Travel advisory to mexico

[Corinne Marie]

US state dept announced a travel advisory in Mexico, especially to Puerto Vallarta. Wonder if HAL will stop there now on the way to Panama. I will be staying on the ship and enjoying the pool. Would rather be safe..

[DFD1]

Mexico is a mess, almost from one end to the other. Too bad.

[whogo]

Arthur Frommer just blogged about "four distinct and large sections of Mexico" with no warnings: http://www.frommers.com/community/blogs/blog.cfm/arthur-frommer-online/state-departments-latest-warnings-mexico-travel-positive-recommendation-four-distinct-regions

[IRL_Joanie]

US state dept announced a travel advisory in Mexico, especially to Puerto Vallarta. Wonder if HAL will stop there now on the way to Panama. I will be staying on the ship and enjoying the pool. Would rather be safe..

Yesterday I received my Cruise Industry News and it specifically stated that Puerto Vallarta was not on the Travel Advisory.

 

Here is the link and the Story: http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/6786-puerto-vallarta-not-included-in-mexico-travel-warning.html

 

Puerto Vallarta Not Included in Mexico Travel Warning Thursday, 09 February 2012

 

The February 8 update to the U.S. Department’s Travel Warning to Mexico does not include the city of Puerto Vallarta.

The popular vacation destination Puerto Vallarta is a leading destination in Mexico and continues to offer a wide range of shore excursions and a safe experience for all international visitors., located more than 1,200 miles from the border between Mexico and the US where other drug related violence has taken place, the same distance that separates Los Angeles to Dallas, or New York to Miami.

Puerto Vallarta continues to be one of the safest destinations for international travelers. A recent security/threat assessment study conducted by Thomas Dale & Associates (TDA), a leading global investigative and security firm, found that the number of negative events involving foreigners or non-foreigners is fractional compared to the large ex-pat resident population and the millions of visitors that come to vacation each year in Puerto Vallarta. The study also found that visitors to the destination feel safe and continue to visit Puerto Vallarta numerous times throughout their lifetime.

Though for myself, I do not get off the ship there. Many others do and say they feel no fear.

 

Joanie

[sail7seas]

We were in Cozumel (not on the travel advisory) in November and all was fine but I won't be hurrying back to Mexico.

[bozemanman]

It's all very sad. I really miss Mexico but have no plans for a return for at least a couple of years after (if ever) they straighten themselves out. :(

[Corinne Marie]

Go to the state Dept's website and as of Feb 8th, 2012, Puerta Vallarta is on the list and this supercedes any travel advisory from 2011. Cabo and Cozumel are not on the latest list. I will stay on the cruise should HAL decide to go to Puerta Vallarta on our cruise in April.

[CowPrincess]

Go to the state Dept's website and as of Feb 8th, 2012, Puerta Vallarta is on the list and this supercedes any travel advisory from 2011. Cabo and Cozumel are not on the latest list. I will stay on the cruise should HAL decide to go to Puerta Vallarta on our cruise in April.

 

Could you please provide a link?

[IRL_Joanie]

Could you please provide a link?

Here you go CP and if you notice, Puerto Vallarta is NOT on the list!! Also note that the date of the advisory I posted showing it is not on the list is dated 9 February 2012 (yesterday) http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5665.html

 

Believe me, if it were on the list I'd be the first to mention it. Remember how scared I was when we had the warnings last year:)

 

Joanie

[jimmysgrl]

http:// http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5665.html

 

I just saw in the same state but didn't specify Puerto Vallarta like Joanie said. Seems scary but being car jacked or kidnapped could happen just about anywhere. :(

[CowPrincess]

Thanks Joanie. I was hoping Corinne Marie would provide the link to the info she is reading. Everything I've found says PV isn't on the list, so I'm hoping Corinne Marie will give us all the link she is reading.

 

We're doing either Ixtapa or PV in April, so I'd really like to see the warning about PV. (I'd rather go to Loreto or La Paz, but the flights are horrible!)

 

Corinne Marie, could you please provide the link to your info?

[CowPrincess]

http:// http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5665.html

 

Yes, thanks, but where is the part that says "especially to Puerto Vallarta" ???? As far as I can tell, PV is NOT included in the warning.

[josie724]

Very sad, I have been to several parts of Mexico and always felt safe in the areas we traveled to, but that was BEFORE the recent drug situation. I always felt the Mexican people were very warm and accommodating. Don't know if I will be traveling there anytime soon.

[localady]

I was in Puerto Vallarta on the Oosterdam last week. At no time did we have any fear at all!!! :cool:

 

We had a lovely day at the local beach and had dinner in Old Town PV and walked the Malecon at sunset. Many families were out walking also. It was a lovely visit to a very lovely city. :D

 

(I have also been to places like Jamaica and even Acapulco, neither made me feel safe and I'd not return.)

[Laurie S.]

Mexico is a mess, almost from one end to the other. Too bad.

