Frequently Asked Questions
What can I expect from a Mezcouting Experience?
Our outings are not tours in the traditional sense but rather a day long experience in a rural Oaxacan community. Our Experiences facilitate visiting with and learning from our community partners, sometimes just hanging out in people’s homes and hearing their stories, savoring local food and drink, resting in hammocks, and enjoying the landscape. Our participants come from all walks of life to learn about traditional mezcal, regional gastronomy, hand crafted goods, and the culture and people around traditional mezcal production.
What is the schedule of a Full Day Experience?
Full Day Experiences begin at 9:00am (Central time, the time zone in Oaxaca) and end at 6:00-7:00pm. We ask that you allow for a 15 minute window of pick up either 15 minute before or after 9:00am due to pick up locations of the group. We will let you know 2 days in advance if the pick up time is 8:50am, 9:00am, 9:10am, etc. Note that we tend to eat a late lunch (around 3:00pm), please keep this in mind when making dinner reservations. Please let us know if we need to be mindful of any dinner reservations you may have.
What is the schedule of a Half Day Experience?
Half Day Experiences begin at 9:00am (Central time, the time zone in Oaxaca) and end at 3:00-4:00pm. We ask that you allow for a 15 minute window of pick up either 15 minute before or after 9:00am due to pick up locations of the group. We will let you know 2 days in advance if the pick up time is 8:50am, 9:00am, 9:10am, etc.
Where will I be picked up?
We pick you at your hotel or vacation rental in the Centro Histórico (downtown), San Felipe, Colonia Reforma, Xochimilco, or Jalatlaco. If you are not staying in those areas we are happy to help you arrange transportation (at your own expense) to meet us in one of those areas for pick up.
What vehicle do you use?
For groups of 1-4 participants we use our 6 passenger Mistubishi Montero. For groups over 5 participants we rent a 10 passenger Chevy Express or Toyota Hiace. For groups over 10 people we rent a 15 passenger Mercedes Sprinter van.
How much do Mezcouting Experiences cost?
Full day Open Outing $185 USD/3,330 MXN per person
Half day Open Outing $155 USD/2,800 MXN per person
Healing Experience $200 USD/3,600 MXN per person
Full day Private Outing $235 USD/4,230 MXN per person
Half day Private Outing $205 USD/3,510 MXN per person
Private Healing Experience $250 USD/4,500 MXN per person
What's included in the Experience fee?
Everything mentioned in the itinerary provided to you including meals, entrance fees, cooking classes, transportation, and tips to our driver and local waitstaff. Personal purchases to take home like mezcal, rugs, other artisan crafts, or chocolate are not included.
What about tips to community partners or drivers?
Tips to drivers and waitstaff and local waitstaff are always included in Mezcouting pricing. You are more than welcome leave a tip for your local hosts or Mezcouting guide. We pay our guides and community partners a living wage (4 times Mexican minimum wage per hour) and there is never any obligation to leave an additional tip or purchase any products from the families we visit as we pay them for their time, expertise, as well as materials purchased for each outing.
You can purchase mezcal or rugs directly from our community partners but there is never any obligation to do so. Its a great way to remember your trip and further support our community partners.
How many people can I expect in a group?
Our Open Outings are designed for 2-6 participants. This means if you are a group of 2 people you can expect up to 4 other travelers in your group. If you would like a Private Outing for your group only, please specify this in your message to us; for groups of 3 and under this will incur an additional cost of $50 USD/900 per person.
What about smaller and larger groups?
Solo travelers are welcome join Open Outings whenever space is permitting. We cannot accommodate trips for 1 person at this time but if you like to set up an experience during your stay, we are happy to promote it and see if we get other participants interested in joining the experience. While we cannot guarantee that more people will join, we usually have success in promoting these trips with over a week´s notice.
We can accommodate larger groups of up to 25 for our regularly scheduled outings, and we can create special experiences for groups of up to 100 people.
What if I would like a Private Outing for my group only?
Private Outings for your group only have an additional $50/1,000 MXN USD fee per person for groups of 1-3 people. Schedule permitting, groups of 4 or more participants are automatically Private with no additional cost. If we have an outing scheduled with 1-2 participants signed up and your group of 4-5 would like to join, you are more than welcome to, but we cannot guarantee a Private Outing for your group in that case. We will make this clear to you at the time of booking.
What if I would like a Custom Outing?
