Travel to San Cristobal de las Casas: All You Need to Know About It

San Cristóbal de las Casas is located in the Chiapas region of Mexico, which is the southern part of Mexico. This is one of the most predominant indigenous regions of Mexico, and it has always been known for the Zapatista movement, which today is a lot calmer.

It is a colonial town with all these really cool pedestrian streets. The most popular ones are Rial and Guadalupe, and 15 of March. You can find different squares, centers, and plazas. It’s just a lively colorful town, we absolutely fell in love with San Cristobal, this little city above sea level.

It has delicious restaurants, luxurious accommodations for travelers, tons of bars, and tons of places to visit, including chocolate places and cafes.

Is San Cristobal Safe?

Yes, it’s considered one of the safest destinations in Chiapas for tourists. However, as with any destination, it’s advisable to take basic precautions. We stayed in a really adorable Airbnb, literally a couple of blocks from the town center, and we walked pretty much everywhere. We felt pretty safe overall.

We did walk around sometimes at like 9-10:00 p.m. So, the area is safe for travelers to explore the city both during the day and at night.

How To Get To San Cristóbal de las Casas

The nearest airport in Cristobal de las Casas is Tuxtla Gutiérrez International Airport, which is nearly 48 miles away from San Cristóbal.

The most easiest and comfortable way is obviously by plane, you can fly there from Mexico City, Cancun, or other major cities in Mexico where you stay first.

From the airport, I recommend taking shuttle or a rental car, as it gives so much comfort. I have seen the roads are pretty good, yet, driving in Mexico is a bit complex. If you’re driving from the Yucatan Peninsula in the north, then go towards Villahermosa on Highway 180, to Highway 187, and Highway 145D toward Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Do not go from Highway 199, as it’s steep, and as a rookie, it would be quite difficult for you to drive safely.

How to Get Around

You don’t really need a car there. You could quickly get around everywhere. If you want to do some tours outside of it, you could take taxis or have tour companies, or there’s even, like, public colectivos everywhere.

Activities in San Cristobal de Las Casas

If you’re going to only be in San Cristobal for, let’s say, several days, there’s so much to do in the actual town itself, walking around, you could even get a bike and do a tour of the city. There’s a lot of really wonderful street art that you could check out in the murals.

Stroll Around the Town

Just start walking around the town, there are many places to check out. One of my favorites is the Templo de Santo Domingo, a baroque church with a crafts market right outside where you can find handmade textiles and traditional jewelry.

I also recommend going up to the Guadalupe neighborhood, where you’ll have an incredible panoramic view of the city.

If you’re into history, the Amber Museum is fascinating, (Chiapas is one of the few places in the world where this fossilized resin is extracted).

Tours and Day Trips

There are quite a few tours to take outside of San Cristobal. Please go and listen to my podcast about a tamale cooking class in San Cristobal. I really recommend that you will absolutely love that experience if you can because you could then really feel the food from that area and learn. It’s just a really fun experience.

You also do a really cool motorcycle tour that takes you to Sumidero Canyon which is outside, and there are other different cool experiences that you can do.

There is a day trip to San Juan Chamula and to El Arcotete, all the other activities, like going to a cooking class and all the other stuff that you could do in half a day and then enjoy the air and then enjoy just hanging out in the town.

Mercado Viejo

Make sure you go to the Mercado Viejo. I have an entire podcast about the Mercado Viejo, the Old Market because it is crazy.

I have been to tons of different markets. This is the only one that I actually have seen that has live animals for sale. For me, it was a little bit hard to manage.

San Juan Chamula

Another really important day trip is to San Juan Chamula. You could go there during any day of the week, but the market days are on Sunday.

The actual church is what you’re going for. There is a lot of detail about why that church is the unique church in Mexico overall.

Sumidero Canyon

Going to the Sumidro is a full-day trip. Even if you don’t get a motorcycle, if you go by taxi or by car, it is about 2 hours to get there, 4 hours there and back.

Rock Climbing

There’s also excellent rock climbing around San Cristobal de las Casas. To be honest with you, that is the number one reason we came as a family here today. For me, it’s all about where my family can go climbing, and I’m happy to go wherever because I just love to travel. But for them, it’s really important, no matter where they go, to make sure that there is climbing and there is a great climbing area.

