Travel to Mexico (safe or not?)

Rafter

Well-Known Member
Messages
11,696
I just read a family of four from Iowa was found dead in their hotel/condo in Tulum two days after they were due to return to the USA. Apparently they were staying at the Grand Bahia Principe resort (a massive, popular resort). Speculation is that it was either foul play or some sort of accidental poisoning. Why they weren't discovered earlier I don't know. You'd think they would have had daily maid/cleaning service.

I absolutely love Mexico, I've been to the Cancun area and Cabo several times and have always felt safe though we've never left the resort. This year we decided on the DR (which was amazing) and the day after we booked the trip we read there was a travel advisory for Cancun due to bombings on a ferry to Cozumel.

Just wondering anyone is reluctant to travel there? It seems like it's getting more and more dangerous.
 

Tinami Amori

Well-Known Member
Messages
20,156
I just read a family of four from Iowa was found dead in their hotel/condo in Tulum two days after they were due to return to the USA. Apparently they were staying at the Grand Bahia Principe resort (a massive, popular resort). Speculation is that it was either foul play or some sort of accidental poisoning. Why they weren't discovered earlier I don't know. You'd think they would have had daily maid/cleaning service.

I absolutely love Mexico, I've been to the Cancun area and Cabo several times and have always felt safe though we've never left the resort. This year we decided on the DR (which was amazing) and the day after we booked the trip we read there was a travel advisory for Cancun due to bombings on a ferry to Cozumel.

Just wondering anyone is reluctant to travel there? It seems like it's getting more and more dangerous.
The incidents are not widely covered by the Mexican press and authorities for understandable reasons not to affect tourism. But yes, the murders and violent crime escalate greatly.. Few refs from Newsweek, PBS, and NYP. US advisory board also issued statements. In other words, it's bad. Since i am a family travel agent, i've rerouted few friends, relatives and business associates to Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Caymans, and Costa Rica
Watch the video in the article and text.
https://nypost.com/2018/03/12/trouble-in-paradise-cancuns-secret-murders/
http://www.newsweek.com/us-traveler...rime-ridden-states-new-travel-advisory-777680
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/t...en-see-soaring-murders-amid-a-bloody-drug-war
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...s-citizens-avoid-5-mexican-states/1023620001/
 

Scrufflet

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,207
I've been to several parts of Mexico. Acapulco used to be a good spot many years ago but is no longer safe. 15 years ago we tried the Playa gel Carmen area; now it is quite unsafe. A nightclub shooting a few years ago several muggings in the past few years, 2 cases of explosives on the ferry and now this Iowa family. Wouldn't go there if you paid me.
Now we go to Puerto Vallarta which is quite safe. The town values tourists and has tourist police monitoring the main area. But exercise caution wherever you go.
 

Lizziebeth

Well-Known Member
Messages
9,846
I went to Mazatlan in Dec 2017 and felt safe. I was with a family group and most of them came from Chihuahua by bus or car. Heard nothing from them about it being unsafe, but maybe foreign tourists are more of a target. I think the major resort areas are safe. There were a lot of police cars driving around Mazatlan.
 

judiz

Well-Known Member
Messages
5,314
I just read a family of four from Iowa was found dead in their hotel/condo in Tulum two days after they were due to return to the USA. Apparently they were staying at the Grand Bahia Principe resort (a massive, popular resort). Speculation is that it was either foul play or some sort of accidental poisoning. Why they weren't discovered earlier I don't know. You'd think they would have had daily maid/cleaning service.

I absolutely love Mexico, I've been to the Cancun area and Cabo several times and have always felt safe though we've never left the resort. This year we decided on the DR (which was amazing) and the day after we booked the trip we read there was a travel advisory for Cancun due to bombings on a ferry to Cozumel.

Just wondering anyone is reluctant to travel there? It seems like it's getting more and more dangerous.

The reports from Mexico are that the family died as a result of toxic fumes in their condo, the type has not been determined ( carbon monoxide, insecticides or propane leak).

My son spent Spring break in Cancun. He was told that as long as he stayed on the hotel grounds, he would be okay and he was.
 

quartz

scratching at the light
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19,932
Have vacationed at the Las Brisas resorts in Mexico 4 times in the past 5 years. Three times in lxtapa-Zihuatanejo and this past February in Huatulco. (Pacific side)
We love it, have never felt unsafe, even when going off resort. Our off resort excursion this past trip, we went up into the Sierra Madre mountains where they grow coffee - it was incredibly beautiful (I have never smelled such gorgeous air!) and the people we met were warm, engaging and delightful.

Mexico is a huge country, of course there are areas where crime and other horrible things happen. We go to Toronto and Detroit on a regular basis too, and crime and horrible things happen there as well. Do some research, choose a reputable resort - tourism is a big industry and they want you to be safe and happy so you keep coming back. The resort we go to caters mostly to an older crowd, and many of the tourists have been going there for years and years.
 
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StasiyaGalustyanLove

Banned Member
Messages
423
No, it is not safe to go to Mexico unless you have several guns, tasers, and at least on bullet proof vest for person. My wife and I live in New Mexico and we know that if you even go with-in fifty miles of the border with our Latino neighbors to the South, you will find yourself surrounded by marijuana, gang members, and many other kinds of illicit vice! If you want to stay alive you will stay far away from this lawless Spanish speaking country!
 
D

Deleted member 221

Guest
You're not crazy. I haven't been to Mexico since 2012 and do not intend to go back. It's the only country out of nearly 50 I've been to where I have zero desire to return. I felt completely unsafe; got sick from the food several times (which has not happened to me anywhere else in the world, including India and China); and thought the smells were nauseating. Almost nothing worked properly, even in high-end places. Granted, I was in bigger cities and not in resorts.

