Mexico - IS travel To Mexico City Safe?

Hearing about kidnappings of Americans in Mexico and crime in Mex City I'm just wondering what anyone's experience there recently may reveal.

we'll be staying at a luxury hotel in the Zona Rosa.

Thanks in advance.

Wirelessly posted (Motorola DynaTAC 8000X / NCSA Mosaic v 1.0)

The FT search function is kinda sucky right now, but there are a few recent threads on this subject here (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mexico-480/).

My SO and I are also from Chicago and traveled to MEX for his birthday in February. We stayed in a luxury hotel in Polanco area, and went all over the city (in a hotel-provided car and sometimes cabs, but never in a VW cab). We felt completely safe, and never felt otherwise. We had our hotel send a car for us to the airport and back. The restaurants and nightlife are fabulous, we actually loved our time so much that we are going back for my Birthday this September.

Pay attention to everything, like in any other city, and try to use either hotel cars or cabs called by restaurants or bars, but to be honest, I felt safer there than in many US cities. Truly a fantastic place!

I've never had an issue in MEX, or anywhere else in Mexico for that matter. I usually stay in the IC in Polanco, and feel perfectly safe wandering about the neighbourhood at all hours. Foreigners are highly unlikely to be accosted.

The most unsafe thing you could possibly do is to drive, as the motorists finely toe the line between expediency and psychosis. My company always provides a driver in MEX, thankfully.

Please continue to follow this thread in the Mexico forum. Thanks for your understanding.

Jouy31
TravelBuzz moderator

My wife and I are also from Canada and traveled to Mexico for her birthday in March. We stayed in a luxury hotel in Polanco area, and went all over the city. We felt completely safe, and never felt otherwise. We had our hotel send a car for us to the airport and back. The restaurants and nightlife are fabulous, we actually loved our time so much that we are going back for my birthday this December.
Pay attention to everything, like in any other city, and try to use either hotel cars or cabs called by restaurants or bars, but to be honest, I felt safer there than in many US cities. Truly a fantastic place!!

My wife and I are also from Canada and traveled to Mexico for her birthday in March. We stayed in a luxury hotel in Polanco area, and went all over the city. We felt completely safe, and never felt otherwise. We had our hotel send a car for us to the airport and back. The restaurants and nightlife are fabulous, we actually loved our time so much that we are going back for my birthday this December.
Pay attention to everything, like in any other city, and try to use either hotel cars or cabs called by restaurants or bars, but to be honest, I felt safer there than in many US cities. Truly a fantastic place!!
Just returned from four days in Mexico City. Traveled alone and felt perfectly safe everywhere I went. Stayed in both downtown at the Sheraton Centrico and just off the Reforma at Sheraton Maria Isabella. Just watch your back as you would in any large city and you'll be perfectly safe. Would recommend a car service to and from the airport just because it's such a zoo there.

A car service is not necessary from/to MEX airport. The official airport taxis (book the cab at the airport taxi stand) are fine. However, under no circumstances, go with an unauthorized driver/taxi.

A car service is not necessary from/to MEX airport. The official airport taxis (book the cab at the airport taxi stand) are fine. However, under no circumstances, go with an unauthorized driver/taxi.
When you are laden down with luggage, it is much more convenient to have someone meeting you at immigration with a "Mr. Maltasr" sign rather than navigating your way through an unkown area trying to find an "authorized" taxi.

I am typing this from Uruapan in Western Mexico. MEX and pretty much the entire country (apart from Baja California) really are a lot better than their reputation seems to suggest. Crime of couse is a problem in Mexico, but it's organised crime, and I would say very unlikely to affect tourists (it's mostly narco-traffic and kidnappings of people known to be seriously rich- not just happening to be staying in a decent hotel). If you take normal precautions, you should be fine. I have felt very safe walking around the streets pretty much any time of the day/night- much safer than I'd feel in London, for example.

There are plenty of "pirate" taxis cruising the streets of DF, most of them are perfectly safe but I would still avoid them, especially if you're an obvious tourist- you're at a reasonable risk of being overcharged and a very minimal risk of something bad happening. Use the authorised taxis from/to the airport, and the hotel taxi and/or a reputable radio-taxi firm like Servitaxis (http://www.servitaxis.com.mx/) for journeys within the city.

When you are laden down with luggage, it is much more convenient to have someone meeting you at immigration with a "Mr. Maltasr" sign rather than navigating your way through an unkown area trying to find an "authorized" taxi.

There are several authorised-taxi companies, with booths everywhere. I would say it's easier to find them than the guy holding a sign in a crowd of people!

