Traveling in Mexico safe?
 

So been to Loreto in Baja a few times now. Been about 4 years since I have there. Is it still considered safe? Obviously not a border town but just wondering. Getting the jones to go again a I had a great time there fishing, eating, lounging etc.



http://www.steeltropics.com/

Unless you are buying or selling drugs you will be fine.

here is hilarious video regarding travel to PV Mexico.
Warning, it says the F word...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pzb3dIazGc

www.travel.state.gov Mexico for a heads up

www.insuremytrip.com always wise

as long as you are careful odds are great you will

be ok in that area though some of the other areas

like Acapulco are quite dodgy right now so be careful.

I just got back from PV. The only time I felt unsafe was in that part of the airport where all the timeshare sharks lurk. A friend who accompanied me was told by her boss that she was NOT to go to Mexico again as 10 taxi drivers were shot while she was sunning herself in PV. She asked him how many people had been shot in San Francisco or New York while she was sunning herself in PV. He had no response.
Use the same common sense required in any other part of the world..........like the video says, don't go looking for hookers and blow in a back alley.

I'm confused. Where were 10 taxi drivers shot?

I believe that was Feb 20 in Acapulco.

This is from the NY Daily news:

Mar 01 2011, New York — Gunman targeting taxis in the Mexican resort city of Acapulco killed nine cabbies and three passengers over the weekend, igniting fears just hours before a popular professional tennis tournament was set to begin. Police in the Guerrero, the western state on Mexico's Pacific coast where Acapulco is located, said four thugs were arrested in connection with the attacks, which were among the deadliest to target a specific group in the region in recent memory. The suspects were caught carrying guns, grenades and a machete, which may have been used to cut off the heads of some of the victims. At least one of the drivers, founded dead inside his vehicle on Saturday, had been beheaded. Cabbies in Acapulco often get caught up in the city's violent drug trade, as gang members shake them down for money or recruit them to transport guns or drugs. The attacks began Friday, when five drivers were found dead. Four more drivers, as well as three passengers, were shot and killed on Saturday. Acapulco, once a mostly peaceful Pacific resort, is facing high levels of drug-related violence as cartels have been fighting for control of the city's port, a key gateway for cocaine smuggling from South America. Most of this weekend's violence took place outside the city's tourist regions, but on Sunday, a man's butchered body was found outside an apartment building near the city's tourist zone. Dozens of cars were also set on fire over the weekend. The attacks terrified organizers of the Mexican Open, the largest tennis tournament in Latin America, which was scheduled to start Monday. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the event's organizer, warned players and fans about the security concerns and said it was working with Mexican officials to make sure the tournament would be safe. "Following an independent security assessment and discussions with tournament organizers, we are satisfied that responsible measures are being taken," the ATP said in a statement. Players were warned to stick close to their hotels and avoid going out into the city and were urged to leave Mexico as soon as they were eliminated. At least one player, Argentina's David Nalbandian, withdrew from the tournament because of the violence. "It's a great and enjoyable tournament to play," said Nalbandian, who was also nursing a groin injury. "But for right now it's a little more difficult because of the security situation. We are a bit scared about this and we're trying to decide what to do." Others thought the warnings were being blown out of proportion. "I think things are being greatly exaggerated," Spain's David Ferrer told the Associated Press. "We tennis players have all the guarantees [for our safety.]" Meanwhile, in Ciudad Juarez, in northern Mexico, 53 people were killed in a 72-hour span, making it one of the deadliest weekends in recent memory. Four police officers were among those killed. Juarez is one of Mexico's deadliest cities and a battleground between violent drug cartels battling for territory and supply routes. Earlier this month, two American Catholic school teenagers and were shot dead at a car dealership in Juarez after crossing the border from El Paso, Texas. A Mexican teen was killed as well. With News Wire Services

I'm sure at least 10 people were shot and killed in New York, LA, DC, and countless other cities.........

Suze- Actually it was 14 but all said to be involved in the drug trade.
PS Last year I was in Acapulco when a shoot out resulted in 14 dead. I however never heard about it until I got back to Zihua the following week.
Almost all of the trouble there like most place involved police/drug wars or Drug gangs fighting each other.

Thanks all for the clarification. Yes I had heard about what happened in Acapulco. But it still supports what I say on all these safety threads, so far the violence is done by and within the drug cartels. No one shot 14 foreign tourists sitting on a beach on vacation.

For some reason, the media seems to spotlight anything bad that happens in Mexico. I wonder in other countries if there are stories like that about major US cities......

Like you, suze, I find Mexico no less safe than any other big city anywhere in the world.

I just talked to one of my neighbors in Playa del Carmen who was down there last week. She said the placed was packed and hotels were showing higher occupancy rates than 2008 which was a very good year. I'm going back down in two weeks. Cannot wait. No worries.

Just spent the last 2 days of driving through Mexico, including Monterrey and Matehuala near where the 2 ICE agents were recently shot. I know it's anecdotal, but the only time I've felt nervous after the last 2 months in Mexico is in downtown San Antonio 2 blocks from the River Walk.

colokid~I'm envious. Have a great time!

It sort of hit a little close when the drug gunmen stormed into the Holiday Inn in Monterrey and took people from the same floor (and one of them was in the same room I stayed in a last year) where I had previously stayed. They took a few guests and the front desk woman, But they left the rest of the guests alone.

I am headed to PDC in April for the 1st time, looking forward to it.

emd3 -have a great time. Post if you need any tips or restaurant ideas.

colokid, I would definitely like some restaurant recs. We are going to be at El Faro. Would like some nice casual places we can walk to. It is me, husband, and two 18 yr old girls. We will have a car as we are visiting the Jungle Place (spider monkey preserve) along w/Akumal for snorkeling the same day, and Tulum/Coba one day. Nothing else planned really. Also any restaurant recs for Akumal after snorkeling?
I'll post separately on this.

Just posted on your other thread. Tulum also has some wonderful places to eat...just can't remember the name of it right now. I'll be down there in a couple of weeks and will let you know. Akumal has two places to buy food right outside the arch that you can walk over to the beach with and also a restaurant right on the beach(Lol Ha). El Faro is a beautiful place. Don't be afraid to eat off 5th avenue. I rarely go there anymore. Many more excellent choices. My favorite mexican restaurant is on 30th avenue between 20th and 22nd streets called Mi Abuelita. Cannot wait to get back there. I live at the north end of town past Constituyentes and there have been lots of restaurants that have recently opened there especially on 38th street and the corner of 5th ave. Como Como, Braemar, Cocina 38, Piola, Kool Fish. La Cueva del Changa on 38th opposite Piola for breakfast is also wonderful. So many choices...so little time : )

"Acapulco, once a mostly peaceful Pacific resort" it's always been a bit of a 'cowboy' town as the rest of Guerrero has always been.