There’s a really good group that could take you there. It’s a couple like these people that could take you there to make it really local and great.

What is the Weather Like?

There are some things you need to remember for several reasons. One, clearly the altitude, Cristobal is 6900 feet (2,100 meters) above sea level, and it does get cold.

But if you’re dressed warm, it doesn’t matter because during the day the sun is out, and it’s just really crisp and fresh, and then at night, it gets cold.

Throughout the year, the temperature generally ranges from 44°F to 89°F, with rare occurrences below 39°F or above 95°F. Make sure you bring your sweater. Even a hat and gloves could help sometimes.

Best Time To Visit San Cristobal

The best time to visit San Cristóbal when you can get the most out of your travel is from November to April when the weather is pretty much dry and sunny.

This is also the peak season for tourism, so you can enjoy the lively atmosphere, colorful festivals, and diverse activities that the town offers.

Where to Stay?

After getting to San Cristóbal de las Casas, you need a good place to stay, so you feel energetic and fresh to explore the town. You will find a large number of accommodations that suit your needs and budget in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Here are some of the best hotels in the city.

• Guayaba Inn: This elegant hotel offers spacious rooms with fireplaces, balconies, and jacuzzis. It also has a garden, a terrace, and a library for guests to relax.
• Casa Lum: This eco-friendly hotel features a modern and minimalist design, with natural materials and local art. It also has a rooftop restaurant, a yoga studio, and a spa.
• Hotel Bo: This stylish hotel combines contemporary architecture with traditional elements. The atmosphere is cozy and the vibe here is great. It also has a pool, a bar, and a gourmet restaurant.
• Casa del Alma Hotel Boutique & Spa: This luxurious option offers elegant rooms with marble bathrooms, flat-screen TVs, and iPod docks. It also has a fitness center, a sauna, and a spa.

Banks and Money Exchange

One thing that I did have a lot of problems with was exchanging dollars into pesos. Nobody wanted my dollars. There are currency exchange places you have to go and see when they’re open because from what I discovered, even though they technically have a schedule, they were never really open during the schedule. It’s whenever they pretty much want to.

And then sometimes their whole job is to exchange money, and sometimes they don’t even have money to exchange. It was so peculiar. I was able to exchange my money there.

There are tons of banks

None of the banks wanted my money, but you could use your ATM there. So that’s one thing that we did discover to be a hassle in the beginning. Then, once we went to the currency exchange, obviously you’re not going to get your best rate either way.

Conclusion – A Few Final Words!

There’s quite a lot to do there, and I would recommend at least four to five days. And if you want to do more stuff that’s around there, give yourself about a week in that region. If you guys have been to San Cristobal de las Casas, please let me know what you’ve experienced.

Backstory

I was in San Cristobal 22 years ago, I was traveling through Mexico, and I was a backpacker. I was meeting all these other backpackers and traveling with them. And when I got to San Cristobal, I was traveling with this one particular woman as well, or girl at that point.

We were traveling together, and we were really hanging out. Sometimes you get really great connections with people and become wonderful friends with them. And I do remember how absolutely cold it was.

San Juan Chamula, make sure you go and listen to the episode about San Juan Chamula and their church and sacrifices. Anyways, so interestingly enough, she went on, and my friend that I was traveling with, whom I met while traveling, went on to Tikal, Guatemala. Right after, you could go straight south into Guatemala through the northern part of Guatemala, which is the Mayan ruins.

And she ended up meeting some guy that she ended up, like, moving to Chile with and living with for years after me. I continued traveling throughout Mexico and Belize before I arrived in Tikal. And in Tikal, literally 3 hours after arriving in Guatemala, Tikal, the Mayan ruin park, I ended up meeting my husband. So it was kind of like a magical thing for both of us. So San Cristobal was where we parted ways

But here we are now, 22 years later, and we came with my family. It was me, my husband, and my youngest son. My oldest son decided to stay in Guatemala with his girlfriend. So San Cristobal is this absolutely beautiful colonial town, really high up. It’s about 2400 meters above sea level.

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Last Updated on July 26, 2025