I am typing this from Uruapan in Western Mexico. MEX and pretty much the entire country (apart from Baja California) really are a lot better than their reputation seems to suggest. Crime of course is a problem in Mexico, but it's organised crime, and I would say very unlikely to affect tourists (it's mostly narco-traffic and kidnappings of people known to be seriously rich- not just happening to be staying in a decent hotel). If you take normal precautions, you should be fine. I have felt very safe walking around the streets pretty much any time of the day/night- much safer than I'd feel in London, for example.

There are plenty of "pirate" taxis cruising the streets of DF, most of them are perfectly safe but I would still avoid them, especially if you're an obvious tourist- you're at a reasonable risk of being overcharged and a very minimal risk of something bad happening. Use the authorised taxis from/to the airport, and the hotel taxi and/or a reputable radio-taxi firm like Servitaxis (http://www.servitaxis.com.mx/) for journeys within the city.

There are several authorised-taxi companies, with booths everywhere. I would say it's easier to find them than the guy holding a sign in a crowd of people!

Gotta agree. The crime is narco-to-narco or narco-to-government. Tourist targeted crime happens, but is rare IMO and experience. Mexico City is about as safe as any other city. Keep in mind the city is huge and crowded. The smog doesn't make it much fun, but there are some great areas in the city for nightlife, dining, etc.

The rest of the country is just wonderful for touring and adventuring. I have been riding my motorcycle down there from Houston and can't say enough about how pleasant it is down there.

Saludos,

M8

In Amecameca right now after a few days in Mexico City, Centro Historico/Alameda area, near Metro Balderas. Have been to Mex City several times over the last few years and done some crazy late night walks alone, and never had a problem. I have gone for several daytime walks along the Reforma.

HOWEVER...my local DF friends say I am VERY naive. 3 of the 5 have been assaulted within the last couple of years, all during daylight hours, including one robbery near the Bellas Artes.

I will be more careful and alert going forward (well, in Mexico City and Acapulco at least...in my 2 weeks in Amecameca I´ve hardly given security a 2nd thought). I have not heard of any more of the shootings outside of MEX airport...I recall reading a few months ago about teams who would relay information about a tourist who had just obtained money from an ATM, and the partner would assault them. What was there, 2 or 3 of these??

My plan would be to have an easily accessible 500 peso bill to try to appease a thief, rather than relinquishing my hidden wallet. Who knows?? I was strongly advised to avoid resistance.

Again, I have never had a problem and will not obsess over safety, nor change any travel plans. I will just be a bit more alert to things.

Most of the headline grabbing stories are indeed related to drug trafficking which has not, to the best of my knowledge, targeted tourists. The paper today stated 12,000 drug trafficking related murders occurred in the last 3 years. A local friend estimated more than double that -- 20 per day!

In Amecameca right now after a few days in Mexico CityIs Popo still spewing smoke these days?

Is Popo still spewing smoke these days?

Yes, continuously and gloriously.

Here are some pics of Ixta and Popo (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=89874&id=538018404&l=09cbfa81ef) from earlier this month (July 2009).

Wonderful pictures of Ixta and Popo!

As a middle-aged woman traveler, I felt fine in DF, and I walked around during daylight hours in the area around the Zocalo, to Bellas Artes, to Plaza de Santo Domingo, on Reforma and around Chapultepec, and I took the metro in the regular cars (not the too-crowded women-only cars). Whether or not it was wise, I walked back around 11 PM from a performance at Bellas Artes to Hotel Catedral, probably about 5 or 6 blocks.

You can see signs of high security everywhere. The cash register is often behind glass. Many establishments have a security guard in front (although I think he is unarmed, so I'm not sure how much he can do).

A friend who is a resident of DF was car-jacked a few months ago at gunpoint, but I guess that happens in US cities too.

For the poster whose friends were robbed, sorry for asking specifics, but what weapons were they threatened with? What was the outcome? I know I was lucky, and I know I stick out from 1000 feet away as a gringa tourist.

The hotel clerk at Hotel Catedral marked the safe streets for me to walk, in the area of the Zocalo, on a map. I can't say how she would know that, but I took her word for it.

Although I know people have done it, I personally would have felt uncomfortable going to Mexico City if I didn't know at least a little Spanish. In most major European cities, if you start out a conversation haltingly in the local language, the service provider or whoever will take pity and respond in excellent English. Not so in Mexico City, for the most part.

A friend who is a resident of DF was car-jacked a few months ago at gunpoint, but I guess that happens in US cities too.

