JDiver

Puerto Vallarta (port, not door) and the tourist coast should be just fine. There are some tourist facilities inland of the coastal strip. I'd not go any farther inland than that, other than main highway travel.

TKD

My fiancée and I often take trips to the Mexico City area to go watch lucha libre shows (that mutual interest is how we met). We've gotten the "Mexico City is dangerous" spiel from her family, which is amusing to me because they live in Ciudad Juárez. [For what it's worth, I saw shows in Neza and Juárez this month, and the area around the latter felt much less safe to me.]

I've been pretty much all over the DF area to see shows (including in Tepito). Though I wouldn't go to most places alone and wouldn't make a habit of going to Tepito every trip, our group has never been bothered. (That said, we're always with someone local when we're going to the more esoteric/unfamiliar places, and usually arrange to have a safe ride immediately coming out of the arena.) You certainly can't be cavalier, but that's good advice in any large city.

When we're in DF, we invariably choose a hotel near Reforma 222 -- it's a nice area, and there's a tour bus (Turibus) that stops there and has several routes for exploring various attractions. Looking at the Turibus routes is a decent way of getting ideas of what to see, actually.

I would probably be in Mexico City every second or third weekend if I had the money to retire right now and travel that often.

JDiver

There's some stirring of the pot, and it's because México has had an increase of violence this year. Mexico has experienced about 2,000 murders per month during the first half of the year, more in June, when a record was made with over 2,234 murders.

Areas that have experienced "narco" related shootings have included the Los Cabo's area in Baja California, as well as Cancún and vicinity; even the remote-ish hotel zone experienced a multiple shooting earlier this year. There are reports of armed response vigilante groups forming in the "Riviera Maya" area as a result of shootings in the Playa Del Carmen area - earlier this year at a music festival.


(Acapulco has been a "no go" area for many, including Mexicans, as the state of Guerrero has been the scene of "Hatfield-McCoy feud type killings for decades and the narcotraffickers have a strong presence, along with corrupt authority.)

The Puerto Vallarta / Nayarit coast area and Oaxaca coast seem to still be fine.

Additional sources:

2 Bodies Found, Shootout Kills 1 in Mexico Resort of Cancun
June 16, 2017 8:00 PM, Associated Press / VOA

Shootout in Cancun: Narcos Take Their War Into Hot Beach Resorts
By Nacha Cattan and Eric Martin, Bloomberg, July 21, 2017, 10:34 AM PDT

The risks are not high for tourists given the numbers and relative isolation of the hotel zones, and can likely be further minimized by avoiding the downtown club scene and inquiring of locals about places to avoid and / of times of day or night to be "in" by. Would I cancel my trip to Cancún or San José / Cabo San Lucas areas? No, but I'd be aware abdvtry to get some local advice from reliable people. You won't see much local publicity, and some people may downplay the issue - nobody relying on their livelihood in a tourist area is going to publish information that will frighten those tourists away.

I continue to stay away from my family's farms in rural Tamaulipas, and some areas I used to love in Veracruz and Michoacán states.

Eastbay1K

Tourists to all-inclusive resorts in Mexico suspect they were given tainted alcohol

Tanic

Even CDMX might no longer be immune. Shootout raises anew specter of cartels in Mexico City

JDiver

This I take with a rim of salt. I know resorts use cheap, no-name plonk to serve mixed drinks made by the bucketful. And I've witnessed too many drunks, binge drinkers, chug-a-lug and "Hidalgo" contests to believe a major resort chain will taint liquor. It's not unheard of for people - even in the US - to get sick, and occasionally even die, from acute alcohol intoxication. Add deep (or even shallow) water and a hot day, I can easily see a scenario for tragedy.

Drugging by a bad guy, just as in the US, is possible - Rohypnol is as available in Mexico as it is in the USA. Going anywhere and getting drunk is a great precursor to trouble. While I've seen this specific allegation of "tainted" alcohol before, I am not investing much credibility in it.

Yes. Just occurred. I have a lot of family there. They've faced issues - from scams to robbery to false and real abductions to attempted scams from law enforcement over the years. Then again, they know (mostly) how to cope, wherevtonavoid, etc.

mcmichael

I'd agree with that, not been to Mexico yet (roll on 4th Nov), but from being on holiday in a variety of Med resorts in Europe, seems lots of people land somewhere hot and get totalled, then blame the booze/drugging instead of just taking responsibility that they just didn't monitor their drinking. Don't get me wrong, I'm Scottish, I love a drink but you need to be aware whenever you are not at home/friends place.

