Oaxaca and Huatulco
 

Want to spend last 2 weeks in December in Mexico and can use air miles to get us to Mexico city .Thought a week in Oaxaca and a week in Huatulco would make sense..combining our love of local cultures and shopping as well as enjoying some quiet beach time

So what do we do as far as timing is concerned ?..Just book about a week in each and use local airlines between cities? We could arrive as early as the 14th and leave on the 31st. Trying to avoid holiday crowds we are planning to go directly to Huatulco for a week and then Oacaca for about 9 days ??Are we late for getting good reservations and some of the smaller friendly hotels or B and B`s..

Any suggestions for either town

I would be open for suggestions for day trips to small local nearby towns or villages

I haven't done the trip to Huatulco, though I looked into it and I think AirTucan and another carrier do the trip in less than an hour.

I spent a week in Oaxaca in June (I posted a report recently you can find if you search for Oaxaca trip report & my name) and it was wonderful. We split our time between Oaxaca City and Teotitlan and really enjoyed both places. I don't know how busy Oaxaca is around the holidays--pretty busy, I'd guess, because of the fiesta de los rabanes on xmas eve, I think--but you could certainly start looking for lodging now. When we were there, the B&B owners said Oaxaca was at about 50 percent capacity, so you have that in your favor to finding last-minute rooms.

Let us know what you decide!

I also don't know about how busy they will be during the holidays--but a couple of years ago we were in OAX for Semana Santa with a planned trip to HUA at the end of our trip. (we booked SFO-OAX/HUA-SFO). Went the the AeroTucan office near the zocalo and got tickets for the next day. Waiting at the airport took longer than the flight.

Dec. 2008. Our family just returned from visiting Oaxaca City and surrounding villages. Mexico has many interesting and unique places to visit, but Oaxaca City is definitely NOT one of them. It is very much overrated by the travel guides and websites. As far as combining beach and culture, I would combine a stay at the Riviera Maya with a trip to Merida and visit Chichen Itza and Uxmal(they are visually speaking superior to Monte Alban). Yucatan also has many small underground lakes, called "cenotes". They are incredible to see and swim in. Good luck!

Having been to Mexico 17 times (twice to Oaxaca), I don't agree with the previous post, but each to his/her own!

Each to his own for sure. I have been traveling to Oaxaca for 20 years, the city population has grown and it has become overly tourist oriented; nevertheless,I think, it remains one of the most fascinating places in the world. I do think you have to delve a little deeper as main stream Mexican culture becomes more and more prevalent right in town but I think that's true anywhere in Mexico. I certainly would not hesitate to go to OAX, most people find it fascinating.

Having lived 4 years in Mexico (now living in NYC - which I love, but missing many of the wonderful aspects of Mexico), I have to say that my 2 favorite places in all of Mexico are Oaxaca and the state of Michoacan. Oaxaca still holds the sweetness and traditions of the old, "real" Mexico. While the Yucatan peninsula is great as well, it's more tourist oriented... so it comes down to what you want. In Oaxaca, the families still come in on Sunday afternoons and buy their children balloons and dance in the square in front of the church. The mole and other traditonal foods that you can still eat there are amazing. You can buy the beautifully brightly painted mythical creatures carved for wood that towns have taught thier families to make for generations, or buy rugs that are dyed with all natural products from towns that have also passed that tradition down through generations.
Yucatan pensinsula has the caves and pyramides, but the culture - the traditions are gone. It is filled with people who have come from all over Mexico to earn better money than they could have at home. (not a bad thing, but not exactly a cohesive culture).
So I would definitely vote for Oaxaca over Riviera Maya. Regardless, it's hard to go wrong when you anywhere in Southern Mexico!