Mexico Travel Warning -Playa del Carmen

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No kidnapped or beheaded at Disney World, but recently a 2-year-old toddler was killed by a crocodile while standing in 6 inches of water. :nonono:
 
NW-Bound said:
No kidnapped or beheaded at Disney World, but recently a 2-year-old toddler was killed by a crocodile while standing in 6 inches of water. :nonono:
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Actually, it was an alligator... But do not worry, Alligators do not attack humans. It is not their natural prey. Millions of people visit FL and never get attacked. It is safe.

When you tempt fate, sooner or later life catches up to you. That is true whether it is a visit to Mexico, or if you are in Florida playing in the alligator infested water. In Mexico, just do not expect that the cops will help you if you need them.
 
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NW-Bound said:
No kidnapped or beheaded at Disney World, but recently a 2-year-old toddler was killed by a crocodile while standing in 6 inches of water. :nonono:
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And if I recall, the parents ignored the warnings that were posted in that area. But hey, WDW is responsible, right? :nonono:

As to the point of this thread, yes, it is usually safer at the resorts. But I think most people visit MX so they can see other stuff. Very rarely have I talked to anyone who stayed at the resort the entire time. And, there is the fact that you still have to GET to the resort, which usually requires a taxi/shuttle ride to get there...so you can't be 100% insulated.
 
There are crocodiles in Mexico too and a guy got killed in the Ameca River earlier this week. We have driven past their warren and they are usually 6 or 8 big crocs there.

There is a beachfront restaurant that serves special margs for USD 1. I have ordered a good marg there and it is 86 pesos instead of 18 pesos. Guess who does not get a headache.

Just watch for taxi drivers. They used to be our friends until Uber came in. Now they think gringos are out to destroy them. And cops are never your friends! At least in Mexico, it is obvious. Back home they talk a good story but seldom give any satisfaction.
 
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Just saw this article about the troubles a couple for New Zealand just experienced in Mexico: Wedding anniversary holiday from hell in Mexico - NZ Herald

Makes me wonder, as more and more Westerners go or relocate to Mexico in part for the inexpensive medical treatment, if the drug cartels have begun to figure this out and are now moving into the medical field to extort people.
 
jollystomper said:
Just saw this article about the troubles a couple for New Zealand just experienced in Mexico: Wedding anniversary holiday from hell in Mexico - NZ Herald

Makes me wonder, as more and more Westerners go or relocate to Mexico in part for the inexpensive medical treatment, if the drug cartels have begun to figure this out and are now moving into the medical field to extort people.
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Hmmm. In October we are going to the Hyatt the couple ran to for their safety.
 
I'm sure it's also safe for many to travel to the Middle East, Turkey, Syria, etc. But when there are so many alternatives without these kinds of issues, why not choose alternative destinations?
 
I won't look for the links to prove it, but we do have alligator attacks on humans--grown humans! not an everyday occurrence but it does happen.
 
kitesurfer2 said:
I won't look for the links to prove it, but we do have alligator attacks on humans--grown humans! not an everyday occurrence but it does happen.
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I'm certainly no expert, but AFAIK crocs, gators, (and many other creatures), are ambushers and opportunists........if they're hungry and the chance presents itself, they'll likely take it.
 
Scuba said:
I'm sure it's also safe for many to travel to the Middle East, Turkey, Syria, etc. But when there are so many alternatives without these kinds of issues, why not choose alternative destinations?
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Like Europe! Oh wait...
 
Like the US! Oh, wait.....
 
Based on this article from yesterday, I suspect that Mexico is safe. I encourage people to go there.

“U.S. citizens have been the victims of violent crimes, including homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery in various Mexican states,” the travel advisory states. It added that “gun battles between rival criminal organizations or with Mexican authorities have taken place on streets and in public places during broad daylight.”
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More than 12,500 people were killed in the first six months of this year, an increase of about 30 percent over the same period in 2016. That puts Mexico on pace for what could be the deadliest year in its post-revolution history.
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In its update, the State Department repeated a 2016 warning that “organized criminal groups may target public and private passenger buses traveling through Tamaulipas. These groups sometimes take all passengers hostage and demand ransom payments. ... Nuevo Laredo has experienced numerous gun battles and attacks with explosive devices in the past year."
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https://www.dallasnews.com/news/mex...artels-fracture-violence-travel-warnings-soar
 
Why is it that people still live and travel to Chicago when it is such a dangerous place! Do they not hear about all the murders, or do they just not believe the fake new?
 
