Area warnings....would it stop you from traveling there??

[RICHinNC]

I just watched the movie Burning Man. It is all about the
kidnapping "industry" in Mexico City, Mexico. It got me
to thinking. There are a good number of great diving places
in Mexico....what is the threat like in those areas.

So I went to Google and typed in...." kidnapping cancun" ....
and low and behold....I found out Cancun is on an area alert for kidnapping....travelers are to take precautions if coming to Cancun......say what??

Now in my book there are too many places to go that have never had any kind of travelers alert associated with them......and I have no idea just how good these travel alerts are.....but I have a tendency not to want and temp fate.

Does anyone ever check out places in this manner before traveling or just prefer the bliss of ignorance....and would you change your travel plans if the area you were going to had some kind of advisory....
rich

 

[Hank49]

I've been to some remote places in some remote parts of the world and I never checked the US embassy for information on the country before going there. One guy gave me some good advice about being in a new, strange place. Never walk in a wonderous stupor looking around, like it's your first time there. Walk with purpose like you know where you're going and what you want.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Good advice. If you don't look like a victim then you probably won't be one.

 

[ShakaZulu]

How do you quickly spot a tourist, just look for the camera around his neck. Put the camera in your bag, and don't analize maps on the street corner.

 

[drbill]

Imagine the travel warnings other countries are posting for major American cities!

I usually feel safer in a foreign country than I do in many major cities here.

Dr. Bill

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Good point. Can you imagine what the French say to their tourists about travel in downtown Miami or East St. Louis?

 

[Mako Mark]

Oh gimme a break, Cancun is one of the lowest crime cities in the world, why do you think I live here??

Really, there is an almost absence of violent crime here, there is a little petty theft but they will never trash the place just for fun like they do in some countries. I have never heard of a mugging here, there isnt even any road rage.

That is why I have lived here for eight years.

So ignore the warnings, take normal precautions, dont act like a victim and you will be fine, and that advice has kept me safe in some of the nastiest cities in the world..

 

[Damselfish]

If you're going someplace where there might be concerns, I think it's good to get whatever info you can and be aware, but sometimes entire countries get painted with the same brush - even if it's a place with many islands spread over 1000s of miles. You need to figure out what information applies to the specific places you're going and the real risks to you. (If the state dept wrote an advisory about the US they'd probably tell Americans not to come here. )

 

[herman]

Shoot Rich, you lived though the crime ridden island of Bonaire for an entire week and came back to tell about it. What you worried about....

 

[crpntr133]

I don't know of any muggings, kidnappings, etc. that happen under water. SO GO DIVE!!