Is Mexico Safe? (Guanajuato Edition)

in travel •  7 years ago 

It's a question we are asked constantly. Isn't Mexico dangerous? Aren't you guys scared to be there with the drug cartels and everything? Well, it's been a little over two months now and we have a much better understanding of the safety of this country.

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(Another @TangerineTravels imposter!)

In this video, we explore whether the city of Guanajuato is safe or dangerous based on 7 factors:

  1. Steep Hills
  2. Getting Hit by Cars
  3. Driving
  4. Scams and Tourist Traps
  5. Walking at Night
  6. The Bugs
  7. Drug Cartels

This is an incredibly touchy subject for Mexican natives, travelers, and those outside of the country. So we did our best to tackle it with grace and a bit of humor.

Make sure to watch through to the end to see Laska sporting some stunna shades. 😎

Watch the full video below.


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We use this action cam to shoot our videos.


Curious to learn more about us?
Check out @wadepaterson's 20 Questions with TangerineTravels.

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Until next time,
@sharingeverybite (Maddie)
@shenanigator (Jordan)
(and Laska the Siberian Husky)

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that's not fake news! thank you for sharing!

Amazing dear
Wherever you go, go with all your heart.

This is the first of your videos that I have watched but I really liked your fresh angle on reviewing the safety of a city and of a course your sensible assessment of the drug cartel's threat. Made me think of my trip to Cancun, when I went alone and people at work were very concerned for my safety. I stayed in a hostel within the city itself, not at the hotel strip, and I found it remarkably safe with a convenient bus.

Keep up the good work!

Hey, thanks for watching! We’ve been traveling throughout Mexico for a while now and think the dangers are way overblown by the media, at least in the US.

We have yet to make it to Cancun or anywhere on the Yucatán peninsula for that matter. But, I’m sure we’ll get there eventually!

I think you're right and the unfortunate thing is that US reporting gets carried over to Canada, at least in part.

Will you be traveling anywhere in Central America?

We'll be staying in Mexico for now, at least until our 6-month visa is up. Not sure where we'll be going after that. Central America is a possibility in the future.

I strongly recommend Guatemala, great variety of things to see, friendly people and affordable costs. I'm still looking to do a hike to El Mirador in the future, but I've done something in most other parts of the country.

good old beetle.

I think like everywhere else in the world, it depends how aware you are of your surroundings. I have been to Asia by myself even at places considered dangerous and did not have any problems. However, I think I would have my issues as a girl alone in Mexico, but maybe it's just my perception at the moment... :)

I think that once you got to Mexico, you'd find that it's not nearly as scary as people make it out to be. In fact, it's really not scary at all!

Did you get a chance to watch the video?

The only thing(s) that are scary in Mexico are the CocoBongo nightclubs. People get so horrifically wasted that it's quite scary to watch..Other than that, we have absolutely adored exploring the east Caribbean coastline of Mexico. Seems that you guys had fun as well ;)

CocoBongo? Is that the name of the business or is that a specific kind of club? I don't think we've seen or heard of those.

We have had a lot of fun exploring Mexico. We just wish we did it sooner!

Thanks for watching :)

Yeah, it's some kind of a club. One of the promoters tricked us into going in on of these clubs in Playa Del Carmen. He told us that it's a really unique type of club that offers a variety of different quality tribute bands, performers and dancers that give it their all to make sure that you'll experience an unforgettable night of your life (the tickets go from 80-130$) per person which also includes an unlimited supply of all exclusive local alcoholic drinks and cocktails. Sounds good right ? Unfortunately, not by a long shot. We have quickly realized that we've made a big mistake. The tribude "bands" and "performers" weren't actually performing because they were just holding the mic as someone elese was playing youtube videos on the main srceen. Yes, YOUTUBE videos. Their costumes were worn out and many of the dancers were barely moving and mostly gave the impression "I'm to old for this shit". The "exclusive alcoholic drinks and cocktails" turned out to be the worst possible and the lowest quality types of drinks that we've ever came across in a club. Only one type of beer was served from a warm plastic bottle and any normal kid, found in play parks, would have made better and more balanced cocktails. For some strange reason, the majority of the crowd was really content with this kind of entertainment. Oh yeah, I forgot that me and my girlfriend went in sober while 95% of the people inside were absolutely wasted on shit quality alcohol - that came back from people's stomachs as much as it went inside, gross..
Looking back, I think that we've never felt so tricked in our entire travel history.
It's way better to spend all thay money (200$) doing some scuba diving in Cozumel, which is a wonderful island located just next to Playa Del Carmen. Sorry fro the essay, I just wanted yo portray just what kind of a place this CocoBongo really is.
See ya 😊

Oh my gosh, that sounds horrible! And expensive considering what else you could buy for your money there. Whenever we have a terrible experience like that, we post reviews everywhere we can online (yelp, tripadvisor, google, etc) to help others avoid those experience.

