Comments on: Is Traveling to Mexico Dangerous?

By: Alejandra Ruybal

Alejandra Ruybal — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:50:12 +0000

Hi everyone! I just booked my winter travel plans to Los Cabos, Baja California. With the state of the economy, lots of hotels are offering huge discounts for people looking to travel to Mexico. One of my favorite chains, Barcelo (Spain) is offering an incredible deal where anyone can get up to 20% off any reservation. The Barcelo hotel in Cabo is under construction, with an opening date of December 1 – if anyone is thinking about going to Cabo, this promotion really is a great way to save some money. Just go to http://www.thehotelofyourdreams.com and write a review of what kind of hotel room you would like to stay in. Hopefully see some people down Mexico way!

(Report comment)

By: Alejandra Ruybal

Alejandra Ruybal — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:50:09 +0000

Excellent article! Mexico has gotten a bad rap lately, and unfortunately most of the fuss is all hype. WIth the Peso down 30% it’s like the entire country is on sale! Now is a great time to go south.

(Report comment)

By: KenaSiu

KenaSiu — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 11:33:13 +0000

This is a great news, because of your note and also because of the comments.
I am Mexican and is good to know that people in the US know how the media manipulates this situation (not to mention others). Mexico is a great country and quite big, saying this, most of its places are safe. They are few cities were the crime is taking place and as mentioned before in one of the comments it is about the same drug dealers and corrupted police officers the ones getting killed, pay back!
Mexico is considered the main problem, but also think about the cartels in Mexico that have to do with cartels in the rest of Latin America and probably some other countries out of the American continent.
A funny thing is that is always mentioned the mafia in Mexico, but the main drug consumers are not Mexicans, are Americans, so why is never mentioned the mafia in US, who receives the drugs, who buys them?. Again… press!
Not all the borders cities in the south border are dangerous, only a few.
Thanks Julie for this excellent post.

(Report comment)

By: Dave hensleigh

Dave hensleigh — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:51:00 +0000

Thanks so much…I have been blogging about this on aithenticcoppercanyon on wordpress…I go there every month and the safety issue incountry is a nonissue.

The victims are the good mexican people who are trying to go on with life and are wondering where the norteamericanos are.

(Report comment)

By: Ross

Ross — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:11:53 +0000

Great analysis! I agree that if you stay away from the border towns, you’re going to be fine. And the prices are cheaper now as the result! Love it when people’s unwarranted fear make my travel expenses drop

(Report comment)

By: Wendy-Escape NY

Wendy-Escape NY — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:53:53 +0000

I just got back a few weeks ago from Mexico and was interested to see what the take was there versus the more shrill U.S. mainstream press. While the drug war is serious, it’s a big country and tourists would be unlikely to go to the effected areas. If there was gang warfare in Los Angeles there would be no point in canceling a trip to San Diego, for example. It’s also a great time to go as the exchange rate is favorable (about 13 pesos to the dollar). I love Mexico and travel there about once a year.

(Report comment)

By: John

John — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:31:33 +0000

But there is one problem. In order to get into Mexico you have to drive through the border towns. This is, of course, assuming you are traveling by motorcycle through Mexico.

(Report comment)

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:40:25 +0000

Hey Julie–

Thanks for a great article. It’s amazing how manipulative statistics can be–yes, thousands of people have been killed in Mexico’s “drug war”–and the vast, vast majority of them are affiliated either with drug cartels or with the corrupt government, and have been killed as part of payback for that–this is not to justify those murders at all, but merely to put the violence in context.

I was talking to my dad about this issue (he came down to visit me when I was living in Oaxaca) and he was saying how on his visits to Cleveland (he had to organize a big health study with a hospital there) the doctors told him not to walk on certain parts of certain streets or he would be shot/knifed by gangs. That kind of stuff does not happen in Oaxaca. But the U.S media, as always, would prefer to sensationalize danger abroad as opposed to zeroing in on the U.S’ appalling crime rates.

(Report comment)

By: Travellohr

Travellohr — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:40:05 +0000

@Julie – I agree the spate of murders shouldn’t be ignored. The US media coverage though, is making some people fearful for no reason since – you’re right – it’s about drugs, not tourists.

Along another vein, maybe the Mexican gov’t is taking steps to ensure tourists remain safe. If they lost their tourism income because of this, that could be devastating. I’m going next month and am planning on hanging out by myself part of the time. I’m going to touristy areas, though, and I know I have nothing to fear (outside of the ordinary).

(Report comment)

By: Steven Roll

Steven Roll — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:16:02 +0000

Mexico is often portrayed by the news media as being in a state of complete turmoil. I disagree with this assessment. Besides refuting this inaccurate characterization on Travelojos, I’ve booked a family vacation to Guadalajara in June.

Have you seen this week’s edition of Businessweek? It’s about the “Other Mexico.” The Mexico where companies are investing billions of dollars in factories. Many companies are finding it more economical to have their manufacturing done in Mexico than in China. Do you think they would be making that decision if the country was on the verge of being a failed state?

(Report comment)