Is it safe to go to Mexico ?

Question

I was listening to the radio this morning and I heard that the US border patrol is telling Americans not to vacation to Mexico. I booked a trip to a resort during the last week of March to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Should I cancel it? Is it really that bad/dangerous there?

Answer 1

I have arrived just recently in Mexico City planning on traveling many months, so this information is based sole on conversations with people here and back in CA who travel here regularly, and from reading probably 5-10 articles on the internet.



My understanding from a friend who travels to mexico commonly is that there are a few important places to avoid, specifically those are the northern boarder towns and Sinaloa (in the central/west part of the country). The southern regions are generally safer areas, and any larger cities tend to require typical awareness that you might expect to have in New York, LA, or the like. Most of the serious violence reported in the media coming from the drug trade is occurring outside of the major city centers. If you are traveling to rural areas you should be prepared to do more research beyond what I or others will say here.



If you are traveling to tourist destinations then read up on wikitravel for a few good tips on finding the right taxis, safety tips for the area, and ask for information from your hotel about security. I would not expect that if you are on vacation that you are likely to encounter major problems beyond what is typical of traveling the area. As with any trip to a less developed nations, do a little reading in a guide book or online and be aware of your surroundings. Don't get completely drunk in an unfamiliar part of town. And know how to call a taxi before you go out for late nights.



It is my opinion (and this is only one persons opinion) that the major warnings coming from US border patrol are coming on account of the escalating drug problems. I think these problems probably affect individual ground travelers, and individuals in specific locals and rural areas. For those flying to a tourist destination the warnings are probably less critical (though not to be ignored entirely).



I have not personally heard of the problems targeting foreigners specifically, rather that you simply don't want to be caught in the cross fire, regardless of whether you're foreigner or local.

Answer 2

Do you worry about organized crime syndicates in your home town? Probably not. The same is true in Mexico. All the nonsense you hear on the news pertains only to organized crime, it does not affect regular people or tourists. It is also true in border towns. What you can find a lot of in Mexico is petty crime; pick pocketing, purse snatchers, shady merchants. etc. If you exercise some simple cautions, you should be perfectly safe, the golden rule when visiting Mexico is not to flash wealth, and don't engage in any illegal activities with anyone.

Answer 3

The only problem is near the border towns next to the united states but any touristic location is safe since the mexican government doesn't want to lose money from tourist. Playa del carmen is probably safer than miami lots of american down there.



ITS SPRING BREAK TIME.THOUSANDS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS DOWN IN MEXICO AS OF NOW AND THEY ARE SAFE. MEXICO IS NOT AS BAD AS THEY SAY WELL ONLY AS I SAID IN BORDER TOWNS. But everycountry has its own problem areas i would NEVER set foot in compton or any other gang area in california but you wont tell touist to not go to calfornia becuase of the gang trouble over there.

Answer 4

Charlie pretty muched nailed it. There are serious problems in border towns like Ciudad Juarez, but the majority of the rest of the country is perfectly safe for travel. I've been to countless regions of Mexico, and have never encountered any problems. Just like anywhere else in the world though (or in the USA for that matter), it's always advised to use common sense when out and about.



Again, like Charlie pointed out, there are cities in the USA with much-higher homicide and crime rates than cities in Mexico, but would that stop you from traveling to American tourist zones and landmarks?



Be smart, and have fun on your vacation. I'll be in Cancun the last week of April too!

Answer 5

The other answers are correct. I live in Rosarito Beach which is only 17 miles from Tijuana and it is VERY safe because it is a Tourist/Spring Break destination. Mexico has a vested interest in keeping foreign tourists safe and they do the job very well.

Answer 6

Don't vacation in BORDER towns!!! But, then , who on earth vacations in border towns. People acation in places like Cancun which are hundreds of miles away from the border. Just because there is gang violence in some parts of Los Angeles, would that keep you fom visiting Yellowstone, or Chicago, or Myrtle

Beach? Makes just as much sense. Tourist areas, and the great majority of Mexico are perfectly safe. There are over 1.2 million American and Canadian citizens LIVING all over Mexico...perfectly safey. What happens in the border towns is NOT happening all over Mexico.

Answer 7

The undesirable recognition of Mexico city is very exaggeratet, Mexico city is the 2d best city interior the international obviusly this suggests that the score of crimes is extreme as different best cities interior the international like London, Chicago, L.A. in case you circulate there merely use the commonsense like do no longer circulate to darker and solitary streets.

Answer 8

Go you already booked it. God Bless.