We are happy to customize our outings! Some added activities will have additional costs, we will let you know at the time of booking. Visit our Specialties page to get a sense of other unique experiences we can offer. Please allow at least 6 days for planning Custom Outings as we need to coordinate a special program with our community partners and in some cases scout beforehand to make sure your experience is truly spectacular. Note that we cannot combine experiences to the east of the city (Teotitlán and Mitla) with the south of the city (Santa Catarina Minas and Miahuatlán) on the same day due to the distance between the areas.
Can I bring my kids on a Mezcouting Experience?
Yes! Some Experiences can be tailored to kids, especially our Chocolate Making Workshop either in Mitla or Teotitlán and Teotitlán Weaving & Natural Dyes Outing. Check our Great for Kids page. When possible we will try to make family trips Private Outings at no extra cost but it is not always possible, especially during high tourism seasons (Thanksgiving week, October 15-Nov 4, Dec 15-Jan 5, and Easter week). Infants and children under 2 years old join us for free, children 3-12 join us at half price, and youth 13-18 pay full price. Write to us find out more about child and youth outings.
Do you provide car seats or strollers?
We happily provide them at an extra cost of $20 per car seat or stroller per day.
How do I reserve my Mezcouting Experience?
Once you begin communication with us through our website contact form, via email, or via Whatsapp at +52 (951) 313-7646 and have chosen your Experience, we require that you fill out our Participant Information Form, Waiver, and make a 50% deposit. This can be done through via credit card, Venmo, PayPal, or bank transfer.
Your Mezcouting Experience is not guaranteed until we receive a 50% deposit for your group. Please note that during high seasons (Thanksgiving week, October 15-Nov 2, Dec 15-Jan 5, and Easter week) we book up quickly so the best way to guarantee the Experience and date you´d like is contacting us with at least 5 days anticipation and depositing as soon as you decide on which Experience you'd like. Once we receive your deposit we will confirm your Experience by sharing a Google Calendar event and sending an automated reminder 2 days previous to your outing.
What forms of payment do you accept?
For deposits we accept credit cards and international bank transfer (international banking fees are not included in our experience fee) in MXN. We also accept Venmo and PayPal in USD.
For final payments in Oaxaca we accept the same methods or cash (MXN or USD). The remaining 50% of your fee is due at the end of our day together.
What do I do if I need to reschedule or cancel my Mezcouting Experience due to a missed flight, illness, or any other reason?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we are updating our Cancellation policy to the following as of 2024:
If you need to reschedule or cancel your Experience due to presenting COVID-19 symptoms with 5 days or less before their outing participants may reschedule their experience at no extra cost (schedule permitting) within 10 days of your scheduled experience. For this option to apply we require photo proof of a positive COVID test 5 days of your scheduled outing.
If you are unable to reschedule within 10 days of your booking date, Mezcouting reserves the right to keep your deposit (50% of the total tour fee) per person for any individual cancelling due to illness (COVID-19 or other), this way we can pay our community partners for ingredients or materials purchased for your tour as well as compensate us for the time it takes to coordinate each trip. Click here to learn more about our COVID-19 protocol.
Cancellation for any other reason:
Mezcouting will provide a full refund if you cancel your Experience via email at hola@mezcouting.com or Whatsapp at +52 (951) 313-7656, 6 days or more prior to your scheduled trip (day trips only, please visit our Overnight Outings page for information regarding multi-day workshop policies).
If you cancel your Experience with 5 days or less in advance to the date you have booked, we reserve the right to keep your full deposit of 50% of the outing fee regardless of the cause (missed flight, weather, family emergency, illness, etc.). When possible we will do our best to reschedule your outing with us during your stay (within 10 days of the reserved experience). In this case if you or Mezcouting are unable to reschedule during your stay , we reserve the right to keep your deposit (50% of the total Experience fee) regardless of the reason in order to pay our community partners for ingredients and materials purchased as well as compensate us for the time it takes to coordinate each trip.
What happens if Mezcouting cancels my Experience?
All excursions are subject to the availability of our community partners and (while highly unlikely) subject to cancellation due to unforeseen circumstances such as a death in the family or illness. We will do our best to reschedule with you. In the rare case that Mezcouting cancels the experience, we refund a 100% of the Experience deposit within 1 business day.
What about road blockades?
While we do everything in our power to make each participant’s Experience educational, safe, and fun, some situations are completely out of our control. Oaxaca is a state of peaceful political activity and this can lead to road blockades and heavy traffic. We know the shortcuts and side streets and have always gotten around any bloqueo that has come our way in a safe manner, we just ask that you have patience and flexibility with a changing itinerary. We reserve the right to change departure and arrival times and even cancel due to these challenges. In case of cancellation on the part of Mezcouting due to road conditions Mezcouting will provide a 100% refund within 1 business day.
