into the heart of oaxaca
Dia de Muertos
Oct 25-nov 3, 2026 | 10 Days
During Día de Muertos, Oaxacan families build altars, prepare the foods their loved ones cherished and celebrate together at candlelit gravesides. This 10-day tour is Kaelin's invitation into that world. Raised in Etla between his mother's cooking school and his father's tomato ranch, Chef Kaelin celebrates Day of the Dead every year with the families and artisans he has known for decades, and on this journey he brings you to their tables. You'll bake pan de yema, cook mole chichilo, cut cempasúchil, build altars and taste mezcal through Oaxaca's most sacred season. Groups stay deliberately small, so you participate as a guest held in someone else's tradition.
what is dia de muertos?
upcoming DATES
October 25-November 3, 2026
PRICE
From $5,4819 USD
gROUP
Our maximum is usually 14 to 16 people per tour
LAST CALL
September 7th
The experience at a glance
EAT
From market stalls to a family table in a village, every meal follows the season. Pan de muerto dipped in hot chocolate, tlayudas hot off the comal, and Mole Coloradito eaten the way it's meant to be.
cook
Hands-on classes at our cooking school in the countryside, built around the dishes of the season. You bake pan de muerto and cook four different moles. Learn about Oaxaca through the masterclasses: Maíz, Cacao and Mole.
explore
Beyond the kitchen, we live the celebration: cutting cempasúchil in the marigold fields, building the altar, joining families in the candlelit graveyards. Visiting the villages where centuries of craft are kept alive.
Learn how to make tamales
Bake Pan de Yema
Learn how to cook mole from scratch
Taste 25 wild agave mezcals
Eat the emblematic mole coloradito
Make masa antojitos on the comal
At the cooking school
We will take part in hands-on cooking classes at Rancho Aurora, where we learn to prepare traditional Oaxacan dishes, including various moles and tamales. You’ll get to see how Oaxaca’s famous quesillo cheese is made, learn the traditional way of grinding chocolate on a metate and prepare pan de muerto for the holiday.
Culinary Exploration
HE FLAVOR OF DÍA DE MUERTOS
mole
Mole is a family of complex Oaxacan sauces, ground from dried chiles, seeds, nuts and spices, then simmered slowly over fire. Oaxaca is known as the land of the seven moles, and during Día de Muertos mole becomes the centerpiece of the celebration: cooked for the family table and placed on the altar as an offering for the souls who return.
Mole Coloradito is the mole of the season. It is eaten daily throughout Día de Muertos and set on altars. You will visit a village and meet our friend Doña Rafaela begins her mole coloradito three days before Muertos, stewing it slowly until the chiles, tomatoes and spices settle into harmony. Her family has welcomed our travelers to their table on November 2 for twenty-five consecutive years. You will eat her coloradito the way it is meant to be eaten: at home, among family, with live music, on the day the souls come back.
In the countryside of Oaxaca
One special highlight is visiting a marigold plantation, where we harvest our own flowers to contribute to the altars we will help create. This hands-on experience deepens our connection to the traditions of Día de Muertos, as we learn about the symbolic importance of these flowers in guiding spirits back to the world of the living.
Marigold harvesting
In and around Oaxaca
We will take part in hands-on cooking classes at Rancho Aurora, where we learn to prepare traditional Oaxacan dishes, including various moles and tamales. You’ll get to see how Oaxaca’s famous quesillo cheese is made, learn the traditional way of grinding chocolate on a metate and prepare pan de muerto for the holiday.
cultural immersion
Cut your own cempasuchil
Visit a graveyard celebrations at night
Enjoy a village party
Shop at the seasonal market
Build your altar
Tour the central market
Your host
Chef Kaelin Ulrich Trilling
Kaelin was raised at Seasons of My Heart, his mother's kitchen and his first classroom. He left Oaxaca at eighteen to cook professionally: sous chef under James Beard winner Hugo Ortega in Houston, at Eleven Madison Park and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Later he was named chef de cuisine at Thomas Keller's La Calenda in Napa Valley. In 2021 he came home to lead the school, carrying 30 years of his family's legacy into what's next. On tour, you cook beside him all week.
Why travel with us?
This tour is curated and unique.
For 25 consecutive years, the same families in different villages have opened their home to our travelers. Live one of Mexico’s biggest celebrations from the inside.
Small groups, big enjoyment.
Our maximum is usually 12 to 14 people per tour. During the most alive days of the Oaxacan year. You'll enter homes, altars and graveyards the local way.
Our legacy
Founder Chef and author Susana Trilling settled in Oaxaca in the late eighties and her fascination with the food & culture became her life’s work and mission: to share this with the world.
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Sunday October 25th
Welcome dinner at a celebrated Michelin-star restaurant in the heart of Oaxaca -
Monday October 26th
We kickstart the cooking classes at our ranch with a cheese-making demo of quesillo, queso fresco, requesón and followed by antojitos made out of masa. Enjoy a traditional Oaxacan breakfast. Continued with fish and seafood forward cooking class. -
Tuesday October 27th
We visit a zapotec village to tour the market and visit a family of artisans for a demonstration of rug weaving. We lunch at a spot beloved by locals. -
Wednesday October 28th
Start the day with a tour of Central de Abastos and off to the cooking school for a class focused on the diverse moles in Oaxaca. -
Thursday October 29th
A guided walk through the charming Mercado de Ocotlán continued to visit the homes of artisans. Lunch at Michelin-star Almú eatery and closing the day with a mezcal tasting. -
Friday October 30th
An early start for a cacao masterclass at the cooking school to the learn prehispanic method of making chocolate and baking Pan de Muertos to eat and present to the altar.
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Saturday October 31st
Visit a marigold plantation to cut our own flowers to create our altar and continue the hands-on experiences by making mole negro from scratch
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Sunday November 1st
You’ll have the day to yourself to later enjoy a special 7-course dinner cooked by Kaelin and the team. Finish the night at the comparsas, a festive parade with drinks in hand and live music.
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Monday November 2nd
A day trip to the mountain village for an incredibly special meal prepared by Doña Rafaela, a dear friend of the family for over 30 years. Accompanied live music and the iconic Morteros, to host our very own comparsa. -
Tuesday November 3rd
Enjoy the morning breakfast and we wish you a safe return home
Day-by-day Itinerary
From $5,489 USD
Per person, double occupancy. Single supplement available.
WHAT IS INCLUDED
9 nights of hotel accommodation
Transportation to every tour activity
All excursions, classes and guided visits
Most meals and drinks, with some free time to explore on your own
WHAT IS not INCLUDED
Airfare
Transportation to and from airport
Gratuities
Ready to sign up?
Let us curate a custom trip for you. We share our secret gems and create a trip that is special to you and fits your needs. Our aim is to provide a memorable experience through the soul and experience of Seasons of My Heart.
Can’t travel on these dates?
Newsletters about dia de muertos
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a flower full of tradition
June 2025
As July approaches, the fields have been turning their soil to get ready for the big transplant of the Cempasuchil, or marigold, that usually is around the 20th of the month. -
What I eat for breakfast
April 2026
I spend plenty of my mornings in the biggest market in Oaxaca. Whether, it’s bright and early to buy produce for the cooking school or a tour of the market on Wednesdays with guests. -
It's not called string cheese
May 2026
The cheese that represents Oaxaca. People call it queso Oaxaca outside Oaxaca. Here in Oaxaca, we take huge pride correcting people, telling them it's called quesillo.
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