HM in Mexico

Liberty27

This was posted on my club board and I wanted to know what you ladies think?  I was planning a HM in Mexico for March of 2012, but now I am rethinking it.  I know it is a ways away but daydreaming about mexico is nicer than staring at my cube wall.

Here is the original post:

http://forums.theknot.com/default.aspx?path=http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2011-weddings

LittleSweetie

What's the URL to the post?  You can right click the link and copy it that way if the address bar URL is just bringing back the link to your club board.

What are your concerns?  We had a honeymoon to Mexico (Riviera Maya, El Dorado Royale) and loved every minute!!  Seriously best resort ever, best food, best everything.  I really want to go back!

Liberty27

Sorry, anyways my concerns are that the OP talked about the violence from the border is spreading south and that the tourist-areas (like playa del carmen) aren't as safe as people make them out to be.  I love Mexico, i have been there twice, but I if the border violence is spreading south that makes me nervous.

Liberty27

Her post:

Hey ladies!  I know that some of you may disagree with what I'm about to say (and that's totally fine), but I just wanted to share...

FI was born in Ecuador and most of his family is from there and Colombia.  They were all living in those countries in the 80's and early 90's at the height of the issues with Pablo Escobar's reign and all of the drug cartels.  

For those of you who are unaware, Mexico has become very similar to the Colombia of the 80's and early 90's.  Many Americans refuse to believe that (just as they refused to believe how bad things were a couple decades ago), but it's really bad and the violence is starting to spread South from the Mexico/U.S. border.  Yes, initially it was JUST at the border, but it truly has begun moving.

FI and I have been considering taking our honeymoon in Riviera Maya, but we've been told by several members of his family and some friends of his (one of whom is a travel agent IN Mexico) that it would be wise to avoid Mexico right now.  They DID say, however, that Riviera Maya is still the safest of the resort areas, so if your heart is set on it then definitely go... it's just you never know what could happen.

Anyway... I don't mean to scare anyone or to say that if you go something will happen, but I know a lot of people on the HM board get heated about this topic and a lot of people refuse to believe that this is going on.  Unfortunately, that has a lot to do with the fact that Mexico wants tourists and American news channels don't really focus on what's going on down there... if you want to see what's really happening, turn on any Spanish news program.

That's my PSA for the day!!  :-)   Oh, and by the way, even I'm still undecided about going there.  FI is pretty set against it because he still has so many images in his head from when he was growing up, but since we were told Riviera Maya is still pretty safe we may wind up going anyway.  It's all up in the air and depends on how events in Mexico transpire over the next few months.

Muffers

I am definitely not up on Mexico's domestic political issues, so I can't really speak to that (other than my parents just got back from Playa del Carmen a few weeks ago, they've been going there regularly for years, and they didn't mention that anything was different. FWIW.)

More importantly, I think, is that you're 2 years away from your honeymoon so you have plenty of time before you need to worry about it. Things could change a lot in Mexico- for better or worse - between now and then, so I wouldn't worry too much about this until you get closer to your date.  Then you'll have a much better idea of what's happening there and you can talk to travel agents, do some research and make an informed decision.

good luck!

leggwilliams

Ditto Muffers. She put exactly what I was thinking very nicely

kristigiles

we're going to Cabo in August...I hope everything will be fine!!

Bimbi284

The poster on your club board was right! I currently work at an institute that does research on drug policy, so we've all been keeping an eye on it. Students for Sensible Drug Policy and people from Drug Policy Alliance planned a nation-wide vigil back in March in honor of those innocent people who have been killed in Mexico. That particular vigil was brought about after the shooting of high school kids in Juarez, but its happening throughout the country. Its pretty sad.

That said, PP was right about the fact that your HM is still a loooong way away, so you never know what things will be like at that point. I say you should do your research once it comes time to really plan it, and make sure to look into various sources (i.e., other than American news outlets) before making any final decisions.