February 16, 2012

A week or so ago, the State.Travel.Gov, which is a service of the Bureau of Consular Affairs in the US State Department, periodically issues statements to keep US citizens informed about security while traveling in Mexico. February 8, 2012 is the date of the most recent statement, and it supersedes the previous statement, which was issued on April 22, 2011.

The statements provide a state by state assessment of recent activities about which travelers should be aware. The link to the statement is: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5665.html

The states that interest we owners of Grand Luxxe Residence Club and other Vidanta resort contracts include:

• Baja California (South): Cabo San Lucas is a major city/travel destination in the Southern portion of Baja California -see map (PDF, 286 kb) to identify its exact location: No advisory is in effect.
• Sonora: Nogales and Puerto Peñasco are the major cities/travel destinations in Sonora: U.S. citizens visiting Puerto Peñasco are urged to use the Lukeville, Arizona/Sonoyta, Sonora border crossing, in order to limit driving through Mexico, and to limit travel to main roads during daylight hours.
• Sinaloa: Mazatlan is a major city/travel destination in Sinaloa -see map (PDF, 286 kb) to identify its exact location: You should defer non-essential travel to the state of Sinaloa except the city of Mazatlan where you should exercise caution particularly late at night and in the early morning.
• Guerrero: Acapulco, Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo and Taxco are the major cities/travel destinations in Guerrero -see map (PDF, 286 kb) to identify their exact locations: You should defer non-essential travel to the northwestern and southern portions of the state (the area west and south of the town of Arcelia on the border with Estado de Mexico in the north and the town of Tlapa near the border with Oaxaca), except for the cities of Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, and Ixtapa. In those cities, you should exercise caution and stay within tourist areas.
• Nayarit: You should defer non-essential travel to all areas of the state of Nayarit north of the city of Tepic as well as to the cities of Tepic and Xalisco. The security situation north of Tepic and in these cities is unstable and travelers could encounter roadblocks or shootouts between rival criminals. There is no recommendation against travel either to Riviera Nayarit in the southern portion of the state or to principal highways in the southern portion of the state used to travel from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta.
• Quintana Roo: Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya and Tulum are the major cities/travel destinations in Quintana Roo -see map (PDF, 286 kb) to identify their exact locations: No advisory is in effect.

The advisories offered by the Bureau of Consular Affairs are meant to give travelers to locations within the boundaries of the advisory a feel for the potential danger that may arise. Being careful is the best advice anyone can receive.

Mexico is to be enjoyed. We should be careful where ever we are...