Customer Reviews

Moon Oaxaca (Moon Handbooks)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Overall this is a very good guide, but it does have its defects.

Here are my impressions after having spent nearly 7 weeks in Oaxaca City and State. First, the good points.

It is very extensive and detailed. The author seems to have left almost no stone unturned in the State of Oaxaca.

His local maps are quite good, and very thankfully he had gas stations symbols on his larger maps. On the one occasion that exact distance was important to us, he got it exactly right. He also states how long in time trips will take in the mountains, not just giving the kilometers, which latter are misleading if you don't realize how curvy and slow the roads are. "It's only 100 km from Oaxaca. No time at all."

The book, like other Moon handbooks, has the good menu of `What to do if you have X days' choices.

In addition, Mr. Whipperman provides many interesting sidebars on various topics.

It's easy to sum up the virtues, which are extensive in applying throughout the book. Now for some of the problems.

Many of the places in the book are described in glowing, even poetic terms. These did not always seem to bear a relation to reality--I'm talking really off--as in our visit to Puerto Angel. The main problem here is that with so many effusive descriptions, it's difficult to make judgments. On the other hand, on those much rarer occasions where a place is described as `downscale' or such, you'd better believe it.

There didn't seem to be directions for where to turn off for Ixtlan (what's the matter with 'turn right at the Pemex station'), and the directions on how to pick up the road for Pluma Hidalgo in Santa Maria de Hualtulco didn't seem correct.

In Oaxaca City, he doesn't mention the comida corridas: inexpensive, light 3-4 course meals offered in the late afternoon, nor does he say where you might find the best of them at the low prices, like 25 pesos. If you ate in our neighborhood at one, south of the zocalo, you'd be having a definitely non-tourist experience. But they are hardly haute cuisine.

However, the most significant fault in the book that I found was in its gross failure to provide sufficient guidance with respect to buying rugs at Teotitlan, a village near Oaxaca City. As a minor matter, he says if you take a bus you need to get off on the highway and then walk or hitchhike the several km into town. This isn't true. There's a bus that goes right to the village. Also, he doesn't mention that the colectivo taxi is only 15 pesos or so.

But the most significant problem is this: you can sign up with a tour company (a lot more expensive) and you will most likely be taken to a specific weaver with little time to see others. Of course, the tour operator's large commission is built into the price of the rugs. And then, to help your reasoning, you may be plied with mescal and/or cerveza.

It's a general phenomenon. The language school I attended arranged a trip just like this too to the same place. Which had both their own Suburban type van and an SUV in their driveway. Hey, they deserve to make good money from their rugs, but not by setting people up. But even this isn't the point. The guidebook should have warned of this common technique related to the rugs. Just as guidebooks to Thailand warn you of the various tout schemes. In a similar vein, Moon Oaxaca doesn't mention that some weavers now use chemical and not the more expensive natural dyes, while swearing otherwise.

The next two times I went to Teotitlan--I was into the rugs--I took the colectivo taxi at 15 pesos and the bus once (4 pesos), and compared rugs at my convenience from many weavers.

Two smaller guide books to Oaxaca, locally written, are Oaxaca Tips ([...]) and Viva Oaxaca ([...]). These are for Oaxaca City and valley only. They are more idiosyncratic and opinionated than Moon Oaxaca, with some more local detail. Viva Oaxaca, for example, lists its favorite comida corridas. We generally carried these around in the city, in part because they are light. Amazon, why don't you carry these books???

Nevertheless, Moon Oaxaca is overall a good guide.

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 went to Oaxaca in April with this book. It is very helpful. It contains good information on restaurants and sites, we follow some suggestions on restaurants and they all turned out to be great. The most useful are its maps with stores/restaurants/sites marked on it so that we can walk around the city and track down the dots...It also contains good descriptions on ruins around Oaxaca city that it is perfect for a self-guided tour.

I ONLY HAD A CHANCE TO USE THE BOOK A FEW TIMES DURING MY STAY IN OAXACA, BUT WHAT I MISSED THE MOST was

better information on public transportation. The book does not mention the various collectivos (share taxis) which seem to go everywhere. Bus departure times and prices would help.

I have friends living in the south and in the north of Oaxaca which are easily reached by public transportation. The book should mention a few of the major lines and their departure points. prices?

"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.

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.

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

I can't imagine going to Oaxaca without this book. There are some things I've had trouble looking up, for example there's no description of "Benito Juarez NP" although it appears on a map of Northern Oaxaca. Other than that, it's all there. I haven't actually been there yet, but I'm told by a resident that this book is "the Bible" for travel in Oaxaca. And I can see why.

This a pretty detailed guide for only one state of Mexico. Oaxaca is one of the most diverse and indigenous states in Mexico with very unique cultural traditons. If you have the chance to spend substantial time in this state I recomend this book to get you off the beaten path.