This is the
question everyone ask themselves when planning a vacation trip, spring break,
or a simple leisure trip into Mexico.
And since recently I just came across a YouTube video that addresses
that question, I decided to do some additional research and try to find the
answer to that question and share it with you.
So let’s start by
what people are saying…
As Never Stop Traveling reports, Mexico continues to
be one of the most popular destinations for American tourists, boasting sandy
resorts and culturally rich travel experiences.
The article encourages travelers to exercise common
sense safety precautions, as they would in any other foreign country, while
enjoying all that Mexico has to offer via the Mexico Tourism Board’s top 10
tourism destinations in Mexico. These
destinations include:
-…Cancun, Riviera Maya, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres; …Mexico
City, …Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit; Baja California Sur: Los Cabos
and La Paz; Guadalajara and Tequila in Jalisco; Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo; Central
Mexico: Queretaro, San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato City; Yucatan: Merida,
Uxmal and Chichen Itza; the Copper Canyon; and Chiapas: San Cristobal de las
Casas.
A Family Road Trip to Mexico Dispels Myths About
Danger
6 April 2012
Rachel Denning shares her recent experiences on a
family road trip through Mexico, for the popular BootsnAll Indie Travel Guide.
Denning and her family of 7, including her kids (whose
ages range from 4 to 2 months), crossed the border from Arizona into Chihuahua,
and passed through Durango, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Puebla, Oaxaca, Chiapas,
and most of the Yucatan Peninsula before crossing into Belize.
What they experienced was a Mexico far from the
“lawless,” “violent,” and “dangerous” Mexico they had been sufficiently warned
about. What they discovered instead was
a Mexico “so far from the rumors, news reports, warnings and ‘common knowledge’
that it was almost comical, if it wasn’t so sadly incorrect.”
Says Denning,
“Yes, …regular precautions should be taken, just as
you would if you were taking a trip to the United States for the first time.
You probably wouldn’t pick a known gang neighborhood in L.A… The same logic
applies for visiting Mexico…if you avoid the “bad parts of town,” the result
will be a rich, rewarding experience.”
Readers Talk About Their Own Experiences in Mexico - 5
April 2012
Seattle Times columnist Carol Pucci decided to address
tourist concerns about safety in Mexico by asking readers who had been to or
live in Mexico to share their experiences.
Nearly 100 people responded online and through written correspondence.
The general consensus among readers was that there is
a noticeable police presence, even in tourist destinations. While some may view this as a comforting
safety measure, others may find it unsettling…
Said Bob, from Camano Island:
”Fearful of visiting Mexico, not us. We visited
Loreto (in June). Walked the entire town without any fears. The people were
very gracious … Bottom line, we have no concerns about traveling to Mexico. On
the other hand, there are two things I wouldn’t do … (go to) border towns, and
(take) long driving trips to the interior.”
Pat from Edmonton Alberta had this to say:
“My husband and I have been going to Mexico for three
months in the winter for the past 14 years. We stay in San Miguel de Allende
and often travel around Mexico. We actually feel safer there than we do here in
our hometown.”
Doug from Seattle put things in perspective as well:
“We own a house in Puerto Vallarta, and travel
throughout Mexico on the national bus lines. In all the years we have been
going, I can count on less than one hand the number of violent crimes of which
I am personally aware. No one makes light of the drug violence there, but when
was the last time the U.S. government issued travel warnings to various
American cities including the nation’s capital?”
CBS News Travel Editor Talks About Mexican Tourism and
Safety - 29 March 2012
CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg has been
traveling across Mexico as part of an ongoing media project to spread awareness
about Mexico tourism and safety. Says
Greenberg:
“Let me state something from the outset. I am not an
unabashed apologist for Mexico, or its spokesman or an endorser. I am writing
this as a veteran traveler to Mexico who has been going down there since 1973
without a single incident.
I am growing tired, and somewhat impatient with
expressions of concern or worry…about my traveling to Mexico. …my friends, and sometimes even strangers
advise me to ‘be careful’, ‘be safe’ or worse… ‘watch out.’ Watch out for what? great people? great
weather? great service? affordable, memorable experiences? We need to get out there and find a map. Then
we need to study it to put things in proper perspective”
Greenberg has expressed disappointment with the
warnings against spring break travel to Mexico, issued by the Texas Department
of Public Safety, calling them irresponsible and pointing out that spring break
destinations are far from Mexico’s danger zones.
The U.S. State Department issued its most recent
Travel Advisory for Mexico in February 2012, highlighting the areas of Mexico
that are safe for travel. Those areas
include:
Baja California South, Cabo San Lucas; Campeche,
Chiapas; Estado de Mexico, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Leon and Hidalgo,
Puebla, Queretaro; Mexico City; Oaxaca including Huatulco and Puerto Escondido;
Quintana Roo including Playa del Carmen, Cancun,
Riviera Maya, Cozumel and Tulum; Tabasco including Villahermosa; Tlaxcala; and Yucatan
including Merida and Chichen Itza.
States and cities to avoid or to exercise caution in
include:
Chihuahua, Tijuana, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa
…, over 150,000 U.S. citizens venture into Mexico on a
daily basis. The Mexican government spends a considerable amount of resources
to protect tourists from both the U.S. and other countries. As a result,
resorts and other tourist destinations do not have the type of drug-related
crime that is seen in the border regions or along the primary trafficking
routes. Plus, the State Department has found that there is no evidence that any
organized criminal group in Mexico has targeted U.S. citizens based on their
country of origin.”
Source - http://isitsafetotraveltomexico.com
Is it safe to travel
to Mexico? The short answer is: yes. Although certain parts of the country have
seen a rise in drug-related violence in the last few years and the gruesome
news reports have done little to help the country’s image in the minds of
tourists, the fact is that most parts of Mexico are still safe to travel to.
Want more
testimony? Watch the video that motivated me to write this article:
Is Travel To
Mexico Really Safe? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGzFMGTXHXM
So how do we
counter all the bad publicity about traveling into Mexico?
By sending out
some of the above information to our database clientele, and letting them know,
what the real traveler knows, and says about safety travel in Mexico, “Spread
The Word”.
This
report courtesy of Enrique (Henry) Saldana-Mexico Realty Solutions www.mexicorealtysolutions.com; www.mexicomlsnetwork.com; moneylendingbus@hotmail.com; Tel: (984)
147-2388 - Cel: (984) 111-8743.
Or follow us on our Social Media Network Sites: http://henryplaya.wordpress.com/accueil/;
http://hmortgages.blogspot.mx/;
https://www.facebook.com/home.php/henrymortgages;
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