Oaxaca in December: Weather, Rain Days, Ruin Admission and Things to Do

OAXACA · DECEMBER · THE MONTH GUIDE

December in Oaxaca pairs cool mornings with warm, almost rainless afternoons. The Zócalo’s laurel trees shade the square between the cathedral and the state government palace, and the ruins above the valley are open daily.

The month suits a trip built on stone and markets: Monte Albán, Mitla and Yagul, the Sunday market in Tlacolula, wool rugs in Teotitlán del Valle and small mezcal palenques. What December takes away is the warm start. The nights run cold enough to call for a sweater.

On this page

• Oaxaca weather in DecemberHighs, lows, rain days and daylight from station 20079
• How warm is Oaxaca in December?84.0°F afternoons, 51.8°F lows and what to wear
• Oaxaca crowds and prices in DecemberRates and lodging tax we could not verify
• Things to do in Oaxaca in DecemberMonte Albán, Mitla, Yagul, Hierve el Agua and the Tlacolula market
• Oaxaca itinerary for DecemberTwo days built around a 6:47 a.m. sunrise
• Oaxaca in December vs November and JanuaryHighs, lows and rain days for the three months
• Is December a good time to visit Oaxaca?Who December suits, and January or November instead

For where to sleep and the full-year picture, start with our Oaxaca guide. To set December against every other month, use Where to Go by Month. Prices are in pesos, as INAH lists them, and we give no dollar conversion because exchange rates move.

Oaxaca weather in December

Mexico’s national weather service, the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN, under CONAGUA), measures December at its own Oaxaca station, number 20079, in Oaxaca de Juárez at 1,594 meters. Its 1991-2020 normals put the average high at 84.0°F, the average low at 51.8°F and precipitation at 0.35 inches. That is a thermometer in the valley city, so every figure here describes the city. Outlying Sierra villages sit higher and cooler.

The SMN counts 2.4 days of measurable rain in an average December, and it does not publish its threshold for that count. Spread over those days, 0.35 inches is a light sprinkle on average, not a soaking. Most December trips will see no rain at all, so check the forecast before you go and leave it at that.

Highs of 84.0°F and lows of 51.8°F leave 32.2 degrees between an average afternoon and the hour before dawn. The bag needs both ends: a fleece or sweater for mornings and evenings, short sleeves, sunscreen and a hat for the middle of the day, and a light rain shell for the odd shower.

On December 15 the day runs about 11 hours 09 minutes, with sunrise at 6:47 a.m. and sunset at 5:57 p.m., converted to the Mexico City time zone that Oaxaca shares. The ruins close at 5 p.m., before the sun goes down, so the last light belongs to the Zócalo.

How warm is Oaxaca in December?

The average high is 84.0°F, reached in the afternoon. The average low, 51.8°F, belongs to the hours around dawn, which in December means before the 6:47 a.m. sunrise. Oaxaca de Juárez sits inland, so there is no sea temperature to give.

At Monte Albán’s 8 a.m. opening the air is still near its cool end, so start in a fleece and expect to take it off before the hilltop warms toward its afternoon high. Put it back on when the light fades and dinner moves to the Zócalo.

We found no count of nights at or below freezing for Oaxaca in December, so we won’t say whether any occur. The average low is a mean, and a single night can run colder, particularly in the Sierra villages that sit higher than the station.

How busy is Oaxaca in December? Crowds and prices

We found no occupancy series and no monthly hotel-rate series for Oaxaca, so we place December in no price ranking and crown no month cheap or expensive. What the calendar does say is that Christmas and New Year both fall inside the month.

We also have no source for how far ahead December rooms sell out, so we quote no lead time. Book the bed as soon as your dates are firm, then build the days around it. Basic planning steps live in Travel 101.

We could not verify Oaxaca’s lodging-tax rate, so we give no percentage. Ask each property whether the quoted nightly rate already includes it, and read the total before you confirm.

With no rate data to quote, the one line where extra money clearly helps is the room. Nights average a low of 51.8°F, so a bed with real blankets or a heater beats a balcony view in December, though we can’t say what that upgrade costs.

Things to do in Oaxaca in December

Rain totals 0.35 inches for the whole month, so the open-air program is on. Hilltop ruins, wool rugs in Teotitlán del Valle (on the road to Mitla) and mezcal palenques that open their stills to visitors, distilling roasted agave in the traditional way, all work without a rain plan. Tlacolula’s Sunday market, in the valley near Mitla and Yagul, sells local food and crafts and can carry a whole Sunday.

