Spring Break Worries -- help!

[annenp]

My 18 year old and his friend want to go to Cancun for spring break this year -- this will be my son's first time traveling alone without the family. Can anyone provide me with advice with where would be the place to book for him an inclusive, fun, and mostly SAFE!

I am thinking somewhere upscale in Cancun but will they have good time there --- I also don't want a lower end hotel that may attract a careless, or dangerous crowd.

Please share with me your advice --- Cancun is also not set in stone...do you have any other suggestions??

 

[pjrose]

I wouldn't do it.
If you're paying, then just say no.

There are generally two goals: getting drunk and having sex. They can take a bus or cab to many all-you-can-drink bars and clubs from any hotel or resort - doesn't matter how nice it is or not.

 

[John Cummings]

I definitely would say NO to Cancun for Spring Break.

 

[MommaBear]

Eighteen? Spring break in Cancun without adult supervision? I am thinking this could be a very bad idea- access to unlimited alcohol, foreign country, other unsupervised children and partying equals potential for very bad outcome. At the minimum, I would buy extra travel and health insurance in case anything were to happen. Sorry to assume the worst, as I do not know your child and his maturity level, but I have had teenagers.... My rule of thumb was that they could not travel on their own without family until they paid all their own expenses and made all their own arrangements. I was glad to help support their research and offer advice if asked, but the process of earning the money and then deciding how to spend it seemed to help guide them away from the party scene. My children have now traveled all over the world by themselves and have (almost) never had a problem, but they traveled for educational or sightseeing reasons, not spring break.

 

[fillde]

Tell them to stay in the USA. Florida.

 

[pjrose]

Tell them to stay in the USA. Florida.

They can do the same things there.....Has anyone seen Girls Gone Wild or similar shows?

If you'd like to support a trip, maybe find some kind of humanitarian or other volunteer-type trip. Many colleges have alternative Spring Break volunteer opportunities that are fun AND help others AND are supervised.

 

[geoffb]

I guess I'll play devil's advocate... will they have fun if you put them in a nice resort in the Cancun hotel zone?

Yes.

But a lot of that fun will happen outside the hotel for sure.

 

[DeniseM]

I would absolutely say no!

This is not an urban legend - it happened to our friends. A few years ago a friend's daughter, her boyfriend, and another couple went to Mexico for spring break. They were away at college and did not tell their parents they were going. They were drinking and partying and one of the boys fell off the ocean cliff and was killed. The police threw the other 3 of them in jail, and they were not allowed to contact their families for days. Finally the families found out where they were, flew down there and spend a fortune to get them out of jail. The jail was a hell hole and it was a horrible experience.

NO WAY would I pay for an 18 year old go with his buddies! I'm assuming that he's still in high school right now?

My answer if this is my kid: If you can ARRANGE and PAY FOR this trip on your own, then have a wonderful time!

 

[capjak]

book them a cruise that goes to mexico and go on the cruise with them, let them have their own cabin, that way you will be around, can eat dinner together than they are on their own at ports etc..

18 is kind of a hard age on cruises as they will not be able to drink alcohol with the 21 year olds and they can not hang at the teen club as it is for 17 yo max.

Cancun springbreak...are they in college? It will be a drunk fest if on their own.

 

[fillde]

They can do the same things there.....Has anyone seen Girls Gone Wild or similar shows?

If you'd like to support a trip, maybe find some kind of humanitarian or other volunteer-type trip. Many colleges have alternative Spring Break volunteer opportunities that are fun AND help others AND are supervised.

It's not what they do, it's the results. Mexican police are corrupt. Humanitarian trip. Spring break is known for partying.

 

[siesta]

amazing how he is old enough to serve and potentially die for his country (but supervised! ), but noone thinks he can vacation on his own.

you are obviously contemplating this decision, so that should imply he is a smart and mature young man. I would encourage somewhere in the US, like Florida for example, they will still have a blast and you can count on most of the bars rejecting him unless he's got a good fake

first time travelling alone AND going abroad are two big steps. I would bring that up.

 

[DeniseM]

siesta - seriously - has it been too long since you were 18? This vacation is trouble looking for a place to happen - allowing it to happen in a Mexico is dangerous.

My daughter actually did plan and pay for several trips to the UK when she was in college - but she had a good head on her shoulders, and she wasn't going to Mexico to party!

 

[siesta]

siesta - seriously - has it been too long since you were 18? This vacation is trouble looking for a place to happen - allowing it to happen in a Mexico is dangerous.

denise, if you re-read my post you will see that I didn't recommend mexico.

 

[pjrose]

amazing how he is old enough to serve and potentially die for his country (but supervised! ), but noone thinks he can vacation on his own.

Good point.....but in that case they'd be very busy working and probably wouldn't have Spring Break fun as their highest priority.

 

[Rene McDaniel]

No! No! No!

You didn't keep your beloved son alive all these years just to let him turn 18, and let him throw himself to the wolves. Cancun spring break night life can be downright dangerous. Too many underage, totally wasted, unsupervised kids partying until the sun comes up. Add to that a corrupt police force, too many kids behaving badly, drug dealings, petty crime (pickpockets, thefts), criminals -- things could easily turn into a recipe for disaster. Don't forget, the rule of law in Mexico is "Guilty, until proven innocent". Any "perceived" problems with Mexican law (just being in the wrong place at the wrong time), and he could be thrown in jail & it would take a lot of time, money, and expensive Mexican lawyers to get it all sorted out.

Spring Break in Cancun --- No! NO! Not even if he could pay for it himself. Kids don't want to go to Cancun for the sun and the beach -- you can go to Florida for that. They want to go to Cancun for plenty of underage-drinking, and the wild party scene. Don't let him tell you anything different.

