I searched this forum and found no one posting about San Cristobal de Las Casas and the surrounding area in the last several years. I am hoping someone here has more recent experiences in that area. I have been to Plaenque. I am planning to visit San Cristobal for the 1st time later this month. Any mid-priced hotel recommendations (which for that are would be about $50-$70 a night) or a bit nicer hotel experience? Places you went in the surrounding area? Thanks in advance.

My experience there is definitely NOT recent -- I was there in 2008. That said, I loved Bela's B&B, which still seems to get excellent reviews:
http://belasbandb.com

Hope that helps!

Nor is mine. But what I'll mention next is not time-sensitive.
Wasn't a big fan at all of hotel Tierra & Cielo. Too many unfixable defects even if management changed since we were there. I'd look elsewhere.
If you've been to Palenque, you've likely been to Agua Azul & Misol Ha? If you're a waterfall fan, El Chiflon, I think, is more impressive. It is a ways from town, near Comitan. We would have loved to have spent some time in Comitan if it were not for the fact that I got lost and spent time on some very average caves just outside of town.

baldone, getting lost is half the fun, right? Thank you very much, I will stay clear of Tierra and Cielo.

kja, muchas gracias, your Bela's B&B sounds and looks wonderful online, and I will be booking there assuming they have availability and can accommodate me in a ground floor room. I have unfortunately developed a neuromuscular problem which is as yet not properly diagnosed (may be myasthenia gravis, that is working diagnosis), and I can not climb stairs. I know, San Cristobal is hilly, and I can handle hills, but not stairs, as of right now.

Any other insights? This trip is for our 30th wedding anniversary and we want to enjoy what there is in the area. we do not get away as often as we used to, due to chronic illnesses with both of our young adult kids. I have been looking at the info on a side trip to the canyon, and maybe stopping at Chiapa de Corzo on way to San Cristobal. perhaps Comitan. And the orchid center in San Cristobal...

If you're having mobility issues, then El Chiflon probably won't work. The walk isn't what I'd call super-steep, but it is a steady upwards incline for a good half hour with lots of steps. Dang, sucks to get old?
In comparison to, let's say, San Miguel, Guanajuato or Taxco, SC is not so hilly.
Sumidero is of course probably one of those must do/see things while in the area, if for nothing else to say you've done it and thus cross it off the BL. We enjoyed the tour and we're glad we did it, but if/when we get back to Chiapas, we would only go again if we were with friends that hadn't gone. If that makes sense.

Oooh, emd, I hope Bela's works for you -- it truly is a delightful place! I was there as a solo traveler, and chose a room with a shared bath (those were days with a very tight budget), so I really don't know about stairs. BUT Bela is a delight and an incredible source of information about the area (she's from the US -- CA, IIRC) and has been in San Cristobal for a LONG time, so if she can't meet your needs, do consider asking her for recommendations. I can't imagine she would be anything other than extremely helpful.

I don't think I posted a TR on my time in the area, but I did call upon fellow Fodorites of the day to help me plan. Here's a link to that ancient thread:
http://www.fodors.com/community/mexi...of-tabasco.cfm

FWIW, I thoroughly enjoyed my day-trip to local Mayan communities (San Juan Chamula and Zinacantan) - I learned a lot and felt that I had seen some aspects of the life of today's Mayans that I would NEVER have seen elsewhere.

I was very glad to spend some time visiting the Museo Na Bolom for its wonderful collection of artifacts. (Na Bolom is, I think, also a hotel, so you might want to check its availability, too.) And there was another wonderful museum of local artifacts that was privately owned and accessible only with advance reservation ... if of interest, I'll try to track it down.

I must admit that I was a bit disappointed with the Canon de Sumidero -- some parts caught my interest, but for much of the trip, I was more exposed to both the sun and the drunken antics of my fellow travelers than I would have preferred, and some parts were, IMO, not all that interesting. YMMV.

On the other hand, I enjoyed Chiapa de Corzo more than I thought I would. I'm glad I didn't give it a huge chunk of time, but I would (I think) have enjoyed more than the hour or so I had for it.

Perhaps the single best bit of advice I can give you would be to consult the <i>Moon Guide</i> for the area -- by far, the best of the half dozen guidebooks I used when planning my time in the area!

Hope that helps, and, of course, best to you and your family as you deal with some difficult issues

Thank you both again. Kj, I will check out that thread. We will skip he canyon trip based on both of your comments. I am more interested in the towns and indigenous people, textiles, customs/traditions, foods, markets, so colorful. My husband speaks better Spanish than I do, and he is taking an intensive course right now, so that will help.

I was hoping cybor would chime in, as she was in San Cristobal 3 yrs ago but did not finish her trip report on this board to include San Cristobal...

The markets in San Cristobal are amazing! You will find some stunning textiles, not to mention lots of other wonderful things.

cybor is still actively posting -- if you really want her input, you might consider posting on one of the other threads to which she has contributed recently.

Take a look at this website
The last time I went to San Cristobal this site had the best prices.

http://hotels.travelerinfo.co/

I stayed in Holiday INN San Cristobal

I meant to give you a link to the Casa No Bolom, and kept forgetting -- sorry!
I didn't see a direct link on a quick google search, but here's a link that might be even more helpful, as you can book through it.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/mx/museo-na-bolom.html

Excellent, thank you kja. Very helpful. I am in Playa del Carmen now, at my condo here. God, I love Mexico. Can not wait to get back to Chiapas. I have only been to Palenque and the rest of the state has been on my short list for years.

And thank you jaredondo. I travel mucho in M exico, that site does have good hotel listings and prices for MX.