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Cancun

We are supposed to go to Cancun on Sept 2 for a week vacation. We are staying at an all inclusive resort. With all the crime going on there, are we safe to go if we spend most of our time in the resort?

Posted by
7049 posts

The above link has no info to worry about. It says:
"Yucatan (includes Merida and Chichen Itza): No advisory is in effect."
I'm not sure why contacting the State Department would do any good. The Yucatan has traditionally been too isolated from the rest of Mexico to have issues. Mexico is huge and their tourist zones are really important to them because they bring in tons of revenue and lift a lot of people out of poverty.

There is no "all the crime going on there". A resort in Cancun is basically a self-protected bubble where you're cordoned off from the rest of the city in a long hotel zone stretching the lagoon. Go and you'll see. I've been there several times, rode local and long-distance buses there, spent time in and out of Cancun and the Yucatan, and had no issues.

I would not spend most of my time at the resort - there are too many wonders like world-class Mayan ruins that require getting out of Cancun. The beach is the best (and only great) part of being in the hotel zone.

Posted by
240 posts

We go to Cancun a lot and have never had a problem. We stay at Moon Palace but usually leave the resort quite a few times to go into town and do activities. Ive never not felt safe there.

Posted by
70 posts

No, I was referring to all the crime and killing I saw in the Los Angeles Times and on TV.

Posted by
7049 posts

I take it you mean this....? I wasn't even aware of it. Last time I was in Cancun and western coast of Yucatan was Dec 2016.
http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-cancun-warning-20170822-story.html

If you're that worried, simply don't stay in Cancun. Stay in Valladolid (halfway to Chichen Itza) or Merida on the western coast (www.booking.com has really nice properties as far as lodging goes). There is no State Department warning for those areas. There are many more delightful places to stay than Cancun, but you'll miss the incredible beach which is probably the main reason you're going there. I find the hotel/tourist zone to be so isolated from local life (including downtown Cancun, which I visit every time) that I wouldn't give it a second thought, but to each his own.

Posted by
7731 posts

I'm not sure why contacting the State Department would do any good.

I'm not sure why contacting Rick Steves Europe travel forum would do any good.

Posted by
4495 posts

I meant to post a more thorough article and not to imply that there was just a tainted alcohol issue.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2017/07/20/all-inclusive-resorts-mexico-suspected-drugging-tourists/490429001/

People at all inclusives along the Riviera Maya have passed out and awakened half naked with concussions and broken bones and having been robbed or sexually assaulted. Medical centers and ambulances seem to be in also on an overcharging scheme that follows.

I was briefly in Cancun last December and had a wonderful experience at one of the few remaining non-all inclusives.

Posted by
7049 posts

Another good reason not to stay at an all-inclusive (although I stayed at my friend's timeshare which is part of an all-inclusive, I believe...the timeshare didn't come with those food/drink benefits). Or simply don't partake of the alcohol. I've had alcohol in restaurants in Cancun (mostly downtown) without any incident...mostly bottled Bohemia beer. Most bad things, of all kinds, happen when alcohol is involved. Just tempering your alcohol intake will increase your safety anywhere because you'll be more self-aware.