My niece is living in San Cristobal de las Casas for a few months and I am going to visit her in October.

Does any one have any good restuarant recommendations and "must do" activities?

I am booked at Hotel Casa Mexicana. Their website looks nice..and niece said there were other "old white people" there so I should fit right in. I'm not exactly sure why I am going to visit her, now that I think about it.

That was more of a dig at my age (Im 42) then a commentary that I have a prefernce to be around tourists. I do not.

I am looking forward to the marketplace and the canon del sumidero tour. Anything else that I shouldn't miss? I'm looking forward to soaking up San Cristobal and will only be there 4 days so I don't want to spend time traveling other places at the risk of not enjoying her new town. But a 30 minute bus ride in any direction should be fine.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

I'm not familiar with that hotel. We stayed at Bella's B&B, which I highly recommend - really nice place. (You can find reviews for it on Tripadvisor.)

We loved San Cristobal, really interesting place to visit. One day we took a tour to Chamula and Zinacantan, 2 of the villages outside of San Cristobal. I'd highly recommend a tour like that. We picked up our tour at the main square. I think it cost under $15 each.

Thank you Susan. I'm glad to hear you liked the town. I will look into booking a tour.

Was in San Cristobal quite a few years ago, but I still have great memories of it. Can't recall where we stayed. Agree that a trip out to the neighboring villages is worth taking. The churches were fascinating. The drive thru the mountains was just beautiful. We were warned not to take pictures in the church or of any of the village inhabitants without asking (always a considerate thing to do anywhere). Enjoy your trip!

Actually I think you're really taking a risk if you try to take a picture of people in Chamula - I've heard that they can confiscate your camera or even worse! But it was a great experience to see it.

We also visited Na Balom, which was the house of Franz & Trudy Blom, who did work with the Lacandon Indians. Quite an interesting place, although there really is almost a 'cult' like worship of Trudy going on there.

Agree with previous posters that you shouldn't miss Chamula and Zin . . towns. Very interesting. We're sorry we didn't get to the Sumidero Canyon. SDC has a great market- don't miss that.

And finally - your hotel sounds nice enough - but did you check out Casa Felipe Flores? Such a gorgeous place with beautiful local furnishings and art and extremely knowledgeable owners and management. We had a great stay there several years ago. Lots of positive comments at tripadvisor.com

Agree with other posters on the outer villages. Also, there is a women's collective in town as well as a great paper factory/bookstore. South and east of the main plaza.

Thank you all for your suggestions! I'm really looking forward to my trip.

Hi, Normaloney -

I hope you enjoy San Cristobal de las Casas as much as I did!

I second the recommendations to visit San Juan Chamula and Zinacantan. I took a tour through Alex and Raul - I believe they gather by the cathedral plaza every morning between 9 and 10.

I also recommend visiting the Museum of Mayan Medicine - fascinating!

As for restaurants, I had a great meal at La Paloma. A reservation might be wise, as it is a popular place.

Hope that helps!

Alex & Raul were the guys we went to Chamula with as well! I'd highly recommend them.

I had forgotten about the Mayan medicine museum. We also went through it, very interesting.

I too loved San Cristobal. The handicrafts market near the Santo Domingo church is by far the best crafts market I have been to in Mexico. Authentic local stuff you actually will want to bring home instead of a lot of the usual crap.

I eat mainly vegetarian, so I'm not sure you'll like my suggestions which would be Casa de Pan and Naturalisimo.

The bar Revolucion is one of my favorite things about S.C. and I'm not really a bar or nightlife person. Great music, super mojitos, terrific mix of tourists from all over and locals.

If you like nature, be sure to go to the Huitepec nature preserve just outside the city--a quick taxi ride. There's a trail up an extinct volcano with nice views of the city at the top. A bit arduous, but not terribly so.

Have fun!

Actually my husband and I had problems with 1 vegetarian restaurant in SC. I can't recall the name right now, but we both think that it was the fresh salsa. Fortunately we were able to get Cipro and we spent a day in bed. Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to take the bus to Palenque. Our B&B host said that she should have warned us about that restaurant - her father also got sick there. It's American owned, and if I think of the name, I'll post it.

Thank you for all the recommendations. I now know a restuarant to try and one to avoid. I'm excited to put your advice to good use.

Hi, again -

I forgot to mention the Museo Sergio Castro (aka the Museo de Trajes Regionales, or Museum of Traditional Dress), which holds a wonderful collection of the traditional clothing and accoutrements of various Mayan communities. You can visit only by appointment - I believe the number to call is 678-42-89, and I believe the preferred appointment time is 6 p.m. Dr. Castro speaks Spanish, English, French (and ?) and gives very informative tours of his amazing collection. WELL worth the hour or so it takes to visit!

Enjoy!

Hi we were there (family with teenagers) in April over Easter this year and it was wonderful, we stayed at Casa Azul with best views in town I would recommend if the town gets a bit noisy and its still only 5 mins walk from centre. Try the Thai/Mex restaurant in the Lonely planet guide its great. We also went to a bull fight which was an eye-opener! The village tour is well worth it. If you can take the bus on to Palenque its truly wonderful.