In May we will be vacationing in South Padre Island, Texas. Wife wants to cross into Mexico while we’re there.
We’ve been to Mexico, but not recently, and when we were it was at an all inclusive resort so we haven’t really been to the “real” Mexico, if you know what I mean.
With all the troubles going on down there, what are the risks of going into the area just across the Brownsville boarder? Anything specific happening that I should know about?
The currency exchange rate today was 15 Pesos per USD. What should I expect to pay for items like a bottle of beer, food and such?
The area of Mexico immediately below Texas is actually the most dangerous in terms of the recent narco trafficker violence going on. I wouldn’t be overly worried though, it is actually pretty rare that innocent bystanders get caught up in the carnage, and even rarer for innocent tourists. It is mostly rival drug traffickers fighting each other and the police and military. Even the mafia knows how important tourism dollars are to their own interests as do any corrupt police or politicians so they tend to do pretty well at maintaining security in tourist-filled areas. That said you certainly should not bring your car. Just walk across and use taxis to get around, carjackings do often involve innocent bystanders and tourists. Also all common sense rules of traveling anywhere apply; don’t flash money around, avoid empty and poorly lit areas at night, always be respectful but firm and confident with strangers who approach you for handouts or offering goods and services, etc. As to the second question the current exchange rate is great but prices tend to adjust quickly in tourist areas. So expect to pay the average. (e.g. about a dollar per bottle of beer or a street-vendor sandwich) and anywhere from 5.00 to 100.00 for a full meal depending on the fanciness of the restaurant and food.
IMHO, avoid Matamoros and drive up and cross at either Nuevo Progresso or Reynosa. Nuevo Progresso is a bit cheesy, but it’s also the easiest place to cross (park in Texas, walk across) and navigate (the town begins right where you cross and almost everything you’d want to see is located on either side of a single avenue).
After dozens of trips to various border towns, not once have I spent a single peso. Everything will (or can) be also priced in dollars.
(Admittedly, I haven’t lived in Texas since 2002, so my last trip across the border was probably around 2001… and that was Ojinaga. It’s been ten years since I was in the RGV, so who knows? Maybe they do prefer Pesos now!)
My experience is that border towns suck (on both sides of the border), and everything is priced in dollars in tourist areas, and taxis will charge in dollars if you’re not a local (and maybe even if you are a local).
I’ve never been to Metamoros before, and I do include places like Tijuana, New Laredo, and Juarez City as being sucky. I’m not equating suckiness with absolute danger, though, and as said above, Americans aren’t currently being targeted by drug gangs. It’s possible, though, to get caught in crossfire, although the risk is pretty low (how many Americans have been shot in such a manner?).
Prices vary all over the country; I’d be curious to know what prices are there, too. In Guanajuato/Jalisco area, I’d expect to pay (pesos follow) $15 to $25 for a beer, $10 or so for a taco, $25 to $35 for a torta, and $180 for a prime rib dinner, depending on the place.
Don’t go to Mexico. Matamoros is the city across from Brownsville and there is nothing worth risking your safety to see. If you want to see what a Mexican border city is like, go to downtown Brownsville or downtown McAllen. There is no difference. Nuevo Progreso is nothing to see either–just dentist offices and pharmacies. I would recommend just enjoying your time on the island. Do make sure to go to the sea turtle rescue. If you want to leave the island for a while, I would recommend the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, or Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen. The outlet mall in Mercedes has lots of shopping, as does LaPlaza mall in McAllen. Just rethink going to Mexico. And yes–I live here in the valley and know very well what I’m talking about. People here don’t cross the bridge unless they absolutely have to. There was another shootout and a few deaths yesterday in Reynosa. I live less than 5 miles from one of the international bridges, and you couldn’t pay me to go over there. While you may not be targeted as a member of the drug trade, you will certainly be viewed as a “wealthy American”, a potential source of ransom money for unscrupulous people living in a lawless country. There are enough problems this side of the border, but at least we have American laws to help protect us. You go to Mexico–you’re on your own and you are out-numbered and out-armed.
I wouldn’t cross even if it was perfectly safe. IMHO most of the border towns and cities along the Texas border are very crappy and rundown, especially Matamoros.
If you ever want to experience the ‘real’ Mexico spend a week in places like Oaxaca, Mexico City, or the city of Puebla, none of which are remotely near the border btw. Even someone like me, a Tijuana native, considers those places more Mexican than the north.
I used to regularly travel to Nuevo Laredo, but I stopped going a couple of years ago, and things have only gotten worse. I wouldn’t go now. The border towns, including Matamoros, just don’t have enough to offer to make it worth the risk. Matamoros used to be a nice diversion from Padre, but it wasn’t that great. As the other posters have said, they don’t target Americans, but I still don’t think it’s worth it these days. Last time I was in Nuevo Laredo, as I said two or three years ago, there were trucks of federales roaming the streets and the police chief had just been executed. If you do go, enjoy yourselves, but don’t expect much.
Everyone will accept dollars but they will also all accept pesos and generally you will get a better exchange rate using pesos. (right now its about 15 to 1 but if you pay in dollars you will get more like 10 to 1 - a pretty big difference depending how much you are spending). So many might encourage you to use dollars because they can pretty much make up their own exchange rate on the spot, but they will finally accept pesos if that is what you have to offer. While not many Mexicans probably do, it is possible a Mexican family from farther south in Mexico would visit one of these border towns too, and they would certainly be able to pay in their national currency and not be required to change their money into dollars first. As to the quality of the area as a vacation destination I didn’t get into that because the OP didn’t ask. But I would agree these cities are not a ‘taste of the real Mexico’ at all - if you want that you will need to go further south into the country. I recommend Quintana Roo if Caribbean beaches are your thing and as someone else posted Mexico City or Puebla for big city life, and maybe somewhere like Xalapa (birthplace of the Jalapeno pepper) in the state of Veracruz for a medium-sized city full of artisans and craftsmen and surrounded by beautiful mountains. In border towns you will find beer, food, souvenirs and trinkets but nothing in the way of cultural attractions or natural splendor.
