Travel to Mexico in Jan. 2022?

No matter how many times you pose this question, the answers are still the same....
No one knows. Keep tabs on their vaccination efforts over time and keep up with any articles either online or though major news outlets, that's all you can do. It's only March. There are many months to go, and you'll know a little more with each passing month. I'm sure someone will jump in here and tell you that you can go right now. That's true. You can. Mexico is desperate for tourism dollars, they've never closed. But it's your choice, your risk level.

Sorry for reposting. Should have let some months pass. Is there any good Mexico travel forum to post on besides here? Thank you.

I don't post on other travel sites but I'm sure there are better ones out there than this one for Mexico (Lonely Planet may be an option, but I'm not sure.....https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-mexico/mexico). One thing you can do is perhaps send a private message to Lane who is a regular here and actually lives in Mexico. He may have an interesting perspective or may point you to some news sources that are not as accessible or read here (for what it's worth though, I think Reuters, New York Times, Deutsche Welle and others do a solid job of reporting on Mexico). Anyway, you can find Lane on this thread...just use the PM function to send him a note:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/pandemic-travel

Thorntree forum closed some months ago....for posting new questions. But I haven't checked this month.
Why not lurk over on TripAdvisor forums - let's say, until December?
Also, let's get real. Americans have been heading to Mexico from the moment it became open. Add the other global travelers. And we know that covid continues to be spread by those moving outside their immediate areas. Mexico needs tourism dollars, but at some time one needs to ask 'at what cost?' Ask your conscience how you would feel with reciprocal activities to local areas with high local population, but less than adequate health care?
Your new CDC rules state that travel should be limited and both domestic and international travel should only be if 'necessary'.
We just don't know enough to answer these questions, but I would say - don't plan for January.

Lane here!

We have a saying here whenever we wonder about what public services will be provided when, or whenever the power goes out or the internet is slow or stores are closed on days when they're supposed to be open or ATMs are out of money or the neighbors play loud music at 3am:

"It's Mexico."

That means, in part, we learn to just take things as they happen and not worry about things that don't happen the way we expect. It also means not trying to count on any particular outcome in the future.

We were told those over 60 would be able to start getting vaccinated in February. They did start vaccinating people over 60 in February, but only those who live in remote rural communities. Then this month they started vaccinating in other communities where there are a lot of poor people. No one knows when vaccines will be available in any of the locations you mention.

Personally, I would not plan a trip to Mexico until you know for sure what the situation is. Even in the best of times, things here can be unpredictable. After living here almost two years, I've gotten accustomed to the "It's Mexico" way of life. And it is paradise if you don't let those things bother you. But it's Mexico, even more so during this pandemic.

Thanks for the assist, Lane! You're awesome. That's why this forum is so great... so many kind people who are willing to pitch in with their knowledge and experience.

In Mexico, it's "mañana, mañana, mañana"....life is laid back and you just go with it. I hope you get to visit one day, it's an incredible country.

Mexico is open for travel right now.

The U.S. State Department has a travel advisory for Mexico, owing to Covid and crime.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/mexico-travel-advisory.html

Only you can determine if it's safe or comfortable enough for you.

Flame away.

The Mexico forum over on TripAdvisor might be worth a look.

Before you begin planning an international trip, it’s a good idea to check travel.state.gov as Brad mentioned. Here are the steps that will help give you the information needed (> means to click on the link):
www.travel.state.gov > International Travel > Country Information > enter Mexico in the Learn about your destination field > enter.
Mexico is a level 3 which means to reconsider travel because:
Reconsider travel to Mexico due to COVID-19. Exercise increased caution in Mexico due to crime and kidnapping. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory.
If you scroll down, you’ll see Enroll in STEP on the right. By enrolling in STEP, you'll be well informed on what you need to know.

The vibe I get is probably it's a no go for next year, Jan. 2022. I know it's unpredictable.

Thanks to each one who posted. Thanks, Lane.

My impression is that many or most of the frequent contributors to this forum are aged approximately 50 to 85. While those with a lot of experience traveling can share better wisdom on average than me, the older somebody is, the more hypercautions they need to be about catching diseases - a disease that wouldn't be serious for me could be sever or fatal to somebody 2x my age. Not that I think it is ok for me to catch coronavirus-2019 or develope coronavirus-2019 disease. I actually never caught the disease and my plan is to never get it. I actually have tickets to fly to Spain in October of this year, 2021. My best prediction is that there will never be a special day when, in terms of this pandemic, it suddenly becomes safe to visit Mexico. It will never be more safe than today to visit Mexico. January 2022 will not be safer than now. If you keep waiting for somebody to tell you it is safe to visit Mexico because the pandemic is "now over", you will never visit Mexico.

My real suggestion is, visit Mexico as soon as you are willing and able to get the time off work. Just don't drink the tap water, be careful about what water you wash the produce you buy in Mexico with, read the guidebooks carefully and pay attention to what neighborhoods the writers suggest you visit and which ones they suggest you avoid, and possibly talk to your doctor about how to avoid malaria, and gastritis caused by norovirus, rotovirus, or food poisoning, and so on. I actually had some severe gastrointestinal symptoms right here in my home town last September; the doctor at the hospital finally decided that I had a virus in my digestive tract. But I had zero problem with my respiratory tract, so I know it wasn't influenza or coronavirus-2019. As I remember, you already had ccoronavirus-2019 and you already got vaccinated, so you should be well protected against further coronavirus-2019 infection, plus you are not going to eat too close to strangers, so I think your risk of getting the disease again is negligible. I would be interested in hearing how your trip worked out.

