These 2 Stunning Colonial Cities Are The Safest In Mexico Right Now

Regardless of destination, safety is a primary concern for Americans traveling abroad in the current climate, particularly considering the rising levels of crime across various destinations, including those once deemed low-risk, and the state of geopolitics.

In Mexico, it’s clearly no different:

While we have been fierce defenders of Mexico for years now and have clearly called out the mainstream media’s biased reporting of crime levels south of the border, there’s no denying that, yes, in certain Mexican states, taking certain extra precautions is warranted.

When it comes to safety levels, they can be drastically different between different destinations, and that’s something the U.S. Department of State has already acknowledged:

How do the U.S. Safety Advisories Work?

In their latest review of the security situation across Mexico, the U.S. government body classified a majority of Mexican states as ‘Level 2′.

If you’re unfamiliar with the lingo, just think of it as ‘safety thermometer‘. The lower the classification (Level 1) the safer a state, or city is, and the highest (Level 4) is reserved for no-go zones where U.S. citizens are at a heightened risk of being affected by crime.

States like Quintana Roo, which includes popular tourist destinations like Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, Baja California Sur, the home of the laid-back resort towns of Cabo San Lucas and La Paz, and the national capital Mexico City are all at Level 2.

This means Americans are not discouraged from visiting, though they should exercise extra caution, mostly due to petty crime and similar non-violent incidents.

Meanwhile, Level 3 is reserved for states with a suboptimal security track record: these include Jalisco (though Puerto Vallarta is noted as an exception), Guanajuato, Morelos, and most other states in central Mexico, and along the Pacific Coast.

Finally, Level 4 is where travel is advised against due to the widespread gang activity: these include Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa (the coastal city of Mazatlan is deemed safer), Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.

So which Mexican destinations made it to the much-desired Level 1? Well, at this point in time, only two lucky ones:

Merida

The capital of the Level 1 state of Yucatan, Merida has been considered, for quite some time now, one of the, if not the safest city in Mexico.

This is due to the fact that it is located hundreds of miles away from the busy Caribbean Coast, where illicit drugs, scamming culture, and corruption are deep-seated problems, and the local police’s low tolerance towards criminals.

Cancun may add all the security personnel over the high season it wants, but it still comes nowhere near Merida’s omnipresent police presence, and low levels of organized crime.

According to Yucatan Magazine, it has only 100 crimes per 100,000 residents, while the national average is a whopping 632.1. Safety aside, Merida is one of the most beautiful places one could visit in Mexico:

Its Historic Center, largely derived from the colonial period, is still a European-like maze of cobble-paved lanes, peppered with family-run cantinas and shops housed in historic 19th-century edifices, and dominated by a stone-built Renaissance cathedral.

The coolest part about the cathedral, easily Merida’s cultural centerpiece, is that the Spanish used pieces of disassembled native temples to erect it. This clash of worlds is also seen in the local cuisine, which carries Iberian and native Mayan influences, and the diverse population.

San Francisco de Campeche

Bordering the state of Yucatan to the south, Campeche is the only other state in Mexico to enjoy a Level 1 designation. To keep it brief, Americans have no major concerns visiting, and they’re not even urged to be extra-careful.

Beautiful nature and fascinating Mayan ruins aside, if there’s one spot you can’t miss in Campeche, it’s its namesake capital (San Francisco de) Campeche, a laid-back city born out of the boundaries of Spanish-era fortifications.

The Historic Center is surrounded by these same walls, formerly used to fence off pirates and assailants aiming for Campeche from the Gulf, yet its imposing ramparts and city gates now host fascinating museums, most notably the City Museum.

On that note, Campeche is one of only 2 cities in North America to have retained most of its colonial walls. The other one? You’d have to fly all the way north to Quebec City to find out what the French were up to in the 1600s.

Other must-see landmarks are the Cathedral of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, a Baroque wonder dating back to the 18th century, Fuerte de San Miguel, part of the city’s complex defense system, and the old signorial houses in the colonial core.

As for its impressive safety, Campeche has its compact size and effective policing to thank for: it is far less crowded than many other cities around the Yucatan Peninsula, and this means less opportunity for crime to thrive.

Plus, law enforcement is highly proactive, and it certainly helps that the city’s primary appeal is its UNESCO-listed center.

In other words, people don’t come here to party and do lines, bringing along with them dealers and bad elements. They’re drawn to the Old World allure of it.

How To Check The Security Situation At Your Destination

Heading to Mexico in the near future? You should know not two destinations are alike, and there are travel advisories in place for each Mexican state (and they vary wildly).

If you feel official Government websites are too complex to navigate, and too wordy, feel free to use our TOP U.S. Travel Advisory Checker, based off of the U.S. Department of State.

Simply type in Mexico in the search bar, then select the state you’ll be visiting. Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, Tulum, and all the Mexican Caribbean hotspots are all under Quintana Roo.

For Puerto Vallarta, that’s the state of Jalisco, and if you’re heading to Los Cabos, that’s Baja California Sur.

Vinicius Costa

Vini, our senior lead writer at Travel Off Path, has over 60+ countries under his belt (and currently weaving tales from Paris!), and a knack for turning off-the-beaten-path experiences into informative stories that will have you packing your bags.