With the rash of shootings throughout Mexico nowadays – drug war against the government, anyone? – I’m a little concerned about a long-planned trip to Cancun next month.
Now I’ve heard that Cancun is much safer – specifically the tourist and resort area we’re heading to – but that’s in normal circumstances. Has that changed over the past few months? Anyone with first hand knowledge of the area after the escalation of the drug gang violence recently?
PS - any other advice and tips are more than welcomed.
Cancun is extremely safe - especially if you are staying in a Mega-resort (which they have all up and down the Mayan Riviera). BTW if you are staying in a Mega-resort, you don’t actually have to leave the resort whatsoever. They’ve got shopping, restaurants, beaches, bars, whatever you want. What’s more, most of the tourist trips down there will pick you up / drop you off at your resort as well. That’s stuff like the Dolphin interactions, eco-tours, visiting the Mayan ruins, etc.
(As an aside…One of the niftiest things you can do down there is swim with whale sharks. You, a mask and snorkel, a pair of fins, and the biggest fish (shark!) in the entire world. They are filter feeders and feed near the top. You can swim along right beside them! Highly recommended. Here’s the website for the company I went with: www.whalesharkexperience.com — They run tours out of a point near Cancun and provide lunch/reef snorkeling/beer as well.)
Back to the matter at hand…I have several friends/acquaintances in the tourism industry down in Cancun/Playa del Carmen/Cozumel, and they have not had any problems or spillover from the drug violence.
In essense, Cancún is safe, and is likely to stay safe. The most dangerous areas to tourists and Mexicans alike are border towns, with some other interior areas competing for attention, too. If you go to the wrong parts of Mexico City, you’re bound to run into all types of other, non-drug problems.
Cool, thanks. It’s what I figured, but good to have info from folks who’ve been.
Whaleshark trip sounds great, thanks! I wonder if I can use my scuba gear and stay down longer, or if that’s discouraged…