us to many of the tiny producers who don’t distill under their own label.

    -Misses Ball (Tripadvisor reviewer)

  • My husband and I are both mezcal enthusiasts and we were looking for an authentic, non-touristic tour of traditional palenques in Oaxaca; we found our perfect match with Experience Mezcal! Dari, our tour guide, took us off the beaten path to rustic family-owned venues and explained in great length and detail the wild agave cultivation and production process behind mezcal.

    –Nelly 182 (Tripadvisor reviewer)

  • I highly recommend Experience Mezcal. We enjoyed our Experience Tequila trip so much that we chose Experience Mezcal for our honeymoon trip to Oaxaca. Again, we had an incredible time! Clayton is a wonderful guide. His depth of knowledge about tequila, mezcal, and local culture is unparalleled, and his approach offers the perfect mix of professionalism, expertise, and humor.

    -Bridget E (Tripadvisor reviewer)

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