Some people are adventurous and others are cautious. My friend from Canada bought a gun when he moved to Plano to protect his family. I asked him if he felt so threatened and he said "Yes!" even though it was a gated community.

That was 25 years ago and the whole family is still alive. Gun has never been fired. His son even worked in Chicago for several years! But if you live in Texas, fear for family safety seems to be real. He will not go to Mexico.

We do have several families from Texas who live in PV. But they are not from the big cities.
 
kcowan said:
Some people are adventurous and others are cautious....
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I would say most people don't really understand statistics, probability analysis, and real risk assessment.

In my experience, recency bias and individual anecdotes seem much more powerful than rigorous analysis of the available data for the public at large with a charismatic message bearer trumping all.

While I am no expert at any of the above, I have taken advantage of this a few times with a buy when there's blood in the streets mentality. Other times, I have been too frightened myself to pull the trigger and missed opportunities that were staring at me from the spreadsheets.

As far as my travel is concerned:
  • I am buying my next flight to Mexico today truly believing that I am still safer on much of the Yucatán peninsula than I am in many of the metro areas of the USA where I travel for work.
  • I am currently avoiding most African travel for many of the same reasons many from the USA are frightened of Mexico. This is not 100% logical; but, I am not as familiar with or comfort in that region. So, I avoid it for now.
 
We met a couple in PV from Seattle who drank the Koolaid and went to Hawaii for 3 years. Finally they determined that it was fake news and returned to PV, enjoying it much more than Hawaii. (But they had enjoyed it before.)

One of DWs girl friends was a PV regular until her new DH insisted on Hawaii. Now she is trying to scheme how she can introduce him to PV. Because she likes Hawaii but not a much as Mexico but she like DH more!
 
ivinsfan said:
Don't believe everything you read. Mexico is a big county..You want to get out your big paint brush and diss the entire country..kind of glib of you IMO...
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I agree. I recommend that people ignore the current news, so much of it is made up. In the meantime, there are plenty of safe places in Mexico, unless it is not your day...

Five security guards died at an electronic music festival in Playa del Carmen in January, and a July shootout in a nightclub on the city's famed Fifth Avenue injured three. Gunmen shot a police commander outside his home in late July.

Although the crime wave so far is mostly limited to areas outside the resorts where tourists stay, Cancun shows signs of following the ill-fated path of Acapulco. That city was once the granddaddy of Mexican tourist destinations, but now is one of country’s deadliest areas and no longer a mecca for international travelers.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...en-tulum-violent-crime-encroaching/527247001/
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Senator said:
I agree. I recommend that people ignore the current news, so much of it is made up. In the meantime, there are plenty of safe places in Mexico, unless it is not your day...
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Did you want to start pulling selected quotes from the Msp papers? The cops shot and killed a lady that called 911..that doesn't sound too safe either.
 
It is the seeming lack of caring about crime by the police force that concerns me, not exactly the odds of any single person getting shot, stabbed or beheaded at any one time. In the USA if someone assaults me or steals my car, breaks into my home, I can call the police and expect a pretty good response (of course there are the rare outliers). The stories I read about Mexico seem to indicate you cannot expect this type of response from the police there. Is this true? Because that is a showstopper for me.
 
Fermion said:
It is the seeming lack of caring about crime by the police force that concerns me, not exactly the odds of any single person getting shot, stabbed or beheaded at any one time. In the USA if someone assaults me or steals my car, breaks into my home, I can call the police and expect a pretty good response (of course there are the rare outliers). The stories I read about Mexico seem to indicate you cannot expect this type of response from the police there. Is this true? Because that is a showstopper for me.
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And that is the number one thing. The murder solve-ability rate is 2%. It is less than 7% on crime overall. Mexico is a lawless land. I suspect the resort security guards have license to kill, which is a good thing.
 
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