Is Yucatan: Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Merida, etc safe? What's the crime rate in general in Yucatan: Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Merida, etc?
John Venator - Casa de los Venados
Emphatically, yes it is safe in Yucatan. Our own US Department of State statistics reports that the Yucatan is safer than any other part of Mexico. Mexico in general is safe. The Yucatan Peninsula is very safe. We are safer than 26 major American cities in terms of crime in general, crime against people and the big one, murder. We are safer here than we are in Chicago, statistically.I recently did some presentations with the National Secretary for Tourism in Mexico, with whom...
Emphatically, yes it is safe in Yucatan. Our own US Department of State statistics reports that the Yucatan is safer than any other part of Mexico. Mexico in general is safe. The Yucatan Peninsula is very safe. We are safer than 26 major American cities in terms of crime in general, crime against people and the big one, murder. We are safer here than we are in Chicago, statistically.I recently did some presentations with the National Secretary for Tourism in Mexico, with whom I have become friends. She would use our house several times for events. I went with her to New York and did Bloomberg, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and the NBC Editorial board. My role was to say, in the almost 50 years I have been coming to Mexico (because I came here in 1962 as a student), I, nor any member of my family nor anybody who has ever come to stay with us, none of us, have ever encountered crime. We have never been victims of any crime.
We feel very safe. The same is true in Cancun, which I can report because we own a house there. We started with timeshares over 30 years ago, then had a hotel condo and now we have the house right on the ocean. This includes all that time that we have been property owners in Cancun as well. We have never had an incident of crime, period. We have never been pick-pocketed. We have never been robbed. All the things that people fear, we have never had any of that happen to us. I do not know anybody, neither our Mexican friends nor any of our expat friends, who live here in Valladolid, who have been victims of crime.
(Children's Parade on Day of the Revolution, Valladolid, Yucatan, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted September 16, 2015
Jason Waller - Playa del Carmen Real Estate
Yucatan is very safe. Petty thefts would be your biggest problem because the wages are lower here. If you leave something out in the open there’s a good chance that it will be gone. You just have to be smart. You don’t leave bags sitting on the front seat of your car and then go shopping. There’s a good chance that they may see the bag’s in there, they’ll think something’s valuable in it, they might smash your window and take the bag. If you...Yucatan is very safe. Petty thefts would be your biggest problem because the wages are lower here. If you leave something out in the open there’s a good chance that it will be gone. You just have to be smart. You don’t leave bags sitting on the front seat of your car and then go shopping. There’s a good chance that they may see the bag’s in there, they’ll think something’s valuable in it, they might smash your window and take the bag. If you leave something out in the open and leave for 10 minutes, if someone’s around, they’ll grab it. There’s just more opportunity for pretty crime here. The biggest issue we have is construction workers who make very low wages. There are a lot of them in one place at one time and they are around every day so they’re able to keep an eye on what’s going on around them. If you’re a tourist in downtown working on your computer and then you go back inside for a while and the construction worker across the street has been watching you, they may run over and grab your laptop when you’re inside one of the bathrooms. It’s not much different than in North America. If you’re in any major city and you leave something in the open downtown, someone’s going to take it.
Our crime here is mostly small things. No one’s going to rob you on the street. No one’s going to say, “Give me your wallet” or anything like that, it doesn’t happen. The crimes here are just crimes of opportunity. Armed robbery, muggings, that type of stuff is very rare. When walking the streets you don’t really feel unsafe. I feel much safer in Playa Del Carmen than I do in Canada or in any other cities walking around downtown at 2 in the morning. I don’t feel unsafe here in Playa del Carmen at all.
In Cancun there’s a lot more crime. It’s a large city. Merida is a large city as well. So it depends on the areas that you’re in. Most of Riviera Maya is still small. We have over 200,000 people in Playa Del Carmen and that’s the biggest city besides Cancun and Merida in the Yucatan. Cancun and Merida are home to a million people. You’ll have a lot more crime there.
We don’t have burglar bars here where I live in Playa del Carmen. If you lived right in the city, you would have to make sure that everything is closed up at night or put bars in the windows. You wouldn’t leave your windows open all night long. That’s just easy access for somebody. Where I live in Playa del Carmen, we live in a gated community, so we can leave our windows open all night long.
(Veranda in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted November 15, 2015
Gary De Spiegelaere - Celestun Properties
Absolutely, yes, the Yucatan is safe. I live in Celestún, a village of about 7,500 people, in the state of Yucatan, in the Yucatan Peninsula. Before I lived here, I came from Canada, where it is quite safe, but there are still some house robberies, and murder in some areas. For example, in Edmonton, which is close to where I’m from, has a murder rate is probably 15 times the murder in Merida, a city of over a million people in the state of Yucatan. ...
