Avoid Mexico!!!!!!! (price, trips, resort, easy)

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by Alter

+1
To claim Mexico is just like any tourist destination right now is really showing a lot of ignorance as to what is going on there at the moment.
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I lived there for the past few months, so it not with ignorance that I say that many places are safe. I'm a little white gringa who spent time in Oaxaca, Mexico City, and San Cristobal and felt perfectly safe in all 3. I wasn't staying in the gringo areas- I was living with families who were solidly middle class.

That said, it's the touristy areas that you need to be MOST aware of. My student group and myself were sexually attacked twice on the costal region of Oaxaca. Nothing to do with drug tourism and all to do with the fact that those areas are populated largely by American tourists who generally seen as very easy targets. Our attackers assumed we didn't speak Spanish and wouldn't report them because the vast majority of tourists DON'T speak Spanish.... boy were they wrong.

You wouldn't catch me dead in Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, or other heavy tourist regions. While I'm probably less at risk because I a)know a bit about Mexico and how to avoid the crime culture and b) I speak Spanish, I'm not about to go to a place where criminals assume all American tourists are drinking, unaware, and, frankly, pretty stupid. Not all American tourists, of course, but that's a rather strikingly true stereotype.

Sure, there are plenty of places that are absolutely not safe due to drug violence. Fortunately, that's not the vast majority of Mexico.

[pigeonhole]

Don't make me afraid, charolastra, I'll be actually flying to PV next February!
But probably as a man (and as a family) there is less risk.
Could you tell me of places/things/behaviour to specifically avoid in Vallarta?
We do speak a little Spanish, not fluent though (and no Mexican slang!)

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by pigeonhole

Don't make me afraid, charolastra, I'll be actually flying to PV next February!
But probably as a man (and as a family) there is less risk.
Could you tell me of places/things/behaviour to specifically avoid in Vallarta?
We do speak a little Spanish, not fluent though (and no Mexican slang!)

I've not been to Puerto Vallarta (I just say I'd avoid it because it's one of the most popular places for American beach tourists to go) so I can't speak on specific places, but some of the things I would keep in mind:

-Freelance boat operators are a non o. Things like whale watches, banana boat rides, turtle watching, scuba, etc that do not have a set base on a dock. My friends and I were attacked in the middle of the Pacific Ocean having gone on a banana boat that just pulled up on our beach. We saw several other loads of people on it and figured it would be ok. Chances are, 99% of them are safe- especially if you speak Spanish. However, it's not worth the risk.

-"gringo" beaches. Just ask someone at your hotel where the locals go. While there will always be tourists at any beach, there seems to be less shady activity at the local beaches. Even resort beaches can't keep people out for the most part, so you are more likely to get stuff swiped.

-don't bring anything to the beach that you couldn't replace. I kept a copy of my passport and money in a waterproof pouch.

-Be careful if you plan on drinking. In fact, I'd avoid drinking altogether. The $1 beer and $2 mixed drinks can be tempting, but it's safer to abstain regardless of gender. Obviously it's more risky for a female.

-Do not walk on the beach at night. My big, fluent Spanish speaking director got the living crap beat out of him only a dozen or so feet from the rest of us eating up on a platform. Even without that anecdote, it's just common sense that seems to allude many people.

-Do not speak English loudly. While it's hard to avoid sticking out in many cases, speaking English only exacerbates it and draws attention to yourself.

-Pay attention to your surroundings- especially in areas with many tourists. Even if there are tons of tourists, don't flaunt your possessions. One of my best friends was robbed at knifepoint in the middle of a crowd midday for her camera, which she was taking pictures with. Don't let yourself get lulled into a false comfort just because there are other tourists. Chances are, that's putting you more at risk for criminals.


