Is It Safe to Vacation in Mexico?

For years I would head south early each spring to bass fish in some of the incredible lakes in Mexico.  San Lorenzo, Lake Guerrero, Hildago, Lake Comedero, and the Rio Corona River...but those days are long gone.

Drug cartels have made those annual fishing trips into the interior of Mexico a thing of the past for most anglers like me, as even fishing Falcon Lake, on the border of the United States and Mexico, a little nerve racking.

Yet, my mother and father in law, who are in their 70's, just revealed to the family a couple months ago that they would be vacationing this year in Puerto Vallarta and though they were "cautious" they were anything but frightened.

And apparently they aren't alone.  In March of 2013 alone, nearly 1.9 MILLION Americans flew to Mexico.  And most all of those travelers experienced absolutely no problem at all.

However, the U.S. State Department in July of 2013 issued a travel warning  for Mexico which explains:

Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year for study, tourism, and business, including more than 150,000 who cross the border every day. The Mexican government dedicates substantial resources to protect visitors to major tourist destinations, and there is no evidence that Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) have targeted U.S. visitors or residents based on their nationality. Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico generally do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime that are reported in the border region or in areas along major trafficking routes.

So the question remains, "Is it safe?"  That truly depends on several factors including your vacation destination and the way visitors conduct themselves.

U.S. citizens are encouraged to lower their personal profiles and to avoid wearing conspicuous jewelry or clothing bearing logos of U.S. sports teams or military themed apparel which that may identify them as U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens are encouraged to maintain awareness of their surroundings and avoid situations in which they may be isolated.

Looks to me like if you're headed to one of the major resorts and you don't stray away from the resort and you maintain a low profile, you should expect to be reasonably safe.

To check the safety of your intended Mexican vacation destination, go to travel.state.gov