I know, I experienced myself that the best thing is just to go. I hope I will jump over my shadow soon :)

I've spent a lot of time in Oaxaca. I felt safe when I'm there, but there are definitely a lot of things to know about and to be aware of before going there.

Were you in Oaxaca city or the state of Oaxaca?

I was in Oaxaca city most of the time or right outside of Oaxaca city around Mitla.

Hey guys, I just came across your channel and have been enjoying your content. I'm a writer and fellow gringo who's been living south of the boarder for over a year now in Mexico City. If you make it the DF, give me a shout and I'd be happy to show you around. Not trying to self-promote, but since your focus is Mexico and we touch on some of the same things you might enjoy this article. Saludos.

https://steemit.com/travel/@natelost/a-plea-to-my-brother-family-and-fellow-gringos-to-visit-me-in-mexico

Cool man, thanks for reaching out. We don't have any plans for the immediate future except to head to Guadalajara but if we make it to DF we'll let you know.

Thanks for subscribing on YouTube!

fo sho. good luck...

This is a very important video because lot of people have stereotypical ideas about certain countries. I also liked your light hearted approach to what is undoubtedly a heavy subject.
That being said, something tells me that this is not the first time Alaska has put on sunglasses. She just looked too comfortable Lol.
Do you guys have any issues with mosquitos at all?

Hahaha! Laska may have worn sunglasses in the past. She was just happy to be outside getting some sun!

In Guanajuato we haven't seen a single mosquito, but that could change when the rainy season comes in June. We probably won't be in the city to tell you about the mosquito situation at that time.

352/500...this is going at a faster pace than anticipated. This is a good testament to the fact that, you are both doing great. Like I always tell You, I enjoy your videos and posts. What you are doing is no easy feat. I couldn't resist the urge to let you know, you are doing great.

Glad you have no issues with the drug cartels. Most of the times, like the locals told You, what is said in the news are mostly amplified, and might not be the true reflection. Not that it doesn't exist, but not as rampant as they sometimes make it sound. Glad your overall stay has been safe. I am still a little concerned about the steeps and the narrow roads hahaha. You are so smart to adapt quickly. Well done. Hope your day went well, and you are pretty relaxed? Say hello to Laska for me. Whoof!. Haha

If this pace keeps up we think we'll be able to hit that goal pretty easily; it looks like the count is 377 now.

I'm sure there are some real dangers here (as there are most places) but they seem to be highly over exaggerated by a lot of people. It makes you dismiss most things you hear and not really know what warnings to heed and who to listen to. It's unfortunate. If people only warned you about things that they themselves were very familiar with, we'd be in a much better position to protect ourselves from any dangers.

Exactly. So many hearsays. It causes unnecessary panic and confusions.
The target would approach faster. Yaaaay!.

Maybe they should think about adopting crypto maybe? Think about it, it can make a big difference in the economy, as especially over there.

The next time their government destroys their currency I’m sure they’ll have a lot of converts to crypto.

Hola muy bonito todo en especial el carro aquí en Venezuela le decimos congo rocho o escarabajo... a ese tipo de automóvil...tiene una gran maleta...jejeje...siempre me monto en uno que tiene mi cuñado..el del es azul..pero me encanto ese por su llamativo color...saludos algún día me gustaría visitar México...un abrazo....la seguridad dependerá de la precaución que tomes...saludos

Hola muchachos.
Me encanto el video y les deseo suerte.
Cuídense mucho y la seguridad muchas veces depende de nosotros mismos.
Saludos

Gracias por ver el video!

I love the beetle! Such a nice video of you! :) Keep up the good work

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I think its depends on how we should prevent bad things happening in the country.

That's a difficult question to answer, but at the very least, we can all make efforts to make every place safer to be. Hope you enjoyed the video! Thanks for commenting.

Yes i did enjoyed

If that's the, We can say the same thing about Chicago or London. It is true that Mexico has its challenges but it isn't a stereotyped story of guns and drugs

The grass always looks better or worse till you get there!!
Great post @tangerinetravels
Joy

Mexico es el país que siempre quise conocer... su cultura me apasiona, el sentido de pertenencia tan arraigado que tiene cada ciudadano mexicano. Me encanta!

Hallo, I m from Russia and write about Russia. Please come and join me!!

nice post! following you now

Thanks- with this video you have been great ambassadors of Mexico. For some of us, our views of Mexico are coloured by news of the drug cartels.

with this video you have been great ambassadors of Mexico.

That's so great to hear. The country is portrayed in a poor light by the US media and government. We want to show people what it's actually like here!

İs world safe ? :)

Nice question you are right

Mexico nice travel... thank you very nice post follow you blog.

hi you, you can follow me not, thank you very much!