México Travel Forum

Is Mexico a safe country to go on your own traveling.Ive heard that they kidnap you in Mexico.Is this true?

It is pretty safe. Most mexicans are very welcoming to tourists. However, in Mexico City, as in most big cities elsewhere be aware of your surroundings and avoid the "bad parts of town".

It is NOT true. Of course you can be the victim of pickpockets, get something stolen at your hotel, be ripped off by a cab driver..... but it doesn't mean that you WILL be kidnapped because you're visiting Mexico. I'm so sad that people continue to spread such fake concepts about Mexico. I live in Mexico City and have never been victim of a robbery, but do know people who have been more than once. It is an unsafe city, no doubt about that, but I have met loads of people traveling alone that haven't had a single problem. It's a matter of luck combined with good judgement (not being in bad zones or walking on the streets at late night, not showing off or carrying expensive stuff with you, etc.).

I hope you enjoy your trip, you can sure have a great one by just being cautious.

True....but do you think somebody wants to kidnap a silly english boy????

i have been to mexico twice and spend 3 months in total there.
i never had one situation where i felt in danger and i went around by public transport and mostly stayed in small hotels.

i don´t look mexican at all, so if people wanted to rob or kidnap me i would have been very easy to spot.

all in all:
you have to be pretty unlucky to get in to trouble.
i won´t consider mexico a more dangorous than let´s say london.

PedroCarlos, you took the words from my mouth

LOL pedrocarlos...... I liked that one!

I'm glad there are comments from people from other countries -- then you can't say I'm biased because I live here. What they said is true. I also know foreigners who have been victims of crime and they won't be as enthusiastic in recommending you to visit Mexico, they've not been as lucky as cachaseiro or many other former tourists. But I also know people who have been robbed in Spain, Italy, even Paris, etc. So you just have to be careful as you would in any other big city.

i´m also planning to return to mexico again in october.
i guess i wouldn´t do that if i found it dangorous.

Gareth, i think the only place in Mexico i wouldn't feel safe is Mexico City, i don't understand why Laura is always trying to sugarcover everything, crime rate is so high in Mexico City, it's on the news everyday, i've been in big cities like London, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Houston and i feel safer in any of them than Mexico City.
I'm not trying to discourage you from coming, you're very welcome, just be careful and avoid Mexico City if you can

Aldo

I am not sugarcovering anything: if you bother to read my 2 postings you'll see that I DO say that Mexico City (and other cities in the country as well) is unsafe, that I DO know people who have been victims of crime in my city, BOTH locals AND foreigners..... nobody is trying to mislead anyone here: I am telling what I know and have lived first hand.

It's not my fault if you're way too narrow minded to take comments and opinions for what they are: A RESULT OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. After all, you're uttering your own personal opinion about you feeling more unsafe in Mexico City than in LA. If someone has been a victim of crime in LA they won't agree with your point of view. I had a BF who was robbed both in Mexico City AND Paris (where he lived), so where's the "sugar covering"???? Who is lying here??? Have you ever been a victim of crime in Mexico City? Or is it only your very particular "appreciation" what you're sharing here?? I am sharing MY own experience: I've NEVER been a victim. Many people have, in Mexico City and EVERYWHERE else in the world. End of story.

Gee, I hate people who have no common sense.

i did not feel in danger in mexico city with my blond, hair, blue eyes and complete gringo look.

sure if you head out in some bad suburbs you can easily find trouble, but who would do that?

in the center you are quite fine.
i walked everywhere in the center and felt safe, even io the evening.

Aldo, if you stop reading the papers it won't seem as dangerous

LOL Dave.....

Pretty good suggestion.

I think that anyone who thinks rationally would rather listen to what experience has taught him/her than to what "the papers say all the time". The papers are also based in others' experience, after all, and no one can say whether their words are true or false until they live & experience things by themselves. Of course the victims' testimony is true too and no one has said otherwise. But making such big generalisations - i.e. to say that "if you go to Mexico you'll get kidnapped" - is a big mistake, period. You have to see both sides of the story.

There are some precautions you might take in particular parts of Mexico City (ie if your taxi driver takes you through some of the poorer suburbs he might request you lock all the doors), but like anywhere, if you stay attuned to your senses and don't do anything stupid you'll be fine.
The bus system in Mexico is fabulous, and I doubt you would feel unsafe at all travelling on them. There are some wonderful little towns to go explore.
Be wary, but not go there!!

