How safe is it to take a summer-long solo road trip around Mexico?
I'm an American male grad student in my mid-20s, and I'm taking the upcoming summer off. I want to take a long solo trip, and Mexico seems interesting. However, lately I've heard so much about the drug violence there, as well as police corruption and other issues. How big of a concern is this for a solo traveler? How does the safety of traveling in Mexico compare to a similar road trip around the U.S.? I appreciate any information at all. Thanks!
Other - Mexico - 8 Answers
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1 :
NOT WITH AMERICAN PLATES. you'll get pulled over and ticketed for speeding even if you've got cruise control set at the speed limit and then they'll find something else wrong with your car to add to the offenses. the only way out of it is paying off the cop or going with him to the station very very corrupt road police. if you want to do it, buy a car in Mexico with Mexican plates and go from there. so long as you aren't an obvious tourist, you'll be fine. it's the people who attract attention to themselves (even something as small as talking about your solo trip to the bartender at a small bar) who can run into trouble like getting mugged.
2 :
The crime is really much worse than publicized, so be warned.
3 :
I have travel in mexico I would not do it alone in some areas it could be miles before you see help. take a friend
4 :
I totally disagree with the answers you got. i am a single American woman living in Mexico and know many others . There are over one million Americans and Canadians living in Mexico...and we are perfectly safe. I am always safe...have no troubles at all whether driving or traveling by bus. There is an immense amount of distorted and misinformation out there about violence in Mexico. Often , it is given by people who have not actually been here. Another person on Answers gave a fantastic article to read about this. See the link below and read that article. It will shed a completely different lite on things. The only time I ever got stopped by a policeman for having American plates , was because he wanted to practice his English with me! There are MANY cars here with American plates...no big deal. See 2nd site for other info you need. You will also need a Mexican road atlas, the Guia Roji...see 3rd site. You may find some poor roads, have car trouble, get lost once in a while..."normal" adventures in Mexico...these things happen to me at times...I don't get bent about it. People are always so willing to help...I have no fear of anyone. and, by the way, Mexican mechanics can fix ANYTHING. I have met so many wonderful people here. I have friends who have had similar experiences. Email me any time , if you like.
5 :
I've been living in Mexico for the past year and traveling to most regions of the country and can tell you that it is safe as long as you follow a few common sense rules: don't buy, sell or carry drugs; don't look like you have money (IPod, laptop computer, cameras, even cel phones, Blackberries, etc.); and don't walk around city streets in the middle of the night or drive on highways at night. It is true that most of the violence and crime is between narcos but there have been some incidences, although rare, where innocent bystanders got caught in the crossfire. Ex-pats and tourists seem to feel pretty safe here especially around Guanajuato, Colima, Yucatan Peninsula and Veracruz/Xalapa where I've traveled and/or lived in the last eight months. We've had to pay morditas (bribes, literaly small bites) to police twice in Mexico. The first time was three years ago in Baja California, we were driving a car with California plates and our Spanish wasn't very good. The last time was just last week in Mexico City driving a Mexican car with Mexican plates. The police obviously saw that we were gringos. Thankfully, my Spanish is much improved and I argued with the cop to cut the mordida in half and he agreed. As for how it compares to similar road trips around the U.S., it is much cheaper to travel here as food, accommodations and gas are less expensive. Just don't drive at night, keep your nose clean and learn some Spanish. Have fun!
6 :
Two good from Charlie and travelwriter. I concur with them. I've driven through 18 of the 31 Mexican states and my only problems were a scratched fender in a hotel parking lot in Coatzacoalcos and a stolen baseball cap when I didn't make sure that ALL the doors were locked. So learn from my experience--hide everything in the trunk. I've never had my pocket picked, but I always wore a money belt under my clothes to contain my passport, tourist card, credit/ATM cards and 90 percent of the money. Then if I had lost my wallet, I would have only lost ten percent of my money. I think you would enjoy the experience more if you could find a kindred spirit to share it with. Why don't you try posting a flyer on a school bulletin board or a ad on craigslist to see if there's somebody out there who wouldn't mind being with you in a car for three months. You don't say anything about your knowledge of Spanish. The minimal you can get by with is the ability to get a room for the night, order a meal and ask directions and understand the answer. That's all I had on my first trip to Mexico. If you don't have that, invest in a phrasebook. Get a Mexico Guide book and start hi-lighting things and dog-earring pages of things you want to see. Then post a blog of you're experience when you get back.
7 :
i wouldn't go by myself if i was you because when you are already in mexico,there are a lot of road checks(i don't know what to call them) if the military people, who do these checks on the roads see you are alone they might search you more, which could be such a hassle. also don't take libre.. it's the way that's free. when you take the other road/freeway or whatever you want to call it, you do have to pay at every caseta, which is when you cross into another city. this can be costly, but it's so much safer. also there are bathrooms & highway patrol at the casetas. its very safe this way. ive been on libre before, and the road is bad! the one that you pay for though is great, my tire was flat one time and the patrol came so fast.
8 :
I took a month long trip last october (2008) through mexico. I flew into Guad and traveled between there and acapulco, mostly hitchhiking and taking the public busses. I mainly traveled solo, carying backpack and surfboards. I NOT ONCE had a problem. Im almost 30 and have been doing these trips since I was 18. My spanish sucks, but I caried a phrase book and the locals were always helpful and nice. PS. I camped for a month in Michoacan, supposedly the most dangerous state in mexico from all the drug cartels. Yeah I heard stories about heads rolling in a nightclub in Lazaro Cardenes and my friend from Morelia about drug cartels' gun battles in broad daylight. Thing is, if you keep to yourself and dont be flashy, you'll be just fine. PSS, becareful in the borders, thats where they get you. All of my trips, no problems anywhere except for the border zone (only in the last few years) though. Dont drive at night, we did and it was scary! Roads seem to end out of nowhere and it'll be on the map. Watch Out! About the roads I just read the above answer: the libre is fine, but the quotas are the way to go. They're expensive, 5-20 USD each, but if you have car troubles the "green angles" will come to the rescue and fix your car, give you gas, etc. Quota will take you 3 hours where a Libre will take you 5-6 hours, just an example. OH- drive through Mex 200 on the pacific coast through Michoacan, its beautiful, reminds me of Hwy 1 up here in Nor Cal.
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