Flavors & Aromas of Mexico - 14 Days

Day 1: Arrival in Mexico City

Welcome to Mexico City! Upon your arrival, you will be picked up at the airport and transferred to your hotel in the historic center. After checking in and having time to unwind, you will meet your guide for an evening tour of the historic center. Depending on timing, you will visit the Metropolitan Cathedral, explore the Museum of the Great Temple, and stroll through the main square, Plaza de la Constitución or the Zócalo—a common name for the main plazas in Mexican city centers.

Enjoy an evening meal at Dulce Patria for a culinary experience that combines traditional Mexican fare with contemporary style. 

Day 2: National Anthropology Museum

After breakfast, your guide will pick you up at your hotel to take you to the amazing National Anthropology Museum, one of the most important museums in Mexico and America. Visit the main rooms, Aztec and Mayan. This museum is an absolute must-see when in Mexico, as it will allow you to understand the history of the country.

Day 3: Gastronomic & historic tour with food tasting

Your guide will pick you up from your accommodation mid-morning and drive you to the famous Mercado de San Juan (market) in the historic center, where you will learn about Mexican cuisine and its evolution, as well as sample the gourmet and exotic products like fruits, cheese, and agave-distilled mezcal. You'll also get to make (and eat!) your own dishes, including sope, a thick corn tortilla topped with meat. 

In the early afternoon, you will visit several traditional establishments: Café Cordobés, Café Villarías, and Las Duelistas, to sample local eats. If there's room for more, you will have a little time to break for lunch, perhaps at the highly recommended Testal restaurant, known for its authentic Mexican cuisine.

Day 4: Mexico City: Xochimilco canals & Frida Kahlo’s House

Visit the canals of Xochimilco, the last reminder of the rivers that once crossed the valley where Mexico City is now located. You will enjoy a lovely tour through the canals on a colorful trajinera (a decorated gondola-like boat) while tasting antojitos (Mexican snacks). 

From there, head to the bohemian neighborhood of Coyoacán for a little exploration. Stop for a bite to eat before carrying on to spend some time in La Casa de Frida, also known as the "Blue House." This historic house-turned-art museum is dedicated to the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The rest of your last day in Mexico City is yours to spend as you like.

Day 5: Puebla walking tour and cooking class

Today you will be picked up at your hotel and travel to the city of Puebla. Puebla is the birthplace of many traditional dishes in Mexico, including mole poblano and chalupas. Check into your boutique hotel in the historical center; you'll do a walking tour of the city before returning to the hotel for a cooking class with the hotel’s chef, Lupita Escobar, a 60-year veteran of Mexican gastronomic preservation. 

Day 6: "Antojitos poblanos" gastronomic walking tour

Today, your guide will pick you up after breakfast for a special tour to Puebla to try typical antojitos (Mexican snacks). You will first visit a tamalería (a tamale shop) then a dedicated antojitos shop. Your third stop will be at a taquería to try different kinds of tacos. Along the way, you'll see religious monuments along the pedestrian streets. Continue onto Fonda de Santa Clara to try their delicious candy. As this is located at the Calle de los Dulces (the Street of the Sweets), you will take the chance to visit the oldest sweet shop in the city, La Gran Fama, where you will find the traditional candies and condiments.

Next, you'll reach the oldest tavern in the city, La Pasita, and taste their famous pasita liquor (raisin liquor). Finish the tour with flan in one of the most traditional restaurants in Puebla, to try their famous flan. You'll spend the night at a hotel in Puebla.

Day 7: City of Oaxaca

Travel between four and five hours to get to Oaxaca City, one of Mexico's most famous foodie destinations. You will have the day off to explore the city on your own and dine on the patio at Los Danzantes, a well-respected local restaurant. Spend the night at a hotel in the historic center. 

Day 8: Gastronomic tour in Oaxaca city

With an empty stomach, meet your guide mid-morning for today's food tour. Start at the Mercado Orgánico El Pochote (organic market), a large lot in downtown Oaxaca where you'll buy yourself a fresh-brewed cup of high-altitude java before you sample several regional delicacies, including roasted grasshoppers. From there, you will visit the Barrio de la Merced to explore their market and taste one of their much sought-after empanadas prepared with a variety of different sauces.

Afterward, you will work your way to La Reforma, a neighborhood that dates back to the mid-20th century, to find Itanoní Antojería y Tortillería, for some of the best tortilla-based dishes around. Next, you will sip creamy hot chocolate with a side of compulsory yolk bread from a nearby chocolate shop, before sampling stew tacos from the Oaxaca Valley. Return to your hotel for a little siesta and venture out in the evening to dine under a night sky at Casa Oaxaca's rooftop terrace.

Day 9: Tule Tree & Hierve el Agua 

Today's excursion starts with the visit to an ancient Tule tree: at approximately two thousand years old, it's the biggest tree in the world! Continue to Hierve el Agua, an imposing petrified waterfall located in the mountain range, with the option to bathe in its mineral-rich waters.

Conclude your day with a visit to the village of Teotitlán del Valle (the name means "Place of the Gods" in Nahuatl). This little village is famous for handicrafts. Shop, walk around, and get to know more about the process of making tequila in the region before you rest for the evening at your hotel in Oaxaca. 

Day 10: Cooking class & visit to Monte Albán 

With your guide, you'll tour a Zapoteca community in the Oaxaca Valley. Take a cooking class in a local family home and learn how to make a range of local dishes and delicacies incorporating ingredients like chili and cocoa. 

Later in the day, catch a flight to Mexico City from the Oaxaca airport. You'll have one last night on the town before your journey home the following day.

Day 11: Northern Highlands of Oaxaca - Latuvi

Today you will explore the Northern Highlands of Oaxaca. First, go to the community of Latuvi, a colorful town known for agriculture and the cultivation of fruits, their most important source of income. As a group, they use their natural resources for the production of jams using fruits harvested in the community. You'll even have the chance to participate in a jam workshop. After lunch, try your hand at a bread workshop: the products of both classes will make for a great snack later in the day. 

Day 12: Northern Highlands of Oaxaca - Latuvi to Benito Juarez

After breakfast, you will be picked up and head towards the community of Benito Juarez. Once you arrive, you will go on a trek to visit El Mirador viewpoint. You will start your walk along a path until you reach the sweeping views of the Sierra Juarez and the Central Valleys. If the day is clear, it will be possible to observe the Pico de Orizaba Mountain. Have a traditional lunch, then have an evening off to rest and explore the surroundings. 

Day 13: Nothern Highlands of Oaxaca: Farm in Benito Juárez - Oaxaca

Visit a local farm, where you'll have breakfast and learn about day-to-day activities in a rural setting. You'll learn how to make tortillas during a food-focused workshop, then enjoy lunch on the farm with a spread of regional dishes. Relax over dinner and drinks on your last night in Mexico. 

Day 14: International departure

Today, you will be picked up by a driver and taken to the airport to take your flight back home. Safe travels!