How come I keep on having typos.
I meant "Be wary, but DON'T not go there."

You will read that Mexico has the second highest kidnapping numbers in the world after Columbia and this is probably true, but this has not ever, as far as I have read, been a threat against tourists.
With the exceptions of drug related crime and bank robberies, Mexico has generally not been a country of violent impersonal crimes, although this has been changing with growth and modernization. Most violent crimes in Mexico were associated with crimes of passion, alcohol or war.
You must be careful but need not be fearful. I generally feel safer in Mexico than in the USA. Have a good trip. bob

i can´t recall ever hearing about a non american tourist getting kidnapped in mexico.

the ones who get in to trouble are most likely the losers who go down for marihuana and prostitutes and they ask for it and derserve no support.

just like amsterdam is the place where euro trash gathers, mexico is the place where yank trsah gathers and that will always create some kinda trouble.

that won´t effect travellers with good behaviour though.

Hi, What can be unsafe is the contaminated water and food.
Many people get sick in Mexico and it's gastric illness.
It's called "Montezuma's Revenge." It's a miserable experience.
Diarrhea, vomiting and feeling ill. It lasts for 3-5 days.

If you have the time, it would be a good idea to
get a Hepatitis A vaccine before you go. Also don't drink any
water that isn't in a sealed bottle. Don't use ice cubes made
from the local water. Wash your hands a lot or carry anti-bacterial
wipes to use since you'll be touching everything in public places.
Don't eat food from street vendors.

On the whole, Mexican people are polite and courteous.Considering
how poor the country is they have much grace and dignity. You can't
avoid seeing some of the poverty areas that are heart-breaking to see.
It makes you understand why so many want to cross the border into America
and seek a better life. It certainly is a cultural experience beyond
many other places you'll visit. Adios Amigos.

Some little precisions to the last fellow VTer's comments:

>Hi, What can be unsafe is the contaminated water and food. Many people get sick in Mexico and it's gastric illness. It's called "Montezuma's Revenge." It's a miserable experience. Diarrhea, vomiting and feeling ill. It lasts for 3-5 days. If you have the time, it would be a good idea to get a Hepatitis A vaccine before you go.

First off, the correct name is "Moctezuma's Revenge" and it's a simple stomach disease/infection. You eat spicy/hot food, with lots of fat, and/or at non hygienic places (all of which you're not used to) and you obviously fall ill. Foreigners usually do suffer a lot of incompatibility with mexican food. But it has absolutely NOTHING to do with Hepatitis. Go get your shot if you want, but that won't be of any help if you eat contaminated food or water or your stomach does not resist mexican food: you'll STILL fall ill.

>Also don't drink any water that isn't in a sealed bottle. Don't use ice cubes made from the local water. Wash your hands a lot or carry anti-bacterial wipes to use since you'll be touching everything in public places. Don't eat food from street vendors.

Totally true. Avoid eating and drinking non hygienic food, avoid street vendors: we mexicans are really used to this kind of food and many people fall ill after eating on the street anyway, but it could be lethal for you.


As for the "understanding why people go to US after looking at the poverty areas", most probably you'll be in contact with the numerous poverty areas we have in Mexico City & surroundings: but people that go to the US *DO NOT* come from these areas.... the majority of this people flees from the COUNTRYSIDE (as they cannot survive from agriculture only) and very small rural communities, only a small percentage is coming from big cities / state capitals. Just FYI.

Hi Laura, Thanks for your input. Let's agree to disagree.
According to the dictionary, (it's my best friend.)
1. The Moctezuma spelling is the Spanish one. Whereas, the
Montezuma spelling is the English one used for this last
emperor in Mexico (1480?1520) who was overthrown by
Hernando Cortes.Therefore, both spellings are used and acceptable.

2. Basically, it's not from eating hot, spicy foods with lots of
fat that proves to be disagreeable with people's digestive
systems. They do eat such foods in their own country, but they
don't come down with such severe intestinal problems. It's the
contamination that comes first, the cause, rather than the
syptoms, the effects. Read the health information given to travelers
to Mexico. It warns of such water and food contamination, which is
prevalent because of the inadequate water purification systems and
hygiene practices.

3. Laura dear, Yes,you're right about many who cross the border are
from rural areas where there's a lack of work and income to survive
with even a sub-standard level of living.

Nevertheless, that isn't true about the poor people who live
in tiny huts made of panels of corrugated metal sheeting that are
built into the hills in the suburban areas of border cities such as
Tijuana and Matamoras.They are shocking to see. It's a disgrace that
the Mexican government does not help them. They too try to cross
the border. But that's another thread.


