Is Mexico SAFE to Travel? Americans Traveling in Mexico

In this video, we’ll dive into the question: Is it safe to travel to Mexico? We’ll share our personal experience traveling through Central Mexico, offering insights on safety, tips for navigating the area, and what to expect. If you’re considering a trip to Mexico, this is a must-watch!

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[vanizrzr]

Traveled to Mexico 3 times as solo female traveler. Tulum in 2016, San Miguel de Allende in 2022, and then in in 2023 to CDMX, Veracruz, Querétaro and San Miguel de Allende again. Always felt safe and always took precautions too, like not being out late, etc. This year I plan to travel to Oaxaca, can't wait! Viva México 💚🤍❤️

[miguelb.]

We have traveled for years in every part of Mexico. Small towns, big cities mostly by bus. Moved down permanently six years ago. Great lifestyle!

[GPosner]

I’m in Mexico right now and for the next two months. And I have felt safer here than walking around any big city in the US. I couldn’t get into my apartment when I first arrived here and it was 100am. Standing on the street I had several kind folks try to help me gain entry. For those worried about traveling to Mexico I point them to the Global Peace Index ranking of Mexico, #138. The US? #132! Come to Mexico! The food, the people, the culture. All amazing. Don’t let fear keep you from living your dreams.

[GriffinAtplay]

Currently in Mexico for an annual getaway from the cold. We feel safer here than so many places in the US. We just practice normal street sense and behave in a kind, respectful manner to everyone. I’m really glad to hear the bus situation has made such strides, it used to be quite sketchy.

[russellbarnes]

We relocated to Morelia, Michoacan, four years ago. We've never been victimized by ANY crime in Mexico. We've never been ripped off because of being gringos. I've never been robbed, and for sure, I haven't been raped! Crime is everywhere. I feel safer here than I did in my hometown of Reno, Nevada! VIVA MEXICO 🇲🇽

[JimK]

I am a native New Yorker, hence have an internal radar alert system when it comes to crime. I’ve also been vacationing in Mexico for many years, and slow traveled there last April-May. Mexico used to be a bit menacing about 20 years ago, but it is much safer today. We just spent two months in Taiwan and are now in Japan, where crime is so low that I’ve seen women leave their pocketbooks on tables while they went to the restroom, not imagining that it would be stolen. Don’t be naive. Mexico, like the US, is not that level of safe. Just be aware of your surroundings, like any big city in most of the world, know the areas to avoid. At night, Stay in well lit spaces with crowds.

[sheilacollins]

I'm here from US for 3 weeks. I feel very welcomed and safe. Love it here! We are in Playa Del Carmen.

[andylindsayvlog]

I spent 2 weeks driving all over the Yucatan Penninsula in December. We went all along the coast and inland. We had no problems at all.

[SafeToursMexico]

It's refreshing to see content that showcases the beauty of Mexico! ❤️

[johnfisher]

I have been to Mexico many times over the past 50 years, both touristic and gritty. This is my take: If you go where the tourists go, if you stay close to where the expats are, if you stay in nicer accommodations in big cities (and take taxis and don’t wander too far from the upscale or tourist areas), then you are safe, surely safer than parts of Richmond, CA, where I currently live. If you want to see the rest of Mexico, the working class, the not-so-nice parts, the way 90% of the population live and make their livings, it is much harder to judge what is safe and what is not—and if you only do what is “safe” in those areas, you might as well not go. I will bore you with a story. About 9 years ago (at age 65 or so), I went to Monterrey by myself for two weeks. I knew the city’s reputation. I wanted to see it. Also, I needed some dental work. Also, I love women’s tennis and there was a WTA tournament there. In picking an AirB&B, I triangulated between downtown, the dentist and the tennis club. I like to walk, so mostly I did. From my apartment to the tennis club (which was up the hill, where the rich folks live), it was about an hour’s walk, about half through a very poor part of town. I remember the dry river bed being used as the local dump. Although it was poor, maybe even seedy, I did not feel unsafe (although, in retrospect, maybe I should have!). There was nothing anywhere in that part of town that looked even remotely like the streets and neighborhoods you feature in your videos. One day, halfway down the hill from the tennis tournament, there was a man watering his lawn in front of his very nice house with his very nice car in the driveway. He called me over and we chatted about what I was doing and why I was there. Somehow, where I was staying and the fact that I was walking back and forth and the route I took came up. At the end of our conversation he looked at me with a combination of bemusement and concern, and he said, “Good luck. I hope you live.” Which I did! And I kept walking the same route every day. Obviously, I am not very risk averse, and you may read this and think, “This guy is crazy.” Perhaps. But if you want to see what life is really like in the places you go, then you have to go where real life is actually lived, and you are not doing that if you don’t go to those places. Or if you just look at them through the window of your taxi or bus as you speed by from one nice place to the next, and you feel sorry for the people you see—the poverty and desperate striving and trying to make a life out of almost nothing, and the ugliness that you encounter in almost all of the world, just around the corner from the clean cobblestone streets, the native handicraft kiosks, and the welcoming restaurants with smiling men and women beckoning you to come in. It’s up to you: stay in the tourist bubble where all the people are the nicest people in the world and the food is tasty and the beer is cold and you are saving SO much money—or venture (way) out of your comfort zone and see what the world is really like.

