Went to our local Niteclub in Atlanta last Weekend and I am really amazed at the distorted view of safety that a LOT of people have about Cancun. We mentioned that we were only a month away from a trip to Cancun and to be honest, quite a few friends came up and either commented about this was the last time they would see us alive or don't forget to increase the our life insurance. They kept stating that Cancun is much worst than DR, Jamaica or the Bahamas and thats just not the case at all. I suppose some parts of Mexico are unsafe, but not the Cancun/Playa Del Carmen area. I suppose a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing !!! Never felt in harms way in Cancun, Can't say that for some "other" Caribbean resorts. The Mexicans all seem to be actually happy that your there and don't view tourists as "targets" like other places. Very few Scams either. My wife and I were very surprised !!!
Run into this every year too. I just tell them if laundering your money through tourist wouldn't you keep that area safe? It's safe because they don't want tourism to drop. That's how they make and hide the money Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There are some places in Mexico I wouldn't want to go even if I had a squad of infantry with me. Places like Cancun and Cozumel are as safe as any place in the U.S. You just have to use your head and be aware of your surroundings, etc..
The American born cab driver we had there a couple of years back really put the safety of Cancun into perspective for us. The reality is, much of the hotel strip in Cancun is run by a Mexican mob outfit. I am not sure if he said Mexican Mafia, or Drug Cartel or whatever. The point was, it is 100% in their best interest to keep Cancun safe and tourists coming back. So if you get caught messing with tourists on the strip, you have a lot more to answer than the local police. Now with that being said, he did tell us we were FAR more likely to get extorted by undercover cops selling drugs, or cops trying to bust you for minor infractions and then telling you to pay a cash fine, than becoming the victim of a serious crime in Cancun. He also said either way, our best bet was to avoid walking the streets after mid night. It's completely safe during the day, but at night is when the most amount of problems occur. We basically stay at the resort anyway, so none of this is really a concern for us.
Yeah we hear this BS every time we mention we are going to Mexico. If you compare murder and other violent crime statistics, cancun is safer than every major american city. As everyone has said so far, its just a question of knowledge. One of MsSexy's coworkers gave her the same speech about Mexico until his wife and daughter went on a trip to Cancun, which promptly led to his opinion being changed for him. Like JD also said above, use your head (the one on your shoulders) and you'll be fine. Do stupid sh** expect stupid results. What do you really need off resort anyways? If you 're at TTR and a little social, you've got all the entertainment you can handle inside those walls.
The area we go to in Atlanta was very, very bad, back a few years ago. When Ray Lewis and his two "friends" were involved in the double murder on Peachtree street, everything got better in a hurry. I do recall that when my wife broke her hand at TTR in 2012, when we left the hospital at 2 AM, the Federales had 6-7 men laying the middle of the street, covering them with 3-4 pickup trucks full of Uzi toting policemen. My wife asked our taxi driver what the men had done and he chuckled "They didn't pay their hospital bill". LOL. But yes, it did seem different after 12 midnight.
A lot of people never leave their own country and get their views from TV and movies I think. It's not like the news outlets ever start a story with "Today in 95% of Mexico absolutely nothing happened although Mrs. Jones did ask for no salt on her margarita and there was salt, big grains of it" 20 bonus points for the first person to get my paraphrased movie reference
I think where most people go wrong is they think that just because they are on vacation they are safe to take all safety and throw caution to the wind (like it is a right they have to be able to do that just because you are on vacation), and it doesn't work that way. you have to maintain certain street smart savy when in a foreign country or at home. ex. don't walk down a dark alley at night, when out and about don't take shortcuts and walk and act like you are sure of yourself and where you are. I would rather be in Cancun, after dark or midnight, than downtown St. Louis any day of the week.
OFFICE SPACE!!! Gotta love that movie. Where do I collect my points? I can't believe someone would say that DR is safer than Cancun. I have a feeling they have never been to either one. While we did feel safe overall in DR we didn't venture out of the resort because we were uncomfortable. We feel very safe going outside the resort in Cancun.