3.

Hi chicago, absolutely agree to disagree, but just like I can be wrong so can you:

> 1. The Moctezuma spelling is the Spanish one. Whereas, the Montezuma spelling is the English one used for this last emperor in Mexico (1480?1520)...

You're totally right about the spelling thing, my apologies.

> 2. Basically, it's not from eating hot, spicy foods with lots of fat that proves to be disagreeable with people's digestive systems.

Wrong: according to the dictionary (I also use it quite a lot):

Montezuma's revenge
Meaning

The diarrhea (also spelled diarrhoea) that is suffered by tourists when travelling to foreign parts, in this case Mexico.

Origin

Montezuma was Emperor of Mexico, 1502-20.

The sickness, more formally called "traveller's diarrhea", is usually caused by drinking unsterilised water or eating spicy food that visitors aren't accustomed to. It is a bacteriological illness, always uncomfortable, and occasionally serious. Most cases are caused by the enterotoxigenic E. coli bacterium.

The 'revenge' element of the phrase alludes to countries that were previously colonized by stronger countries and are now, in this small way, getting their own back.
......


It is an infection, and of course in order to become infected you have to eat something with bacteria in it. You could get it from a lettuce which was not disinfected and this is not fatty or spicy. But it's also true that I've seen foreigners eating food in regular, "safe" restaurants or even home-made local food who have fallen ill. Their stomach just couldn't take it. As I said, it's quite true that we have a lot of non-hygienic food available which will most probably make people sick, but not 100% of the cases are the same.

About the border crossing thing: I didn't say that ALL the people who move to the US come from rural areas...... but that only a small percentage comes from urban areas instead. This is true: people from the big cities don't usually migrate illegally -- they are more "sophisticated" in the methods they use to try to move to a different country (yet they leave anwyay). I do have close acquaintances from the city that have moved abroad illegally, but they are not the vast majority -- they're rather exceptions. The countryside has the biggest percentage of people fleeing but their situation - like the city dwellers' you described - is also the goverment's responsibility anyhow.

Oh, and guess what, I just found something funny about the Montezuma's Revenge LOL:


Montezuma's Revenge is one of the leading male a cappella groups around. Founded in 1985 this Dutch group has reached a high level of vocal perfection. The group is always exploring the boundaries of a cappella singing and sometimes even shifting them. The mixture of originals and covers in pop, rock and soul style and the combination of theatre and music both contribute to the originality of Montezuma's Revenge.

The group is now touring with its tenth show called Pop Art.
Enjoy the site and don't hesitate to contact us.

.....

What a weird name for a band!!!!!! These netherlanders..............

Laura, don't become so defensive by comments made here.

You say: ...we have a lot of non-hygienic foods available
which will most probably make people sick, but not 100%
of the cases are the same...

Common sense dictates that we never speak in absolutes.
You make my point valid since I didn't say either that 100%
absolutely contacted the illness strictly by eating the foods or by
having contact with contaminated water,etc.

Again, I didn't say that ALL people who move to the US come from rural
or urban areas. I qualified that by stating "many" people do.

The reference to Montezuma 1502-20 refers to the years he ruled
as the Aztec emperor. Whereas, the 1480?-1520 refers to when he
was born and died-- (much too young.)

It's true that writing is a thinking skill. We need to think it
out before we put it down. That is if we mean words to say what they mean and mean what they say. Thanks for editing and qualifying your comments to make them clearer.Good English is simple English but it can be a pain in the .....
neck. Hasta La Vista.

Regarding the water problem and the Montezuma's revenge I have been making tests in the past years even with my family who lives either in England or the US.

My personal finding is that it is mostly a psicological problem and attitude problem. Obviously, as in some major cities you don't drink tab water, if you do, you run the risk of falling sick. You don't eat at the street, it is highly unsecure if you're not used to.

If you eat at clean places you don't have any problem.

My last test was a month ago with an aunt living in San Jose, California, along with my cousin living there too and his Vietnamese fiance. They all ate exactly the same for a weekend, same places, same ammounts, same everything... My cousin and his fiancee were confident that they wouldn't get sick, my aunt is always afraid, she never had anything from the street or tab water, everything was clean and bottled.

The results were that my aunt was the only one who got sick for 3 days!! Nobody is sick for three days unless it is psychological... Or so I think...

You'll have the time of your life in Mexico City!

