Louisiana Asks – Is It Safe to Travel to Mexico?

For many residents of Louisiana Mexico has been a vacation destination of choice. Whether it's to stay at an all-inclusive resort on the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, or the Pacific Ocean or just visit those destinations as part of a cruise vacation Mexico is usually pretty high on our list of "places we'd like to go".

However, recent violence and unrest in Mexico, including the kidnapping and killing of American tourists have many travelers a bit uneasy about visiting Mexico on holiday. While there are always inherent dangers associated with traveling outside of the United States those dangers appear to have been amplified in parts of Mexico over the past several months.

The United States Department of State regularly issues travel advisories for those who have plans to leave the country. Currently, there are travel warnings posted for some parts of Mexico. Unfortunately, some of those warnings and advisories do include some of the favorite destinations of Americans.

For those who are considering a visit to Cancun or Cozumel the State Department is suggesting "increased caution for crime and kidnapping" when visiting the State of Quintana Roo. If you're not up on your Mexican geography, Quintana Roo is the state where both Cancun and the island of Cozumel are located.

A similar warning from the U.S. Department of State has been issued for Americans with travel plans to Baja California Sur. That's the state where you will find Cabo San Lucas and other resorts along Mexico's Baja Peninsula. Again the warning for Cabo and the surrounding area is "increased caution for crime and kidnapping".

The State Department warning is a bit sterner for those who might be considering travel to the Mexican State of Guerro. That's where you'll find the beaches of Acapulco. The State Department has placed Guerro under the "Do Not Travel Too" heading. The primary reason for the warning is simply stated as "crime".

The State Department's warnings also caution visitors to Mexico, whether they are on business or holiday to be mindful of when they travel within the country. The edict from the State Department actually curtails the travel of US Government employees within Mexico and limits some travel to only daylight hours.

Despite these concerns from the US Government, we should note that many of the resorts in Mexico have added more security to their properties and the Mexican Government works very diligently to make sure that visitors and tourists are safe. For the most part, if you stay on the resort property you should be fine. However, it's a trip between your ship or the airport where you might find yourself feeling a little more vulnerable than you care to feel.

It would be a very good idea to consult a travel expert or travel agency and get their input on the better and safer resorts should Mexico be in your travel plans. A travel professional could probably help you move your trip to another locale such as Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, or the US Virgin Islands or British Virgin Islands where travel concerns are not as great.

As always, know before you go, and don't dress like you have money.