Drinking Age in Mexico?

[Colorado Kat]

My daughters will be 18 when we cruise the Mexican Riveria next June. Am I right in thinking that the drinking age in Mexico is 18? So they can drink off the ship, while in port? (Don't worry - I will be right there with them, keeping an eye on everything.)

[Cruisemama4]

My daughters will be 18 when we cruise the Mexican Riveria next June. Am I right in thinking that the drinking age in Mexico is 18? So they can drink off the ship, while in port? (Don't worry - I will be right there with them, keeping an eye on everything.)

 

Drinking age in Cabo is 18. Not sure about the other ports but we think it was 18 in Mazatlan & PV as well.

[MSN-Travelers]

My daughters will be 18 when we cruise the Mexican Riveria next June. Am I right in thinking that the drinking age in Mexico is 18? So they can drink off the ship, while in port? (Don't worry - I will be right there with them, keeping an eye on everything.)

 

This from the US Department of State web site -

 

Cancun and Other Resort Areas: Over 3 million U.S. citizens travel to Cancun and other Mexican beach resorts each year, including as many as 120,000 during "spring break" season, which normally begins in mid-February and runs about two months. Excessive alcohol consumption, especially by U.S. citizens under the legal U.S. drinking age, is a significant problem. The legal drinking age in Mexico is 18, but it is not uniformly enforced. Alcohol is implicated in the majority of arrests, violent crimes, accidents and deaths suffered by U.S. citizen tourists.

 

Enjoy! (responsibly)

[bzy1]

We have a joke here: "If they can see over the bar...."

 

But yes, the drinking age in all of Mexico is 18. Just make sure they bring an I.D. in case as some times of the year they do check ages (Christmas, Semana Santa (Easter) )

[Bruin Steve]

Actually, I heard it's "if you can REACH the bar..." :)

 

Seriously, it is 18...but enforcement in most places is not stringent...

We were on a shore excursion in PV one year when my daughters were 14 and 16...

At one stop, the guides poured Cervezas and Cokes for people...We turn around and see our then-14 year old walking around with a big glass of cerveza...We asked "Where did you get that?" She said "Pedro (our guide) gave it to me"...we took it away...A few minutes later, we saw her with another cup of beer...Welcome to Mexico...

 

We were also on a Tequila Tasting Shore excursion a few years back...and there was one 16 year old boy on the tour...The guide on that one--the Tequila Distillery guide--asked the boy how old he was...The boy said "16" and the guide told him that he could not serve him tequila...Of course, they kept pouring samples into small plastic shot glasses and passed them around on a tray and nobody stopped the 16 year old from taking one each time...

 

The attitude toward teenage drinking is much different than you find here...

 

Of course, if your girls are 18, they will have no problem drinking...But, by all means, do NOT let them go off drinking on their own in port...some situations are not safe for an 18 year old girl no matter where you are...

[Northshorecruisers]

While in Cozumel a couple years ago, the beach we were at didn't seem to have a problem with serving my 16 year old. I'm glad he and his girlfriend are over 18 for our next trip to Cabo, Maz, & PV. I still won't let them go off drinking on their own (tipsy teens on vacation in a strange place sounds like a recipe for a mugging), and I'm glad they won't be able to be served on the ship.