OAXACA · THE MONTH GUIDE · APRIL
April is when the Oaxaca valley turns up the heat and mostly keeps the sky open. The average afternoon reaches 94.8°F, mornings start cool enough for a light layer, and the great Zapotec ruins open their gates at 8 a.m. to a low sun. Early starts, long lunches in the shade and evenings on the Zocalo suit this month.
Between the ruins there is a valley to circle: Tlacolula’s Sunday market, wool rugs in Teotitlan del Valle, mezcal palenques that open their stills to visitors, and the petrified waterfalls of Hierve el Agua. Rain falls on 7.6 days of an average April, enough for a light rain layer in the daypack. More places to pair with the valley are in our destination guides.
THE MONTH AT A GLANCE · OAXACA · APRIL
April in Oaxaca is a hot, mostly dry month for ruins and markets: do the outdoor sites in the morning, take the afternoon in the shade, and keep a rain layer for about one day in four.
SMN NORMALS 1991-2020 · STATION 20079 · 1,594 M
Go for: open-air ruins with a full day of light, a Sunday market in the valley, and 7.6 rain days against May’s 13.7.
Think twice before: booking April if a 94.8°F average afternoon is a problem for you. March averages 91.9°F with 4.1 rain days.
Climate: SMN/CONAGUA station 20079 · Sites: INAH · Advisory: US Department of State · full sources at the end
On this page
- Oaxaca weather in AprilHighs of 94.8°F, lows of 60.4°F and 7.6 rain days
- How hot are the days and nights?The day-night swing and what to pack
- Is Oaxaca crowded or expensive in April?Prices, booking and lodging tax: what we could and could not verify
- What to do in Oaxaca in AprilMonte Alban, Mitla, Yagul and the Santo Domingo museum, all at 210 pesos
- Oaxaca itinerary for AprilMonte Alban at 8 a.m., then a Sunday in the valley
- Oaxaca in April vs March and MayHighs, lows and rain days for all three months
- Is April a good time to visit Oaxaca?Who should come in April and who should shift to March
Every figure here comes from the official station of Mexico’s national weather service (SMN, part of CONAGUA) in Oaxaca de Juarez, station 20079, at 1,594 m. It reads the valley city, using 1991-2020 normals. Sierra villages sit higher and cooler, and we have no station readings from them.
Oaxaca weather in April
| Oaxaca in April | Normal (1991-2020) |
|---|---|
| Average high | 94.8°F |
| Average low | 60.4°F |
| Precipitation | 1.86 inches |
| Days with measurable rain | 7.6 |
| Daylight on April 15 | 12 hours 35 minutes |
The SMN station in the city puts an April afternoon at 94.8°F on average and an April dawn at 60.4°F, with 1.86 inches of precipitation over the month. These are thermometer readings from a fixed station, not a grid-cell estimate. They describe the valley floor, and because they are averages, a hot afternoon will beat them.
SMN counts 7.6 days of measurable rain in an average April, about one day in four. The station sheet does not publish its threshold for measurable, so we would not set that count beside a US rain-day figure. Pack a light rain layer and keep one roofed stop in reserve, such as the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca in the Santo Domingo convent, open Tuesday to Sunday.
Dawn and mid-afternoon sit far apart in April. Wear the thin layer you want at first light and shed it by mid-morning. Carry a hat, sunglasses and water for the open-air sites, where stone plazas throw the heat back at you.
On April 15 the day runs 12 hours 35 minutes, from sunrise at 6:09 a.m. to sunset at 6:44 p.m. (local time). The ruins close at 5 p.m., so daylight outlasts the gates by nearly two hours. That leftover light belongs to the Zocalo.
How warm is Oaxaca in April?
The city sits inland at 1,594 m, so the air is the only thermometer that matters. An average high of 94.8°F and an average low of 60.4°F are 34.4 degrees apart, a wide swing inside a single day.
That means two wardrobes. At 8 a.m., when Monte Alban opens, you will want a light long sleeve. By early afternoon it is cotton and a brimmed hat. Evenings on the Zocalo cool back toward the dawn low, so the thin layer stays in the daypack after sunset.
We found no count of freezing nights, and an average low of 60.4°F at the city station gives no reason to pack for frost. The Sierra villages sit cooler, and we have no numbers for them.
How busy is Oaxaca in April? Crowds and prices
We found no occupancy series and no hotel-rate data for Oaxaca. We therefore crown no month expensive and cannot say whether April falls in a high or low rate season.
We also found no advance-booking rule for the INAH sites and no sell-out lead time for rooms, so we give no number of weeks. The one deadline our sources do state is the gate: last entry at 4 p.m. at Monte Alban and Yagul, 4:30 p.m. at Mitla. For general planning basics, see our travel planning guides.
We could not verify the lodging-tax rate for Oaxaca, so we give no percentage. Ask whether a quoted room price includes taxes before you book.
Afternoon highs average 94.8°F, so the room is where extra money changes April: thick walls, a shaded courtyard, a fan or air conditioning. That is our judgment from the temperatures, not a price finding.
