In our January 2024 budget report, we show that San Cristobal de las Casas is a pretty affordable place to stay for slow travelers in Mexico.
But sadly, it looks like January will be the calm before the storm.
Accommodation: $705.10 USD
Our best Mexico accommodation expense month so far.
January consisted of 2 days in Merida ($53.78 USD), 2 days in Palenque ($56.24 USD), and 27 days in San Cristobal de las Casas ($595.08 USD). San Cristobal de las Casas was definitely a good budget choice, at least from an accommodation perspective!
Sadly, February will be the exact opposite of this for accommodation. But we’ll take the win for now!
Activities: $330.71 USD
A pretty activity-heavy month for us, but we did lots of exploring.
The major culprits were our Palenque tour guide ($99.75 USD), Palenque archaeological zone entrance fees ($23.94 USD), San Cristobal de las Casas free walking tour gratuities ($17.66 USD), recreational chocolate purchases ($29.20 USD), Sumidero Canyon tour ($58.28 USD), and Velo de Novia/Montebello Lakes tour ($46.44 USD).
The remainder was from tips and entrance fees to various museums that were typically $5 USD or less per person to get in.
Alcohol: $70.99 USD
Nothing too crazy here. Mostly just grocery store bottles of wine and the occasional purchase of a local spirit, Pox.
Eating Out: $230.98 USD
Not bad on the eating out front.
We never really indulged in any truly expensive meals. Mostly lunch at local places, with an occasional reasonably priced dinner out (< $25 USD for two people) or a stop at a cafe.
Groceries: $348.72 USD
Pretty standard fare, expense-wise.
It seems like no matter where we go in Mexico, we hit the mid-$300 USD mark for groceries. Probably due to us shopping at the same grocery store chains, as in Merida.
Medical: $23.03 USD
Nothing crazy here. Just OTC medication purchases.
Miscellaneous: $2.90 USD
Rhonda bought a little hand-made monkey from an indigenous woman at a local museum.
Adorable. And apparently comatose.
Supplies: $120.52 USD
Aside from an online purchase of USA Walmart supplies that will be arriving with friends in February ($82.10 USD), the remainder is just the usual household supplies and quality-of-life Airbnb upgrades.
Transportation: $172.84 USD
Our biggest purchases here were ADO bus tickets to Palenque from Merida ($93.83 USD) and ADO bus tickets to San Cristobal de las Casas from Palenque ($53.28 USD). The remainder is made up of taxi and collectivo fares.
Utilities/Upkeep: $72.40 USD
The biggest expenses in this category were our Telcel Mis Amigos Sin Limites LTE data plans ($23.67 USD) and our MyRVmail virtual mailbox monthly subscription ($20.75 USD). The rest is from laundry, potable water, a haircut, and public bathrooms.
Total Expenses for January 2024 = $2078.19 USD
Here is a pretty graph summarizing our January 2024 budget report:
Pretty good! It is amazing what cheaper accommodation costs and lower medical expenses did to our bottom line.
This brings our current monthly spending average to $2,544.76, which is just a bit above our target.
The problem is that our time in Oaxaca, Mexico is going to be pricey!
Paying 4 figures for an apartment is going to have consequences, even if it is for a good reason. But the ability to share our travels with friends will be totally worth it!
Wish us luck.
Until next time…
Thanks for reading!
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Yeah, we were drunk on the much cheaper archaeological zone admission fees at Palenque compared to those in the Yucatan so we splurged. It was an expanded tour that went into the surrounding jungles, but honestly, it wasn’t worth the money. Lesson learned.
And beware the 20% Airbnb taxes! Not sure if they existed when you were last in Mexico.
2 thoughts on “January 2024 Budget Report – San Cristobal de las Casas (Mexico)”
Mexico has definitely become more expensive than the last time we were there in March 2020. We’ll find out when we return in November of this year.
$100 USD for a tour guide in Palenque? Seems awfully expensive.
Yeah, we were drunk on the much cheaper archaeological zone admission fees at Palenque compared to those in the Yucatan so we splurged. It was an expanded tour that went into the surrounding jungles, but honestly, it wasn’t worth the money. Lesson learned.
And beware the 20% Airbnb taxes! Not sure if they existed when you were last in Mexico.