‘Is it safe to go to Mexico?’ We hear that question weekly. And the answer is always yes, if you know where to go and do your research.
Despite increased reports of grisly drug-war murders that tend to cluster in northern border zones, travel to Mexico did edge back up a bit in 2010. Still many more potential visitors are passing on Mexico – or even staying aboard the cruise ship when it docks at places like the essentially crime-free Cozumel.
Before brushing a Mexico trip aside this year, consider that about 245,000 square miles are free from the State Department’s warning list and it neatly matches areas people usually visit (Cabo, Cancún, Cozumel, Tulum, Mexico City, Oaxaca, San Miguel de Allende).
Recently, the San Francisco Chronicle listed the five safest Mexican states to visit, in terms of per-capita drug-related homicides (per Mexican government statistics). We’d like to add to the list by zeroing in on our eight top places to visit (there are dozens of other candidates), in terms of travel appeal and safety record. None are on the US State Department’s warning list.
1. Mexico City
There really is no more fascinating city in the world than Mexico’s misunderstood capital. With a population of over 21 million (and a crime rate about a third of Washington, DC’s), Mexico City had a serious scrub-up for its bi-centennial, and now some places like mariachi-filled Plaza Garibaldi are considered (like Times Square in New York) safe enough to be a ‘Disney version’ of its former gritty self. Also, many restored colonial buildings show details long obscured by years of pollution build-up. Meanwhile, this ancient city built over a filled-in lake has Aztec canals, pyramids, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo’s old studio, and hipster dining in chic eateries of the Condesa and Polanco. That and a million other things.
Soak up the 21st-century style at the great B&B Red Tree House, built in an ultra-stylish 1930s home in Condesa. Rooms start at $79.
2. Mérida
Four hours inland from Cancún, Mérida is ‘real Mexico,’ a colonial city of 750,000 lived-in and loved by locals and near several days’ worth of superb daytrips. It’s not only an underrated add-on from a beach vacation, but a destination in its own right. The city’s best on weekends, when the historical core – a scene of 17th-century cathedrals made from Mayan bricks – closes to vehicles and fills with open-air stages, taco stands and much life. By day, the Ruta Puuc is an easy DIY bus loop of Uxmal and four other interesting Mayan sites. To the northwest, you can tour flamingo-filled mangroves at the fishing village of Celestún.
Los Arcos is a fun B&B, with courtyard pool and art-filled rooms, made from a 19th-century home.
3. Todos Santos
If you’ve not been – and most haven’t – circle ‘Todos Santos’ for the next Baja trip. Sure, some long-timers say it’s not what it used to be, as popularity has swelled (and its ‘gringo: Mexicano’ ratio has evened out), but it still beats the Cabo San Lucas condos for laid-back sense of peace in Baja Sur (incidentally one of Mexico’s safest states). A couple hours from the Cabo or La Paz airports, it’s a mountain-backed artist community near very good surfing beaches. You can easily drive into Sammy Hagar bars and boat trips at Cabo, then return for the quiet at night. Plus the Hotel California here likes to claim it’s the Hotel Califoria (it isn’t, but don’t tell them we said so).
Learn to surf at Pescadero Surf Camp, complete with lessons and (yay!) a BYO swim-up bar. If it’s just comfort you want, Posada La Posa is one of Baja’s most atmospheric inns.
4. San Miguel de Allende
Yes, it’s obvious, and with reason. A bit of an American-expat go-to of the silver towns of the central highlands north of Mexico City (and two hours from the León airport), San Miguel de Allende is a stunner, with any worry of drug violence a distant rumor. The town itself – as seen in Robert Rodriguez’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico – is the main attraction. A Unesco World Heritage site since 2008, the town of 62,000 is filled with handicraft shops, 17th-century cathedrals, botanic gardens, organic farmer restaurants and lovely (sometimes luxe) guesthouses.
San Miguel’s a good spot to study Spanish or cooking. Set in a colonial building, Academia Hispano Americano is a good choice (and can arrange homestays).
5. Huatulco
If it’s resorts you want, Huatulco is a rare success story in recent resort development. This former fishing village has become the Oaxacan beach resort of choice lately, benefiting from its gentle development plan that keeps much of the 12 miles of sandy shoreline completely unspoiled and the town under six-stories high. Activities can fill several days. Snorkeling, diving, kayaking, surfing, cycling and rafting trips are easy to find, as are tours to waterfalls and coffee farms. There are flights in from Mexico City and Oaxaca City.
The Mediterranean, hacienda-styled Camino Real Zaashila is, by our authors’ estimation, one of the greatest stays on the Pacific Coast. Most of the rooms in the gorgeously landscaped property have private pools.
6. Playa del Carmen
Speaking of forward-thinking resort towns, Playa del Carmen corrects nearly every mistake of Cancún’s Zona Hotelera just up the road of the Yucatán Peninsula. With direct buses to the Cancún airport, the ped-oriented Fifth Ave (‘La Quinta’ – where it’s wise to keep an eye out on your belongings after hours) is lined with bars, nightclubs, take-away tacos and tacky souvenirs. And it’s one block from the water. Yes, it’s touristy (particularly when the cruise ships are in), but you can keep walking north to more remote beaches where the crystal-clear water is home to some of the world’s better snorkeling (even better if you daytrip by boat to nearby Cozumel Island). Also consider renting a car and go cenote-hopping for a surreal dip in rain-filled limestone sinkholes.
A nice mid-range choice, a couple blocks from the main strip, Kinbé Hotel is an Italian-owned hotel with a breezy rooftop terrace and a lush courtyard.
7. Guanajuato
A gorgeous hill town of 16th-century cathedrals and brightly colored homes on alleys ways and plazas lined with laurel trees, Guanajuato is best visited during October’s Festival Cervantino – a serious cultural extravaganza with orchestras, ballet folklórico, modern art, mariachis, Moroccan folk, Mexico City punk bands. And most of it’s free. At any time of year it’s a great hub for laid-back colonial life and a look at a mummy museum, plus a visit could easily be combined with nearby San Miguel de Allende. The town’s 30 minutes from León’s Bajío airport
8. Puebla
A ‘mini Mexico City’ – with a mere 1.5 million residents – Puebla is a colonial wonder city, packed with cathedrals and a wonderful museum devoted to ancient artifacts, and is far more manageable and laid-back than the size attests. The historic center is the place to stay, with building decked in azuelos (painted tiles) and many spots to sample the local taco árabe (Arabic taco), made of marinated pork served on Middle Eastern-style flat bread. (Try Las Ranas at Av 2 Pte 102). More adventurous should ask for escamoles (rice-like ant larvae sauteed in butter). It’s two hours by bus from Mexico City.
I would like to add Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Jalisco to this list of safe places based on personal experience of living here for 17 years and raising our children here. For more information on our wonderful, safe, expat community nestled between the Sierra Madre Mountains and Lake Chapala just 40 minutes outside of the second largest city in Mexico, Guadalajara, just google us or check out my previous blogs where I try to give newcomers a sense of what we have to offer which for us is paradise.