Where do you get this from? I just spent a week in Laredo, crossing over - in my car, with Texas plates- every day, and nobody bothered me. I imagine you are more likely to be run over by a taxicab in San Antonio, or maybe struck by lightning while playing golf, than set upon by bandidos in Nuevo Laredo, although as mentioned above there isn´t really much reason to go there unless (a) you have to do business with Mexican customs brokers or (b) you need medication and don’t want to pay US prices or (c) you really want an Elvis portrait on black velvet. If you want to see some of real Mexico, a cab will take you to the bus terminal for five dollars, where you take the deluxe class bus - giant Volvo or Mercedes units with TV, air conditioning, and lots of leg room, far nicer than anything you´ll find in the USA, and very safe, and visit Monterey or Saltillo. If you insist on driving (and once you get out of Nuevo Laredo or Matamoros the superhighway is just as good as the Texas roads) and you are paranoid about getting lost, stop a taxi driver or even a cop and offer ten bucks or so to guide you out to the customs checkpoint at K26, after that it’s all limited access toll roads to wherever you’re going. You need a passport to get back into the USA so don’t forget; the Mexicans will probably give you a tourist card with just a driver´s license but the Americans have gotten really hardassed lately. And if you get a chance, come down to Oaxaca. Perfect climate, beautiful scenery, and totally safe for tourists.
ya know–I wouldn’t advise anyone to do this–btw–it is spelled “Monterrey”. I don’t think the general American public is informed about the unrest in the border areas of Mexico. I hope people won’t go there and risk their lives. You can get velvet “Elvis” portraits in downtown Brownsville, El Paso, or McAllen. My children were raised on the border, each marrying Mexican men–one an “undocumented immigrant”. So I have no prejudices about this. I am just concerned about the OP who seems to not realize the danger that is on the border right now. It hasn’t been safe for many years now–I remember going to Juarez for lunch and walking back over the bridge to go to work. It isn’t that way anymore. If you are interested, check out what happened 20 years ago this week. Google Mark Kilroy. I cannot recommend anyone to go to Mexico at this point in time. I’d much rather pay 7 bucks for a margarita in McAllen:dubious: than cross the bridge to get one for 2 bucks. Thanks, Tijuana Gold, for giving us the Mexican perspective. Everyone I know from the interior thinks the border area is a joke.
As a native and current resident, what’s your take on the situation generally? Before the recent rise in drug violence, kidnappings were in the news a lot, and a lot of those seemed to be happening in the major cities of the interior. I for one would be more than willing to visit the places you mention because they’d be more than worth the risk.
I agree with you about the border region generally, but even in places like Ensenada you can experience some cultural aspects if you look for them. I’m sure that every day Americans show up at any of the better restaurants at 6:30pm and wonder why the place is empty.
When I say border towns suck, it’s not just due to the current danger (which for people just passing through, is exaggerated. But… I pass through Detroit such a day, so my threshold is pretty high). In fact, I’ll soon be living near Mexico City for the better part of a year. My concerns for my personal safety are much, much more elevated for this area than for a day trip to a touristy area in a border town. No, what sucks about border towns is that they’re not “real” Mexico (although like the USA, there’s no one, single “real” Mexico). They’re cesspools of despair. The poverty is obvious and in your face compared to other parts. Everyone’s looking to make a buck. The people aren’t as friendly as in some other parts of the country.
Given that… the tourist area in Tijuana was rather clean and pleasant. The tourist area in Nuevo Laredo was clean and pleasant. The centro in Cd. Juarez was clean and pleasant. I couldn’t find a single, redeeming feature about Nogales, though. Of course all of these towns also have their middle-class and above areas, you know, where people live their daily lives. Although I see these types of areas all over Mexico, I’ve not seen (nor looked for) them in any of the border towns I’ve been to.
By the way, I’m an American – as white as they come. I’ve lived and worked in the states of Guanajuato and Sonora, and will soon live in the state of Mexico. I’ve roamed over a lot of the northeast and the central regions. I’ve never felt in danger anywhere, even when pulled over by the police. Where I’ll be in the state of Mexico, though, is part of the general Mexico City megalopolis. There, the police shake you down and rob you. You get robbed at red lights. You can be the victim of a “kidnap express” (they take you to an ATM machine), or a real kidnapping. This all worries me slightly, although statistics are in my favor (there are 30,000,000 other potential victims ahead of me in line). On other other hand, the very downtown, tourist area is well protected, like Cancún would be.
(The Mexican constitution prohibits the death penalty, but there are some rumblings that they’d like to amend it to permit it for certain crimes.)
It’s an exaggeration to say the Mexico is in an undeclared civil war, though.
I was going to post basically the same thing. The border towns are no more “real Mexico” than the all-inclusive resorts on the coasts. They are vastly different from each other, but are even more different from the rest of the country (where American tourism does not fund much of the economy).
Bah. We crossed a couple times into several different areas and had no problems. No swine flu either.:rolleyes:
Got some good deals on booze and crafts though.
My OP was more out of concern for my wife’s safety than my own. I’ve been to/in far more dangerous places and situations than Mexico.
Oh, and Texas was fantastic too. Been there before, but only in Dallas, Houston, and Amarillo. This time we spent a week split between San Antonio and Fredericksburg (there are lots of wineries in hill country). Then we headed down to South Padre Island and spent a week there (minus the time we went across the border). I love Texans. I love their friendliness and their attitudes! We will be back!!!
