Do you feel safe if Cancun or the Riviera Maya is your most recent vacation destination?  I have vacationed in this area of Mexico since 2012, sometimes 2-3 times p/year, and have felt safe every time.  That doesn’t mean I travel without safety in mind; being a woman I have had to consider certain applicable safety standards in just about every situation I have come across over the years.  So, traveling anywhere, even to my favorite spot in Mexico, requires considering how to keep myself and members of my travel party safe.

There have been various kinds of situations in the last several years which have occurred in Cancun and the Riviera Maya–resort shootings, other cartel-related crimes, the Uber vs. taxi driver conflicts, and the inconvenient smoking ban which, while not a direct safety hazard, negatively affects smokers who choose to vacation in Mexico.  There is also the “rumor”/news? story about some resort employees being associated with the cartels and giving info about resort guests who may be more vulnerable to being targeted for crimes against them.  I consider this last concern to be a rumor for the most part, but there are still things you can do to make yourself less of a target of criminal behavior while vacationing in Mexico.

So, here’s some general safety tips:

• Don’t flash your wealth.  Leave your shiny baubles at home–don’t wear Rolex watches or valuable jewelry while vacationing, it may result in the higher likelihood of being targeted for bauble removal.  Also, when going anywhere outside your resort, only bring along the amount of cash and cards you think you will be using, put the rest in your digital safe in your room.
• Don’t participate in illegal activities.  Purchasing drugs from anyone here can potentially turn into a very messy situation.
• Use only ATM’s in well-lit, popular locations.  Banks, supermarkets, and resorts are fairly safe places to use ATM’s here.
• Be careful when taking a taxi.  Take only regulated taxis (those that are metered), especially after late night partying.  Try not to take a taxi if you are by yourself; if you have to do so, don’t share it with any strangers besides the driver, and ALWAYS sit in the back.  Try and negotiate a fare before you get into the taxi, so know what the fare should be before you get in.  Try and stay at a resort which is within walking distance to party central, in the Hotel Zone there are quite a few nice resorts where you can walk back and forth to and from the clubs.
• Practice safety when walking around.  Don’t walk in non-lit or sketchy areas, try and walk with a group of individuals if at all possible.
• Don’t walk the beach at night.  I know it’s very tempting to do so, but don’t walk the beach at night.  Beaches in Mexico are public, even at all-inclusive resorts, so that means anyone could be walking along the beach with you.  While resorts have security guards who try and monitor this situation, they cannot be all places at all times, so just leave beach walking to the daylight hours.
• Keep your personal resort information to yourself.  While you will have plenty of opportunities to make new friends while at a resort, don’t give them info like your room number.  Arrange to meet them in busier resort areas.
• If your drink tastes “funny”, don’t drink it.  This sounds like I’m stating the obvious, but if you are in a foreign country like Mexico you may make excuses for funny tasting drinks–“well drinks” (drinks using local booze) can taste different.  It’s an all-inclusive people, you’ve already paid for your drinks so go to a different bar and order another–this time around make a specific choice of alcohol and watch the bartender make it him/herself.
• Don’t take colectivos (public shared vans that the locals use) at night.  Colectivos are very popular and cheap forms of transportation mostly used by locals for getting around the Riviera Maya.  Do not take them at night, period.
• Women should always travel with others when going out at night.  Do I even need to say this to other women?  Hopefully not.
• Be aware of your surroundings when on the beach, even during daylight hours.  While they don’t occur with any regularity, beach shootings are typically a result of cartels targeting specific beach vendors who actually do more than peddle cigars or trinkets…If you see unusual activity concerning motorized water craft, it’s best to just get up and quickly walk to the next resort’s beach.  If it’s a false alarm, you’ve gotten your exercise in for the day!

Do these safety suggestions sound familiar?  They should, most are common sense rules we all follow to stay safe anywhere in the world.

Below is a video about the current disruptions affecting Cancun and the Riviera Maya.  Hopefully you can take all this info and use it to have one of the best and safest vacations ever!  If you have any additional suggestions about safe travels in Mexico, please post them in the comments section below.

See you in Cancun!