Oaxaca · ALEBRIJES, BLACK POTTERY & CRAFT VILLAGES
15 reviewed
South of the city, each village makes one thing beautifully: black clay in San Bartolo Coyotepec, painted alebrijes in San Martin Tilcajete, green-glazed pottery in Atzompa. These are the best craft village tours: which makers you meet, how much time at each workbench, prices, and which run on Ocotlan market day.
A small-group day trip from Oaxaca to Monte Albán, Arrazola alebrijes, and San Bartolo Coyotepec black clay pottery.
“It covered many highlights in Oaxaca, Monte Alban on its own is breathtaking but the additional stops made this a very complete tour!”
A full-day Oaxaca circuit to UNESCO Monte Albán plus artisan towns like Arrazola, Cuilapam, and black pottery at San Bartolo Coyotepec.
“We had an excellent guide and driver and enjoyed the whole experience. Monte Alban was very interesting place to see.”
A full day from Oaxaca City with Monte Albán, alebrijes in Arrazola, and black pottery in Coyotepec, with a guided small-group pace.
“Our guide, Miguel, was very nice and knowledgeable. It was also great that he provided a cooler of water!”
Monte Albán views, alebrijes carving, and Oaxaca black pottery in one efficient small-group day tour with hotel pickup and air-conditioned rides.
“Our guides were absolutely incredible and so friendly would 100%take a tour from them again they were extremely knowledgeable”
Private car and driver from Oaxaca City to master artisan studios. Choose 3 routes, ride in A/C comfort, and buy quality.
“I can’t say enough good things about Roberto. He is friend, funny, and flexible. He will take you off the beaten path or wherever you may want to go. I come to Oaxaca often and will use Roberto again and again. His cars and comfortable and clean. He speaks English and Spanish. Highly recommend!”
Paint a wooden alebrije in Arrazola with the Jimenez family: origin story, hands-on carving/painting process, included supplies, private transport.
“Amazing experience.The family was very knowledgeable and endearing. This was one of the best excursions.”
Oaxaca’s Artisan Route in 8 hours: alebrijes, backstrap weaving, black pottery, and local markets across craft towns.
“Visiting artist’s workshops in wood carving, weaving and pottery is an enlightening and inspiring experience. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the additional benefit of scheduling our adventure on a Friday which included an hour in the market day events of Ocotlan. Our guide and driver were both excellent and very friendly. Highly recommend.”
Oaxaca craft day tour with hotel pickup to alebrijes, huipiles, black pottery and the Ocotlán Friday market; guide in English.
“This tour gave an intimate and in-depth experience with three types of Oaxacan crafts. We watched hands-on creation of Black Clay Pottery, Alebrije Wood Carvings and Back-Strap Weaving. I can tell my friends all about the artists who actually created the little gifts I brought back to them.”
Take a half-day pickup to San Martín Tilcajete to carve and paint a 10 cm alebrije at a real workshop, then bring it home.
“We enjoyed our driver and the journey to St Martin Tilcajete. The studio was amazing, and we learned about the significance of the spirit animals. It was good to see artists painting and carving. Our painting time was a bit rushed- we needed more time to work on it. We were back in Oaxaca at 2:00, not 3:00 as advertised.”
Quesillo, Monte Albán, copal wood tones and nahuales, plus black-mud pottery in Oaxaca. Private tour with pickup, breakfast, English.
“The attention and knowledge of our guide Cesar Medina made our trip an unforgettable experience!!”
Ride suspension MTBs from Oaxaca to Monte Albán and Atzompa, with ticket access, terraced trail descents, and a return through town art.
“Great day of local trail riding. Humberto was super cool and I hope to get out there again. If you have the time and skills go check out this ride. It was a blast.”
Guided Oaxaca day tour featuring black pottery, alebrijes painting, moles lunch, and a sustainable mezcal stop, all for $189.
“This experience was beyond great. The guide, Jorge was informed, respectful, attentive, and lots of fun. He set a positive vibe for the whole trip. The tour encompassed too many highlights for me to even begin to describe! There were only one couple besides myself, so it was essentially a private tour. Everyone had such a fantastic time. It was like old friends getting together. Jorge chose amazing representatives of different crafts and artisans. This all day tour changed itinerary slightly, due to unexpected closures, but Jorge knew the area and the people so well that it went off seamlessly. I can wholeheartedly endorse this tour for those interested in…”
Oaxaca day trip: Monte Albán ruins, Cuilapam convent, Coyotepec black pottery, and Arrazola alebrijes with round-trip transport.
“Un desastre. Nunca se comunicaron conmigo, nos dejaron tirados, esperando media hora por ellos. Pagamos por algo que no hicimos. ¡Tengan cuidado! Empresa nada seria.”
Monte Albán plus Arrazola and Coyotepec craft stops from Oaxaca City. Pickup, English guide, admission included, and free demonstrations.
“Overall, a great tour! The van was clean, comfortable, and had good air conditioning. Our guide was very knowledgeable and spoke perfect English, which made everything easy to follow and enjoyable. The Alebrije stop was the only slight disappointment — it wasn’t much of a demonstration, and there wasn’t much explanation of the process or lore behind the art. The prices also felt a bit high compared to other places. In contrast, the black pottery (barro negro) stop was fantastic — a quick, interesting demo and truly beautiful pieces at very reasonable prices. Overall, I was very happy with the experience and would definitely recommend this tour to others”
Private 7-8 hour Oaxaca tour: black pottery techniques, alebrijes in Tilcajete, markets and studio demos with hotel pickup.
“Guide was great…but, not really a tour of the two artisan villages…we only visited 1 studio in each town…sadly nobody working at pottery studio …more a shop for selling their work and tour of facilities”
