Solo Female Travel in Mexico - Is Mexico Safe?

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Is it safe for a woman to travel alone in Mexico? ABSOLUTELY.

Mexico gets a undeserved bad reputation for travel, particularly in the United States. Much of this is due to the cable news environment with its exaggerated narratives that Mexico is full of drug cartels and murderers.

This is not what Mexico is actually like. In fact, the real Mexico is so different that you’ll be stunned.

My name is Kate and I write about solo female travel for a living. And I’ve spent a lot of time traveling in Mexico, including living in the lovely city of Mérida for a few months.

Even though I’ve been to more than 80 countries and all seven continents, there’s something about Mexico that pulls me back again and again. I hope to spend every winter there from now on!

Mexico is one of my favorite countries — both in general and for solo female travel.

This post was last updated in January 2021.

Table of Contents

Kate relaxes in a hammock on top of bright clear turquoise water in Bacalar, Mexico, running her hand through the water. — The ultimate lounge spot: Los Rapidos in Bacalar, Mexico.

Mexico is Great for Solo Female Travel

If this is your first time traveling solo, Mexico is a great choice. Mexico has good travel infrastructure, excellent hotels at a variety of price points, and several well-worn tourist trails, especially in the Yucatán. The food is familiar and delicious. English is spoken in touristy areas, but even when it’s not, Spanish is an easy enough language to pick up on your own. And the people are kind and helpful.

My advice for first-time solo female travelers is to plan your itinerary carefully — especially transportation. Figure out where you’ll be staying ahead of time, plan your forms of transportation (whether you take buses, rent a car, book a shuttle transfer, or fly between destinations), and the tours and activities you’d like to do.

And don’t skip on getting a SIM card (I use Telcel, which you can pick up at the airport and recharge at local convenience stores). It can help you with everything from GPS to translation.

I usually advise travelers to be flexible with their itineraries, but I think first-time solo female travelers benefit from having more structure.

If you’ve previously traveled solo, you’ll find Mexico to be an easy destination, especially if you speak some Spanish. But Mexico doesn’t have to be a lie-on-the-beach-and-don’t-leave-the-resort kind of destination. Whatever you’re into — cool cities, crazy scenery, diving or surfing or hiking — Mexico has everything in spades. See below for suggestions on where to go.

Street vendors serving food, set against a purple evening sky. — Street food vendors in Campeche at sunset.

Is Mexico Safe?

As soon as you announce that you’re planning a trip to Mexico, one of your parents or relatives or coworkers will say, “Don’t go to Mexico — it’s not safe.” And that may give you pause, especially if the person is someone you love or respect. But you need to consider the source first.

Considering the source is one of my top travel safety tips for women, and this is especially true for women traveling to Mexico. Most people have an opinion about Mexico, and if they’re not experienced in traveling the country, it’s likely a bad opinion informed by cable news.

Every time someone gives you advice about traveling to a destination, you should ask yourself the following questions:

Does this person travel?
Does this person travel in my style of traveling (i.e. backpacking as opposed to resort travel)?
Has this person been to this destination?
Has this person been to this destination recently (in the past 3-5 years)?

If the questions to all four questions is yes, then you’ve likely got a reliable source and should listen to him or her. If not, you should find someone who knows better.

And I’m someone who knows better. I’ve been teaching women how to travel the world safely for more than ten years now, and I’ve spent a lot of time in Mexico. I designed this guide to dispel myths and help women enjoy their trips to Mexico.

Here’s the most important part: CABLE NEWS DOES NOT GIVE YOU AN ACCURATE PICTURE OF WHAT IT’S LIKE TO TRAVEL IN MEXICO. Ever since 24-hour cable news debuted in the US, there has been a disproportional focus on horrors around the world, particularly in Mexico and the Middle East. And that goes triple for Fox News, a channel that frequently and blatantly lies to the public for the purpose of consolidating money and power, then avoids lawsuits because they’re branded as “entertainment,” not news.

Reporting exclusively on horrors outside the US borders and never showing any of the good stuff does not show you anything about what it’s like to travel in Mexico. The good stuff dominates — but it doesn’t make for compelling news.

But aren’t there drug cartels in Mexico?

Yes, but as long as you’re not going to Mexico for the purpose of trafficking drugs, you are not going to be involved in that. How often do you waltz into drug deals in your home country? How often do you accidentally end up in a meth lab? How often do you get in the way of drugs being transported? Most drug cartels operate in areas nowhere near where tourists go.

