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One of my main worries. Yeah, I know this can happen in the US, but I try to avoid making myself vulnerable.
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- Thread starter gopbroek
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mediumone
Contributor
Of course, there are no guarantees or absolutes, but I think that we minimize our risk by what we wear, how we present ourselves, and where we go.
Neither of us sports any body art. My jewelry consists of a Timex sport watch with a fabric band. Boss woman has a very plain, small gold band. Our evening wardrobe consists of shorts, t-shirt and flip flops. If we go more upscale for dinner, I'll throw on a pair of Levi's, and she'll wear a skirt or simple sun dress, again without any jewelry, with the possible exception of her Fitbit.
Planning to be there in August. Plan is to rent a car and drive around the island and see the sites. Is the potential violence something to be concerned about? Enough to just stick to the resort and scheduled excursions? Planning on driving to Punta Sur eco park, as well as a little swimming hole on the northwestern end of Coz and basically drive around and site see. I don’t scare easy. Just want to keep my wife safe.
mediumone
Contributor
No, not anything to be concerned about.
Please get off the resort.
Mexico/Cozumel is a wonderful place.
On our non-diving days, we love to walk way, way up into the 'hoods.
MidOH
Contributor
Get a quote for a private van.
They'll show you around and keep you safe.
Last I did one, it wasn't even twice as much as the rental.
They'll show you around and keep you safe.
Last I did one, it wasn't even twice as much as the rental.
Love Mexico. Been to Mexico 8 times. Love going off resort. That’s why I wanted to be sure. Thanks.
If you can go out and about in NY, Cozumel is much safer. When I lived in NYC, the first few pages of the paper were all the murders that took place the day before. How many mass shooting in US was last year? 655 mass shootings in US for 2023.
Most crime on Cozumel is drug related but this is the 1st business heist I have read in awhile. Maybe it was an inside job or someone who used to work there and knew the routine.
cozcharlie
Contributor
The violent crime rate has increased quite a bit, but tourists are rarely targeted/affected. I would say where tourists used to be much safer in Cozumel than in the states, now they are only slightly safer. It is the trend that is most worrisome. As violent crime increases, the chance of someone winding up as collateral damage increases.
Petty crime has been and continues to be worse than the states (they basically never punish anyone, so why not steal stuff?). Just like in the states, don't leave anything remotely valuable visible in an unattended vehicle. Don't take anything unnecessary with you around the island that might get stolen out of the car.
The lack of punishment for smaller crimes is just leading to bigger crimes. You don't hear as much about most petty crime because it is so ridiculously commonplace that people don't even bother to mention specific instances. For most of my friends with homes, the question isn't if there home has been broken into, but how many times. I had one acquaintance that was broken into twice in one night (the guy had dropped something and came back for it after the police left following the first break -in). As far as Mr Sancho's goes--that wasn't an isolated incident. When the manager(owner?) was complaining about what happened to him he mentioned that something similar had happened to a friend the week before (but without the shooting). The police hadn't done anything despite a lot of evidence.
Bottom line is you are fine renting a car and driving around the island as far as your personal safety is concerned, but the taxi isn't a bad idea either so you can drink and have someone to watch your stuff. (and not have to worry about one way streets and crazy drivers if you are planning to spend time in town. )
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