Mexico Travel Advisory by State: Levels, Acapulco, Tijuana, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and the Monarch Sanctuaries

Somewhere between the first flight search and the last hotel booking, most travelers to Mexico stop and ask whether the place they have in mind is covered by a warning. The answer changes from one state to the next. The country as a whole sits at a moderate level, while a handful of states carry the strongest warning, and the beach towns, border cities and butterfly forests people ask about most fall on different sides of that line.

What is the travel advisory level for Mexico?

The U.S. State Department rates Mexico as a whole at Level 2, exercise increased caution, citing terrorism, crime and kidnapping. That is the national headline, and it is the same tier given to a number of popular destinations in the country.

The national level is only a starting point, because the advisory also sets a separate level for each state. Some states are rated lower than the country as a whole and some much higher, so the useful question is always which state your trip actually touches.

Mexico travel advisory by state

Each of Mexico’s states carries its own rating, and they fall into four groups, from normal precautions to do not travel.

Many of the best-known trips fall in the Level 2 group: Mexico City, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo and Baja California Sur. The two states at Level 1, Campeche and Yucatan, hold the colonial cities of Campeche and Mérida and a good share of the Maya sites.

Guanajuato, home to San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato city, is at Level 3, and the advisory says its gang violence mostly happens in the southern and central areas. Jalisco is also at Level 3, and in Guadalajara battles between criminal groups have taken place in tourist areas.

Is Acapulco safe to visit?

Acapulco is in Guerrero, a state rated Level 4, do not travel, which is the strongest warning the State Department gives.

Citing terrorism, crime and kidnapping, the advisory bars U.S. government employees from all parts of Guerrero, including tourist areas. It names Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Taxco and Ixtapa. The advisory further reports that kidnappings in that state have victimized U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.

For a beach vacation, that places Acapulco and the rest of Guerrero’s coast in a different category from the Level 2 resorts of Quintana Roo or Baja California Sur. Travelers who want a Pacific coast trip have other states to choose from.

Is Tijuana safe?

Tijuana is in Baja California, a state rated Level 3, reconsider travel, because of terrorism, crime and kidnapping.

The advisory calls attention to high homicide counts in Tijuana outside tourist areas, a far different scene from what most visitors find in the city. It also says the only travel restrictions in Baja California state are in the Mexicali Valley, with no additional restrictions elsewhere in the state.

Baja California Sur, the state with Los Cabos and La Paz, is a separate state at Level 2, with no specific restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees. The two Baja states are easy to confuse, and the advisory treats them very differently.

Is Cancun safe to travel to right now?

Cancun is in Quintana Roo, which the State Department rates Level 2, exercise increased caution, citing terrorism and crime.

That is the same level as the country as a whole and as Mexico City, Oaxaca and Baja California Sur, and well below the states at Level 3 and Level 4. The rating covers the whole state, so it applies to the Riviera Maya and the island towns as well as to Cancun itself.

Is Puerto Vallarta safe?

Puerto Vallarta sits in Jalisco, a Level 3 state, yet the advisory sets no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees there.

The state is rated reconsider travel because of terrorism, crime and kidnapping, and the warning names battles between criminal groups in tourist areas of Guadalajara. The advisory says U.S. government employees have no limits in the Guadalajara Metropolitan area, Chapala and Ajijic, or Puerto Vallarta and neighboring Riviera Nayarit.

Riviera Nayarit lies across the state line in Nayarit, which is at Level 2. So the same bay and coastline are covered by two different state ratings, and it helps to know which side your hotel is on.

Is it safe to visit the monarch butterfly sanctuaries?

It depends on which sanctuary, because three of the four open to visitors are in a state rated Level 4, do not travel.

El Rosario, Senguio and Sierra Chincua, three of the four monarch sanctuaries that CONANP opens, are in Michoacan. For U.S. government employees, the advisory puts the Monarch Butterfly Reserve on the list of places they may not enter, which takes in the parts of the reserve in Michoacan.

The fourth, Piedra Herrada, is in the State of Mexico, which is rated Level 2. For travelers who want to see the monarchs while staying outside a Level 4 state, that is the sanctuary the ratings point to.

Good to know before you go

Because the rating changes at every state line, it is worth checking the level of each state on your route before booking, especially on road trips that cross several. Hurricane season is a big deal along the coasts, with the Caribbean and Gulf tied to the Atlantic season and the Pacific coast keeping its own schedule that starts in mid-May. For small purchases, keep a bit of cash in pesos on you, and store copies of your papers away from the originals.