You’re not Walter White. They don’t care about you.

But aren’t there caravans of immigrants?

That’s not an issue for you and not a safety issue for anyone. The goal of Central American migrants is to get to the United States safely, and that route happens to go through Mexico. You likely won’t see any migrants if you stick to the tourist trail, and your chance of seeing a caravan is nearly zero. If you do see one, they won’t be interested in you.

Migrants are vulnerable to theft and sexual assault; they are in far more danger than you are.

But most importantly, the reason why so many Central Americans are fleeing their countries in the first place is because America’s interventionist policies in Central America ended up leaving the region destabilized and dangerous.

Aren’t they rapists?

That’s a pretty racist thing to say. Rapists are everywhere, and nine times out of ten women are raped by men they already know. I guarantee you personally know a rapist who thinks he’s a “nice guy.”

But I heard about something bad that happened in Mexico. Is it safe?

I’m not saying that tragedies never happen to travelers in Mexico. They do happen — but they’re rare. Far rarer than the public would have you believe.

A woman will occasionally die while traveling in Mexico — from a car accident, from a drink spiking or poisoning, or from drowning — but these are extremely rare incidents. Just as they are rare in your home country. And being kidnapped by cartels is something that happens far more in movies than real life. (Also, if you google “woman dies in Mexico,” most of the results pertain to botched cosmetic surgeries.)

Keep in mind that Mexico is an enormous country. Just because something bad happens somewhere in Mexico, it doesn’t mean it will affect your trip. An appropriate analogy would be to say, “It’s dangerous to go to Philadelphia — there’s drug violence in East St. Louis!” Or “It’s dangerous to go to the Grand Canyon — I just heard about a shooting in Chicago!” Or “You shouldn’t go to Martha’s Vineyard — there was an earthquake in Los Angeles!”

See how ridiculous that sounds?

Top 10 Travel Safety Tips for Women

Kate wearing a long denim skirt and bathing suit top, facing outwards while standing in ankle-deep clear blue water in Holbox. — Unbelievably clear water at Cabo Catoche on Isla Holbox.

Is Mexico good for first-time solo female travelers?

It depends on your travel experience and your plans for your trip. I think that for some women, Mexico would be a great first-time travel destination.

If all you’re doing on your Mexico trip is staying at a beach resort or hotel and doing day trips, then yes, Mexico is a very easy trip for first-time solo travelers. If you’re already an experienced traveler, you just haven’t traveled solo yet, Mexico could be a great option for you. And if you speak Spanish, life will be much easier for you.

If you’re planning a Mexico trip where you’re traveling independently by bus and visiting several different cities, that’s more of a challenging trip. Even more so if you don’t speak Spanish or you haven’t done much travel yet.

If you haven’t done a lot of travel before, and especially if you’ve spent all your time in small towns and haven’t experienced cities much, Mexico might be a bit too much, too fast. You may want to start traveling somewhere easier like England or Scotland, or you might want to join a group tour in Mexico.

Group Tours in Mexico

If you’re not quite ready to travel completely solo in Mexico, you can always join a group tour as a solo traveler! G Adventures, a company I’ve traveled with and recommend, has fun adventurous tours around the world, including Mexico tours. I like G because they are very solo traveler-friendly, they keep their groups small, and they are sustainability-minded.

Here are some of their most popular Mexico tours:

Classic Mexico Adventure (14 days, Mexico City to Playa del Carmen): The best of Mexico in two weeks, with cities, ruins, culinary hotspots, ending at the beach.
Mayan Highlights (9 days, from Playa del Carmen): A tropical lagoon, a great city, epic ruins, all in nine days.
Day of the Dead in Oaxaca (7 days, from Oaxaca): A week of exploring artsy Oaxaca and celebrating Day of the Day like the locals do.
Mayan Trail (11 days, Playa del Carmen to Antigua, Guatemala): The best of the Yucatan and Chiapas, finishing over the border in Guatemala.
See more of their Mexico tours here.

Getting ready for chilaquiles in Mérida!

Is Mexico good for experienced solo female travelers?

Hell yes! Mexico is an excellent choice for experienced solo female travelers. A lot of people don’t realize just how diverse and rich of a destination Mexico is. If you want to go city-hopping, go ahead. If you want to go ruin-hopping, go ahead. If you want to explore jungles and swim in cenotes or camp in the desert or even go winery-hopping (!), you can do it in Mexico.

