Travel Tips
Get Your Passport
Although a visa is not required to travel to Mexico, you will need a valid passport. Make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months after the wedding, which is August 1st, 2026. It may take up to 2 months to receive a new passport.
Book Your Flight
Your destination will be the Oaxaca Xoxocotlan International Airport (OAX). It’s a small airport and easy to navigate. Most will need to take at least 2 flights from your city of origin. Oaxaca City is in the state of Oaxaca, and the closest major airport is in Mexico City. The two major city hubs that offer direct flights to Oaxaca are Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. You may potentially find direct flights from Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston, St Louis, and Raleigh. The easiest airport to fly though in Mexico is Mexico City.
Get a Ride
Travel from the airport is safe and reliable. We recommend taking one of the authorized shuttles or taxis to your lodging. Uber and other ridesharing apps are not allowed at the airport, but may be good options when traveling within the city. We routinely take yellow taxis and have not used rideshare apps while in Oaxaca. We have never rented a car while in Oaxaca, either. Taxis are inexpensive and they are everywhere. Most rides within the Centro area and surrounding neighborhoods are about $5USD or less. Day trips out of town can be arranged, and a driver will be with you for the duration of your adventure. This is a great option, and generally less expensive than renting a car.
Taxis
You may also choose local taxi companies, which are usually yellow, or maroon and white, and have the words “Sitio” or “Aeropuerto” logos on them. They are waiting to pick up passengers outside of the terminal. These will run you about $900 pesos ($52USD). Many taxis do NOT accept cards, so it is a good idea to visit a conversion kiosk or ATM at the airport before you head to your hotel.
When traveling back to the airport, ask your hotel concierge to help arrange a taxi service to get you to the airport. They have contacts that are reliable and well-priced. If you have an early flight, we recommend you ask your hotel to book a ride for you the night before. If you like and connect with one of your drivers during your visit, many drivers will agree to meet you for future trips. This is commonplace, and if you’d like to have a specific driver take you on additional trips, exchanging information is a great way to help facilitate this.
Shuttles
For the shuttle, which is called a “Colectivo”, you will go to the ticket counter in the terminal and pay at the desk. They will assign you a shuttle based on your destination “zone”, which will likely be in Centro, which is the cheapest option. You will pay about $150-$200 pesos ($7-$8USD). You will possibly share this shuttle with strangers, but it’s a great option to save money, and they are very reliable. It is helpful to have the name of your hotel and the address written down, especially if you don’t speak Spanish. This will help them easily assign you a shuttle. Once you’ve paid, take your ticket with you and head outside. You’ll cross the street to the stand where many white vans are parked. These are the shuttles. Give them your ticket and you’ll be directed to a shuttle van. They may be dropping off multiple parties, so others may be dropped off before you. However, since your shuttle will be full of people going to Centro, all hotels are close one another. Without multiple drop-offs, the average time from the airport to Centro is about 25 minutes.