<p>We are a Riviera Maya vacation famly…Playacar Palace, Xpu Ha Palace, Barcelo Maya, Aventura Spa Palace, The Royal and Riu Palace Rivera Maya in March. We love it and have no reserrvations about going there.</p>
<p>My 20-year old S announced that he and 4 friends (one of whom was Mexican) were going to fly to LA, pick up a friends car, and then drive (14 hours!) to Cabos San Lucas, where the Mexican friend had family during Spring break. After doing a little bit of research, I thought this was an awful idea–driving across border areas, need to get Mexican insurance and what to do if stopped by police for any reason, bad roads with potholes and worse drivers – and then the stories about armed groups of thugs/carjackers. We sent him the State Department Warning, and he thinks we’re being alarmist, but is now considering flying to Cabos instead. I understand the “male bonding” these guys would have on their adventure, but it just struck us as too risky.
He’s over 18, though and paying for the trip, so ultimately it’s his call.</p>
<p>Momof3. Sanborn’s is a good choice for car insurance according to the motorcycle folks I know. There are others. As usual I over-insured and added medivac/mexican health insurance. Even at my age it was de minimus. At college age a week will cost him less than twenty bucks. Effective? HellifIknow, but I figured it was better than nothing and it was cheap. </p>
<p>They need to check in at the Banjercito (if it’s like the Mexican state we entered) and get their importation permit (and make their deposit). AFAIK they do NOT need to pay for their tourist permit if their stay will be less than 7 days but VERIFY that exactly. I know some Mexican border states have rules that aren’t as restrictive. Some may be more. Check the rules as a car not titled to the driver could get very interesting indeed. We couldn’t even tow a trailer not titled to us so we just left truck and trailer in McAllen. . If the owner IS going it would be waaay easier.</p>
<p>Biggest driving tip? Mexican driver’s are VERY skilled at their use of blinkers. It is a communication tool (to signal their intention as to what the drivers ARE doing, not what they are asking to do :eek:, not just a legal requirement to be ignored.) They’ll get the hang of it if they pay attention. </p>
<p>North Minnesota, Nephew #1` and spouse just returned from the Barcelo Maya and had a great time.</p>
<p>teri, p.m me and I’ll give you my sis’s e-mail (although she’s in NYC with our sister and niece right now doing the college theatre interview “thang”. If you’re lucky maybe you’ll even get the 'smudge’s ;)). </p>
<p>I hear that you can beg/bargain/whine for more premium restaurant slots. They may have some more hints. The manager of one of the properties used to contribute on the TripAdvisor forums (Riviera Maya and maybe Tulum or Akumal specific). You can find my questions from waay back in 06 by searching screenname “slowoldguy” (my motorcycle persona).</p>
<p>Re: Cabo, I would definitely advocate flying rather than driving. The other thing I would say is be very wary of Senor Frogs! Sr. Frogs and other similar establishments are in the business of getting these college kids very drunk. If you have ever been to one and observed this you know what I mean. It is beyond the pale.</p>
<p>curmudgeon…we are really looking forward to soaking up some sun at Riu Palace in Playa in a few weeks. Love that area of Mexico.</p>
<p>Yes, the Barcelo Maya is a lovely place. One of the best beaches ever!</p>
<p>My uneducated guess is that an American college kid is more at risk of an alcohol related death or becoming the victim of violence perpetrated by another American college kid than being killed or kidnapped by a Mexican drug dealer. Both risks exist, I just suspect the former is a greater risk.</p>
<p>Cancun is looking better and better to me as we plan to drive from NC to Boston tomorrow with snow in the forecast.</p>
<p>Spot on, imo. ^^^</p>
<p>I live near enough to the border, and most people in my city won’t go to Mexico anymore. There is a huge chance that something could happen to you by the drug wars-especially if you are white. It’s really scary- we hear about beheadings and kidnappings almost every day on the news.</p>
<p>Actually there is not a huge chance that something will happen to you “especially if you are white.” If you are any color and of extraordinary known wealth, kidnapping could be a concern for you.</p>
<p>However, if you are white and not of such wealth and not part of the narco-world, violence is not targeted at you and you are extremely unlikely to be part of any “collateral” damage. There is extremely little of that. Just because you see it or read it in the news… does not mean it’s true. There is remarkable emotive misinformation out there in the media.</p>
<p>More and more press coverage is providing an accurate picture… of what it is <em>really</em> like to be in Mexico (where I am as we speak): [PD</a> EDITORIAL: Mexico crisis | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA](<a href=“http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090326/OPINION/903259838/1015/SPORTS0402?Title=PD-EDITORIAL-Mexico-crisis]PD”>http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090326/OPINION/903259838/1015/SPORTS0402?Title=PD-EDITORIAL-Mexico-crisis)
Press in San Diego, Los Angeles and here in Mexico are disseminating more factual information about safety in this area. Of course, other media outlets prefer to re-run the sensationalized accounts - re-running old footage of gory killings. I am one who knows first hand that, while no place is guaranteed safe from danger (witness coeds killed in Vermont, Chapel Hill and Alabama… just to name a recent few), there are wonderful places to come here in Mexico - as there always were - and many Americans enjoying it here, both year round (as expats) and as visitors.</p>
<p>Oh, and everyone knows our State Department just listens to the media before posting it’s warnings…</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“404 - Page Not Found”>404 - Page Not Found]Mexico[/url</a>]</p>
<p>It’s not a warning; it’s an alert. They are different.</p>
<p>From toledo’s link
</p>
<p>My family flew to Mexico for spring break. We stayed in Los Cabos on the Baja peninsula. We felt perfectly safe. In fact, I suspect the murder rate here in Dallas is far worse than where we were. Granted, we pretty much stayed at the resort. We took a taxi into Cabo San Lucas one night and the town looked pretty tame. We were at a restaurant, not a bar, and saw no college kids. Same thing at the resort, but it was an incredibly pricey place, so I wouldn’t have expected to see a lot of young people there without their families. </p>
<p>I’d go back to Cabo in a heartbeat. Beautiful place, weather was awesome. We had some great meals. DH and D went deep sea fishing and caught some Mahi Mahi. The chef at our resort grilled the fish and sent it to our room with some fantastic grilled vegetables. We ate it on our balcony facing the ocean. It was the best meal we had the entire time. We spent a lot of time napping at the beach, reading, etc. In my experience it was one of the most calm and peaceful places I’ve ever visited.</p>