 

 

Wrong! BTW, I'm typing this from my house in San Carlos, Mexico. Some areas are bad, but not the whole country. Just like the US, don't generalize. There are areas in the US you couldn't pay me to go visit.

[cruise kitty]

I'm not giving my opinion one way or another, but here's the info:

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5665.html

 

about two thirds down the page is the warning for P.V. which I cut & pasted here:

 

Jalisco Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta are the major cities/travel destinations in Jalisco -see map (PDF, 286 kb) to identify their exact locations: You should defer non-essential travel to areas of the state that border the states of Michoacán and Zacatecas. You should also exercise caution when traveling at night outside of cities in the remaining portions of this state. The security situation along the Michoacán and Zacatecas borders continues to be unstable and gun battles between criminal groups and authorities occur. Concerns include roadblocks placed by individuals posing as police or military personnel and recent gun battles between rival

[Corinne Marie]

The link to the state dept travel advisory in Mexico that I read was www.travel.state.gov Hope this helps. It has been all over the news this evening in the pacific northwest and the southwest of the US. On this web site, they do a nice job of going through lots of different states in Mexico.

[Corinne Marie]

On the above link...it also tells you areas in Mexico where no advisory is in effect.

[DFD1]

Laurie, I understand that you might differ, and I understand that there are still some safe areas. I did say "almost", but I stand by my opinion that, for American tourists, Mexico is a mess.

 

By-the-way, I've been traveling down there regularily for more than 40 years and am sick that the situation has evolved as it has.

[aliaschief]

Going to enjoy my birthday in Cancun but there are areas I would not take my family too.

[iancal]

The choice for us often ends up as being where do we go for a quick week in the sun....Mexico, Dominican Republic, Panama, or Cuba. We have lots of choice. Mexico is falling off our list more often than not.

[Corinne Marie]

We go to Hawaii instead of Mexico, Maui to be exact, and have been doing this for a number of years. Mexico just isn't safe like it use to be...Lived 60 miles north of the AZ-Mexico border and use to go down to Nogales for a fun day in the 80's and 90's. You would not dare do that today as an American...way too dangerous.

[tcook052]

I'm not giving my opinion one way or another, but here's the info:

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5665.html

 

about two thirds down the page is the warning for P.V. which I cut & pasted here:

 

Jalisco Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta are the major cities/travel destinations in Jalisco -see map (PDF, 286 kb) to identify their exact locations: You should defer non-essential travel to areas of the state that border the states of Michoacán and Zacatecas. You should also exercise caution when traveling at night outside of cities in the remaining portions of this state. The security situation along the Michoacán and Zacatecas borders continues to be unstable and gun battles between criminal groups and authorities occur. Concerns include roadblocks placed by individuals posing as police or military personnel and recent gun battles between rival

 

Sorry, no, it doesn't single out PV in the advisory and names it only as a major city in the state of Jalisco. It clearly says

 

You should defer non-essential travel to areas of the state that border the states of Michoacán and Zacatecas.

It does not advise avoiding travel to PV. Is the wording not clear to any who read it? Or are some just reading whatever they want to believe into the advisory?

[rajkr74]

Sorry, no, it doesn't single out PV in the advisory and names it only as a major city in the state of Jalisco. It clearly says

 

You should defer non-essential travel to areas of the state that border the states of Michoacán and Zacatecas.

 

It does not advise avoiding travel to PV. Is the wording not clear to any who read it? Or are some just reading whatever they want to believe into the advisory?

 

I agree, it DOES NOT say AVOID Puerto Vallarta but "defer non-essential travel to areas of the state that border the state of Michoacan and Zacatecas. (Which are quite a drive away from PV)

 

Don't read more into the warning than is there. PV is still very safe and a very enjoyable town. Having been there in Dec, 2011 for 10 days, I experianced nothing that would cause me not to go there again. I flew home early on the 11th of Dec. and left my wife, daughter and her friend at our time share. The three women took the bus downtown with no security issues what so ever.

 

We have been down to Mexico numerous times over the last 10 years and have met a lot of very nice local people in PV and none of them have told us to stay away. I feel the problems you hear about in the news are not typical of the resort cities in Mexico and it won't keep me from going there in the future.

 

Besides, my wife, daughter and friend are going back to PV next Dec. for 19 days and they will have a great time. Sadly I have to stay home since I will have run out of vacation days....darn!

[cruise kitty]

Sorry, no, it doesn't single out PV in the advisory and names it only as a major city in the state of Jalisco. It clearly says

 

You should defer non-essential travel to areas of the state that border the states of Michoacán and Zacatecas.

It does not advise avoiding travel to PV. Is the wording not clear to any who read it? Or are some just reading whatever they want to believe into the advisory?

 

I agree, it does not single out P.V., we were there in Nov. 2010 on the Ost. & enjoyed it very much, the advisory has odd wording, & really should be made more clear & exact.