[GringosOnTheGulf]

So you were not driving in Mexico? We have been traveling around Mexico in our car for over 3 years now with no issues. Yet (knock on wood) glad you enjoyed your time in Meixo. Cheers from 2 Canadians living in Mexico! ✌🏽

[siouxrose]

I am writing this from San Miguel De Allende. I flew into Mexico City as a 70 year old single traveler. Took a taxi to my (only $60 a night) hotel in Centro (just 2 blocks from the President's Palace).

I did not venture far at night for a quick bite. There was a decent Taco cafe near the hotel.

In the morning I went off walking and had to go to a few banks before I could convert my U.S. dollars to Pesos.

I took a cab (about $13.00 dollars) to the South bus station. This is tricky since Mexico City is huge and it has four major bus stations. These are very efficient and the buses are quite luxurious with little private movie panels and good comfy seating.

I got a bus from the South terminal (a good line is ETN) to Cuernavaca (about $10 U.S.)

Since Uber was not working on my phone (a mystery I will have to resolve), I had to take a cab from the bus station to my hotel. It was a gorgeous property with huge gardens and outside dining in those gardens. For $80 U.S. a night, the room is more like a living room suite!

Watching people travel inside Mexico, I was drawn to Tepoztlan, a Pueblo Magico and took a bus there. It's only 35 pesos! But one needs to use Uber or a cab to get to the bus station, and Cuernavaca has more than one.

Tepoztlan is tiny but its main attraction are this trio of sacred mountains where Indigenous people (for centuries) did rituals. It also has a giant ice cream emporium on the main street in town. It's known for its exotic flavors.

Google was really inaccurate when I tried to figure out how to get from Cuernavaca (just over an hour south of Mexico City) to San Miguel de Allende (about 5 hours north of Mexico City). By luck, when I returned (via cab) to the same bus terminal and got the bus back to Mexico City's south terminal, that happened to be where the bus to San Miguel departed! They even had a VP lounge!

That bus was great. It stopped in Querretero which is like this shiny, modern city on a hill. The passenger next to me raved about Querretero but it was not my thing. My goal was to check two properties in San Miguel.

I shared an Uber with a man from the bus. The bus station in San Miguel is not far from Centro and public buses (less than 50 cents, like 10 pesos) do travel up San Miguel's winding exotic streets.

I think I found my next home! And tomorrow after I meet with an immigration attorney to understand the legal aspects, I am heading back to the bus station for a trip to Guanajuato. People recommended it and I wanted to get a sense of that magic town before committing in San Miguel.

The JOY in the streets is palpable in San Miguel. There is always something to celebrate. The pink church--Parochia--is stunning, and as foodies known, there are some great restaurants.

My current hotel is pricier than all of the other ones (which ranged from $60-80 per night)... but the location is fabulous, a breakfast tray is brought up to my room so i can dine on my own balcony. (Some treats are "worth the price of admission.")

Knowing it was pricey, I opted for just an appetizer at "Quince." A restaurant near the main town square or Zocolo. They have a great DJ, you see the church illuminated from the upstairs balcony, and they even had a tightrope walker to entertain guests!

I hope to move back to San Miguel in March. I head back to Mexico City on Friday and then back to the U.S. where the new administration may well succeed in raising tariffs/prices, alienating Canada, potentially cutting Social Security and Medicare... so I am planning an exit strategy to an area with a lower cost of living and decent medical services.

I wrote this out since I watch your travels and feel that ours are overlapping currently!

[king_jamz]

I'm 36 from Sacramento California and been looking to travel more...love your videos and you chemistry and balance of personalities.... you both give great info and inspire me and show how possible it is to travel. Many people think it's close to impossible or way to dangerous but it's really not if done right... you do a great job expressing that

[PelicanNorth]

My daughter lived in Mexico for a year after college and lived with a family as she did a service project. Some of the people in that Mexican family expressed concern about traveling to the US because they heard about all of the school and mall and grocery store shootings in the news. The name for this is availability bias and it happens everywhere. Media reports concentrate one small event at one small time and place and then people conflate it with reality across the whole region or country. It does not mean that the risk is zero at any place. It just means that it is likely less than what you think it is. (This also includes another cognitive bias called recency bias.)

[toffeeboilingdwarf]

Many thanks for this one, guys. We’re planning to extend our world tour to Mexico this time next year. This is EXACTLY the video we needed to reassure us that it’s all going to be just fine as long as we do our homework 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻.

[cerdayes]

We’ve been up and down and haven’t had any issues. My wife and I can’t wait to move.

[pamelanurse]

I totally agree with your assessment. I have been to Mexico many times as a solo traveler and feel very safe here. My biggest concern is tripping on the uneven sidewalks and falling and breaking something.

[truenativebullies]

Thanks guys! Hoping to come this year! Your video was very helpful!

[lisandrogomez]

I’m Mex American and live in the USA California. I’ve gotten robbed in the US, but funny thing I guess I’m lucky I’ve never gotten robbed in Mexico and I go quite frequently. I belive It can happen anywhere in any part of the world. Same thing in LA there is also violence.

[alphamale]

I agree…. I travel all the time all over Mexico even with my family and feel safer than I do here in the US… don’t let the media scare you