For the poster whose friends were robbed, sorry for asking specifics, but what weapons were they threatened with? What was the outcome? I know I was lucky, and I know I stick out from 1000 feet away as a gringa tourist.While I'm not the poster referenced, I can tell you that my Mexican in-laws that live in solidly middle-class colonias in the D.F. itself and the northern suburbs in the state of Mexico have all been victimized by violent crime in the past several years. Crimes including armed robbery on the street, carjacking, express kidnapping, home invasion robbery, and a rape (the rape of my sister-in-law was by police officers who took her in for questioning following an auto accident). Add in a couple of burglaries and auto theft. Fortunately nobody has been killed and other than the rape nobody has been seriously injured.

Residents are fed up with crime and have been clamoring for reform (i.e. a trustworthy police force) by the local government for some time.

The good news is that tourists to Mexico City are generally not targets for violent crime.

While I'm not the poster referenced, I can tell you that my Mexican in-laws that live in solidly middle-class colonias in the D.F. itself and the northern suburbs in the state of Mexico have all been victimized by violent crime in the past several years. Crimes including armed robbery on the street, carjacking, express kidnapping, home invasion robbery, and a rape (the rape of my sister-in-law was by police officers who took her in for questioning following an auto accident). Add in a couple of burglaries and auto theft. Fortunately nobody has been killed and other than the rape nobody has been seriously injured.

Residents are fed up with crime and have been clamoring for reform (i.e. a trustworthy police force) by the local government for some time.

The good news is that tourists to Mexico City are generally not targets for violent crime.
I regret the pain your family in Mexico has had to suffer. Like most Mexican citizens, they are only trying to lead honorable and decent lives, but are being victimized by rogue hooligans who are making everyone's life difficult. As you stated, the problems will not be resolved until some degree of honesty is displayed by local government officials who in most cases fear the narco-traffickers. Having lived with a Mexican family in Mexico City during a part of my university days, I know firsthand what decent lives most mexicanos want and deserve to lead. Unfortunately, I really don't have any solutions other than that of honest government officials taking the helm.

Sure most Mexicans are decent folks.

But that is not going to help you if you are a crime victim.

I've spent lots of time in Mexico, traveled all over during college via bus and thumb. It was great. But, it was also safe, then.

Ever since I read a Wall Street Journal story a few years ago by their Mexico City reporter about how he had been kidnapped in a cab and forced to go around the DF making ATM withdrawals all the while thinking he would soon be dead I have decided to travel elsewhere.

The story claimed he just looked like a normal gringo there on business.

Apparently some of the story is reproduced in "First Stop in the New World: Mexico City, the Capital of the 21st Century." Author is David Lida.

Sure most Mexicans are decent folks.

But that is not going to help you if you are a crime victim.

I've spent lots of time in Mexico, traveled all over during college via bus and thumb. It was great. But, it was also safe, then.

Ever since I read a Wall Street Journal story a few years ago by their Mexico City reporter about how he had been kidnapped in a cab and forced to go around the DF making ATM withdrawals all the while thinking he would soon be dead I have decided to travel elsewhere.

The story claimed he just looked like a normal gringo there on business.

Apparently some of the story is reproduced in "First Stop in the New World: Mexico City, the Capital of the 21st Century." Author is David Lida.
I certainly respect your point of view and I'm going to look for the book at Barnes & Noble.

Ever since I read a Wall Street Journal story a few years ago by their Mexico City reporter about how he had been kidnapped in a cab and forced to go around the DF making ATM withdrawals all the while thinking he would soon be dead I have decided to travel elsewhere.


He obviously hadn't read my thread on decoding cabs. I am sorry, but, for a REPORTER to fall victim to such an easy-to-avoid thing just indicates the quality of the paper!

Feel free to check out the thread in the Argentina forum citing an express kidnapping happening by BUE police, or the abundant reports of pick-pocketing in Italy, street shootings in S. London, armed street robberies in Venezuela, riots in China and Thailand, bombings in Serbia, terrorist attacks in MAD and NYC, fiddled-with drinks in Greece, political tension in Korea, and soon you'll only be left with Tokyo and Oslo, and decide to not even go there because they're expensive. :D

Despite his express kidnapping experience, David Lida seems to love Mexico City and has lived there for years. So if someone loves the city enough to continue living there after that happens, that shows how special a place it is! Read his blog at http://davidlida.com/.

However, I do understand that it is difficult for Mexicans like El Cochinito's relatives to have to put up with police corruption and general violence. Sorry to hear what has happened to them.

He obviously hadn't read my thread on decoding cabs. I am sorry, but, for a REPORTER to fall victim to such an easy-to-avoid thing just indicates the quality of the paper!

You can read David Lida's account of his kidnapping here:
http://calitreview.com/792

At that point, he had already been in Mexico City for several years, and I am sure he knew about the right type of cabs, but clearly went for convenience rather than safety one night.