this question is mainly for steve but I would appreciate feedback from anyone who has recently returned. I am starting to get a little concerned about the travel advisory. It says most of the fighting is in northern Mexico along the border. I am curious how cancun and Playa del carmen are? Have you noticed any increased security, or threat to U.S./Canadian tourist
We just returned on 2 nights ago, and didn't have *any* problems what so ever. Go, enjoy and have fun!
I'm REALLY starting to worry about this myself. Esther's mother and sister have called and now have her completely shook up about the thought of going to Cancun next month, to the point where she's already started looking at Hedo in Jamaica instead. If there's ANY news about this situation in MX, good or bad, I'd like to know.
We got back a week ago and the police was not there for a few days the mexico army was the police. But it was safe. I agree crime is all over the world just use your judgment and go have fun I think Jamaica is far more crime than cancun
I agree there is crime all over the world and being a former Marine I have seen it first hand in 17 countries, and most of those I would not choose to vacation in. I am not sure you are aware there is a us travel advisory to Mexico and the Government has deployed 48,000 troops
Most of the violence is on the Mexican/American borders. Cancun is a huge money maker for the Mexican government so the big trouble makers for the most part stay out of hotel zone area as the police and Feds will take action. Completely safe as it has been. I'd be more worried about being extorted by the local police then the crazy drug cartels. You may see security stepped up some in the hotel zone over the next month but that has much more to do with spring break then the criminal side. Nick and Renee
Repost from a few days back: 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
Thank you very much Steve. I appreciate your points of view and I am reassured by what you have said. I had heard a little about the incident that you spoke of with the general, but not to that detail. Again thank you and I look forward to my two trips down there this year
