I can only echo what other reviewers have said about Casa de los Siete Balcones: The hotel is in…read morean ideal location in Oaxaca's Centro Historico, midway between the central square and the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The owners and staff couldn't be more welcoming. From assisting us with our luggage, to their care they used furnishing and appointing the rooms, to assuring that we had transportation back to the airport, you won't, at any time, feel like you're not at home. The hotel itself is a delightful 7-room, old-school casa with the typical high-ceilings, tile, abundant flowers, and gardens inside the exterior gate. Book your stay here when you're in Oaxaca. You won't regret it.

I can not recommend this hotel enough. My family basically took over all of the rooms last week,…read moreand the service and atmosphere and location made the stay so very pleasant. Many times we would remark "this is five-star service we are getting!" Julia, who is on the front desk in the evenings, helped book reservations at a popular restaurant; coordinated drycleaning for the family; made great food recommendations; and booked a taxi (in-house) for us to and from the airport. Everything went off without a hitch. We love Julia! The rooms are lovely - clean, simple, and the air conditioner and fan meant a cool room throughout a hot day. The hotel itself is downtown, so the noise level is high on the street, but with the balcony doors closed it blocked out much of the noise. I slept well the whole trip. It is also awesome to have a room with a balcony so you can check out the life going on outside your room (so much life!), so if you like that option, make sure to request a room with a balcony. Every morning you get a complimentary breakfast of Mexican pastries, juice, coffee, fruit, yogurt, and granola - it's delicious. You also get one complimentary upgrade for a meal, and we got the pork tamale in mole sauce. So rich, so tasty. You get to sit in the common area, surrounded by plants, served by nice staff, eating your free breakfast. Nice way to start the day! There is also a great coffee shop right around the corner from the hotel, if you like your latte in the morning. Being downtown is also a great bonus for this hotel. Everything is walkable - the best restaurants, the market, the square where everyone gathers, the cathedrals. All within a short walk. You can't go wrong with this hotel.

Juan is not only an extraordinary tour guide but also an utterly delightful man. He has deep…read moreknowledge of Oaxaca which comes wrapped in a completely natural and comfortable manner. I wish we'd had another day or two with him. We had time to add on an additional couple stops and even had an earthquake during an excellent lunch!

Juan was an incredibly thorough tour guide. We used him for three days recently - one day at Monte…read moreAlban, one day at Mitla and one day to explore the artisan villages to the south of Oaxaca. His knowledge about the history of the area is incredibly deep. We learned so much and he was able to adjust his itinerary for us as he learned more about our interests. On an operational note, Juan was always really responsive via email, he arrived on time every morning and his car was really clean and comfortable. Strong recommend all the way around!

These guys provided a very full day of sight-seeing, which included a trip from central Oxaca to…read moreHierve del agua and back - probably aobut 90km. We started around 10:30 (after picking up all 12 people at various hotels/bnb's/hostels around the Centro) and didn't get back until 19:30. They took us to the Zapotec ruins at Mitla, the petrified waterfall (which included an opportunity to swim in the natural pools), textile artisans (rug-weavers), ceramics, a Mezcal producer (with tasting), and a cantina with good Mexican food and music. The guide was fully bilingual, helpful and pleasant, although not equally knowledgeable in all aspects (e.g. the archeology). It was a good deal at 300 pesos/person, but it was frustrating at the beginning and ending, dealing with Oaxaca's invariably grid-locked traffic. Especially in the morning, it would have been better to meet at a central location instead of picking up everyone individually -- this took fully 90 minutes. The large van was comfortable (although more leg room would have been appreciated) and there was a steady stream of videos that entertained us with Mexican pop music and mini-soaps between stops. A fun sense of camraderie developed among our international group. If a bus tour is not tThere is also the opportunity to engage a cab driver or individual tour guide who knows there area - we did that on two other days, and this had some advantages for trips to Monte Alban, ceramics, etc. Many such individuals know of artisans who will give demonstrations for a smaller audience. But Aviaco packed in the most activities for a very full and rewarding day at a reasonable price.

Great full day tour. Cristina was excellent! She was very informative, funny, and very kind. The…read moredrive with Victor was also exciting going up the mountains. We would book another tour with them. Also, a great price. ¡Mil gracias! Hasta la próxima.

Oh my gosh. What great bunch of guys. We had a totally safe trip and the drivers were very skilled…read more Some of them speak english pretty well others don't but my spanish was enough to get us through. If it's important to you ask for a driver that speaks english otherwise they know where to go and how to get you there safely. For the price and where they go to it was totally worth every penny. We spent on these really really nice family guys that show you the best of the area. I'm easily giving them five stars.

Did 2 tours with this company on consecutive days…read more Tour 1 went to a mercado, a collective of local artisans making and selling woven things, a knife maker ( totally interesting) and wood carving and painting. Marlena was the guide and was fabulous, along with this excellent tour. Tour 2 went to Monté Alban, Arbol de Tule, a swimming hole, a rug weaver, mescal factory and a buffet. Not good at all. Very commercial and the opposite of the first tour. Too many great restaurants in Oaxaca to eat a big meal at some out of town buffet at 5 pm. We sat that one out. Go during the week because Mexicans come here on the weekend and it's crowded.

We just took a 2 day tour to Apoala. We had a great time. Hiked about 4 hours each day, meals in…read morethe puebla. Jumped over a lot of rocks in the river, wear good shoes! Yves and Claudia have been doing this over 20 years and know the villagers and routes very well. We will be back for another tour in the future!

Yves and Claudia operate a truly exceptional service. Yves has an incredible wealth of history,…read morescience and personal connections to offer and made our day in the Sierra Norte the highlight of our two months in Oaxaca, and of the several extended annual vacations here.

I totally 100% loved my stay here. It's perfect for single backpackers or travel groups to stay…read more The rooms, price, and hospitality service are good. It's location is just a stretch out of the main center but your gonna walk here and there anyway. The hostel has a rooftop, which is always great and a clear view of Oaxaca center. There's also a kitchen for us to buy and cook our own food, that saves on cash and not spending do much. I do plan on staying here my next visit to Oaxaca. Hostel 9/10.

My son and I had a great stay here in June 2016. Staff was friendly and we enjoyed freshly-prepared…read morebreakfast each day. Our (private, two twin beds) room was comfortable and clean. We shared a bathroom with one other room which was mostly unoccupied while we were there. Nice view from the rooftop terrace. It was very convenient--a short walk to everywhere we needed to go, restaurants in the next block, and a little hot-chocolate shop across the street. Most of the staff does not speak English which allowed me to practice my limited Español! I was able to book a wonderful day tour to Monte Alban, Arrazola, Cuilápan de Guerrero, and San Bartolo Coyotepec. We walked to the zocalo each day--also museums, shops, and the Mercado. There is a convenience store a couple blocks away where we bought bottles of water, and one day we walked to the main bus terminal to catch a city bus to Mitla and Tlacolula de Matamoros (on our walk back stopped at the Plaza de Nieves for ice cream). Note: This is a hostel--if you are not accustomed to hostels, you might want to stay in a hotel. We love hostels as we get to meet people from all over the world, plus it's way cheaper. There was almost no one else staying there while we were there, though, so it was almost our private place! the manager, who does speak English, was very nice, and had visited our state, so we had a nice conversation with him.