Monte Albán crowns the Cerro del Jaguar above the valley. It was the Zapotec capital for some 1,500 years and a UNESCO World Heritage Site from 1987. Admission is 210 pesos (105 for Mexican nationals and foreign residents in Mexico), open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mitla and Yagul charge the same rates and keep the same hours. Yagul sits just past Tlacolula on the Panamerican Highway, so the market lies on the way.

The stone is the same in any month, so the air is what you plan around. Monte Albán starts cool at the 8 a.m. opening and runs toward 84.0°F by afternoon. When the sun gets strong, the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, in the former Santo Domingo convent, is the indoor hour: 210 pesos (105 for Mexican nationals and foreign residents), Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

We found no source listing free-admission days at the INAH sites, so we name none. The Zócalo, framed by the cathedral and the state government palace under its laurel trees, is a public square you can cross without a ticket. Hierve el Agua, with its petrified waterfalls and mineral pools east of the city near San Lorenzo Albarradas, is run by the local community, which collects its own entrance fee on site (we could not verify the amount).

Oaxaca itinerary for December

First day, the valley ruins. Reach Monte Albán for the 8 a.m. opening, while the air is near its cool end. Head east by late morning to Teotitlán del Valle for wool rugs, then on to Yagul and Mitla, both open until 5 p.m. On a Sunday, trade the rug stop for Tlacolula’s market. Be back in town before the light fades, since sunset is at 5:57 p.m.

Second day, the city. Take the Zócalo in the morning, then the Museo de las Culturas in Santo Domingo (Tuesday to Sunday, from 9 a.m.), and a mezcal palenque in the valley in the afternoon. If a shower arrives (2.4 days in an average December), give the museum that day and move the ruins to the next dry morning.

Oaxaca in December vs November and January

The afternoon high barely moves: 84.2°F in November, 84.0°F in December and 84.0°F in January, a spread of 0.2 degrees. The low does the changing, falling from 54.1°F to 51.8°F (2.3 degrees) and then to 50.5°F (1.3 degrees). Rain thins out as well: 0.36, 0.35 and 0.09 inches, and 3.5, 2.4 and 1.4 days of measurable rain. Oaxaca is inland, so there is no sea temperature to compare.

January is drier, with 1.4 rain days against 2.4, and 1.3 degrees colder on the average low. November has warmer mornings, 2.3 degrees above December’s low, and 1.1 more days of rain.

Is December a good time to visit Oaxaca?

Yes, for anyone who wants dry days for ruins, markets and villages, with 0.35 inches of rain for the whole month. It suits less well anyone who dislikes cool mornings, since the average low is 51.8°F. The U.S. State Department’s Mexico travel advisory, issued May 29, 2026, rates the state of Oaxaca at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, the same baseline level as most of the country.

If cold starts are a dealbreaker, November keeps the warmest lows of the three at 54.1°F, with more rain days. Travelers who want the least rain should look at January, at 0.09 inches. Every other month sits side by side in Where to Go by Month.

December is the month when a morning at the Monte Albán gate, a Sunday at Tlacolula’s market and an evening under the Zócalo’s laurels all fit inside one dry week, with 2.4 rain days on average.

The last word

Put the ruins before lunch and the market or the museum after. Monte Albán and Yagul stop admitting visitors at 4 p.m., and Mitla at 4:30 p.m. Be through the gate by then, and the Zócalo’s laurels are waiting for the rest of the evening.

Sources & data for this guide

• Temperature, rain and rain days · Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (CONAGUA), normales climatológicas 1991-2020, station 20079 (Oaxaca de Juárez) · checked Sep 29, 2026 · the SMN does not publish its rain-day threshold
• November and January comparison · same SMN station and period · checked Sep 29, 2026
• Daylight, sunrise and sunset on December 15 · sunrise-sunset.org, converted to Mexico City time · checked Sep 29, 2026
• Monte Albán, Mitla and Yagul admission and hours · INAH, Zona Arqueológica de Monte Albán and the INAH pages for Mitla and Yagul · checked Sep 29, 2026
• Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca admission and hours · INAH · checked Sep 29, 2026
• Travel advisory · US Department of State, Mexico Travel Advisory, issued May 29, 2026 · checked Sep 29, 2026
• Hierve el Agua, the Tlacolula market, mezcal palenques, Teotitlán rugs and the Zócalo are described from common knowledge, and we could not verify the Hierve el Agua entrance fee. We found no occupancy series, no hotel-rate series and no lodging-tax rate we could verify, so we rank no prices. Hours and fees change · check INAH before you go.