My big tip for experienced solo female travelers is to avoid the biggest tourist spots — namely, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and the Mayan Riviera that extends through that region. Sure, this is a fun place to visit, but it’s extremely touristy, and the crowds can be insane, especially during high season (December to March).

I would. Oh, and a tip — Tulum gets all the publicity, particularly from the bohemian/stylish travel contingent, but it’s past its prime now. Bacalar has that wonderful quality Tulum used to have; the island of Holbox does, too.

Isla Holbox is a throwback in the best way.

What You ACTUALLY Have to Worry About in Mexico: Water Safety and Noise

The water in Mexico is not safe to drink. If you’re not used to Mexican water, drinking it can lead to illness. There are two ways around this: drink bottled or sterilized water, or sterilize it yourself.

While most travelers in Mexico rely on bottled water, it creates a major waste issue. For this reason, I recommend you bring a reusable bottle and invest in a SteriPen water purifier (much better and faster than tablets). Alternatively, you can bring a LifeStraw, a bottle that purifies water as you drink it through its straw. I love my LifeStraw.

If you stay in hotels, guesthouses, or apartment rentals in Mexico, it’s common for them to provide you with drinking water. If it’s unclear, just ask!

Noise is more of a convenience thing than a safety issue. Mexico is loud. Church services blare music into the night. Firecrackers explode with regularity. Trucks drive down the streets with loudspeakers blasting advertisements. And bus rides always have movies playing at top volume. If you’re not prepared, the noise of Mexico can drive you insane.

For this reason, I recommend you bring earplugs, and you may want to consider investing in heavy-duty earplugs. If you’re planning on working while in Mexico, you may be interested in noise-canceling headphones.

Indigenous women dancing in brightly colored dresses in front of the brightly lit cathedral underneath a blue sky in Oaxaca, Mexico. — Indigenous dancers performing in Oaxaca.

Travel Safety Tips for Mexico

Dress to blend in with Mexican women. Your goal is not to “pass” as Mexican — it’s to look like you’re a longtime resident, not a tourist. Dressing similarly to locals helps immensely with this. Mexican women, like many Latin American women, tend to wear long pants but don’t have qualms about showing more skin up top.

It’s good to dress a bit more conservatively than usual, especially in traditional areas. If you’re visiting a church or religious site, cover to your shoulders and knees. You have more leeway in resort areas. Only wear swimwear at the beach.

When I’m in Mexico, I usually wear long dresses or skirts or jeans with tank tops. Sometimes knee-length dresses, but never anything super short, and never shorts.

The Walking Company is my go-to for comfortable shoes that are cute; I strongly recommend black ABEO flats, which have fantastic arch support.

Consider bringing a Speakeasy Travel Supply scarf. These beautiful scarves have a hidden passport pocket in them. I love these scarves (I even designed my own!) and they are so good at keeping your valuables hidden. They’re also extremely chic and they come in different fabrics for all kinds of climates.

Get a SIM card. If your phone plan doesn’t work overseas (don’t roam, it’s crazy expensive), pick up a SIM card in the airport or in a shop on the street. This way you’ll always have internet on your phone in case of an emergency. I usually get a Telcel SIM card when I’m in Mexico.

Keep your drinks close to you. Don’t take drinks from strangers and don’t leave them out when you’re drinking them. Watch your drink like a hawk.

Don’t drink too much. Know your limits, and drink less than you usually do at home. Even when the margaritas are lovely! Be in a state where you’re aware of your surroundings.

Use reef safe sunscreen, even if you’re not swimming near a reef. Other kinds of sunscreen can be damaging to cenotes and lakes like Bacalar. Stream2Sea is a good reef safe sunscreen.

Peel your fruits and vegetables. If you’re going to eat raw fruits or vegetables, make sure they’re peeled.

Lock up your valuables in a portable safe in your hotel room. I do this with my Pacsafe Travelsafe and I consider it the most important thing I pack.

How to Protect Your Belongings on the Beach

Malaria is present in parts of Mexico. This is the Mexico malaria map from the Center for Disease Control in the US. Some travelers choose to take malaria pills and some choose not to. I’m not going to tell you what to do because that’s a conversation you and a medical professional should have. I recommend seeing a travel doctor.