Absolutely, yes, the Yucatan is safe. I live in Celestún, a village of about 7,500 people, in the state of Yucatan, in the Yucatan Peninsula. Before I lived here, I came from Canada, where it is quite safe, but there are still some house robberies, and murder in some areas. For example, in Edmonton, which is close to where I’m from, has a murder rate is probably 15 times the murder in Merida, a city of over a million people in the state of Yucatan. The police presence in Merida is absolutely unbelievable. There are police everywhere, but only to make the place very safe. I have never had any issue in 13 years where I feared for my safety. I have had problems on the road and never have I had an issue where people didn’t stop by to offer assistance. I have never had a problem with a policeman. I never had a problem with the military, which has checkpoints all the time. I have always been treated very courteously, but we treat them courteously as well. We don’t treat them badly when they stop me on the road. We know that they are stopping us because they want to keep us safe.
In the Quintana Roo side of Yucatan (which contains Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum in an area called Riviera Maya), if you stay in the tourist areas, you will not have a lot of problems about safety, but I do not recommend living amongst the locals there because the crime rate amongst the locals is a bit higher. The reason why is that, example, in the Cancun area, there is a mixture of people from all over Mexico who come there to work. A lot of them are coming from the very poor, crime-ridden areas of Mexico, which the foreigners don’t go to at all, and they bring some of their problems there. If you don’t go to those areas and cause a problem then you wouldn’t have an issue at all. The tourists that go to the Cancun and Playa del Carmen areas and get into problems would’ve brought it upon themselves.
As an example, I have personally heard of this happening where a group of young guys from the US or Canada would go to the local places in Cancun. The young girls in those areas are very attractive and want to buddy up with a foreigner. The boyfriends of these young girls do not appreciate it and then a fight starts. This could also happen in Canada or in any other place in the world. You have to use your common sense when you are in a foreign place so you won’t have any problems.
We have spent a lot of time in Cancun and I have yet to have a problem. My wife is Mexican and we have actually gone to a lot of these worse areas to visit some of her friends and we have yet to have a problem. Everybody has been very courteous to us but one of the reasons for that is because we are not looking for problems. We don’t go to places get drunk and be a jerk.
I have lived in Celestún for 13 years now. Celestún is a fishing village directly west of Merida, where there is a good amount of poor people. My house definitely stands out, being that it is 6,000 square feet and my garage alone is 2,000 square feet. We have the largest, most expensive home in town. In contrast, some of the people of Celestún have houses made of cardboard with sticks holding the frames up. They have dirt floors and don’t have running water. Normally, in these types of places where there is a wide disparity between the haves and the have nots, there are more crimes, especially crimes of opportunity. If a local person sees that you have something that is worth a year’s salary for them, they will take it. But that is not the case here in Celestún because the community here is small enough that everybody knows each other. If there is a problem, the locals will normally help you. If somebody broke into a house that’s empty, you just go and talk to some of the locals and they will find your stuff. They don’t want a reputation of being a bad area. If the parents find out that their kid, who is between 16 and 25 years old, did some of this bad stuff, they would definitely get a good beating.
Of course you still have to secure your house because, as the saying goes, if you leave the barn door open, the horse is going to get out. If you have your home secured, you won’t have a problem. Don’t flaunt what you have and leave your doors and windows open. You have to have common sense just the same as you would if you were in the US or in Canada.
I have the same security system here as I had in Canada. Some expats or tourists come here to Celestún and don’t put up some security so they become a victim of some small time crimes such as getting their laptops stolen. But most of the time, when stuff like that happens, the police would help you get your stuff back and most of the time, they really do because this is a small town and everyone knows each other.
As a form of security in my house, I have burglar bars on all my windows and door, and we have a wall around our property. There are other expats who live here who don’t have burglar bars on their windows, yet they don’t have much of a problem about safety, either. Some of them just have a chain link fence where it’s very easy to go over. Most of them live right on the beach so they are open but they don’t have a problem with safety. If you are here most of the time, you won’t have much of a problem. Otherwise, you could have someone look after your home when you are away.
Here in Mexico, Mexicans leave their three and a half year old children walking around by themselves; we see that all the time. I am very overly protective so we don’t let our son go around on his own but I know nothing bad would happen to him if he were walking around. We often see our son’s four-year-old cousin walking around on his own about three or four blocks away from our place and nothing bad ever happens to him.
