We've found this huge, diverse land to be an inexhaustible source not only of beachy vacation fun but urban sophistication; folkloric fabulousness; spellbinding historic and archaeological sites; culinary wonders; and mucho, mucho más...

 

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Why Mexico City is one of ´5 of Latin America´s Top New Year´s Eve Destinations´

pexels My hometown offers a great mix of modern celebrations and cultural traditions, and on NYE the main celebration happens in downtown´s huge  Zócalo Square, which comes alive with concerts, fireworks, food stands, and of course the countdown to midnight. But there´s also plenty of stylish partying elsewhere, in fun neighborhoods like Condesa, Roma, and Polanco. And by the way, the big local tradition here is eating 12 grapes at midnight, (and take it from me, it´s harder than it sounds!).…

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Why Xochimilco is one of ´10 of the Most Haunted Places to Visit Around the World´

 Troels Myrup One of the manmade islets of Xochimilco, a UNESCO World Heritage group of pre-Columbian canals set up for agriculture, in the 1940s a local man who was unable to save a girl from drowning, and subsequently claimed he would see shadows and hear cries on the island from a soul in torment. In the belief that it would ward them off, he began collectingcastaway dolls - especially those that were old, deformed, or multilated - and festooning them around the island. These days La Isla…

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Nifty (and Gnarly) Puerto Escondido

  Esconced on the lower Pacific ¨Emerald Coast¨ in the state of Oaxaca, the town of Puerto Escondido (which means ¨hidden port¨) was up until the 1960s barely a pinprick on the map, with dirt streets and just a handful of residents mostly devoted to fishing. Then in 1960 a coastal road reached the village, making it accessible to the outside world, and a village hall was built. Most consequentially for tourism, it was during that decade that surfers (pioneered by a group of Venezuelans,…

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  • PLEASE CLICK HERE to help a Tripatino with a question on Cabo and Mazatlan. Gracias!
    Need Cabo and Mazatlan info
    Who knows Cabo? I live in Puerto Vallarta in the winter. Look for my new P.V. web site coming soon Puerto Vallarta Planet Now, I won 3 nights at the…
  • Conditions change from month to month, so I cannot speak for what the situation might be like in any give place right now. But I will say that over the years (including recent years) I have traveled a fair bit around parts of Mexico -- including Mexico City, Sinaloa, Durango, and the border areas of Culiacán -- and have never felt threatened. And the tourist areas in particular do feel insulated and seem better policed. I don't want to minimize the problem, but at the same time I've seen over and over how the media can generate alarm not even on purpose necessarily, but by amplifying bad news and sometimes turning a proverbial molehill into a mountain. I had friends in Europe who back in the 1980s would never for a moment consider visiting New York City because they thought they'd be shot the moment they left JFK. And the area where I'm currently based, Miami, has had plenty of its own bad press, including tourists killed both by accident and on purpose. So as Sylvia Laitre says below, let's be concerned but at the same time try to keep a sense of perspective.
  • These were great links that you all posted-please read my comments on Steve Winston´s blog for specifics (excuse my verbosity as I am passionate about this). Mexico is safe for tourists. Cuernavaca, Morelos is safe and I feel more secure than ever-and that is over 26 yrs and counting! There is a concerted attempt at Mexico-bashing and it has to do with scapegoating a whole country for immigration xenophobia, depressed economy, racism and poor TV news ratings. Even the LA times has a whole section called "Mexico Under Siege" which apparently does not publish any comments that do not fit in with their agenda to promote the image that all of Mexico is violent. I lived in LA for over 25 years and the violence due to drug gangs, anti-police riots, and run-of-the-mill crime (rape, murder, theft, extorsion,etc.) was and is constant in the areas controlled by gangs of all races and groups. If you don´t buy or sell drugs and avoid the violent border towns where the municipal police are being replaced by a new federally trained police force (Mando Unico which is eliminating low-paid and poorly trained corruptable police with a professional, certified police force) you will not only be safe but glad you did not buy the hype...
  • Its an absolute travesty the situation regarding tourism in Mexico, especially Cancun & Riviera Maya where I currently live!
    The effects of 1000's of hotel workers being given forced vacation with no guarantees of a date to return. Hotel chains closing completely due to the huge downturn in visitors. Bars & Restaurants closing completely and many more people out of work.

    The ironic thing is the Tourism Board haven't acted quick enough to combat the the massive injustice the world's press have reported on the problems within Mexico. It's the same old story, "lets lock the gate after the horse has bolted", and a prime example was the H1N1 epidemic "swine flu" saga, when Cancun & Riviera Maya where not even effected, but did the local authorities do anything to allay fears....3 months too late!
    All of the reports I have read, and the posts listed are of the same opinion, that most of the "Tourist Zones" within Mexico are safe, within reason. You wouldn't venture into the downtown of most world cities without maintaining an amount of caution. So why would Mexico be any different !
    It' a crying shame, because I am British, and my wife and family are Mexican. If the situation gets any worse then we may be forced to leave our fabulous home and make home back in England. Eight wonderful years I have lived here, and I will be hoping it could be many more , but we need to make tourists aware of the "real" situation regarding all tourism. Keep up the good work, and together we'll spread the word. http://communitymaya.com
  • I agree with Sylvie's "bad rap." All parts of Mexico I visit (and frequently) are pretty mellow compared to major US cities! Here's a piece from the Economist (headline is a little out there): http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2010/08/mexico .
    Saludos, John
  • Geography is key just as Darryl and Sylvie say. If there's crime in downtown L.A., that doesn't mean there's crime in rural Vermont -- or even in Ojai, just ~90 minutes from LA.
    Places like San Miguel de Allende and Cancun are pretty much untouched by the drug wars. Hell, I don't even consider Cancun to be part of Mexico, and the whole Riviera Maya seems to be turning into a gringo zone. But that's another complaint, one that doesn't appear to alarm the American public one bit.
  • Geography folks! That's what drives me mad. As Darryl mentions, Mexico is a HUGE country and putting a big red dot on the entire nation is wrong on too many levels. I urge you to not only read the link I posted below, but repost wherever you can—if you agree. In fact, here it is again: http://www.mexicopremiere.com/?p=4166
  • I don't think we should ignore Mexico's problems. They're there and we do need to know about them but the sensational nature of the 24 hour news cycle sure does magnify them beyond reason. There are places I wouldn't venture...Juarez has always been a place to keep an eye out over your shoulder even before recent events...but it's a huge country, not just a bad neighborhood across the tracks. I have to admit, the news does jangle the nerves a bit but when I do go across the border, it's not that bad at all and I come home vowing to take the reports I hear with a few grains of salt.
  • Yes. Bad rap. Mexico is being bullied. Here is some perspective on the matter: http://www.mexicopremiere.com/?p=4166
  • Is Mexico getting a bad rap because of the headlines from there these days? Follow the debate and join in on the comment wall here or under member Steve Winston's essay, "A Worrisome Letter From Mexico": http://www.tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/a-worrisome-letter-from-mex...
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