This past August (2023). I traveled to Tulum, Mexico with my four children and my parents. My kids and I are well traveled, having been to over 20 countries. I say that because, we had been to Mexico a few times before and had always felt fairly safe. I was not expecting anything different this time around.
So, to answer the question ‘Is it Safe to Travel to Mexico?’ I would have to say, No. It did not feel safe, and it felt like we were being taken advantage of financially at every turn. I will now dig into why it did not feel safe, and all of the unplanned expenses we incurred.
Driving in Mexico
We rented a car, and this was the first time I drove in Mexico. Overall, the process to get the car was fairly uneventful. Except for the company charging an extremely large insurance fee, that was not listed on the website anywhere. The fee was $800.00 USD. I had not budgeted for this, so we started out on the trip by having a large, unexpected cost.
Driving out of Cancun was pretty rough due to the traffic and the road conditions. After we were out of Cancun proper, the road to Tulum was fairly easy to navigate. The one major thing to note about driving was the speed changed quite frequently and there wasn’t any notification of that – except to watch all of the signs. Some of the signs were painted on the road and could be very easily missed.
Airbnb or All Inclusive?
Due to my budget, I opted to get an Airbnb over staying at an All-inclusive resort. I do not regret this decision. The Airbnb was very comfortable for the seven of us and had two small pools for our condo only. It was also very secluded, but there was quite a bit of construction going on around us. Construction workers kept walking through the forest by our rooms during the day. We weren’t there much during the day, so this was not a huge issue. We also had a full kitchen and washer and dryer.
Beaches – clean, or no?
The beaches in Tulum ended up being very full of seaweed. Which was super unfortunate because those are some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and I was excited to see them again. There was so much seaweed that beach resort employees were having to rake the seaweed away. They were also clearing paths to the ocean. We ended up driving to Playa del Carmen (pictures above). The beaches there were much cleaner and the kids were able to swim in the ocean.
Unplanned Financial Fees
I generally drink a Starbucks daily – this is an old habit that I have tried to kick, and I can’t! There was a Starbucks pretty close to our Airbnb, and while using my credit card there was a foreign transaction fee on top of the exchange rate fee. This seemed to be very standard in Mexico, which is not standard in European countries. I had not planned for these expenses either. So, every time I swiped my card, I incurred a foreign transaction fee, as well as the exchange rate fee from the bank or credit card vendor. The fees weren’t outlandish, but something to be aware of. This also happened with the ATM.
One other thing to note was that they did take USD, in most locations. That being said, the exchange rate was all over the place. It varied from vendor to vendor and store to store. Which should not be the case. It should be consistent across the board. With the language barrier, that was hard to get across.
Is It Safe to Travel to Mexico?
To finally answer the question is it safe to travel to Mexico. Here is where my answer ‘No’ comes into play. Our flights were leaving from Cancun at 0800, and we had to leave Tulum no later than 0400. On our way out of Tulum, I was pulled over due to speeding. With the way the speed limit signs were posted, it was very hard to tell when the speeds changed. The officer came to my window and asked for my ID. Which I handed over immediately. He then came back and told me that I would need to pay them $300 USD in order to proceed to Cancun. I asked them to just give me the ticket and I would pay it online.
The officer went back and talked to his colleague and said, ‘No, you have to pay’. He then directed me to an ATM across the street, and said they take cash only. I again, told him no and asked for the ticket. He then told me to pay $200 USD and they would let me go without a ticket. I let him know I needed my money to get back home.
He then noticed my dad was in the car and told me they would need to take my license plate and that if that happened the car rental company would not take the car back. At this point I was getting pretty scared. They then came back and told me I was free to go. In all of my travels, that was probably the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. I am thankful my dad was there.
Conclusion
All in all, we had a good time while we were there, and we are glad we went. That being said, we do not plan to return any time soon. I do plan to write a blog post about the Cenotes, as those were very cool. I have promised you all that I would be completely honest with my posts, and due to the safety issues, we had. I would not recommend this country at this time.
Until next time, keep adventuring! XO, Jo
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