Moon Oaxaca

"Oaxaca" is the essential travel book for the Mexican state of Oaxaca, written by a Mexico travel specialist who lives there. Since it concentrates on a single state, there is far more relevant, current, and helpful details on this area than can be found in travel books that cover the entire country. I bought property in Mexico, and this book is my constant companion. Since the Mexican government is making the new resort area of Huatulco the premier travel destination of a quality well above that over any previous such resorts, obviously learning a lot from the poor design and mess that Cancun has become. Having this book is essential for anyone who is interested in checking out this fabulous area of Huatulco, which is several times larger in area than any other resort area, has far better and much more interesting views, far better fishing, way less crowded, has buildings in the Mexican style rather than "International" style. And the towns of Puerto Angel and Puerto Escondido offer contrast for travelers; Puerto Angel area has the best and most beautiful beaches in Mexico, with a South Sea island look, and Puerto Escondido has surf, less expensive lodging and food, and is a "people" town with many foreigners, mostly Canadians and Americans living there. But Huatulco has not yet been discovered by American tourists, they are in the minority compared to Canadian and European visitors, which is why it is uncrowded, so get there soon! Other areas of Oaxaca are also well covered, including Oaxaca City, of course, and the interesting villages near Oaxaca city where crafts are made. I travel mostly around Oaxaca City and the unspoiled coastal areas of Oaxaca. I never plan to go back to the other Mexican beaches, they really do not compare. So, get this book, schedule a trip to the Oaxacan coast - you will like it better than any other area of the Mexican coast.

I visited Oaxaca about 8 years ago and loved it. This book was my guide then. Having long since parted company with the old edition, I bought another one when I thought we were going again. During the Day of the Dead. For various reasons we were not able to go - will hopefully go in February - but the new edition had all the information we needed for the festival, plus listing the B & B that we had already reserved with, and listing it accurately. I think Moon books are great and this one is a worthy addition/update. Thoughtful about and respectful to Mexico.

We got this book and a Mexico travel book before we left for a week trip in Oaxaca. Just myself and my son, age 15. Other than assuring we had a hotel in Oaxaca the first night and a car, we made no other plans. Old motto: "Good travelers don't know where they are going. Great travelers don't know where they've been." (My personal addition: "And even better travelers have no idea what they just ate!") While the 'map' in this book is not to scale (some roads cross that do not cross in the maps inside; distances are not to scale) and the hotels/pricing is out of date ... we found this book to be 100% indispensable. We joking referred to it by saying 'consult the good book' when we were coming up to towns and wondered what, if anything, was there. We found ruins that locals wondered how we found and a few hot springs that were off the beaten track. The one north of Ixtepec (more a warm stream than a bath) was worth the whole trip. We barely cracked the Mexico book (it got relegated to the bottom of my suitcase) but this book was in hand the whole trip and came back dog-eared ... and covered with red dirt. On the last night, we used the book as our sole map of Oaxaca city and found a couple nice places we doubt we would have located without it. Of course, we stumbled onto a few places that were not listed (Tip: Arrive early to the cultural museum in Oaxaca City and walk around the Church to stroll through the botanical gardens) and some sites were not accessible any longer or (more likely) we could not get the locals to comprehend what we wanted to find from our limited Spanish ... but simply put: This book was worth every penny. Buy it before you leave for Oaxaca.

We used this over and over during our recent trip. Excellent details, maps, etc. Highly recommended.

This is a great travel book. It was up-to-date with information. Descriptions of restaurants, hotels and things to see was accurate. The back of the book has a wonderful section on the history of Oaxaca which is rich and interesting. I would highly recommend this book. And I saw a lot of copies in the hands of fellow travelers.