October 31 – November 5, 2024 
$1600 shared room / $1850 single room (price includes 5 hotel nights, luxury ground transportation, museum admissions, guided visits, breakfasts, some meals and other amenities. Airfare is not included.)

Please note: Refunds (minus processing fees) are available until June 15, 2024. After this date, only 50% of the ticket price (minus processing fees) will be refunded. No refunds available after September 15.

This Day of the Dead, join us for a very special 6-day, 5-night trip to Mexico for our favorite holiday. We will visit the mystical city of Oaxaca, a multicultural locale renowned for its ancient traditions, vibrant art venues, and amazingly rich cuisine. Pack your bags and join our tour leader, Salvador Olguín, a Mexican writer and scholar who has focused much of his work on the visual culture of death in Mexico.

ITINERARY *

Our journey will begin on the evening of October 31 with a Welcome Dinner featuring samples of Oaxacan cuisine. One of our local guides will be there to talk to us about each of the dishes we sample. It's going to be a very Oaxacan Halloween!

On November 1, we will enjoy a quick, guided tour of the streets of Oaxaca Centro. This is an Unesco World Heritage site that still preserves the taste of Colonial Mexico, including its unmistakably indigenous elements. After enjoying an meal at a traditional restaurant (included), we will spend the evening in one of the beautiful and historic Oaxacan cemeteries, either San Miguel, San Felipe or Del Exmarquesado.

On November 2, after a brief lecture on Zapotec and Mixtec funerary customs, we will head out to the small town of Santa Maria Atzompa, where we'll spend the evening enjoying the traditional Alumbrada at the cemetery. The Alumbrada is the night when people light the most candles on their family tombstones and graves. There will be music, food vendors, and much more. Get ready for a very traditional Dia de Muertos celebration! 

On November 3, we’ll enjoy a guided tour of the archeological site of Monte Alban, another Unesco World Heritage Site. Located on a Sacred Mountain, with some of its ancient structures having been carved onto the natural rocky slopes, Monte Alban and its onsite museum are a testament to the grandeur of the Zapotec civilization, which once ruled over the region and had ties with other mesoamerican cultures, such as Teotihuacan. 

On November 4, we will offer an assortment of guided visits for you to join at your convenience. From churches to markets, art galleries to traditional mezcalerías, museums and more, there's a lot to experience in Oaxaca and its surroundings. We will work with local tour guides to offer an immersive experience.

November 5 will mark the end of our tour. You'll be treated to a Oaxacan breakfast, and we'll get our last chance to gather and share our experiences. Join to get further details and updates, and start getting ready for Dia de Muertos 2024!

TOUR LEADER 

Salvador Olguín is a writer and scholar who has focused much of his work on the visual culture of death in Mexico. His work has been published in print and online media in Mexico, Spain, Brazil, the UK and the United States. He has a master’s degree in Humanities and Social Thought from NYU. His first poetry book, La carabela portuguesa (The Portuguese Man O’War), received the Carmen Alardin National Poetry Award in Mexico. He currently lives in the Mayan Riviera.

*Some changes may apply.