There are a lot of people from all over Mexico in the crime areas that are moving to the state of Yucatan because it is so safe. My wife’s best girlfriend’s aunt, who is very wealthy, moved from one of these areas with her family because there are absolutely no issues here for people who are extremely wealthy. Also, many other wealthy people from areas like Mexico City or Monterrey are moving to Yucatan for the safety and for the lower cost of things, such as the property, which is pretty inexpensive. When you see mutli-millionaire Mexicans moving to an area for safety, you know it is safe because they know what crime is in some of the other areas of Mexico.
The governor here in the state of Yucatan is so vigilant that when we go to Costco in Merida, we would probably go through three to four state check stops in less than an hour. They won’t stop you but they will look at you as you go by and decide if you look like you could be causing problems. They are obviously looking for the bad people. There is a constant police presence everywhere. It is odd to go two blocks in Merida without seeing a policeman along the way.
There is a lot of police visibility here and I like that. They are not police that are bothering you; they are just watching in case there is a problem. They actually catch a lot of bad people in the state of Yucatan that are coming here to visit because they are looking at everybody and they want to keep these people out. They are very vigilant at keeping Yucatan safe because safety is what’s keeping the state of Yucatan growing so quickly. A lot of the major corporations around Mexico are moving some of their best offices here. As an example, Corona, which is one of the largest breweries around, is building a huge new plant just outside of Merida. They are coming here because of the quality of the employees and the safety.
In the North America, you would usually see a large police presence in the dangerous areas but that is not the case in the Yucatan. I call it a “preemptive strike on crime.” There is policemen everywhere so there is no crime. If you go without a license plate here, for example, they will stop you because they want to know about your vehicle. They want to make sure that it’s fine and it is legal. They are very protective. It is unusual in other parts of the world to see so many police and them being so polite and helpful but that is normal here in the Yucatan.
In Merida, there is tourist police, Merida police, state police, federal police, the army, the military, the navy, and the Green Angels. The Green Angels are people in a truck that just drives around looking for anybody who broke down on the road, in order to help them. They are government-sponsored. They have mechanics who will get you right back up on the road. They will give you 20 liters of gas, change your tires for you, etc. I have used the Green Angels twice in my life, which is why I know how good they are.
(Los Angeles Verde, The Green Angles, guardians of the road, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted December 19, 2015
Mikki James
Mexico is divided into states. Yucatan is a state and Quintana Roo is a state, even though both are in the Yucatan Peninsula. (The state of Yucatan has the city of Merida and many coastal areas, and the state of Quintana Roo has the better-known expat areas of Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Tulum.) There are many, many other states in Mexico. Each state has their own laws, their own rules, and their own way of doing things, their own culture within a culture....
Mexico is divided into states. Yucatan is a state and Quintana Roo is a state, even though both are in the Yucatan Peninsula. (The state of Yucatan has the city of Merida and many coastal areas, and the state of Quintana Roo has the better-known expat areas of Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Tulum.) There are many, many other states in Mexico. Each state has their own laws, their own rules, and their own way of doing things, their own culture within a culture.Compared to Galveston, Texas, where I’m from, the state of Quintana Roo would be far safer. Have you seen the crime stats in Galveston lately?
The state of Yucatan is somewhat of a “neutral zone.” They have a very, very low tolerance for crime of any kind in this state. Outside of this state, things can be different. I live in Progresso, which is a small fishing village in the state of Yucatan about a half an hour drive from Merida. Here in the Yucatan, in Progresso, I can walk around in all hours of the night or day and not worry about being bothered by anyone. If I encounter any kind of car trouble or can’t get a cab at midnight or 1 or 2 in the morning after attending a festivity, the police will give me a ride home and not think anything of it. The same is true within other areas of the state of Yucatan. The same cannot be said, however, about the state of Quintana Roo or the state of Veracruz, and most especially, not about the state of Nuevo Leon. So the safety varies depending on your location. I would recommend anyone who is interested in living in one of these other states to investigate fully. Do your homework before you pickup and go.
Compared with Galveston, Texas, hands down, Progreso is by far the safer environment. In the city of Merida, which has a larger population and some lower income families, there is some crime, but nothing involving people against people; just property crimes like burgled houses or cars.
Here in Progresso, I don’t have burglar bars on my windows. If the same house I’m living in in Progresso were placed in the middle of Texas, it would’ve been robbed and vandalized a million times. Here in Progresso, I sleep with the windows open at night. I went back to the States last February and I ended up having to go through two surgeries and I was there six months recuperating. I came home and my house and my yard had not been touched. My housekeeper once or twice a week came in to turn it out to freshen the air, and to take care of the outside animals. Everybody knew I was gone but yet nobody bothered my property at all.
