Where Sidewalks End Avis 132

The Oaxaca Red Clay experience was very special. My guide, Laura, was kind and very knowledgeable about the area we were visiting and the ladies running the collective. It was a great drive with her chatting about beautiful Oaxaca.
The demonstration of making pottery with Amalia was very educational. She also spoke so poetically about the process which made the tour very meaningful.

This was a truly authentic experience. We are so glad that we had the chance to interact with the local family and something we have wanted to do. The guide was fantastic and very engaging , helped answer all our questions. We will continue to book more tours with Where Sidewalks End to experience more of these moments and connections.

Our guide was enthusiastic in sharing out of the way markets highlighting local vendors. Splitting dishes amongst 6 people was sometimes awkward, but we got plenty to eat

My guide Noi was awesome! Very knowledgeable and friendly. Exactly what I was hoping for. The experience was unique and meaningful. The tattoo I received was beautiful. I highly recommend this company and experience!

The hands on, one of a kind experience of distilling the mezcal into a personal batch. Octavio was awesome. Down to earth and extremely knowledgeable. Just an overall amazing day of cultural absorption

I'm pretty lucky to have lived in Oaxaca for 6 years now. I recently took this tour because no matter how long I've lived here, getting to make your own mezcal is just not something you stumble upon. Trust me when I say this is a truly unique experience!

The day started out great. Our guide was early and was super friendly and knowledgeable. It about a one hour ride from the pick up spot in Centro and the whole time he was giving us background on the artisanal production of mezcal, answering questions, and getting us pumped for the day. We arrived to a really nice mezcalina cocktail as we were welcomed by our hosts for the day. It's always fun to get outside of the city and into the pueblas, especially Matatlan. The scenery out there is out of a magazine, I swear! Haha.

Lydia was our mezcal maestra, and she started off by explaining the history and the generations behind her family's palenque. If you've been to distilleries around the world, or seen how other liquors are made... I promise you this is NOT that. And I think that's really the best part of this tour... you get to be HANDS ON with the process, not just having it explained to you. We all got to pour mezcal into the copper pots, start the fire, and be a part of the whole process for the day.

We definitely earned our mezcal!

While the fire was going, we had an amazing homemade mole negro lunch, then saw our mezcal starting to drip out of the still... time fill our shot glasses and drink it straight out of the pot! While we were waiting for it to fill, we tried all of the different mezcals they make at the palenque. Again, our guide was so knowledgeable and walked us through every step of the process. There is so much to mezcal, and to understanding, feeling, and finally tasting each plant, and our guide really made the experience so much better by answering questions, and continuing to fill our glasses :)

All in all, I believe we tried 10 different mezcals. One of the best parts for me was getting to taste two espadins side-by-side that were each distilled in different ways there on the palenque. One in a copper still and the other in clay pots. The difference was wild!

We finished up the afternoon by getting to bottle and label our own mezcal, and take home our very own batch! We bought some amazing mezcals from Lydia as well. This is stuff that's really not easy to find in stores, and so much richer in flavor than anything you can find outside of Oaxaca.

As someone who has lived here for quite some time, I don't find myself often doing tours anymore... but this is just too unique of an experience to pass up! 10/10 recommend. You're just not going to find another tour like this... and getting to bring home a bottle (full size!) of your own mezcal at the end is really unbelievable.

Going to a palenque is cool. Taking tours of them and doing tastings is rad. But making your own!??! Do not miss this opportunity.

Wonderful experience with Arjan Rung. It was a week day and only the 5 of us in the studio, including Arjan and the translator, Noi. I would highly recommend.

I really loved this experience. From pick up to drop off, Koi was very pleasant and great to be around. She brought drinks and snacks, and helped me figure out the best tattoo. The tattoo process itself was easy, quick, and pretty painless. I absolutely love how it turned out. I would definitely do this again and would highly recommend it to others.

Great experience! My local guide and translator was a lot of fun, relatable, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience from start to finish. This was my second sak yant with Ajarn Rung. I chose him again for my third sak yant, as he provides a very moving sak yant experience. Just like my first sak yant which I did with him 4 years ago, he took the time to listen to me, gave me some feedback, and then drew a sak yant right there on the spot, based on what he felt would best suit my needs for spiritual protection and guidance. The sak yant itself was done within minutes, it healed within one day. It's been a month now, and I still draw back on the experience and remember how incredible it was.

We had an amazing experience, Laura and Josephina were amazing guides and teachers. Above and beyond anything we could have asked for.

Christian was knowledgeable and friendly and really gave us insight into the culture and communities of Oaxaca.

My husband and I got Sak Yant tattoos with Ajarn Yod through Where Sidewalks End in March 2026. Our entire Sak Yant experience was smooth and amazing! Our English-speaking guide Nuch was kind, sweet, caring, and knowledgeable. She took care of us, translated, bought us delicious food, and offered great support throughout the whole process. Ajarn Yod was very skillful and our tattoos turned out exactly as we wanted. The ceremony that included offerings, mantras, and blessings made the experience special.

Booking through where sidewalks end guaranteed me a life changing expierence that promised safety, knowledge and overall a wonderful opportunity I am so grateful to be apart of. I can promise you, if you choose to get a sak yant through this company, you will be in wonderful hands. The day started off with a bit of a time mixup but they were beyond apologetic and even issued me a partial refund for the inconvience. Our guide was beyond informative and I felt very at ease the entire time. As someone who struggles with needles and needed some time to lay down during my sak yant, my ajurn and guide were very reassuring and made me feel completely comfortable and taken care of. I love my sak yant, the meaning that comes with it and the wonderful people I met along the way. This expierence has given me something to cherish throughout my life and truly has bettered me as a person. Thank you WSE!

Our Alebrije Experience was completely amazing . Our guide Cristian was friendly and knowledgeable. The Cruz family at the Alebrije workshop was incredible!!!!
We will definitely be doing this again in the future.

Everything was perfect!! Our guide, the family we visited, the things we learned, the food!! Everything!!

I've been on some commercial mezcal tours and ones that spurred more questions than answers. This one was a great experience for learning about the different agaves and tasting different outcomes. With a master distiller showing us the way!

We enjoyed the Oaxacan Ancestral Food Experience. It gave us insight to how corn is the life blood of Mexicans. We saw and tasted everything from drinks to dessert with Oacavio, our very knowledgeable guide. It was a beautiful and educational day.

We had a great tour with WSE, matched with an excellent guide who took time to explain traditions, history, and culture that deepened our understanding and connection with the caves and the local community. The prehistoric cave tour was invigorating, insightful and amazing. The delicious mole lunch was the best we'd had during our week in Oaxaca. Visiting Dainzú was educational and helped reinforce what we'd learned before. All in all, a very well done private tour with knowledgeable people and selected experiences that were perfectly combined. Excellent customer service and a friendly environment; it felt like we were guests and not just tourists. Highly recommend!

This is my THIRD time to use WSE - the first time I got a Sak Yant with my daughter, and the second and third time with different friends I took with me. This time my guide was Wao, and she was great - very friendly and knowledgeable and kind. The company is always very responsive when I have emailed them, and I highly recommend using them - you won't be disappointed!

Our guide Christian was extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of the city, Oaxacan culture, and Oaxacan food. I usually try to stay away from guided tours as they can feel kind of cheesy, but not this one. This was a great experience and I would highly recommend.