Mexico - Going to Mazatlán - should I be worried?

I have been to PVT, MEX and GDL many times for work and pleasure, but have never been to MZT. Have been considering a trip there with a group of friends, but have been reading of growing drug violence spilling over and killing tourists. (Example article (http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Close+call/6017944/story.html)) Anyone have recent travel experience in Mazatlan - thoughts? I love great beaches, warm weather and authentic food, but not at "any" price...

Thanks in advance!

Welcome to FlyerTalk. As we like to keep discussions contained by area / topic into specific fora, we will soon move this to the proper Forum, as it is not really about traveling on AA.

Most places in Mexico are like most places in the world - it may depend where you are in town. Mazatlan is one of those places that are important to Mexico's economy (tourism), and much of the development / tourism infrastructure is fine, spreading north of the city. Nice beaches, nice town itself - good places to eat and visit. I'd say Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, Cancún etc. are reasonably safe places to vacation in Mexico - though all three states they are located in have suffered from violence in some areas, as have Mexico City, Guadalajara, Cuernavaca... I'll be in Cancún and Isla Mujeres myself in July to spend some time with the whale sharks near Holbox.

OTOH, you'd not want to be out of town on the highway at night, or perhaps in some parts of town you'd not be visiting anyway. And on rare occasions, violence can come visiting - as in the article, when some pursued should turned into the parking lot of a prime hotel, much as one gets caught in a road accident because one is in the wrong place at the wrong time - but it's pretty random and not usual.

The state of Sinaloa has been a source of narcotraffic for decades - but most of it is away from places attracting the attention of the authorities (Mazatlán is a naval base, and the Naval police are possibly the strongest antinarco body in Mexico), or north and closer to the capital of Culiacán and into the sierra.

(I've spent a lot of time in that area, including camping on beaches and ner / in small towns, driving down dirt roads and in smaller communities on the coast - I'd not visit some of them these days, and I'd probably not want to spend much time at all in Culiacán. Mazatlán I'd still visit.)


I have been to PVT, MEX and GDL many times for work and pleasure, but have never been to MZT. Have been considering a trip there with a group of friends, but have been reading of growing drug violence spilling over and killing tourists. (Example article (http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Close+call/6017944/story.html)) Anyone have recent travel experience in Mazatlan - thoughts? I love great beaches, warm weather and authentic food, but not at "any" price...

Thanks in advance!

I have been to PVT, MEX and GDL many times for work and pleasure, but have never been to MZT. Have been considering a trip there with a group of friends, but have been reading of growing drug violence spilling over and killing tourists. (Example article (http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Close+call/6017944/story.html)) Anyone have recent travel experience in Mazatlan - thoughts? I love great beaches, warm weather and authentic food, but not at "any" price...

Thanks in advance!

If I were looking for places to visit in Mexico, Mazatlan wouldn't be on my list ... at the present time. The safety risks are too high for me. I'm an independent traveler though and stay away from gated, all-inclusive types of places which may offer better conditions for persons liking that type of travel.

That article is referring to a one-off event that happened 11 months ago. That's got you worried? How many murders have there been in Calgary during that time?

I felt safer in Mazatlan than I do most anywhere in the U.S. The state of Sinaloa is a trouble spot, no doubt, but troubles in the ghettos of Miami don't keep people from going to Disney World.

Though it's highly unusual, there will be travelers who post here who live in highly violent neighborhoods. It's rare for someone posting here to live in that way, I'm thinking. If my memory isn't failing me, in 2011 the murder rate in Mazatlan exceed that in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. Cities which are hugely larger. In addition to the murders, high rates of violent crimes are occuring in Mazatlan. The tourism boosters in Mazatlan would like to keep this type of crime information out of the hands of people making travel decisions, I think, but one only has to search online to find the data. And while there are destinations elsewhere in the World where safety risks exist, I don't know of anyone who seeks them out as a vacation choice.

