Central de Abastos de Oaxaca

Really large market that’s definitely worth going if you’re adventurous. We were advised to keep our valuables secure, but it never felt unsafe.

The area in itself is in a sketchy area. I would advise to dress conservatively for any women going. Both my friend and I were wearing dresses (nothing short or flashy) but there were lots of stares from men making it uncomfortable for us to enjoy the market.

Abastos is not for a faint of heart… and I am the faint of heart. It is an immersive, saturating, overstimulating experience that some people love. The smells, sounds, and sights were ugly, beautiful, colorful, floral, nauseating, interesting, eye watering, and disgusting - all at once and shifting moment to moment. I went on a food tour, but I found the place too dirty and unappetizing to want to eat. I am glad I went, but I don’t need to go back. Notably, I did not feel unsafe.

I did a tour here with Etnofood and it was honestly amazing. Would never have gone here on my own being a female solo traveler but felt safe and tasted so many new things! Best tour of the trip, a real glance into actual Mexico. Pretty overwhelming though in terms of smell, heat and business, so if that's not your thing this market isn't for you.

I visited this market with Etnofood. If it is your first time visiting, it is worth it taking a guide. The market is vast, and labyrinthine. There are so many foods to try— we had sampled the tacos, quesadillas, mole, fruit, and more.

I’ve been to mercados in Guadalajara and Mexico City, but nothing had prepared me for Oaxaca’s Abastos Market. I accidentally wandered into Abastos one day by myself and was instantly overwhelmed by the colors, textures, smells, and chaos. I got lost immediately, but when I found my way back to my Airbnb, I immediately started googling for a local expert who could guide me through this massive foodie heaven. I got lucky and found Lembranza Mexico on TripAdvisor who hooked me up with Martha, a local foodie and tour guide extraordinaire. In her 3-hour walking tour, Martha took our group of 6 people deep into Abastos and I had the best street food experience of my life. It’s obvious that Martha was a passionate foodie herself and has developed deep relationships with some of the best vendors in the market. At every stop, we were welcomed with friendly smiles, offered priority seating, treated like VIPs and served immediately. We were in good hands as Martha always she did the ordering, handled all the cash transactions, and carefully explained the ingredients and history of each dish. She also told us stories and shared cultural trivia that deepened our experience. And there was so much food! The finale was a “secret” mezcal vendor hidden deep inside the furniture section of the market who offered unlimited tastings served in hand-carved “jicaras” gourd cups. If you like a particular mezcal, they’ll gladly bottle one up on the spot and slap on a label for you to take with. This Abastos experience was so much better than wandering through the Mercado 20 de Noviembre in central Oaxaca where all the other tourist go. Thank you Martha for making my street food fantasy a reality.

This is a must.. if you want to see people in their element living working selling buying. Basically it’s an authentic glimpse into the life of Oaxacans. Very few tourists go to this market since it’s a bit far but also very raw. We loved it. Our taxi driver asked us to be careful about our bags etc. Happy to report nothing bad happened and we were relaxed but vigilant. So you will be fine unless you do stupid touristy things like pulling wads of money out of wallets or pockets. Anyhow. This market is huge but in about 2 hours you can get a good tour of it. The rows are usually organized by various themes like meats, yes raw meats and fish for sale, veggies and fruits, juices, clothing, dry goods, moles, crickets and so on. We were not intending to buy anything but bought some fruit and sat at a food stall to eat freshly made delish squash blossom and cheese empanadas- might have been the best we have had! They were very lovely - we did ok with our limited Spanish. This market is a visual feast and seeing humanity at its day to day struggle and joy of living this thing we call life. Go, observe, take in, enjoy, and be part of it!

Extremely chaotic market, less known by tourists, but contains some must-visit gems. Just be mindful of your surroundings as it didn’t feel like the safest spot in Oaxaca

Soy de México, y he ido a muchos mercados. No vayas! Mejor ve al 20 de noviembre. Más limpia, tiene todo, y es mucho más seguro. Fuimos y una cuadra del abastos vimos muchísimos droga adictos. La mayoría haciendo drogas pesadas y muy quemados. Vimos malandros por todos lados mirándonos fijamente. Tal vez es 1% probabilidad que algo pasa pero mejor no. Im from Mexico and have traveled many places. I highly do not recommend going. As I got closer we started to see very bad people. Drug addicts doing heavy drugs. People watching. A lot of reviews are good but do you want to run the chance of 1% something happening. If you know a local or a guide to take you do that or stay at the 20th of November market. It's cleaner, much safer and has everything you need.

Sensory overload but in a good way! Super local where you can find anything! Pets, latest movie on dvd, produce, live animals to slaughter. What I found was street food! Memelas Doña Vale from Netflix, quesadillas, tlayudas, you name it. It's a good place to just get lost and take take all the local smells, sounds and flavors in! Doña Vale can be difficult to find. Just ask for entrance #6, her stand is by there.

One of the most incredible, vibrant and overwhelming markets I've been to. We were warned multiple times (online and by locals and travellers) about how dangerous it was here and the pick pocketers- we went with cash tucked in pockets, left jewelry and cameras at home and felt absolutely fine and not at all in danger- if you're in Oaxaca and thinking about visiting Abastos, don't let the fear mongering stop you! Just be smart and go with a friend. These was everything here- the fresh food areas were incredible, shoes were amazing (i got sandals for 80 pesos and leather wedges for 240), an incredible selection of woven baskets and some textiles. Most of all, a delicious spot for lunch! Try the buffet style stands where you pick your dishes, buy tortillas off the nearby stands and tuck in.