Is Mexico Safe for Study Abroad?

Ek Balam near Playa del Carmen, Mexico

This is a common question that we now receiving on a regular basis as we are still offering Spanish immersion programs in the great country of Mexico. While safety is paramount for Spanish Abroad when sending students to foreign countries, we also want to make the reality of certain situations clear to our students. This way they can take the information and feedback we provide to make an educated decision on what is the right location for them.  

Apparently many study abroad programs at Universities also receive similar questions from their students. The Michigan State Student newspaper reported yesterday on the effects of travel warnings from the US State Department preventing students from studying abroad in certain countries, while some locations are given waivers by the University for exceptions to the rule. Waivers are given for a lot of the Mexico locations specifically because they are not near, or have not experienced the violent incidents occurring in distinct areas of the country. 

Spanish Abroad staff understand that the majority of Mexico is safe to visit, while their are key locations to avoid. Much like Michigan state we look to a location in specific to see what the dangers are and mitigate risk by letting our students know what to avoid. The biggest part of Mexico to avoid at the moment are northern border areas where violence is most prevalent. Acapulco and Monterrey have also seen specific violent events transpire, but they are much lower in severity compared to a city like Juarez or Tijuana nor were they targeted at travellers. 

Beach by Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Our programs are far removed from border violence and for the most part have not had any incidents where the drug wars have played a factor in crime reports. Nor have tourists been targeted in a disproportionate amount outside of the typical pick pocketing or other aspects that are common in tourist zones. In fact none of our students that we have sent to Mexico have experienced any violent crime or even reported back any minor thefts over the past year or recent memory. 

While this is amazing and we are lucky that are students have traveled safely to Mexico, you have every right to consider a different choice for many factors. There are various reasons why you might choose to study Spanish in Spain, Costa Rica, Guatemala,  etc., safety is definitely a consideration and no location is 100% safe. In fact you may be safer in some of our locations than your own hometown. I could definitely vouch for this living in Phoenix and travelling to the majority of our locations. 

So, if you are thinking "Should I travel to Mexico"? Think of all the possibilities available. If your are leaning to a different country  to learn Spanish for other reasons, then you can easily decide by process of elimination. If your heart is set on Mexico, but safety is the only thing holding you back, feel free to give us a call and see what our student feedback has been. We are not set on sending you to any destination. Who knows perhaps we will determine that Chile is what you are really looking for, given your individual preferences. 

Be sure to check out the article on MSU's policies regarding their students studying abroad in unstable nations.