What happens if there is severe weather or another natural disaster?
Experiences may be subject to cancellation on the part of Mezcouting due to weather conditions or road conditions. In the event of rain we do our best to continue Experiences as scheduled. We will do our best to reschedule in the event of road or weather conditions. In the rare case that Mezcouting cancels the experience we refund a 100% of the deposit within 1 business day.
Can you accommodate vegetarians, vegans, gluten free diets, and other dietary needs?
Absolutely! Please let us know at the time of booking and we will be happy to create a menu around your needs.
What should I wear on my Mezcouting Experience?
We highly recommend bringing a hat on all Mezcouting experiences but especially Traditional Mezcal Outings as we will spend time in the sun. We also recommend closed toed shoes for outings to Miahuatlán as there will be opportunities to walk through agave fields. Most communities we visit tend to dress conservatively, while you are welcome to wear shorts it is rare to see local residents wearing them especially in rural areas. May through September we recommend bringing a rain jacket or umbrella (we have a few extra umbrellas available for use).
Can I take my own transportation?
No.
Do you offer trips to archeological sites, wearable textiles, or hiking trips?
While our trips to Mitla include a visit to the ruins (you will have free time to explore) we do not offer a guided tour. If you would like to add one to a Mitla trip with us we can arrange for one at an additional cost. We do not offer trips to Monte Albán or other sites but we highly recommend Ayuso Travel.
For wearable textiles we recommend arranging a trip with the Thread Caravan.
For hiking trips we recommend checking the offerings of the Pueblos Macomunados in the Sierra Norte which can be arranged through Expediciones Sierra Norte.
For any other transportation needs we are happy put you in contact with Ayuso Travel or our trusted taxi driver, write to us here.
Do you offer services for restaurants, bars, or brands looking to source ingredients or crafts from Oaxaca?
Yes! This is a unique service with different pricing from our Mezcouting Experiences. To learn more about these services write to us here and we can provide pricing based on your custom itinerary with us.
Do you offer airport transfers?
We are happy to help you arrange one with Ayuso Travel.
Do the mezcal producers you visit make mezcal year round?
No. The typical season for traditional mezcal production is February through May or June, the hottest time of year before the rainy season. Traditional mezcal production relies on consistent temperatures for a good fermentation (only wild yeast is used) so during the rainy and cooler months it´s difficult to find traditional producers in action. Some mezcal producers also produce during September and October after the rainy season and before cooler nights.
How much do rugs or mezcal cost if I´d like to purchase them directly from producers? How much cash should I bring if I want to purchase textiles, pottery, or ingredients at the markets we visit?
Medium size rugs (2 feet x 3.2 feet) range from 1,000-2,500 MXN ($50-$125 USD), larger rugs 2,000-3,000 MXN ($100-150 USD), and much larger rugs (6 feet X 9 feet) 8,000-12,000 MXN ($400-$600 US). The cooperative we visit takes credit cards but a few of the other families we visit are cash only.
Liters of mezcal range in cost from 500-3,500MXN per liter, averagin 1,000 MXN per liter, depending on the production. Many of the producers we work with also sell 375ml or 500ml bottles. The palenques we visit on our Mezcal Minero trips accept credit cards but all of the palenques in Miahuatlán are cash only.
Let us know if there are any specific crafts or ingredients you´re on the look out for and we can recommend how much cash to bring on your day with us.
Can Mezcouting help me pack my mezcal for travel? Can I ship my mezcal to U.S. or another country? How much mezcal can I bring back with me?
All Traditional Mezcal Outings include bottles, labels, and bubble wrap to safely pack your bottles for travel in your checked suitcase. We can also help coordinate shipping within Mexico.
Due to import laws you cannot ship your mezcal back to the U.S. or anywhere outside of Mexico. Liquor laws vary from country to country and in the U.S. from state to state of how much distilled alcohol you can bring back with you-in California it´s a ¨reasonable amount¨ (60 liters per person for personal use) and in Texas its 1 gallon (4.3 liters) of distilled spirits per person every 30 days. In all states any liquor you bring with you must be for personal consumption only. Check your state´s alcoholic Beverage Commission or Control website for more information. According to the TSA´s website: Alcoholic beverages with more than 24% but not more than 70% alcohol are limited in checked bags to 5 liters per passenger and must be in unopened retail packaging.