Things to do in Oaxaca in April
April keeps the valley’s open-air program on the table: ruins from 8 a.m., the Sunday market at Tlacolula, mezcal palenques that open their stills to visitors, and the road to Teotitlan del Valle, known for hand-woven, hand-dyed wool rugs. With 7.6 rain days on average, most days let a plan hold.
Monte Alban, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, charges 210 pesos and opens daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., last entry 4 p.m. Mitla asks 210 pesos on the same hours, with last entry at 4:30 p.m. Yagul, just past Tlacolula on the Panamerican Highway, is also 210 pesos, last entry 4 p.m. Mexican nationals and foreign residents pay 105 pesos at each.
The ruins look the same in any month, but the climb does not. Go at the 8 a.m. opening rather than in mid-afternoon. Put the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca (210 pesos, Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) in the hot middle of the day. It is closed Mondays.
Nothing in our sources lists a free-entry day for the INAH sites, so plan on the admissions above. The Zocalo, shaded by laurel trees and framed by the cathedral and the state government palace, costs nothing to sit in. Hierve el Agua’s petrified waterfalls and mineral pools, east of the city near San Lorenzo Albarradas, are run by the local community, which collects its own entrance fee on site. We could not verify the amount.
Oaxaca itinerary for April
Day one. Be at Monte Alban for the 8 a.m. opening and walk the plazas while the air is still cool. Last entry is 4 p.m., so a second lap is possible. Back in the city by midday, spend the hot hours in the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, open until 5 p.m. and closed Mondays. At sunset, take a seat under the laurels of the Zocalo.
Day two. Best on a Sunday. Start at Tlacolula’s weekly market for local food and crafts, continue to Yagul just beyond (last entry 4 p.m.), then finish at Mitla, whose 4:30 p.m. last entry makes it the latest stop. Teotitlan del Valle for rugs sits on the road to Mitla. Each site is 210 pesos. If rain sets in, swap the ruins for a mezcal palenque visit or the museum, and save the open-air sites for the next dry morning.
Oaxaca in April vs March and May
| Measure | March | April | May |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 91.9°F | 94.8°F | 92.8°F |
| Average low | 56.5°F | 60.4°F | 62.1°F |
| Precipitation | 0.69 inches | 1.86 inches | 3.85 inches |
| Days with measurable rain | 4.1 | 7.6 | 13.7 |
From March to April the average high climbs 2.9 degrees and the average low 3.9 degrees. May then trims the high by 2.0 degrees, raises the low by 1.7 degrees and more than doubles the rain to 3.85 inches. All three months come from the same SMN station and the same 1991-2020 period.
Shift four weeks earlier and 94.8°F afternoons become 91.9°F ones, with rain days falling from 7.6 to 4.1. The dawns cool to 56.5°F, which matters for early ruin visits. Shift four weeks later and afternoons ease to 92.8°F, but rain days nearly double to 13.7. Our sources give no room-rate data, so we cannot say either move saves money.
Is April a good time to visit Oaxaca?
Yes, for anyone who wants the ruins, the valley markets and long days and can plan around afternoon heat. The 94.8°F average high is the warmest of March, April and May. The U.S. State Department’s Mexico advisory, issued May 29, 2026, rates the state of Oaxaca at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, the same baseline as most of the country.
If heat is the deal-breaker, pick March: 91.9°F afternoons and 4.1 rain days. If cooler afternoons matter more than dry ones, May’s 92.8°F arrives with 13.7 rain days. Other months are laid out in our where-to-go-by-month guides.
April is the last of the three months before rain days nearly double, and the ruins keep their full 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours throughout.
The last word
Go up Monte Alban first. At the 8 a.m. opening you stand on the Cerro del Jaguar, over a Zapotec capital that lasted some 1,500 years, with the day’s heat still ahead. Spend the hot hours indoors at the museum or in a courtyard, and save the last hour of light for the Zocalo’s laurel shade.
Sources & data for this guide
- Temperature, precipitation and rain days for April, March and May · Servicio Meteorologico Nacional (CONAGUA), climatological normals 1991-2020, station 20079 Oaxaca de Juarez · checked Sep 30, 2026 · the SMN sheet does not publish its rain-day threshold
- Sunrise, sunset and daylight on April 15 · sunrise-sunset.org · checked Sep 30, 2026
- Admission and hours for Monte Alban, Mitla, Yagul and the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca · INAH · checked Sep 30, 2026
- UNESCO listing and Zapotec history of Monte Alban · INAH, Lugares INAH · checked Sep 30, 2026
- Travel advisory · US Department of State, Mexico Travel Advisory, issued May 29, 2026 · checked Sep 30, 2026
- Descriptions of Hierve el Agua, Tlacolula market, mezcal palenques, Teotitlan del Valle rugs and the Zocalo are general knowledge, not sourced figures. We found no occupancy series, hotel rates, lodging-tax rate, freezing-night count or verified April event dates, so none appears. Hierve el Agua’s community fee could not be verified · check operators when you book.