I was in Mazatlan last February and had a great time. I didn't feel unsafe at all - just need to practice common sense like you would anywhere. We ventured out into the areas surrounding Mazatlan; traveled up to Guamuchil (north of Culiacan), as a family member was getting married there and his bride's family is from there. Sure there were times of uneasiness, but overall, it was a great trip and would love to go back. PM me if you have more questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them for you.

IMHO, Mexico is way too dangerous for tourist travel now. While there are many who will tell you it is only dangerous in certain, limited areas and that tourists are not really targeted this is not really so.

See this story in today's L.A. Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/hooded-gunmen-robbed-carnival-splendor-cruise-guests-on-bus-in-mexico.html

If I am on a tourist trip I would rather no have the bus stopped by hooded gunmen. :td:

This has happened recently in Rio de Janeiro as well, but much more frequently. There are places in Mexico that are safe, and those that one should avoid, full stop. Same with the USA - parts of Detroit, Cleveland and Philly, say.

Those who paint with an overly broad brush tend to see only one color.


IMHO, Mexico is way too dangerous for tourist travel now. While there are many who will tell you it is only dangerous in certain, limited areas and that tourists are not really targeted this is not really so.

See this story in today's L.A. Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/hooded-gunmen-robbed-carnival-splendor-cruise-guests-on-bus-in-mexico.html

If I am on a tourist trip I would rather no have the bus stopped by hooded gunmen. :td:

Those who paint with an overly broad brush tend to see only one color.

And, there are none blind as those who will not see.

I talk to a lot of folks who assure me that the special little part of Mexico where they bought a condo a few years ago is wonderfully safe. They don't convince me.

By the way, not planning a trip to Rio in the near future, either.

Well, let's put it this way: I was born and raised in Mexico, have traveled repeatedly all over Mexico, have family, relatives and friends all over Mexico. I am not a tourist, a condo renter nor a visitor; I am what one might call an insider, and pretty well informed - in touch with folks living in Mexico on a weekly basis at least, daily basis sometimes.

Rather than share uninformed opinions from people who catastrophize or overgeneralize - and I am not saying you are, just that there are those who do - I find it better to manage risk based on evidence, on the ground information and experiences of myself and those who are there. I have traveled extensively for over six decades and have experience in counterinsurgency as well.

Is Mazatlan safe? Relatively so - but it also depends on where one visits, what time of day or night, what activities one participates in. The fact many Mexicans from the City and Guadalajara are even now planning to visit Mazatlan in droves during semana santa (March 31 - April 8) with their families is a pretty good indication it's not so unsafe - though I can promise it will be crowded, dirty and with very high prices, so I'd certainly not go then.

And, there are none blind as those who will not see.

I talk to a lot of folks who assure me that the special little part of Mexico where they bought a condo a few years ago is wonderfully safe. They don't convince me.

By the way, not planning a trip to Rio in the near future, either.

Is Mazatlan safe? Relatively so - but it also depends on where one visits, what time of day or night, what activities one participates in. The fact many Mexicans from the City and Guadalajara are even now planning to visit Mazatlan in droves during semana santa (March 31 - April 8) with their families is a pretty good indication it's not so unsafe - though I can promise it will be crowded, dirty and with very high prices, so I'd certainly not go then.

Questioning whether or not it's safe to visit Mazatlan, the answer depends on who's asking. And at what level the person is traveling; the style of travel. I consider it unsafe, given my style of travel. But someone with money who stays in an AI or top-level place and doesn't venture out or doesn't travel as the average Mexican does ... will proably be very safe. Foreigners have the option of visiting many different places. People in Mexico, Guadalajara as the example, don't. Not the average Mexican tourist. So a beach vacation to Mazatlan may be the only beach vacation possible. The same holds true for Capitalinos in Mexico City visiting Acapulco. More people were murdered last year in Acapulco than in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago ... combined. Yet that beach resort town will be crowded at Semana Santa. For the past two years, I've avoided Acapulco. This, after visiting once or twice yearly for more than 40 years, and monthly when I lived in the D.F. I have other choices. Surprisingly, one of them has been Rio de Janeiro. Go figure.

listen to the gov't warnings... now is not the time to visit Mexico.