By the way I didn't comment on the security issue because I have done so a lot of times and found hard to stand intolerant people who is afraid of taking measured risks just for the pleasure of being free.

Mexico City is as safe as any other major city in the world.


Enjoy!

i did not have any major stomach problems in my 3 months in mexico.
not more than i would have back at home.

and i was mainly eating off the street.

cachaseiro, you've been extremely lucky!!!! I haven't fallen ill for eating off the street either, but I do know people who have -- even locals, who are "used" to it.... it is very dangerous for foreigners to take the risk, yet again, things are not absolute: it doesn't mean that you will fall ill FOR SURE if you buy food from street vendors. You were lucky and I'm glad you can enjoy that kind of food because it's great.... but I usually don't recommend first time visitors to do that.

alfredo is right to a certain extent, but I think that when something infects your stomach it isn't necessarily a result of psychological mechanisms. Food can ACTUALLY be contaminated or in a rotting process -- even in the best restaurant -- and make you sick, that's a fact, and it doesn't matter if you're local or foreigner (although it is true that foreigners do not have as many defenses as we do). I've caught terrible infections by eating at "hygienic" places, cause you just can't be 1000% sure that people at those places actually handle the food carefully or that the food was of good quality. But never on the streets.... Sometimes it's just a matter of luck. But, it's not wise to take a chance if you don't need to....

It's true that many people just spread fake information or simply argue and argue over the insecurity topic and the thread could go on and on without reaching a conclusion. That's why I didn't talk in depth about it.... I've done so too many times. I think that only people who travel here can see what the real thing is and then form their particular opinion.

This 'psychological' explanation holds no water with me. Every one has different immune systems as a consequence of where they grew up and what they have been exposed to. So you could have a group of people all exposed to the same food and drink, and all react in different ways. The other thing is, it could be that she used local water to brush her teeth, or got some in her mouth while showering.
Yes, there are lots of bugs in Mexico that lots of us from other parts of the world do not have any kind of immunities to. I had one of the scariest times of my life there where nothing would stay in (either end- sorry if I'm being too graphic) and I was in pain no matter what position I sat/lay in.
It happens. The only way to be really safe is never to eat raw food etc, but when you're craving for fresh food, you take the risk and you pay for it.

Three Things to 2 individuals who think im Stupid and English.er im not English Im Welsh,Thats the most insulting thing you can say to a welshman.If your not sure of Where Wales is buy a map.Secondly im not stupid im just cautious like every other sensible human would be.Thirdly if you cant answer a question responsibly then get the f out of here.To everybody else thankyou for all your help.

From Laura to Aldo: ...you're way too narrow minded.

... Gee, I hate people who have no common sense.

Hi Laura, Thanks for the time and effort that you give to this forum.
Please accept this observation in the spirit of goodwill that its given.
May I suggest that you also show more goodwill. If you do then you
won't want to use the hate words that you do above.
They are uncalled for.You can attack opinions but but not the people who
give them. That's a NO NO.It's a deterrent for people who may want
to join in but who are put off by such unkindness to others.

It's a free exchange of opinions and facts here. No one should feel
put down or be flamed for giving them. Whether you agree or disagree
it should never become a matter of one being right or another one
being wrong. No one deserves to be judged harshly by anyone else.

Unfortunately, an Education doesn't guarantee to broaden one's mind
and neither does being a world traveler.

That is, unless you came into the world with a mark that distinguishes
you from others and that the gods have deemed gifted enough to place
your opinions above others.
Maybe you do have a sweet-smelling rosebud in place of --
a common old belly button. LOL.

Hi bobsreturn2004,
I know that feeling of being called English since I'm Scottish.
You're right, it pays to be better safe than sorry. Asking
questions is the intelligent thing to do. Again, you're right,
you should expect answers to be given with a sense of
responsibility. Remember, sometimes when it's a second language
people are using it comes across in a different tone than the civil
one that we're accustomed to in the UK because we do have the rhythm
of the language and that makes a big difference.

My husband is Polish and English is his second language. Even after
40 years he still sounds very abrupt when he speaks in English
because he hasn't been able to completely acquire its rhythmn.
It sounds abrupt to others and therefore less civil.
But it's natural to Polish speaking people and sounds right in Polish.

Nevertheless, no comments on these posts should make you feel
upset because that's not acceptable ever. Have fun in Mexico.
Watch out for those lovely senoritas. My son married one three
years ago and I love her like my own daughter. Adios Amigo.