Mexico
Oaxaca in May
☀️ Dry seasonWarm and some showers.
🎒 Pack: light, breathable clothes & sunscreen · sunglasses & hat
Why May scores 8.7What goes into the score
How it works- Weather comfort50%9.0
- ✓Warm (31.5°C highs / 16.9°C lows)
- ✓Comfortable humidity (dew point 12.2°C)
- ✓Mostly dry (~70 mm rain)
- Air quality20%7.6
- ✓Moderate (PM2.5 ~21 µg/m³)
- Seasonal hazards20%10.0
- ·No notable seasonal hazards
- Safety baseline10%7.0
- ·Increased caution
| May | Nov | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 8.7 Excellent | 9.6 Excellent |
| Season | ☀️ Dry season | ☀️ Dry season |
| High / low | 32° / 17° | 25° / 12° |
| Rain | 70 mm | 24 mm |
| Humidity | dew pt 12° | dew pt 12° |
| PM2.5 | 21 µg/m³ | 6 µg/m³ |
Typical-month data: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis) 2015–2024 (modelled, not a forecast).
Holidays & crowdsMay 2027
No long holidaysNo long public-holiday weekends this month. School holidays aren't counted, so check those if you want to avoid family crowds.
Other public holidays: Labor Day (1 May)
National holidays only; regional holidays and school breaks aren't included. Source: holidays (open-source public-holiday calendar).
Explore OaxacaEvents, sights, food & souvenirs
Check event dates locallyA colonial city in southern Mexico known for Zapotec ruins, Indigenous crafts, mole, mezcal and some of the country's most vivid festivals.
No major events on our calendar for May.
Coming up later
GuelaguetzaDate variesUsually the last two Mondays of July
A celebration of the dances and dress of Oaxaca's regions.
Why go: Tickets for the main shows sell out; parades in town are free.
Where: Auditorio Guelaguetza on Cerro del Fortín
Día de MuertosEvery year31 October to 2 November every year
Altars, decorated graves, comparsas and candlelit cemetery vigils.
Why go: One of the busiest weeks of the year; book well ahead.
Where: City and surrounding villages and cemeteries
Noche de RábanosEvery year23 December every year
The Night of the Radishes, a competition of elaborate carved radish scenes.
Why go: Queues to see the displays are long by evening.
Where: Zócalo
Templo de Santo Domingo
A Baroque church with a gilded interior, next to a cultural museum and ethnobotanical garden.
Monte Albán
A hilltop Zapotec city with plazas, pyramids and valley views, just outside town.
Hierve el Agua
Mineral springs and rock formations resembling frozen waterfalls.
💡 Access has sometimes been closed by local disputes; check before going.
Mitla
A Zapotec and Mixtec site known for its stone geometric mosaics.
Árbol del Tule
A Montezuma cypress with one of the widest trunks of any tree in the world.
Teotitlán del Valle
A Zapotec village known for hand-woven wool rugs dyed with natural colours.
Mole
Complex sauces, with Oaxaca famous for its varieties such as negro, coloradito and amarillo.
Tlayuda
A large crisp tortilla spread with asiento and beans, topped with quesillo and meat.
Grilled meats
Tasajo, cecina and chorizo grilled to order.
💡 Pasillo de Humo in Mercado 20 de Noviembre
Chapulines
Toasted grasshoppers seasoned with chilli, lime and salt.
Mezcal
Agave spirit, mostly produced in Oaxaca's valleys.
💡 Palenques around Santiago Matatlán and mezcalerías in town
Alebrijes
Carved and painted copal-wood creatures.
💡 San Martín Tilcajete and San Antonio Arrazola
Barro negro
Polished black pottery.
💡 San Bartolo Coyotepec
Wool rugs
Rugs woven on pedal looms with natural dyes.
💡 Teotitlán del Valle
Oaxacan chocolate
Stone-ground chocolate with sugar and cinnamon for drinking.
💡 Chocolate mills near the Mercado 20 de Noviembre