Authentic, hands-on experience with family! Best mezcal distillery visit. Thanks Cesar for a great day ! Highly recommended !

Ceasar offers a personal and truly marvelous experience of life in a Zapotec Pueblo. He arrived promptly, the car was safe and comfortable, and his love for his community was evident throughout the day. Visiting his home, watching cacao turned into chocolate, enjoying a traditional meal, and meeting his family enriched our Oaxaca experience. It was market day in this tiny village, and as we strolled with him, we met locals, learned about indigenous government, and toured the nearby fincas. We ended the day with a stop at a local palenque to taste traditional mescal. Caesar is a comfortable, charming guide and knowledgeable local. We give this tour our highest recommendation. Jessie and Dan

Cesar was an excellent host and tour guide. He made sure our tour and visit to his village and Oaxaca was enjoyable. Cesars family was warm and inviting and didn't mind that our cooking skills weren't as good as theirs. His mother was funny and a very happy lady and we enjoyed her very much. The distillery tour was informative and relaxing. Very enjoyable day!

This experience is so FULFILLING ! Cesar really does a beautiful job by inviting you to spend a whole day with his family at their actual house in his village, alongside with his mother, father & aunt. You'll share the table for breakfast and lunch (freshly made by his mom & aunt!) while you learn from their culture, as well as learning how to actually make traditional Oaxacan Chocolate & some traditional savory dishes. Cesar also takes you to get to know his village and see some very cool things, like a local hand-made shoe factory and also visit one of his friends (Samuel) to where he makes hand crafted Mezcal. Overall, it's a very humbling and wonderful experience, and Cesar makes you feel at home from the very beginning ! I would for sure re-do this experience again when I come back !

Sharing a day with this family and this village was truly a treasure. We arrived on market day and even though, at nearly 6' tall I towered over all the other women by at least a foot, I felt welcomed and my curiosity felt no language barrier. I love that this town is actively preserving and sharing their culture and tradition. I am so glad to have been a part of their day. Learning can be a two way street and engaging together with multiple generations was beautiful. Contact Cesar at ladxatours.com or [email protected] to plan your experience. You will not regret a single moment.

Our day spent with César and his family was truly unforgettable. It will be hard not to write a very, very long review! César was the kindest, most welcoming guide who brought us into his home and offered a very authentic experience. It’s obvious that he is passionate about showing people his culture and he’s very good at what he does. His mother showed us how to make chocolate from scratch, and we even got to try grinding the cacao beans ourselves! She also showed us many other things in the kitchen, and we loved everything. We got to try some really delicious breakfast and lunch too, which was truly the best food we had in Mexico ! César took us all around his town, and we visited many interesting places which we loved. He took us to his friends Mezcal distillery (Dios Nunca Muere), where we saw how Mezcal is produced from the plant to the bottle, and tried some delicious samples with him and the owner. It was a very intimate experience, and did not feel like the usual Commerical tours as we just sat and chatted for a while, drinking mezcal like friends. We really appreciated being collected and dropped back to our accommodation in Oaxaca. I also want to note that we were hesitant about the deposit through PayPal but it is as César needs to buy all the ingredients etc. for the trip! It’s also best for both of you to book through his website directly. This was the best way to spend your money if you are looking for an authentic, relaxed and memorable day to learn about culture. Thank you so, so much to César and your family for welcoming us into your home. There is so much more I can say but instead, go experience it yourself. Lea and Jon Joaquín from Ireland :-)

We did a lot of great things in Oaxaca, but this was the best day of all. Our guide welcomed us into his home in a remote Zapotec village for a day preparing chocolate and meals the traditional way. You can’t get this experience in Oaxaca City. We also toured the pueblo and went to local sites, including an artisanal mescal distillery run by a local family dedicated to the tradition vs the comercial industry. You will be lucky to have this experience.

This experience was very personal - you essentially are welcomed into Caesar's own actual family, in his home, with his mother, father, brother and two lovely dogs Choco and Arena and a cat named Tita?. He offered to send the dogs off but we declined. If you are looking for high paced adventure travel or are afraid of missing out this may not be for you. If you want to have an intimate understanding of a life and attempt to see the world through another persons eyes then this is an extraordinary experience.

Wonderful authentic experience. Cesar fielded our questions with thoughtful, articulate and insightful responses. His appreciation for sharing and conserving the Zapotec ancestral way of life is a warming to see in todays younger generation (fom historical references to modern day efforts to keep the land pure of pollutants, waste and contamination). Highly recommend this tour for those looking for a true authentic day in the life of a traditional Zapotec village that has yet to be fully engulfed with urbanization.