--- Rene

 

[beach.bar.bob]

No! No! No!

... They want to go to Cancun for plenty of underage-drinking, and the wild party scene. Don't let him tell you anything different.

--- Rene

I AM NOT advocating or supporting an 18 year old on their own in Cancun for spring break...but Siesta does bring up a good point...okay to go to Afghanistan ... but not Mexico ?

I will point out that the legal drinking age in Mexico is 18 - Thus there would not be plenty of underage-drinking...it would be perfectly legal. An 18 year old drinking in Mexico is not underage. Interestingly, the US is one of only 10 countries across the world with a drinking age higher than 18... see http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/LegalDrinkingAge.html

Personally, I took both of my daughters to Cabo when they were 18/19 for spring break with my wife...thus we were able to control the situation substantially.

Safe travels

bbb

 

[annenp]

Appreciate all of your comments

My 18 year old and his friend want to go to Cancun for spring break this year -- this will be my son's first time traveling alone without the family. Can anyone provide me with advice with where would be the place to book for him an inclusive, fun, and mostly SAFE!

I am thinking somewhere upscale in Cancun but will they have good time there --- I also don't want a lower end hotel that may attract a careless, or dangerous crowd.

Please share with me your advice --- Cancun is also not set in stone...do you have any other suggestions??

Yes - I am exteremely uncomfortable with them heading to Mexico on their own but I am also torn cause I would like to see them have a good time -- safety is my main goal!

I know Mexico raises all kinds of problems that make it unsafe -- but putting drinking aside -- is it safer for them to go to any of the island in Carribean?

 

[siesta]

In regards to crime, if they stay in the tourist sections of Cancun (which they will cause that's where all the fiesta is at) they will be fine from a safety standpoint. However, Cancun will offer more of a prime environment for potential trouble as other posters have stated due to the overall party atmosphere.

Don't be torn, he is a young man coming into his own and wants to do all the things (stupid?) that we did, and he should have that opportunity. However, having it all on your plate at once (first time travelling alone, first time abroad alone, first time in a place where he is legally of age to consume) might be much for him (or any 18 year old) to handle. Start him off slow, there is spring break every year.

 

[dmorea]

I know Mexico raises all kinds of problems that make it unsafe -- but putting drinking aside -- is it safer for them to go to any of the island in Carribean?[/QUOTE]

i think that one of the issues in Cancun is a truly downtown area outside of any of the resorts that is very easily accessible. I am not sure on this but maybe an all inclusive in the Dominican Rep or other area where activity might be more confined to the resort would be better. Hopefully others with better knowledge could help out here...

I feel for your dilemma.

 

[DebBrown]

We've been to Cancun for spring break WITH our teenagers a couple of times. There is absolutely no way I'd send a teen unsupervised. My youngest is now 22 and I wouldn't send him even now. If he wants to party like that, its not going to be at my expense!

If, however, my child was intent on a spring break trip and could pay for it himself, I would still recommend staying away from Mexico these days. As others have stated, when things go wrong they can go really, really wrong. You don't want your son in a Mexican jail.

Deb

 

[KarenLK]

Not sure what you mean by dwntown. Downtown, where the locals live, is pretty dead.

Most of the craziness is in the hotel zone in a pretty concentrated area. It is beyond wild.

 

[ada903]

How about Florida for spring break instead? It's also very popular, closer to home, nice beaches, etc.

 

[Ridewithme38]

I'm 30....so still young enough to clearly remember my trip to cancun during spring break(11 years ago)...Don't book them in any place TOO nice....They'll end up kicked out, not a big deal because you'll drink till the sun comes up, or find a room to share(Wink, wink)...Make sure they have ALOT, ALOT of extra pocket money...The mexican police are VERY Corrupt...But this works out great for kids with a basic knowledge of how 'tipping' works(TEACH HIM HOW TIPPING WORKS, if he doesn't know) i easily spent $500 on 'tips' to the cancun police

Overall, IF he has BASIC street smarts and has been to a club or two before...he'll have a GREAT TIME! Its kinda a right of passage thing...i'd absolutly let me son go(If i had a son) Daughter's a WHOLE Different story

 

[Rene McDaniel]

Yes - I am exteremely uncomfortable with them heading to Mexico on their own but I am also torn cause I would like to see them have a good time -- safety is my main goal!

I know Mexico raises all kinds of problems that make it unsafe -- but putting drinking aside -- is it safer for them to go to any of the island in Carribean?

Well, if you are really considering this despite all the potential risks ..... Geeeeezzz ... I guess the place I would consider MORE safe would be Cabo San Lucas, and there are a lot of timeshares, hotels & rentals there. It is still a big party scene at Medano Beach, but I think it is much tamer than Cancun. If he & the buddy are in/near the Marina area, downtown, or Medano beach -- they can pretty much walk to everything. They are not as likely to run into much trouble with the police as they would in Cancun.

We go to Cabo for Spring Break every year, and we see the young people getting back on the planes headed home. Seems like they have had a good time, they just look amazingly-hung over, sunburnt to a crisp, dead broke, sporting lots of new & interesting tatoos, and exhausted. Some are still puking at the airport.

Maybe others can chime in about party safety in Cabo. We are always going as a family with kids, so we tend to avoid the party-scene areas.

--- Rene

 

[Passepartout]

I'm glad I won't have this situation arise for the grands for a few years. The inquiry in this thread looks pretty close to unanimous. Allow this excursion at your (and his) peril. I concur. With the danger of Spring Break and unsupervised 'fun and frolic', is the overall danger of Mexico in general. I'm a big proponent of Mexican travel, but not now.

There's a time for lettin' it all hang out, but age 18, on one's own in Mexico isn't it. The potential for long-lasting heartache is just too great.

Jim Ricks