There are just too many other places in the world to make me consider Mexico again. There are beautiful resorts in many other countries that have their sh*t much more together than Mexico. Take your tourism dollars elsewhere is my vote....
 

Jayar

Well-Known Member
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9,515
I can’t speak for anywhere else, but Puerta Vallarta has been completely comfortable the four times I have been.
 
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10,073
My sister in law is Mexican and after having their vehicle stolen by police a few years ago (not in a tourist area) she had refused to go back to Mexico. This year though she’s going to visit family in Puerto Vallarta and feels it’s safe enough that she’s bringing her three kids with her. She’d only go to resort areas though.
 

SkateSand

Cat Servant
Messages
2,634
We travel to Cabo San Lucas every other year or so. Most recently, we were there in early December of last year. We usually stay at resorts a bit out of town and then take the local bus into town on the days we want to go shopping or have dinner in town instead of at the resort. This time we stayed at a hotel directly on the marina so we were pretty much in town all of the time. We walked around at night and felt perfectly safe. Right after we left, I read about an incident of dead bodies being found under a bridge on the highway to the airport. They were supposedly criminals involved in the drug trade wars and not tourists, but, of course, it's not good for tourism. We will go back.
 

Japanfan

Well-Known Member
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25,532
We went to San Jose del Cabo in Baha last year, and felt completely safe. But I didn't like it much there. We had a fabulous deal on accommodation, but it was a large, dirty city with just one small stretch of beach flanked by two hotel resorts. And the ocean wasn't good for swimming due to an undertow. The nearby resort town of Cabo San Lucas was just horrible. I can't see why anyone would want to spend time there.

My brother and his GF stayed in the more touristy part of town and rented a car (we traveled by transit), so were able to do a lot more day trips. And they loved it, so go figure!

If I went anywhere in Mexico, I'd want to visit San Miguel!
 

ribbon

Well-Known Member
Messages
249
I went to Mexico City, Teotihuacan, Puebla and Cholula, Taxco, Cuernavaca...all safe areas to go, even though Taxco is on the way to Acapulco. I really enjoyed Mexico, and have travelled to about thirty countries in my lifetime. I found the people very warm and in the areas I went, very few tourists. I loved the art, the impressive museums, the various neighborhoods' characters, and the churches. I felt very comfortable taking public transport. Mexico was very inexpensive in these parts. A few blocks away from major sites I could find menus completely in Spanish and filling meals less than $5. I was careful to only eat cooked food with many Mexicans eating there and had no problems.

I went to the Aztec ruins by public transport and arrived as soon as they opened, so I missed the overly commercial feel, which I discovered as I left with hawkers selling everything under the sun to arriving tour buses. So, I imagine if I had not gone to Mexico on my own or if I had gone to the busy resort areas, I might have not enjoyed it as thoroughly as I did.

If I return (and I hope to), I would once again avoid the famous resorts, and go to places like Oaxaca, San Miguel, and Guanajuato.

I would avoid places like Playa de Carmen at the moment, especially after reading Tinami's links...with such corruption, it sounds like any money you spend there can easily be funneled into the drug cartels, thus increasing the problem. It is unfortunate and on a selfish level, I'm sad that I am missing beautiful Caribbean beaches, but Mexico is a large country and has areas that are far safer.
 
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purple skates

Shadow Dancing
Messages
22,427
We went to Cancun last year and while we had fun, I would not go back. I didn’t like the fact that they needed a heavily armed police presence (including vehicle-mounted automatic weapons) to keep the tourists safe, among other things.

I’m with @Louis - there’s better places to spend my tourist dollars.
 

Habs

A bitch from Canada
Messages
6,236
Mr. Habs and I are planning a hot weather vacation with the minis for next winter. We've both been to different parts of Mexico several times (him more than me). We particularly enjoyed Cabo, but we are absolutely avoiding Mexico this time around. We just don't feel safe going there, and we'd rather spend our money elsewhere.
 

Rob

Beach Bum
Messages
15,218
I was just in Akumal and Tulum in October and had absolutely no issues. It was wonderful.

Unfortunately, the family who died were victims of a gas leak of some kind. They were at the Tao Condominiums which is in a relatively new resort bay.
 

Megi

Well-Known Member
Messages
5,428
I have been in the travel industry the last 15 years and worked for two major retail companies in Canada. My current company sends north of 500k people to Mexico every year and never had any safety issues reported by any of them.

When travelling, general rules apply - don't be a dumbass and don't put yourself into shady areas/situation and don't get involved with shady people and, more than likely, you're fine.
 

overedge

Mayor of Carrot City
Messages
35,798
I went to Mexico City last summer for work. It was my first time in the country, and obviously Mexico City is not a resort area with beaches and sunshine. But I really enjoyed it.

Like any big city, it has dodgy areas - I went on an organized night out with a group, and some of the neighbourhoods we went to I would never have gone to alone. But when I was out by myself and wandered into an area where I didn't feel safe, I left. I don't feel that I missed anything because of doing that (mostly because there is so much to see there that you can't possibly see everything).

I was a little surprised, given that Mexico City is the capital and has lots of international business and expats and tourists, how many people I encountered at restaurants etc. who didn't speak a lot of English. But between their little bit of English and my little bit of Spanish, I managed. A lot of "gracias" and "por favor" really helps :)

I would definitely go back, but the only thing I wouldn't do is go back in the summertime, because it's really, really hot. It would be lovely to go there in winter.
 

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