itsme110

http://www.examiner.com/true-crime-i...urders-chicago

There were 26 murders in Chicago this January........I don´t plan on stopping going to Chicago either.

Reindeerflame

I'm going on a Princess cruise later this week, and I'm not aware that ALL cruise lines have stopped going to Mazatlan. I have received no notification that we will be omitting Mazatlan.

CORRECTION: I guess the notification will be forthcoming, with an extra day to be spent in Cabo San Lucas instead. Never underestimate FT!

flyr16

We recently returned from Zihuatanejo and Mexico City. We never once felt concerned for safety or ill at ease. In either place. Friendly people, as always, who are very glad to see tourists.

Frankly, we have been more on our guard in places like Rio than in MEX. We would not hesitate to return. Yet, we constantly hear, even from educated friends "are you really going to Mexico?" Not much to respond to such a question, except to realize their absence means less crowded locales in MEX, and that they are indeed clueless.

itsme110

We´re back from Mazatlan, and just want to share that all are alive and well. Monday was a holiday, and traffic was heavy, but a few crazy dirvers were the biggest danger of the trip. We stayed at Royal Villas, and as usual were treated wonderfully. The pool might have been a tad on the warm side, but what can you do. The NCAA basketball tournament was on the English tv in the rooms, so we felt right at home. We ate ribs at ´Munchies´ (highly recommended), and went for a Chinese buffet at the ´Golden Dragon´ a restaurant frequented by the locals......excellent food.
All in all, a wonderful trip.
Later this week........it´s off to Florida to watch some spring training baseball and practice mi español.

SocialAdept

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/03/28...ex.html?hpt=C2

Looks like the violence is definitely keeping the tourists away!

tezzer

Just back from Mexico, stayed for a conference in Cancun, where delegates from 120 countries attended a World summit on Drug control. If they have the cojones to go to Mexico, shouldn't the general public ?
Security was tight, very overt, with lots of federal police visible, including helicopters flying around the venue with police troops hanging out of the side.

As it was, all hotels were reporting around 87% occupancy, at the start of the US spring break.

longleaf

deleted

Ancien Maestro

It kept us away for awhile.. I do have something booked for the Mayan Riviera.

Is it safe to do a rental vehicle and travel around the tourist popular places.. or is it safer getting a transfer to a hotel and taking tour buses. I'm considering renting a vehicle for the two weeks we'll be down there.

jcs27

I would not recommend renting a car -- not because of concerns with crime, but because of the difficulty dealing with Mexican law enforcement officers, traffic laws, road conditions, and driving practices. Public transport in Mexico is above-average and taxis are cheap in most areas (although taxi prices might be artificially high when arranged through expensive hotels.)

For tourists with significant familiarity with the country, renting a car is okay, but the fact that you're asking this question tells me that you don't yet have this familiarity...

Ancien Maestro

Thanks for the response.. the hotel recommended I have a rental car.. we are only planning to visit Playa Del Carmen, highway to resort and Cancun. I will read up on it.. but I've rented Rental Cars 30+ times.. so whats the news about their driving laws?

itsme110

The only chance of a problem would, or course, be in the case of an accident. In case of an accident in Mexico, they take statements from both drivers. Should there be no agreement of fault, they will likely impound both cars, and a judge will hear the case in a few days, and decide who is at fault. I have had one accident in Mexico, (in my own car), and the other party was a national. He claimed that the accident was my fault. I carry good insurance (which does not increase with a claim), so I just said that his story sounded good to me, and turned everything over to my insurance agent.
When I am in other places in Mexico, and I rent cars, I bite the bullet, and buy their overpriced insurance package. I´ve never had an accident in a rental car, but if I do, I´m sure that I´d be ok with the insurance coverage. Moving violations are another story.......and they could take up an entire thread unto themselves.

jcs27

The traffic laws are probably mostly the same as what you're used to, but the unfamiliar aspects of driving are what will hurt you. Hard-to-see obstacles and hazards are far more common in Mexico than what you would be used to in Canada or the US, and the local driving style is far more aggressive and (in my opinion) unforgiving of those who are unaware. For example, in the US, if you turn on your left turn signal while driving on a two-lane highway and prep for a left turn, traffic behind you will stop or pass on the right shoulder. In Mexico, traffic behind you will sometimes pass on the LEFT at full speed in the same situation, setting you up for quite a serious accident if you execute the turn without looking behind you while you do it. In general, while driving on two-lane highways, other drivers are very unforgiving of slower traffic (aggressive tailgating is almost mandatory, and sometimes drivers will attempt same-lane passing forcing everyone else onto the shoulder). You could try to keep up with them, but this makes you vulnerable to being stopped by police who pursue bribes from tourists (it's not uncommon for traffic to be moving 30 KM/h above the speed limit, but this doesn't excuse you if you're stopped by the police.) When driving within cities, many intersections will lack traffic signals or signs of any kind, leaving the right-of-way to local custom. In cities, almost all streets are one-way (even many boulevards are one-way, with both sides moving in the same direction, also in the small towns and villages, one-way streets are often unmarked, leaving you to guess which way traffic is going to go.) On two-way streets within cities, assume that left turns are never allowed unless you see evidence to the contrary. Cyclists are everywhere (even on roads where traffic moves at high speed), and it's your responsibility to watch for them.

If you are going to drive, check out some websites for driving tips:
http://69.73.170.179/ph5/read.php?17,29623,29623
http://www.go2mexico.com/mexico_articles/driving.php

jcs27

Also, if you're going to rent a car for two weeks but only go 3 places, you'll be wasting a ton of money. If you buy adequate insurance (see two posts previously), a decent car would cost around $60-$70 US a day...

Ancien Maestro

I read up on the insurance.. I called Alamo international reservations but they were closed. A minivan retail is running $1,100 for the two weeks. Quite a few vehicles available so renting a vehicle must be adequatly common place. We are considering just transfering to the hotel, and taking a similar time share presentation where they transfer you all over the place, and plus three tours just for showing up at their presentation. We'll have to see.. other vehicle types can run as low as $300-$400 for the time period.. so maybe downgrade and add insurance?

The insurance needs to be a special insurance and I read up about how accidents work.. Weird.. I hope I don't get into an accident, but if I do and I rent a vehicle, at least I will be prepared.. I've never had an accident renting a vehicle, so hopefully it doesn't happen on this trip if we decide to rent a vehicle.

Thanks for the local manual headsup!^

Will have to weigh benefits and drawbacks.. If I get a decent deal and insurance isn't like crazy over budget, then it'll make sense, otherwise, just go and enjoy a relaxing holiday taking tours on a bus!

jcs27

You have to make sure that these prices include the appropriate insurance. With some car rental companies, the quoted prices for insurance don't reflect the available coverage in a foreign country, or they omit the charge for the mandatory liability coverage that comes with the rental. On the car rental company website you might find a locale-specific information page which contains insurance rates that you can manually add to your quote. The problem is that some of the companies don't program the special insurance rates for each country into their booking engine.

My rule of thumb is to accept all insurance offered...not only to protect you in case of an accident, but also to protect you from the scam where, upon returning the car, they "find" minor damage that was present before, and then overcharge you for fixing it. There's no easy way to dispute the damage in this situation because they already have your credit card voucher, and you're probably in a hurry to make your flight.

(and be sure to keep your cool during the AGGRESSIVE timeshare presentations!)