Oaxaca Culture Through the Table

Begin with a guided introduction to the history and cultural life of Oaxaca. Walk from Santo Domingo along Macedonio Alcalá to the Zócalo and Cathedral, tracing the city’s Indigenous, colonial and contemporary layers.

Continue into Mercado Benito Juárez and Mercado 20 de Noviembre for a guided tasting lunch. Through moles, memelas, tlayudas, chocolate, quesillo and seasonal specialties, guests discover how food expresses migration, celebration, agriculture and family memory. The remainder of the day is open.

EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

• Historic center orientation

• Guided market tasting lunch

• Food interpreted through culture

• Free late afternoon and evening

Spend the day learning how Oaxacan cooking begins—with the ingredients. A local cook introduces the chiles, herbs, corn, beans, cacao and other staples that shape the region’s food traditions, explaining how they are selected and used.

Guests then cook together, learning techniques and recipes through hands-on participation. The experience concludes around a shared table with the host: a relaxed meal that turns new knowledge into connection, confidence and a deeper understanding of Oaxacan hospitality.

EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

• Ingredient-led culinary introduction

• Hands-on cooking with a local host

• Traditional techniques and recipes

• Shared meal and conversation

Travel into the Central Valleys to understand mezcal from the ground up. Walk among agave, learn how different varieties and landscapes influence flavor, and visit a family-run palenque to follow the process from roasting and milling to fermentation and distillation.

The day culminates in a guided mezcal tasting accompanied by Oaxacan food pairings or a generous shared meal. Each pour is placed in context—land, labor, lineage and the rituals of enjoying mezcal well.

EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

• Agave landscape and cultivation

• Family-run palenque visit

• Traditional production methods

• Mezcal tasting with food pairings

Évora, ancient history and the Alentejo table

Leave Lisbon for Évora, exchanging the city for the open landscapes of the Alentejo. After lunch, explore Évora with a specialist guide. The experience connects the city’s Roman foundations, medieval streets and contemporary identity instead of treating the historic center as a checklist of monuments.

The afternoon ends with a visit to a regional artisan, potentially a ceramicist, leatherworker or producer preserving a local craft. Dinner is built around the Alentejo table, with regional wines and dishes served in a historic or privately reserved setting.

Highlights

· Introduction to Évora’s Roman and medieval history

· Visit with a local artisan

· Wine-paired regional dinner

· A slower evening before the first cycling day

Enjoy a relaxed morning walk through Jalatlaco, a colorful neighborhood of cobbled lanes, murals, small cafés and quiet plazas. The unhurried pace leaves room for photography, people-watching and spontaneous discoveries before an open afternoon.

In the evening, Oaxaca’s living culinary story moves into a contemporary dining room. A private chef-led experience at a Michelin-starred or Michelin Guide-selected restaurant reveals how local ingredients and inherited techniques are reimagined through a modern lens.

EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTs

• Leisurely Jalatlaco neighborhood walk

• Open afternoon

• Private chef-led dining

• Michelin-recognized restaurant

The signature countryside ride

Following a bike fitting and practice session, set out on a supported e-bike ride through the landscapes surrounding Évora. The route passes cork-oak forests, vineyards, olive groves and small agricultural communities. Along the way, meet a cork producer or estate representative to understand how cork is cultivated and harvested.

The ride ends at a wine or agricultural estate, where the group changes out of cycling gear and settles in for a long private lunch and tasting. Guests return to Évora by vehicle, leaving the remainder of the day unscheduled.

Cycling profile Approximately 20 to 30 kilometres or 12 to 19 miles. Easy-to-moderate countryside terrain. E-bikes are standard, with a shorter route and support-vehicle collection available.

Highlights

· Guided countryside e-bike ride

· Cork-producing landscape

· Private estate lunch

· Alentejo wine tasting

· Free evening in Évora

Medieval Portugal, local pottery and an evening on the water

Travel to Monsaraz, one of the Alentejo’s most atmospheric hilltop villages. Explore its castle, stone streets and expansive views with a local guide before visiting a pottery workshop in the surrounding area.

The afternoon shifts to the water. Board a private boat on Lake Alqueva for swimming, drinks and a relaxed late lunch or early dinner. As darkness falls, experience the region’s night sky with a guided stargazing session, creating a complete change of pace after the previous day’s ride.

Highlights

· Guided exploration of Monsaraz

· Regional pottery or ceramic experience

· Private Lake Alqueva boat outing

· Swimming and drinks

· Guided stargazing

Venture into the artisan communities of the Central Valleys. In Teotitlán del Valle, meet weavers who transform wool with natural dyes and generations of design knowledge, followed by a hosted village lunch rooted in local recipes.

Continue to a pottery community—Santa María Atzompa or San Bartolo Coyotepec—to see how clay becomes the vessels that hold, cook and serve food. A demonstration or hands-on element brings the relationship between craft and table to life.

EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

• Natural-dye weaving tradition

• Hosted village lunch

• Pottery artisan encounter

• Hands-on craft component

Rice fields, pine forests and a celebratory coastal ride

Transfer toward Comporta for the trip’s second and final cycling experience. This ride is flatter and more relaxed than the Alentejo route. Cycle through rice fields, pine forests and quiet local communities, stopping to understand the landscape and agricultural traditions that have shaped the area.

The route finishes near the Atlantic, where the group is welcomed with a long seafood lunch. The remainder of the afternoon is for the beach, spa treatments or simply enjoying the property. Gather later for sunset drinks, with no formal dinner required after the extended lunch.

Cycling profile Approximately 15 to 25 kilometres or 9 to 15.5 miles. Primarily flat terrain, with e-bikes and an optional vehicle transfer for non-riders.

The final day is intentionally open, giving guests space to follow their interests. Options may include Monte Albán, a favorite market, museums and galleries, last-minute shopping, or a restorative spa or temazcal experience.

Come together in the evening for a warm farewell dinner. The meal is a chance to revisit the tastes, people and stories encountered across the week—and to leave Oaxaca with a richer sense of how culture is carried through the table.

EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

• Choice of cultural or wellness activities

• Time for independent exploration

• Communal farewell dinner

• A reflective close to the journey

Choice, celebration and departure

The final morning is deliberately flexible. Guests can sleep late, spend time at the beach or choose one final experience before gathering for an extended farewell brunch. The group then returns to Lisbon for evening departures.

Optional final experiences

· Horseback riding through the dunes or along the beach

· A private wellness or movement session

· Spa treatments

· Shopping and exploring Comporta

A relaxed coastal walk