Budget for San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico

Total Budget for San Cristobal de las Casas – $350 a month

The number one question we get from people when they hear we have been backpacking for over a year is, “how do you not run out of money?!” Or something to that affect. We usually respond with a vague answer about saving up in our respective countries and traveling cheap, but I think people always wonder if we have some sort of secret pyramid scheme or drug smuggling business we’re getting rich off of. So for transparency’s sake, I thought we’d write out our one month budget for San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico.

San Cristobal de las Casas in the hills of Chiapas, Southern Mexico. It’s safe and in the dry season (November to May) the weather is perfect. Charming cobblestone streets lead to Real Guadalupe, a pedestrian only street lined with cafes, bars and restaurants. The town draws a lot of artists and musicians, so on any given night you can watch an art expo and then listen to quality live music in the street. It’s a fantastic place for a new expat or first time traveler to settle down for a few weeks.

After finding a local women’s cooperative to volunteer with, we ended up living here for 2 months. For a grand total of 350 dollars a month each. Yes, that’s right, $87.50 a week. Lets see how we did it.

 

Rental Cost for San Cristobal: 2000P/ $150 shared, $75 each

Our home for the 2 months was a private room in a shared apartment. The location was perfect, just a couple blocks off Real Guadalupe. The room itself was spacious and (simply) furnished, which was a big selling point for us. Kitchen, hot water and wifi were all included. Other travelers, students and expats would rotate in and out every few weeks, which always kept things interesting. It wasn’t luxurious living by any means, but after a couple of weeks it became home. Cheaper options are definitely available, but for the location it was reasonably priced.

 

cheap hotel rooms in san cristobal de las casas

 

Cooking Costs in Mexico: $130 each

So we’ve discovered that one of the biggest ways to cut back on traveling expenses is to cook for yourself. It can be time consuming and annoying but trust me, if you’re traveling long-term, eating at restaurants will eat up your budget. Just because we cooked for ourselves, doesn’t mean we ate like peasants. Because we had a bit of time on our hands, and access to fresh ingredients, we were able to make homemade pizza, slow cooked pasta sauce and handmade pesto.  The market in San Cristobal is manageable and has anything you’ll need. Buy where the locals buy is always our motto. We did a big market shop about once a week and found fresh fruit, veggies and spices for low prices. To reward ourselves for staying in and cooking, we occasionally splurged on more expensive groceries like quality cheese and natural yogurt.

 

Cost for Eating Out in San Cristobal: $30 each

Okay, so sometimes you just need to say f*&k it and eat at a restaurant. Whether you’re tired, hungover, or just need a break, eating out can be a affordable way to treat yourself. We ate out on average about once a week and went to mid-range places.

 

cheap hotels in san cristobal de las casas

 

Going Out for Drinks: $40 each

Long gone are our days of getting wasted every night. If you’re on a month long trip, you can swing it, but if you’re traveling long term it’s just not sustainable. Not only is it a drain on the wallet, waking up hung-over every other day is a real trip-killer. So aside from the occasional happy hour or after dinner nightcap, we saved our drinking money for special party nights. There are some good drink specials around town, but nothing beats sharing a Cajuama (liter size beer) from the grocery store amongst friends. Also if you run into Rum Fandango, a bottle costs 42 pesos ($3.50). Mix that with a little Coke and you’re set for the evening.

 

Day and Weekend Trips from San Cristobal: $50 each

Chiapas is said to be the most beautiful region in Mexico. San Cristobal is the perfect jumping off point for short trips around the area. The quiet town of Chomula and the waterfalls at Chiflon are easy day trips from San Cris. A bit further out there are the Mayan ruins in Palenque and the breathtaking lakes at Lagos de Montebello which make for fun weekend getaways. We used public transportation to get to all of these locations, but there are tour agencies that can help you organize transportation.

 

Transportation Costs: $5 each

The center of San Cristobal is fairly small and you can easily walk wherever  you need to go. Taxis can take you out of the center to, for example, the fairgrounds, but can be pricey. Cheap collectivos are also available for short trips around San Cristobal or to the surrounding towns. Most leave from the market area and cost about 6 pesos (50c).

Getting to San Cristobal de las Casas is also easy from anywhere in Mexico, as long as your ok with taking a long bus ride. Otherwise you can fly in, but where’s the fun in that!

 

Miscellaneous- $20 each

This is the category I’m putting all our random everyday life purchases in. Toiletries, the occasional water bottle (although most of our water is free, using our life saving Steripen) and the very occasional souvenir, although we’re not big souvenir people. (We did, however, enjoying getting to know a small group of young street seller of San Cristobal who gave us some really interesting stories about their life and culture).

 

cheap rooms in san cristobal de las casas

 

So there you have it, a one month budget for San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico. You don’t need to save thousands of dollars to spend a month or two enjoying a foreign country. If you keep an eye on your budget, you’ll be able to travel for a lot longer than if you blow all your money on expensive restaurants and alcohol. Traveling slowly and cooking the majority of your meals significantly helps keep down costs. So what are you waiting for? San Cristobal is the perfect place to start your overseas adventure!

 

traveling to san cristobal in mexico

 

best budget location in mexico

budget travel locations in mexico

 

cost of living in san cristobal mexico

12 thoughts on “Budget for San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico”

  1. When I lived in Mexico, the fresh ingredients were the absolute best! One of my favourite things about living there for sure… At the same time, Mexican food is just so so so good that eating out is definitely a must, as you’ve said! Love Mexico.

    Reply
    • Definitely Colleen! Jules and I are absolutely in love with Mexico food! I miss being able to buy fresh off the press corn tortillas for dirt cheap. Mexico is definitely one of our favorites on the trip so far. Thanks for commenting!

      Reply
  2. Great article! How do you go about finding a room for rent? Did you just look around? Or is there a process you use to finding cheap rooms for rent?

    Anyway thanks for posting this!

    Reply
    • Thanks Johnny! San Cristobal has a really big traveler/expat community so finding a room is easy. The main grocery store (think it was called Dona Isabella) in town has a big bulletin with lots of listings for rooms. There is a constant turnover of people so it shouldn’t take long to find something. We’ve also found listings on craigslist for more beachy/ touristy locations like Puerto Escondido. Thanks for reading!

      Reply
  3. Hola!
    Just a question..where in Mexico or Central America do you find lithium batteries for your steripen? Because until now we haven’t had any luck…
    Thanks

    Reply
  4. I am planning on moving to San Cristobal soon for about a year, and I was wondering if you could tell me what apartment you stayed at that costed $150 a month. Also, when it comes to food, are there any good deals at the markets that I should know to save money on food? Or any good food suggestions that are cheap in the markets? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Hey Matt sorry for the late reply. The place we stayed at was pretty low key and I’m not sure how you’d find the landlord, but go to the apartment place on 17 Av Diego Duglelay, which is just off Real de Guadalupe. Let us know how you go.

      Reply
  5. While this information is GOOD, one has to look at other variables–such as rain.

    I don’t mind the rain. I lived in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle) for years, but … San Cristobal has 2-3 months were the total rainfall is in the neighborhood of 40 INCHES (in each month). That’s a lot of water.

    So, don’t jump before you check out the climate. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Can you please tell me where you volunteered? I’m hoping to spend a month or two in San Cristobal but finding it hard to locate opportunities online. Thanks 🙂

    Reply
    • Hey Alexandra thanks for stopping by. We volunteered at K’inal Antsetik, which is just outside the city. If Richard is still involved please say hola from us 🙂 It was a great organization working towards women’s empowerment for indigenous Maya.

      Reply

Leave a Comment

Send this to a friend