How Safe is travel to Cancun?
 

We are planning on a trip to Cancun this May and we heard that there have been a lot of crime and violence throughout Mexico recently in regards to the drug cartel. We also read there has been kidnapping and attacks in all areas of Mexico. Has anyone been to Cancun recently and how was it? Did you have any problems? Your response is greatly appreciated.

I have just returned from a 1400 mile road trip and visited several large cities inside Mexico although not Cancun,
Its a shame what they spew out of Fox News and CNN about the security situation in Mexico. The whole country was completely peaceful and orderly without beheaded bodies laying around everywhere as the cable news would have you believe. We noticed an orderly police presence in every town we visited and even went far off the beaten path. Mexico is safe, just stay out of the bad areas in the border towns.

I came back recently from Cancun and felt perfectly safe. My sister and I even walked home one night from the town to the hotel zone.

<we heard that there have been a lot of crime and violence throughout Mexico recently>

What you heard is simply NOT true. There is some ugly violence going on in VERY specific areas having to do with Mexican drug cartel/politics.

This is not about tourists. It is not in Cancun.

Unless you plan to purchase drugs, sell drugs or otherwise associate with members of a drug mob there is no reason you should not be as safe as in any other city or region of the US.

"Its a shame what they spew out of Fox News and CNN about the security situation in Mexico."

There is a big problem with violence, kidnappings and drug cartels in border towns and certain places such as Juarez and it would be wise to avoid these places. However, many places in mexico including cancun are not having a problem with these things and thus are ok to visit.

Thank you everyone for your comments. We would hate to have to change our plans since our airfare is non-refundable and we really wanted to go there. We've heard so much nice things about Cancun and since we were able to trade our timeshare, we wanted to vacation there. We're not going to try and be reckless on our vacation, who needs the headache?

Exactly Armids, use the same common sense you would anywhere and you'll have a wonderful time.

im mexican and mexico is safe, dont worry just dont go to bad areas or poorly areas thats all

One thing to note is that George Tenet (former CIA director) told his son to cancel a planned vacation to Mexico (Acapulco, I think?) and to choose another country to visit for Spring Break.

Tenet did warn his son against Mexico, but it was on the basis of public knowledge, not any special insight gleaned from his years as CIA director. This is from a news article about it:

"The e-mail message exaggerated some of the facts, saying that Tenet, who resigned from the CIA in 2004, had consulted with the head of Mexico's spy agency and had been told that the cartels had threatened to harm tourists.

It turns out that no conversation between the spy chiefs took place, and thus no such threat was disclosed, Harlow said. "It's true that his son was considering going to Mexico for spring break, but Mr. Tenet looked at the public State Department warnings and news accounts and determined it probably wasn't a good idea to go down there," Harlow said. "As for the rest of it, there's no there there."

He wasn't such a great spy chief, anyway. I think the Tenet factor should be given only the weight one might give to any parent's concerns.

followyourbliss~ But the question didn't ask about Acapulco... it asked about Cancun. The two cities are no where near each other.

i feel sorry for that dude.

every country has good side and bad side the world in general is not safe in my opinion

My 24 y/o son and I are booked to go to Acapulco during Memorial Day to celebrate college graduation.....thinking of changing to Cozumel due to the travel alert. I haven't been to ACA but been to Cozumel and lots of other Mexican destinations. ANy suggestions?

We just got back from a week in Puerto Morelos and traveled to Cancun several times during our stay. We didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. It seemed very safe. I made a solo bus trip into Cancun shopping and felt completely at east.

acapulco is one of the most popular spots and i would recommend u Acapulco even if u wanna visit many places like mexico city, ixtapa-zihuatanejo (beach), cuernavaca where frida khalo lived, etc.

"Its a shame what they spew out of Fox News and CNN about the security situation in Mexico."

So what about the State Department? LOL~

That said I am still considering the Maya Riveria or Cancun area for a trip this winter.

I would think that considering the value of the tourism dollar effective measures will be in place.

I would not do some of the US border towns right now!

There is nothing reported going on in Cancun. What you are hearing about in the news has to do with inner workings of drug cartel and politics of Mexico, mostly along border towns.

It has nothing to do with tourists or Cancun.

Suze, please get your facts straight. There was a highly-publicized killing of a police official in Cancun, so people aren't getting this out of thin air.