If you want to see what true Zapotec / Mexican village life is like, do not miss this day with César! Great guide; excellent English; down-to-Earth. He and his family are as warm and welcoming as can be. Understand, this is not a "Luxe" excursion. If you're someone who needs to go "glamping" instead of "camping" this is likely not for you. It's a long day in that the drive out is a bit over an hour. Breakfast (homemade chocolate and bread) and lunch (homemade tortillas with various toppings) are made in a traditional "comal" over an open wood fire. César's mother and the ladies preparing everything are charming and gracious. In truth, the tortillas were the best food experience we had in Oaxaca (we found some of the restaurants to be highly over-rated). We helped prepare the chocolate from the freshly-toasted beans (again, over on open fire). The visit to a small, locally run mezcal distillery was very interesting and worth seeing despite the fact we had already seen a larger operation on a different day. If you're fortunate enough to be in the village around noon, ask César if it's possible to go up to the old church's bell tower for the midday ringing! Can't recommend this excursion highly enough! Thank you, César & Family! Jesse & Mac

Our guide Caesar was great. He took us to visit his family. We had lunch, learned to make tortillas, chocolate, experienced the life of the pueblo including a wedding near his house.

Taking this tour gave us the feeling of being closer to old Mexican culture than anything else we did on our trip to this country, Cesar and his family made us feel like welcome guests in their home. Watching (and taking part!) in the making of chocolate was something we won't forget. For a day, we were transported to another world. You can't ask more of a tour than that.

We hoped our experiences would be as good as the reviews and now think a sixth star would be a better description. Everyone we met was lovely and the food delicious. Cesar shared much more information than we had from another guide elsewhere The car and driver also couldn’t have been better. I enjoyed participating in the chocolate making and it will make you appreciate every bite of chocolate you take. The town was lovely and our briefer stop at the mezcal farm was interesting too. With the price of gas, we are not sure how he made any money so make sure he gets a big tip!

This tour was the highlight of our week in Oaxaca. Cesar is an excellent guide, warm and accommodating, with a list of activities that he tailors in real-time to your interests. The village is beautiful and peaceful, and we were lucky to go on market day (Tuesday), where we tried new fruits and local foods. Cesar shared not only the history of the village but also Zapotec history, language, and culture. The food, made in a traditional way using fire to cook, was amazing - my favorite was the memelitas with quesillo. Cesar also has two rescue dogs an adorable and cuddly rescue cat. I felt very at home on this tour and didn't want to leave. Highly recommend!!

We had a great day with Cesar. Above all, this a relaxing experience: a great way to slow down, learn about traditional Zapotec culture, and experience the home and community of someone who has great pride in sharing it. There was zero hustle and bustle here, but instead relaxing over breakfast and lunch in Cesar’s home, walking around the village (where were we were fortunate to catch a quinceañera and live band), and visiting a small, artisanal mezcaleria. If you’re looking for an opportunity to meet someone local and feel like you’re truly “in” the place you’re visiting, this is a tour for you.

It was a great day to spend a day after we first arrived in Mexico with a tour to a quiet village. His family made us feel very comfortable and provided us with great food and an opportunity to see how they live in such a beautiful area. The trip to the distillery was very interesting to see how mezcal is made in an artisanal manner.

It was a wonderful day with Cesar. His immense pride in his village was evident from the moment we met him. He provides an intimate experience, bringing us to his home to meet his family and enjoy a delicious homemade meal. Cultural traditions were on display with every stop and activity. Truly a unique immersive experience for anyone who wants to learn more about Zapotec history and culture. We wish Cesar much future success!

I had a wonderful week in Oaxaca — so much good food, so many interesting things to see and do — but my visit to Cesar’s village was the highlight. Cesar is not a professional tour guide and it shows in the best possible way — no canned speeches, no sales pitches. He picked us up at our hotel, took us to his parents’ house, introduced us to his dogs and cat, then gave us a snack of Oaxaca chocolate and bread. He taught us how to make chocolate, we wandered around the town visiting a few local shops, then had a delicious lunch prepared by his mom in the open kitchen. Afterwards, he took us in his moto-taxi — a sort of open air, three-wheeled golf cart type vehicle — to the local shoe manufacturing site and then up into the hills to an artisanal metzcal distillery. It was casual and fun and just really special, much more like being a guest of someone who loves his home and simply wants to share it with you than your typical tour. Highly, highly recommend.

It sounds simple enough: spend a day with your guide's Zapotec family in a typical Oaxacan town. But man, oh man, what an adventure. Cesar and his family made us welcome in his home, and we enjoyed the shade of the traditional open-air kitchen while his mom made us breakfast. After we played with the cat and Cesar's two rescue dogs we explored the town. We deviated off-tour to stop in to a small store that sold typical dry goods (pottery, basketry for home use) and a candy store--fun!--before heading back to see how chocolate is made and have lunch. Then it was into the tuk-tuk and off to the distillery...an excellent finish to an excellent day. Zero sales pressure--Cesar wants you to enjoy his town and the life there, nada mas. I cannot recommend this highly enough if you want to see the real Oaxaca.

Beautiful day with César in his village! It was very interesting and we enjoyed the village, the activities at his house and the visit to a small mezcal factory. It was a unique and fun experience and César was a great guide. We can really recommend this tour!