Mexico Safety & City Guides for Puerto Vallarta, Cabo, Playa del Carmen, Acapulco, Mazatlan, Cancun, Zihuatenejo/Ixtapa

[riverdees05]

This is an old sticky post that has been redone. New info/trip reports on any of the Mexican cities will be added to the
new sticky for city information. If you have a trip report or info for any of the Mexican cities, go ahead and post it in the regular
Mexico forum and contact the forum moderator to have it linked in the sticky. 2-26-2020


We are starting to pull together our plans for 2011/12 Winter and trying to decide if we should add Mexico to our exchange list. What is your opinion?


Admin edit: Adding information/links threads to this first post here to consodlidate stickies! 6/2017

Puerto Vallarta Information and Links

Cabo San Lucas Information and Links

Playa Del Carmen and Mexican Riviera information and Links

Acapulco Information and Links

Mazatlan Information and Links

Cancun Information and Links

Zihuatenejo/Ixtapa

 

[beach.bar.bob]

We are starting to pull together our plans for 2011/12 Winter and trying to decide if we should add Mexico to our exchange list. What is your opinion?

Try this recent thread...this discussion has been thoroughly hashed through just recently...
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136826

Safe travels.

bbb

 

[Passepartout]

My opinion is there is only modest and manageable risk to tourists in tourist areas of major resort destinations. PV, Cancun, Cabo, Mazatlan. I would consider it on a par with other major cities. That said, I wouldn't venture into the 'inner cities' away from tourist services especially at night. I wouldn't drive longer distances away from population centers, especially near the U.S. border.

There has been much written here and on the State Dep't websites, so no point in rehashing it again.

OTOH, maybe by not going to Mexico for a while, the government will get serious about eradicating the gangs of the drug cartels. Awfully hard to do when the cartels are better armed than the gov't.

Jim Ricks

 

[pittle]

Safe!

Do not be afraid to exchange into a timeshare in Mexico.

We have sold our Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Florida timeshares and bought were we want to go - Mexico!!! We now own 15 weeks in Mexico and if it were not safe, we would not take our family there (especially our grandson). We feel comfortable enough about the safety that last year I drove 3 other gals down to Puerto Penasco from Phoenix without my husband (it was his idea that we drive down there). This year I am going to Acapulco MP in January with just girls. We drive to Mazatlan to spend the month of June each year.

 

[joe-holiday]

15 weeks in Mexico

Thats alot of Maintainence Fees!
What are your top Mexico places?
Joe

 

[pittle]

Yes - it is a lot of maintenance fees, but we have friends and family that travel with us and all insist on paying their share, so that helps. They know that we paid the money upfront and even though most were purchased resale for phenominal prices, we have made the initial outlay. We love vacationing with others, but like our own space, so we often get each couple their own 1-bedroom unit for the cost of the m/f and everyone has privacy. 6 of our weeks are Grupo Mayan weeks that have the no pay unless you go feature, so that helps. Sometimes friends or family ask to rent our units and we do that for the cost of the m/f.

As for favorites - that is hard to say. Each just has its own unique features. I guess since we have bought so many weeks in Puerto Vallarta, that would have to be the number 1 location for us. We have 3 annual Sheraton Buganvilias weeks and 1 e-o-y week, plus a week at the Mondavi and of course there is the Mayan Palace at the Marina and MP & GM in Nuevo that we can go to also.

My husband loves Mazatlan. We bought the month of June at a small resort where we have been the only guests at that time of year for the past two years. We actually love having our own private beach and pool. It is a good place to take grandkids.

We have been to all the other places that have Mayan Palace or Grand Mayan Resorts. All are great and each is somewhat different, so we rotate our weeks around so that we go to at least one each year. I am going to Acapulco in January and we were at the MP Marina in November. The year before, we went to the GM in Nuevo with kids and grandkids - everyone loved it. We have been to Cabo San Jose and the Mayan Riviera (Playa del Carmen.)

Our least favorite location would be Cancun. It is too "glitzy" and there are more A/I resorts there. We like to go to the local restaurants. The beach and ocean in Cancun is the best however.

We had always hoped to retire and travel and have been very fortunate that we can actually do that.

 

[nazclk]

Mexico

I go to Cabo twice a year once in March and again in November. Wonderful place, very friendly and a lot of great food that's not that expensive if you watch where you go. Two months and we'll be there. :whoopie:

 

[Pat H]

I like the Mayan Palace/Grand Mayan resorts where I own. I also prefer the West Coast because the weather is better in the winter. Puerto Vallarta/Nuevo Vallarta areas are my preference. The Royal Resorts in Cancun are very nice as are the Melias in Cancun and PV.

 

[jbuzzy11]

we go to Cancun 2X a year, once in Feb or March and once in Aug.. WE LOVE IT!! 30+ visits and counting.... Just be smart where you go and what you do.

 

[Passepartout]

Just be smart where you go and what you do.

Not to be smart-alecky, but for people who don't- or haven't gone there, they don't have any idea where to go or what to do. THAT's why they asked. Even for the truly wary, the Cancun hotel zone is no more unsafe than the major tourist area of any U.S. resort community. And no more Mexican, which is why I don't go there.