In general, brushing up on your Spanish couldn't hurt. I'd recommend watching Telemundo as constantly as you can. Fuego en la Sangre (Fire in the Blood) is a great Mexican telenovela to get some of the accent and slang. I don't know if it is syndicated in the US. Speaking Spanish does not save you from all crimes, but helps you better deal with authorities in case you are a victim and help you understand more of what's going on around you.

[desert sun]

Originally Posted by Chinolala

I would guess that more people get mugged and killed weekly here in Chicago then they do in Cancun. Should I move? Crime can happen anywhere and overall, I think Cancun has a very low crime rate as compared to some other areas of Mexico and cities here in the United States. One would be overly cautious and paranoid to avoid Cancun because of one mugging. For what it's worth, I've been to various tourist spots in Mexico as recently as within the last 10 months. I've been to Mexico about 15 times and have never been a victim of crime and I often leave the resort and go into the town. Going again in 3 months and some random mugging won't stop me. The chances of me dying in a car accident here at home are greater. Maybe I should just become a shut in and not leave the house?

Juarez has a population of 1.4 million people but has more murders than NYC,Chicago and Los Angeles put together. People are dying over there like crazy.


here is a clip from the El Paso online paper that I copied and pasted--

There have been eight police officers killed in the Juárez area since Dec. 14. More than 140 people have been killed this month and the homicide total for the year in Juárez is near the 1,600 mark.
Juárez slayings persist with 20 over weekend, 3 Monday

[pigeonhole]

In general, brushing up on your Spanish couldn't hurt. I'd recommend watching Telemundo as constantly as you can. Fuego en la Sangre (Fire in the Blood) is a great Mexican telenovela to get some of the accent and slang

Just between you and me (lol), I find Spanish boring to learn (especially the Grammar is not as easy as it seems) although it sure is a beautiful language.
Thank you charolastra for warning but c'mon I'll be with my grandchild , I guess he will be playing with local children, are they so crazy that they'll attack us in these conditions?

[Besafe4784]

Mexico is responsible for 30% of ALL non-natural deaths of U.S. Citizens outside of this country. Many of these deaths are a direct result of little or no safety standards and emergency first aid plans inside of resorts. To read about Mexico vacation tragedies visit: WWW.MEXICOVACATIONAWARENESS.COM

[CA central coast]

Originally Posted by cb at sea

Mexico may be a neighbor, but they're not our friend! I won't spend a penny there, or take a vacation there, cruise there....
Nope.

I agree. We should have annexed that country along with Cuba. They would have been much better off. Manifest Destiny, baby!

[Alter]

Originally Posted by pigeonhole

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Thank you charolastra for warning but c'mon I'll be with my grandchild , I guess he will be playing with local children, are they so crazy that they'll attack us in these conditions?

By all means go. Anyone that has lived in a area that has been under the siege of a drug war can tell you there are never any civilians caught in the cross fire.

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by pigeonhole

In general, brushing up on your Spanish couldn't hurt. I'd recommend watching Telemundo as constantly as you can. Fuego en la Sangre (Fire in the Blood) is a great Mexican telenovela to get some of the accent and slang

Just between you and me (lol), I find Spanish boring to learn (especially the Grammar is not as easy as it seems) although it sure is a beautiful language.
Thank you charolastra for warning but c'mon I'll be with my grandchild , I guess he will be playing with local children, are they so crazy that they'll attack us in these conditions?

Well, by not speaking Spanish, you are not making things safer for your grandchild. That would be enough of a reason for me to study hard before I went to a foreign country, "boring" or not.

My dad got mugged on an American beach when he brought me as a toddler. I can certainly assure you that impovershed people are so crazy as to attack in those conditions. Who cares that you are with a small child? Easier to take things as you're at a disadvantage than if you were a group of adults. Just saying, common sense...

[pigeonhole]

Hola Charolastra
Como lo vees hablo Español tanpoco...I won't say more things in Spanish so as to avoid a Moderator cut, but as you can see my Spanish should be Okay as long as I don't have to do long sentences , use the preterit or Mexican slang words...