Estado de Chiapas Travel Forum

Hello! The kids are finally all gone and Im outta here. Im an anthropology student and cannot wait to see Palenque and all the glory of Chiapas. Any recommendations for the following would be appreciated:

hostels
closest/cheapest airports from SF
safety issues
BEST Chiapas travel guide
MUST SEE SPOTS

I dont think Im too worried about being alone as one always finds people around to hang out with, right? Cheap is the way Im gonna go so hostels will be the choice as I want to spend my money on the sites/tours. Anything you can offer would be so helpful....THANK YOU

A good travel guide such as the Lonely Planet or possibly Moon Handbooks ones for Mexico generally or the region specifically is what I suggest you study to learn the answers to some of your questions. Also, there are member pages here that contain lots of good information and you can use the search feature to locate them.

If Palenque is going to be your first stop, then I think flyingn into Villahermosa, Tabasco will be the closest airport. The bus ride from Villahermosa to Palenque is just less than 2-hours, if I'm remembering correctly. The guidebooks will give you some good information about bus travel.

About safety: don't do stupid things and don't trust people right away, anybody. There have been incidents where women have been sexually assaulted (particularly in the San Cristobal de las Casas area) in years past - and at some of the villages near a few archaeological zones. At least one young lady has never been found after she reportedly walked-off with someone. Another young lady has been missing 2-years now, from Playa del Carmen further into the Yucatan.

Enjoy the trip.

With great caution I seriously think you'd do fine travelling alone in the Chiapas. Criminally-motivated behaviour and assaults on foreign travelers do happen everywhere but they're certainly not a very common incident in Mexico. Always travel with another person (a guide, another foreign traveler, with a group) especially when venturing outside of the main city/town. Make a special trip to the tourist office for advice on things as well as pertinent pointers. Palenque is awesome. A good base to be in Chiapas is the charming town of San Cristobal de las Casas. There are plentiful of cheap accommodations here and the important sites are within easy reach. If you're in the field of anthropology you can't miss in San Cristobal the house/museum/craft center of the Lacandones indians, one of the few remaining indiginous tribes still existent however precipitously in Mexico. Enjoy your trip.

many great hostels in san cristobal.

in palenque here are the following recommendations:
1) stay up the road on the way to the park rather than in the town of palenque which is a s**thole. Panchan is very popular but i prefer Mayabell. there are others. the best option is to get a hammock and mosquito net and sleep under a palapa. you can get both down there and be sure to have someone show you how to put it up. barter for the price and try it out and remember, you'll have the hammock forever so get a good one that you'll want to cherish.
2) the best guide in Palenque (in my opinion) is Alonso Mendez (butzchan@gmail.com). he is a local from chiapas but has a degree in anthropology from Arizona I believe and is extremely knowledgeble especially if you share his interests. he has developed and written about some of his own theories on the positioning of the temples in relation to celestial events, i.e. mayan cosmology. contact him ahead of time because he can be busy or traveling.
3) if you can venture down to the ruins of bonampak and yaxchilan you should. i haven't been able to make it but it is a dream. you can stay with the lacandon indians there and make it an intermediary stop between Palenque and San Cristobal.
4) don't worry about single female traveling. you'll be fine.

message me if you have more specific questions.

and if you can read spanish, definitely try and get some Arqueologia Mexicana magazines. you may already be familiar with it or they have it at your university but it is the best source of updated information on the subject and often offers whole issues on one site so if you can get the palenque one, all the better. you can find some at certain bookstores in mexico and definitely at the gift shop at the bottom of the palenque site.