Ancien Maestro

Regarding Mexico safety.. I read this article today..

http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/...megadrop_story

MrHalliday

I might go to San Jose del Cabo later this month.
My impression is that area is reasonably OK,
but haven't seen much press.

I am thinking to rent a car for day trip(s) up towards LPZ.
Have driven thru most parts of Mexico over last 30 years.

But those days are not today.
Anybody care to comment?

Ancien Maestro

Do you mean that you would not drive around Mexico like you would normally?

I think generally, the tourist areas are pretty safe.. Its' if you start travelling in long car trips into the interior they say, its a bit on the risky side..

MrHalliday

yes, I think I approach it differently now.
But I am older, if not wiser !

For example, I thought to drive from AUS to PVR last December,
wanting to fill in some gaps like Durango and around there.

I flew, partly because toll road cost = airline ticket.
Later, news from Durango area made me think
the drive might not have been smart, had I done so.

Ancien Maestro

I think the article I read today has a lot to do about safety around the tourist heavy areas to be ok..

But driving around the interior freely, is where it may get a bit unsafe.. not saying that it is completely unsafe.. Your experience, supports the trend of travellers, driving around in a vehicle in the interior Mexico to be unsafe..

gomexico

Some of the most important tourist areas are seeing terrorist activites which have greatly affected safety: Mazatlan, Acapulco, Veracruz ... to name just three. The war has expanded to many areas of the country and independent safety consultants/experts estimate that 50% of the country is no longer controlled, totally, by the government. Not all of the country is dangerous to visit, of course, but it's important to recognize the increasing risks and to keep informed as to current events ... which change constantly.

Ancien Maestro

Thanks for the update.. the increased danger is real..

but an educated tourist, will remain safe.. Just have to be up to speed..

gomexico

You don't have a clue. Not even one.

Ancien Maestro

Maybe the safety of those areas are being affected.. Certainly I don't have experience with the areas that you mention..

So yes, I don't have a clue, not even one.. ime, we visited the tourist areas around Cancun and Mayan Riviera in July.. Things may have changed since..

biggestbopper

Check out this story in the L.A. Times. Hooded gunmen stop bus and rob Carnival Cruise tourists.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...in-mexico.html

JDiver

Mexico is like many other places we travel - some areas are unsafe, and one should do some research before traveling in those areas. Others are as "violence free" as the US or other developed nations, which does not mean those areas are violence free - read about the shootings in the workplace, in schools or drug deals gone bad and drive-bys in the USA and you will understand more about this.

The state of Guerrero, including Acapulco, has been in the "Hatfield-McCoy" and drugs traffic position for many decades, and today is merely more unsafe than it was before.

Some of the border areas are unsafe - but perhaps surprisingly for some, Tijuana has become much safer and is thriving. There are places I'd go, places I'd not - or if I went certain places I'd avoid, and certain times of day (night) I'd not venture forth. Some of them I have visited in the past, and would avoid now.

This is also true in Brazil, Guatemala, Belize, Jamaica, Laos, Cambodia... and many other places.

Rather than paint with a broad brush, where everything comes out the same color, it's best to use perspective. E.g. The U S State Department said, this year, "Of the 107 American deaths [in 2011], Weisz said he believes many of them were Mexican-Americans involved in the drug trade. He ranked Mexico as a medium security risk, mainly the border areas."

For another perspective of traveling and driving in Mexico, I recommend Mike "Mexico" Nelson's site here. I've known Mike as a correspondent friend for many years; he used to write all the road logs for Sanborn's Insurance's Mexico insurance services (SoCal, AZ, NM and TX, hundreds of thousands of customers using his logs.) and has driven practically everywhere in Mexico one can drive - including quite recently. (I have driven throughout Mexico for over five decades in my own vehicles, 4WDs, VW campers, rental cars, you name it - but Mike has me beat by a gigamile!) Read his pages "Is Mexico safe?" He recently returned from a long drive... in Mexico.

Ancien Maestro

Assault hits close to home, as one of our fellow Calgarians got assaulted..

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...an-attack.html

I understand that these attacks are isolated, but theres been a few incidents that has caused our family to raise some eyebrows. Nonetheless, we had a fantastic stay at Fairmont Mayakoba Riviera Maya this past summer. I would like to visit the hotel again, but my wife says not for at least another 4 or 5 years.

gomexico

I wouldn't give greater weight to Mike Nelson's opinons than I would to those of others. All viewpoints are important to read. That's something I can agree with. The facts are the facts and no amount of interpretion by others changes them. We should each view them and form our own opinions. Just because one person travels safely doesn't mean the risks don't exist. We're not talking about travel or living in other countries. Mexico is the discussion.

JDiver

But Mexico does not exist in a vacuum, and Mike Nelson happens to travel more knowledgeably, "close to the ground" and farther afield than most in this forum. His insights and awareness have much more validity than someone who is merely reading the news.

Perceptions can hinder objectivity and factuality when they are incorrectly gained. Neither fearmongering nor ignoring the realities of dangerous areas are useful to those who wish to travel using actual facts.

Flying is safer than driving - but my friend and cousin who was killed by LANSA pilot error and unsafe practices in Perú, and my colleague and friend killed in the San Diego PSSA crash, might disagree, for their specific instances. Given factual information, the former would have had information on which to choose to avoid LANSA; it was not available. My colleague was flying a safe US airline. No travel is risk free.

I'd still visit Mexico - and in fact will in the near future. I would not go some places I have visited, camped and enjoyed previously or even to visit and stay with relatives in some areas of Tamaulipas as I used to previously. In Cozumel, Cancún and Isla Mujeres, I always have some risk, but in Cd. Mante and Cd. Victoria, it's considerably higher. I can manage the risk, not eliminate it.

gomexico

Twice my comments have been blocked, so here goes a third and final time:

Nelson's comments are those of a Mexico 'road rat,' and often irrelevant to tourists unfamiliar with Mexico. Comments one often reads from expats with a deep connection to Mexico and who gloss-over facts out of a sense that they have to defend their lover. That's my opinion.