Edit: regarding crime: crime-stastics cover an entire city, state, or country. If you read the statistics about other countriex and cities, in Mexico, Europe, and everywhere, and you worry too much, you would never travel more than a few miles from home. The statistic don't accurately tell you whether you personally could safely stay in a hotel in a city and safely travel from your hotel to museums and monuments. I know analogies are not persuasive - The city of Detroit is known as an unsafe place, but most of the crime is in the ghetto, gang-infested residential areas. I have been to the Detroit Institute of Art with my family, and to other sites alone, in and near downtown Detroit, without a problem.

Thank you, Mike. I'm itching at the bit to go to Mexico. I had a chance to go in high school, but turned down an offer to go from my parents. I think some high school group was going then. I took French in high school, but studied Spanish in college. I am fluent and could converse easily with the ppl in Mexico.

Want to go. Badly.

I am considering a trip to Mexico in Jan. 2022

My wife and I, along with another couple, have booked a trip to Oaxaca to coincide with Mexican Independence Day in September of this year. I had no hesitation after doing some research and talking to others who've been there before and during the pandemic and the absolutely rock-bottom flight and hotel prices (r/t, business class for two, sea-oax, was less than $2k; amazing hotel for $60 a night) sealed the deal. Since I will receive my vaccine tomorrow and my wife not long after that, I'm not worried about contracting or spreading the disease. I've read that the good people of Oaxaca would prefer tourists wear masks, a reasonable request I'm willing to follow.

You mention covid safety: I suspect you'll be fully vaccinated by July at latest, so 1/22 sounds perfectly reasonable.

Honestly, I suspect there'll be a lot more travel going on later this year than people assumed there'd be only a couple of months ago.

-- Mike Beebe

We're leaving for Los Cabos on March 16 for 5 days and plan to social distance and be careful. Our philosophy is there is always risk in living your life.

Since I will receive my vaccine tomorrow and my wife not long after
that, I'm not worried about contracting or spreading the disease.

I don't believe it's known (as of today) whether the vaccine prevents transmission. We only know that it is effective in preventing the person from getting severely sick or worse. So what about the unvaccinated people (in Mexico or other struggling country with a low vaccination rate) coming into contact with a vaccinated person who is potentially shedding some virus? By January, I think you'll have a better picture of what that risk is, if any.

I don't know how you socially distance in Mexico unless you go to some all-inclusive and avoid mixing with hardly anyone. In the colonial city I spent a lot of time in (in the western Yucatan), it's dense and the sidewalks are narrow and markets are crowded.

If you want to go to Mexico so badly, Mexico is open and there are great deals right now. Could be the perfect opportunity for you.

As others have indicated, be smart and take precautions and be a good citizen. Of course, if you feel that you are in a more vulnerable category or have significant worries or discomfort about the situation, you can be ultra-precautious...beyond masking, social distancing and proper hand-washing and safety....Vulnerabilities or fear might even nix the trip. But, if you don't feel safe or comfortable, consider to rent a car or hire a driver instead of public transportation; bring or buy extra cleaning supplies for your hotel/apartment; give yourself more than 6 feet and limit situations where not reasonably possible; cross off some public venues from your visit.

Yes, if you have the vaccine. Also, consider Cuernavaca and Taxco as well as Puebla.

We have booked a trip for Jan. 2022. I'm just not gonna live life in fear or worry. This doesn't mean we would never consider postponing. If the country doesn't make improvement from now through Dec., we could postpone until summer 2022 or Nov. 2022.

But I believe Mexico will slowly get moving in the right direction. And I am paying now on a trip roughly 8 days to Mexico City, Guadalajara, Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende.

Have always wanted to travel in Mexico. Very excited about it. I will be vaccinated soon. My wife will be, too.

a trip roughly 8 days to Mexico City, Guadalajara, Guanajuato and San
Miguel de Allende

I think you're trying to pack too much into 8 days...these cities are quite far apart (Guadalajara to Mexico City is a bit over 1 hour by plane, so that should give you some indication). Is this a guided tour or are you doing it on your own? If so, calculate the distances between all these cities to get a realistic picture of how much time you will spend just in transit going from one to another. Plot it out day-by-day on the calendar and you'll see what I mean. A chunk of every other day will be taken up just sitting on a bus getting to the next place (the last two you mentioned are close together, thankfully).

I say "less is more". Mexico City is HUGE. I can't imagine spending 2-3 days there and then trying to cram all the others in too. Cut down and you'll have a more sane trip. Or at least consider flying into Guadalajara and out of Mexico City (or vice versa) instead of a round-trip to/from Mexico City, so at least you're not backtracking.

Yes, Agnes, it's a guided tour. But I get your point. We will have a tour guide. I am also very fluent in Spanish.