Im more worried about going out on a Friday or Saturday night in my home town than anywhere iv been in Cancun! Iv read there are some "issues" around the border areas but, as others have said, in Cancun just be sensible and aware of our surroundings as im sure you would be no matter where you were!? Agree with ToriB though, make sure you certainly DO get out the tourist area / hotel zone!!! I met a lot of people who were hesitant about leaving the hotel, let alone the tourist area, but its certainly worth it. I guarantee if you go you wont be the only tourist there, and part of the reason for visiting a different country is to experience what its like in the real world outside of the "tourist bubble" surely?
Going out with the bartenders/waiters We have been to Cancun many times, and have always felt safe. Our last trip one of the waiters wanted us to go with him after he got off to one of his favorite places. I won't mention his name as I don't want to get anyone in trouble. He's a great guy and bartender. Remembers us every time we come. But I was little uneasy about going downtown after midnight. We didn't go and the bartender I think was really disappointed. He has really became a friend with our many return visits. He wants us to go with him the next time we visit. I'd like to be honest about why we are apprehensive but don't want to offend him either. I was wondering what some others think about this. I know in the past there were posts about people going with the bartenders/waiters after they got off work and having a great time. Steve if you can respond that would be great.
Beverly and Chris go out with them every time they go. We would have gone with them last April, just cant stay out all nght. I feel safer going into down town Cancun at night than I would going into a large Amercian city at night. Terry
If you go down to El Centro and decide to take a shortcut through the residential streets between 1am-5am, bring food with you to fend off the stray dogs. I find gorditos work best and are available from most street meat vendors.
VERY SAFE :bigband: HAVE TRAVEL TO CANCUN 17 TIMES NEVER A PROBLEM,STAYED AT MANY RESORTS IN CANCUN AND THE MYAN RIVERIA,JUST USE COMMON SENSE NO PROBLEM
thanks for all the replys. that is what i was hoping to here but you read the darn travel advice and you have to ask if it changed in the last few years . we wondered all over cancun last time and had a great time and never a problem.
Actually you hit the nail on the head there. I remember seeing links to The US Travel Advisory long before cancuncare started maybe 8 years ago and it has always read very similar, and although they might change the wording occasionally the overall message has always been the same. Certainly Mexico does have problems at the moment with drug cartels fighting for turf, and police and Govt bodies trying to stop them and then some overlap where corrupt officials switch sides and make the whole thing even more tangled. However, this is largely confined to the North and rarely reaches down here. There was a recent incident where a retired army general and his bodyguard and driver where abducted from a downtown Cancun restaurant, taken away far out of town then tortured and murdered. The general had just been appointed as head of a new anti drug unit and he was 'taken out' by the drug gangs in a targeted hit. A few days later the army took over the Police station and the chief of Police was arrested and questioned on the killing. This was picked up by the media and some uninformed commentators simply read the word "Cancun" and summise that tourists are in dire danger. The truth of the matter is that this is a very insular war between those already wrapped up in it. The drug cartels dont want to hurt the tourism trade because it provides great cover for their activities with thousands of people flowing through the airport every day and also provides opportunities for them to launder money via the businesses that tourists support. Many of you know that I moved here with my then pregnant wife 5 years ago and one of the reasons was because of the safety and crime free environment that is found in Cancun, and that we wanted to bring our now 4yr old daughter up somewhere better than we were. Nothing has happened to change my mind on that. I can pretty much do 90% of my job from anywhere in the World that has an internet connection, you can bet if we didnt feel safe here we'd be on the next plane out. There is no part of downtown I know of that I am afraid to go late at night, unlike my home town in the UK. Of course venturing anywhere you are unfamiliar with you should have your wits about you, but please dont think downtown is some kind of ghetto with murders on every street corner it is not like that at all. Go downtown and enjoy what Real Mexico has to offer. The crime that affects everyday people in other parts of the World such as unprovoked assaults, thefts, anti social behaviour etc just doesnt happen here to the degree it does elsewhere, and the serious crime like that mentioned above only happens between those who are actively wrapped up in it - much like it does in any other place in the World. For more views on the safety in Cancun written by expats who live here, please check out the following blogs of cancuncare board members: http://www.hiddencancun.com/rivergirl/2009/02/09/is-cancun-safe-for-tourists/ http://www.cancuncanuck.com/2009/02/tourists-safe-in-cancun.html
Just the thread I was looking for. Just read about the travel alert. We have already bought our trip for April and we are still going to TTR. But I will have a look over my shoulder mentality. Not really for my safety, more for my wife.
