A private day here means a vehicle, a driver-guide and a fare quoted for a group rather than a seat. That last part is the whole argument: divide the price by your party before you compare it with anything.
The only private day here covering both the ruins and the Hierve el Agua entrance fee. Two hours on the plaza, then the weavers, the market and the petrified falls.
From $311 per group, up to 2
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Three hours or nine, and a route you agree rather than inherit. More than a dozen possible stops across the valley, with every admission along the way left to you.
From $304 per group, up to 2
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Ninety minutes at the ruins then east for the rest of nine hours, with two hours at a mezcal producer. The car takes up to thirteen, so a large party divides it well.
From $320 per group, up to 2
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A private morning with your site tickets already bought and three hours on the plaza, which is the longest any half-day option gives you. Pickup at half past eight.
From $236 per group, up to 4
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Fourteen possible stops and eight to twelve hours to spend across them. Every admission is excluded in writing, so budget the tickets on top of the fare.
From $292 per group, up to 4
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
An hour at the ruins and three artisan villages, with the guided visits, the driver, the fuel and the tolls all inside a fare quoted for a group of four.
From $227 per group, up to 4
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Several of these cover the site ticket, and one covers the Hierve el Agua entrance as well.
Check availabilityIt means a vehicle and a driver-guide for the day, with nobody else in the car. In Oaxaca that is an ordinary way to travel rather than a luxury tier: you agree a shape for the day, the driver drives it, and the vehicle waits while you are inside each stop.
The distinguishing feature is the pricing. These fares are quoted per group, in units of two or four travellers. Every shared trip is quoted per head. That single difference is why a private day looks expensive on a listing page and frequently is not.
Divide before you judge. A day quoted for a group of four costs the same whether one of you travels or four do, so the price per head falls sharply as your party grows. For a family of four these compete directly with four seats plus four tickets.
The site opens at eight, and the plaza is at its emptiest and coolest in the first two hours. A private departure is arranged with the operator rather than published. You can have that window instead of a mid-morning arrival with the coaches.
Two of these are sold explicitly as days you assemble: a menu of villages, ruins, markets and mezcal palenques from which you pick. If there is one thing in the valley you came for, this is the way to be certain of it.
Some of these fares cover the MX$210 site ticket, and one covers the Hierve el Agua entrance too. That is worth more than it sounds on a day with two gates and no cash machine on the route.
| Private vehicle | Shared seat | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is in the vehicle | Your group only | Whoever else booked |
| How the fare is quoted | Per group, in units of two or four | Per person |
| Departure time | Agreed with the operator | Fixed |
| Route changes | On the day, within reason | No |
| Group cap | Your own party | 10 to 30, stated per listing |
| Typical length | 3–12 hours | 3–9 hours |
| From | From $227 per group | From $28 per person |
Compare the private days above See all Monte Alban Tours
You get the vehicle, a driver-guide, fuel, parking and bottled water on all of these. Most add pickup from your accommodation. Several add the site ticket, and one adds a second entrance fee at Hierve el Agua.
What you do not get is a meal. Every one of these names food among its exclusions, even the days that stop at a market, so plan to pay for lunch yourself. Nor do you get a specialist archaeologist. The person driving is the person explaining, and the reviews name them constantly for doing it well.
Give the operator your accommodation when you book rather than afterwards. Pickup zones are the most common reason a departure that looked right turns out not to serve you. Ask for the earliest start they will give you: on an unshaded ridge that is worth more than any other single decision.
Expect three to four hours for a private morning at the ruins alone, eight to nine if the falls are in it, and up to twelve for one of the design-your-own days. The combination itself is worked through in Monte Alban and Hierve el Agua in one day.
If you are travelling alone, the arithmetic does not work. A fare quoted for a group is being paid entirely by you. A guided half day gives you three hours on the plaza with a guide for a fraction of it.
If what you want is the archaeology rather than the valley, several of these give you only ninety minutes to two hours on site, because the rest belongs to villages and driving. And if you are happy on a shuttle with a plan in your hand, the independent route is set out in guided tour or going alone. The full field is compared on Monte Alban ticket prices.
Your own vehicle and driver-guide, a start time you set, and on several of them the site ticket already inside the fare.
Check availability