I often take walks at night completely without concern for my safety. I don’t walk the beach at night unless there’s a full moon because you can always trip and fall or step on a jellyfish, which are the little hazards that are common to beach areas. There’s no light over there where I live.
(Expat Mikki James flashing a peace sign in Porgresso, Yucatan, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted January 21, 2016
Gustavo Cisneros - Petén
The Yucatan Peninsula is made up of three different states. Quintana Roo is more touristy. It is brand new and there are a lot of people who just arrived to Cancun to work there. Given that it is a brand new society, the crime rate is a little bit higher in the touristy areas where there is a lot of activity and people who come from all over Mexico and all over the world.We have a strong community of Italians working in Playa Del Carmen and Cancun, which is part of...
The Yucatan Peninsula is made up of three different states. Quintana Roo is more touristy. It is brand new and there are a lot of people who just arrived to Cancun to work there. Given that it is a brand new society, the crime rate is a little bit higher in the touristy areas where there is a lot of activity and people who come from all over Mexico and all over the world.We have a strong community of Italians working in Playa Del Carmen and Cancun, which is part of Quintana Roo. But even if the Quintana Roo is more touristy and has a lot of activity, it is still safer compared to other places in Mexico. The Yucatan Peninsula is completely different from the rest of the country in terms of safety.
For 15 years in a row, Merida (in the state of Yucatan in the Yucatan Peninsula) has been either first or second when it comes to safety in Mexico. The state of Campeche is the about the same. In these areas, the local police force is 90% composed of Yucatecos or Campechanos. They are not from Mexico. They do their jobs right because their families live here. They take very good care of the people in their area. Yucatecans are very aware and when they see something that is not right, they denounce it. They will tell the people. This is something that doesn’t happen in the rest of the country of Mexico because in the rest of the country, people are scared of the police so when they see something that is not nice, they would rather not get involved. People here in the Yucatan Peninsula are used to knowing their neighbors. They are used to denouncing things that are not right. When they see something bad happen, they go to the police to report it. Because of that, sometimes it contradicts the records because you will see that the police reports in Merida are very high but the crime rate there is the lowest. The crime rate in Merida is lower than the crime rates in 80% of the cities in the US.
The crime rate in the country of Mexico per capita is 80% safer than the states in the US; it’s safer in Mexico than in 40 of the 50 states of the US. In the country of Mexico, the state of Yucatan is the safest. It has been that way for 15 years in a row.
(The beach boulevard in the Chetumal, the capital of Quintana Roo, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted February 14, 2016
Iona Chamberlin - Hacienda San Pedro Nohpat
The crime rate in Yucatan is relatively low compared to most places in Canada and the United States, or even the rest of Mexico. I’ve lived in Yucatan for 16 years, and I’ve never had a safety issue ever, and most people whom I know who have also lived here for a long time have never had a safety issue, either. I live 15 minutes from the Merida city center, but we’re right beside the city of Merida so I really consider ourselves as being...
The crime rate in Yucatan is relatively low compared to most places in Canada and the United States, or even the rest of Mexico. I’ve lived in Yucatan for 16 years, and I’ve never had a safety issue ever, and most people whom I know who have also lived here for a long time have never had a safety issue, either. I live 15 minutes from the Merida city center, but we’re right beside the city of Merida so I really consider ourselves as being in Merida. The state of Quintana Roo is totally different from the state of Yucatan because Quintana Roo gets so many people every year, and the more people you get, the more crime there’s going to be. Merida doesn’t have that many people, so there is less crime.
In Merida, the roads are monitored. I’ve noticed that if there’s a car stuck by the federales (federal police), it’s usually a car with a license plate from the north of Mexico, with dark windows and maybe a bunch of young guys who are looking for guns or drugs, or if it’s a truck, they could be looking for illegally imported lumber or animals. In Merida, they monitor everything because they just don’t want to have imported violence, or imported plants and animals from other states that might bring diseases.
In our neighborhood in Merida, if the kids lose their ball, they climb over the wall or gate to get it.
People don’t feel too secure about Mexico’s safety is because Calderon, the worst president Mexico ever had, started with telling George Bush that there was a war on drugs in Mexico. The crime and violence in Mexico then wasn’t any different than with the Mafia in the United States, but when the president of the country stands up and says there’s a war on something, that’s going to give the country a little bit of a bad reputation. It never touched the Yucatan, and I really think the violence rate as described was just exaggerated. In fact, I feel safer walking in Merida than I would in Regina, Saskatchewan, where I went to university.
(Paseo Montejo, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted January 15, 2017