Now to add something to this thread - been a lot of talk on TA about issues driving privately/with a driver/public bus between San Cristobal and Plaenque where people have been stopped by roadblocks and held up at gunpoint. That was part of our original itinerary and we have swapped that drive out for a flight to Merida instead. A shame, but whilst I'm willing to take risks while travelling, what I've read has put me off.

We have a week in Puerto Morelos and again there have been stories of unscrupulous police stopping rental cars - I'm not totally convinced how much of an issue this is? We will be renting a car in Merida and dropping it at Cancun 9 days later, but I'm hoping that staying off the roads in the dark and driving sensibly will result in no issues.

As to Mexico City, we fancy going to the Lucha Libre, but some sites have hinted it's not the best area to be on your own as a tourist, we will be a couple and would rather not pay an extra fee to be 'guided' through it if it's reasonable safe and easy to do ourselves, what's the thoughts of the guys here?
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amaroo

We're heading to Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala over Xmas for a 5 week family holiday - first time to these countries.

You can't do it all, but we're trying to see a wide range of what Mexico has to offer... Tulum, Campeche, Merida, San Miguel de Allende, Palenque, MC.... with another 9 nights in Belize/Guatemala.

Interesting reading the comment above regarding Palenque... we'll be driving in from Villahermosa.

Interesting to compare JDiver's map with the travel warning issued by the Australian Government ... we've used this as a guide along with a good dose of commonsense!

slickvik

I'm considering Morelia but wondering if the ride to Patzcuaro is dangerous

ExpatSomchai

I'm heading to Cancun. I have heard mixed reports about downtown in terms of safety. There seems to be a few very good restaurants in that area but is it safe?

BOSTravels

I think Puerto Vallarta and Cancun are pretty safe. Sure, visiting the back alleys past midnight might not be the brightest thing to do, but during day time everything is ok.
For women I do suggest going for (late) dinner with two or more. Not wandering by yourself.
Only thing I found a bit annoying about PV is that is can be somewhat of a party-town (as in: drug-induced debauchery).

JDiver

Though downtown is intended as the administrative center, there are now shops and restaurants. It's relatively safe. But many visitors never go downtown and remain in the D shaped tourist zone and outlying sights. (Cancún was a fishing camp when it was selected by computer to become a major tourism development, so unlike Puerto Vallarta, say, there's no old town.)

jaymar01

Gunmen have killed three people and wounded two others on a popular beach in north-western Mexico, officials say.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-40847010

SanDiego1K

How sad. This article talks a bit more about it being at the entrance to a popular beach that was crowded with tourists.

Southern Baja California has seen a surge in violence this year, though mostly outside tourist areas. Analysts blame much of the bloodshed on fighting among factions in the Sinaloa drug cartel and also clashes with the rival Jalisco New Generation cartel.

JDiver

Mexico has experienced a significant increase of violence during the first half of 2017. June 2017 saw 2,234 murders in Mexico - the highest rate in over 20 years.

Tops was Tijuana, Baja California, with 714 murders Jan-Jun.

Following was Acapulco, Guerrero with 412 murders. The Mexican daily "Milenio" estimated ~1,800 - 2,000 businesses have closed in Acapulco during the last three years due to high levels of extortion and violence. (I personally know of one small businessperson who was threatened - "pay, leave or suffer the consequences".

Posts above address unsafe areas of Mexico. Many areas are as safe (or safer than) areas of the USA, and like anywhere else there are riskier areas and activities.

That being said, there are still areas of Mexico a visitor is welcome and incurs low risk of violent encounters. Many of those affected in the statistics above were involved directly or in the periphery of the narco trade, as well as human trafficking and other cartel / gang related activity, not foreign visitors.

Another source of problems that exists is of communicable and environmentally trandpsmitted disease. Acapulco has suffered some for years, as "infrastructure " needs were sometimes addressed by piping sewerage offshore, inadequate water handling and treatment, etc.

This problem has spread, according to some knowledgeable people, to the coast north of Puerto Vallarta, like Sayulita. Major growth of resorts, housing and businesses have exceeded investment and preparation in water treatment, potable water, etc.

Link to USCDC "Yellow Book" page on Mexico.