Jim Ricks

 

[buceo]

...the Cancun hotel zone is no more unsafe than the major tourist area of any U.S. resort community. And no more Mexican, which is why I don't go there.

Jim Ricks

Unlikely Cancun is visited for its "Mexican feel" (if so you'll likely be disappointed). We go there for relatively low cost and ease of access, great value for food & drink & lodging, the Caribbean & its beaches & it's a great stepping off point to see other parts of the Yucatan Peninsula (Mayan sites, cenotes, places like Merida etc). The OP asked about "MX" that's a huge topic. We just go to the Yucatan for a great vacation.

 

[Cheryl17]

Safety Of Travel In Mexico--put All Posts In This Thread

I just recently noticed this link near the end of the State Department's travel warning: mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/eacs_MexicoSecurityUpdate.html. The updates contained info. I didn't know, and I found it very helpful when deciding whether to travel to Mexico and to what area.

 

[Cathyb]

Acapulco

I just recently noticed this link near the end of the State Department's travel warning: mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/eacs_MexicoSecurityUpdate.html. The updates contained info. I didn't know, and I found it very helpful when deciding whether to travel to Mexico and to what area.

Also Tuggers, please read today's news on the murders in Acapulco in the last few days.

 

[riverdees05]

Where do you find the article on the on the murders in Acapulco in the last few days?

 

[ilene13]

I just recently noticed this link near the end of the State Department's travel warning: mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/eacs_MexicoSecurityUpdate.html. The updates contained info. I didn't know, and I found it very helpful when deciding whether to travel to Mexico and to what area.

I just looked at the site and the last update was in October 2010. Not very timely.

 

[mikenk]

Where do you find the article on the on the murders in Acapulco in the last few days?

here's one source.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/lt_drug_war_mexico

 

[e.bram]

It is unfortunate that some posters beat the messengers instead of the message.

 

[Cheryl17]

I just looked at the site and the last update was in October 2010. Not very timely.

Actually, the last update was the week of Nov. 29. Rather than using the website for info. on recent events, I found it helpful when planning our vacation to look at where violence has been occurring (i.e. in what parts of the country and whether it was in or near tourist areas) and what types of violence. Also, the updates contained info. I hadn't read elsewhere (e.g. the schools in Nayarit were closed early last year because of the threat of violence).

 

[Fern Modena]

I read the information, and actually it doesn't mean much to me because it is not real specific to where the incidents were. In my "metro" area there are violent incidents, some of them murders. In my local area, not so much. But everywhere has something, it is just a matter of degrees. You really need to read further before making decisions, IMHO.

Fern

 

[mikenk]

It is unfortunate that some posters beat the messengers instead of the message.

The validity and relevance of the message is always fair game on these forums as is the motivation of the messenger. In your case, both are always in question.

 

[buceo]

It is unfortunate that some posters beat the messengers instead of the message.

To point out the obvious that's because the message can be OK and the messenger the problem, it's not rocket science. Your OP in your recent thread is a good example; we all know drug violence/murder in MX is a huge problem, but what the heck were you saying? Because of the drug cartels I shouldn't go to MX, I shouldn't go to Cancun, I shouldn't buy "hecho en MX", I shouldn't drink Tequila, I shouldn't drink the water, or maybe I should move there because it's a wonderful country; what? I have no idea what your post was for? I did say "yes" to a further explanation.

 

[pjrose]

My crystal ball sees a lock
:deadhorse:

 

[buceo]

I'm not so sure about stopping threads, there is huge interest in MX. I'd let these discussions play out. Timeshares aside, here are numbers from Tripadvisor:

# Topics # Posts
Yucatan Peninsula 233,462 1,873,209
Florida 188,018 1,371,849

 

[Monica]

Acapulco

I'm one that vacations only in Acapulco. Acapulco is a very large city and the only city that has name recognition in the state of Guerero, which is where it is. If I were to say 15 slain people were found in Racienmento, would you know where that was? It's the part of Acapulco where alot of the violence occurs. It's basically a very, very poor city on the outskirts of Acapulco, yet a part of Acapulco. Acapulco is the only city in the state of Guerero that anyone that doesn't travel there knows of. So, just because it says Acapulco, it doesn't mean the actual Golden Zone or old Acapulco.

I traveled to Acapulco alone over Thanksgiving week, solo as my husband couldn't travel at that time. I didn't see any extra security everyone is so worried about. The only men with machine guns that I saw were in Mexico City watching over the airport. I've been to Acapulco dozens of times, and will continue to have it be my destination of choice. If you don't really know what's going on, please don't assume it's a dangerous place.

Who would ever have thought a Safeway parking lot in Tucson, AZ, would turn out be so dangerous?

Violence is everywhere. In Acapulco, don't hang out in the slums, don't look for drugs, and use your common sense.

It's an absolutely fantastic vacation destination!

 

[riverdees05]

"Apparently common sense is not all that common!"