The zika virus is also present in Mexico. Here is a map. Zika should be a concern of pregnant women, partners of pregnant women, and women who intend to become pregnant soon, but if you’re none of those things, you don’t need to worry. Some destinations in Mexico, like Mexico City, are at a high enough altitude that mosquitos are not present and zika is not a factor. Again, this is a conversation to have with your doctor.

Climates vary enormously in Mexico. It’s not all hot and tropical. I’ve had friends plan trips to cities like Mexico City and Guanajuato in winter, and they ended up freezing their buns off and buying a new wardrobe because they thought it would be summer weather like in Cancún. Do your research before you arrive.

Do not take drugs, even if you’re a party drug enthusiast. First, drugs in Mexico can be cut with poisonous substances. Second, if you’re caught, the police are not forgiving. If you’re into drugs, do it at home, not in Mexico.

Don’t be afraid of street food. Street food is life in Mexico, especially when it comes to tacos! Go where the crowds are; if there’s a line, it means the food is great and there’s high turnover. You may want to start with vegetarian food and slowly ease yourself into meat. Just don’t get tacos cheaper than 10 pesos each.

Hide your money in multiple places. Only take a small amount of cash and a debit card with you when going out. Keep the rest locked up in your room. Make sure you bring multiple debit cards, too, in case one gets lost or stolen.

Get an extra debit card. You should have two debit cards to two different bank accounts. If you only have one, I recommend you get a debit card from Transferwise. Keep a few hundred dollars in your account, hide the card deep in your luggage, and use it if your primary debit card is stolen.

Protect yourself from the sun and heat. Bring sunscreen and a hat. Hydrate constantly. Water is ideal, but coconuts are great for the electrolytes! Don’t forget your reusable bottle and SteriPen so you can drink the local water safely.

Finally, invest in a guidebook. Even as an expert traveler in the year 2019, I love guidebooks. They’re filled with detailed information about everything from travel times between cities to medical clinics serving foreigners. I’m a Lonely Planet fan and I recommend Lonely Planet’s Mexico guidebook. I buy the digital version and store the PDF on iBooks on my phone. You can either buy the whole thing or individual chapters, which is great if you’re only visiting a small part of the country.

Know Before You Go:

Top 10 Travel Safety Tips for Women

Kate swimming in the bright blue Cenote of Noh Mozon — Swimming in Cenote Noh Mozon, the most spectacular cenote I’ve ever seen.

The Best Experiences in Mexico

Mexico is full of interesting experiences. I could spend years in Mexico just trying to do everything. Here is just a sampler of things you can do:

Go cenote-hopping. The Yucatan is home to a high concentration of cenotes, natural freshwater sinkholes. The Mayans thought they were the gateway to the underworld. They are incredible places to go for a swim.

Where to Go in Mexico

Ah, here’s my favorite part of the post to write. There are so many amazing places to travel in Mexico! I keep adding more and more to my list!

If I had to name my three favorite places in Mexico, they would be Bacalar, Oaxaca, and Mexico City.

If you want to experience the best of Mexico in a two-week trip, I recommend exploring the Yucatán. Either by road trip or by bus, you can visit a tiny island and two spectacular lakes (one pink, one seven shades of blue!); gorgeous cenotes; Mayan ruins; a yellow city; and one of the coolest cities in Mexico. I put together the perfect two-week itinerary here.

If you love beaches, Mexico is chock full of beauties. Many people head to Cancún and the surrounding beach towns of the Quintana Roo region — think Playa del Carmen, Tulum, the Riviera Maya, the Costa Maya. My favorite beach destination is the island of Holbox.

Other great destinations are Baja California (think Los Cabos), the Riviera Nayarit (Sayulita and Puerto Vallarta are great), and the Oaxaca coast (check out Zipolite and Puerto Escondido).

And one of the best “beach destinations” in Quintana Roo is actually a lake! Bacalar is a lake of seven colors and it’s both a low-key destination and a stunning natural beauty. It’s positively magical.

If you love cities, Mexico City is nothing short of spectacular. It’s filled with art, culture, an amazing culinary scene, and hip neighborhoods, all for a very reasonable cost. Mexico City is nothing like you think it’s going to be. It’s layered and complicated and so green. I highly recommend staying in the La Condesa neighborhood.

One of Mexico’s most visually stunning cities is Guanajuato, a few hours from Mexico City. And I really love the smaller, low-key city of Mérida, the safest city in Mexico, home to Mayan culture and great restaurants. San Cristóbal de las Casas is a colorful gem in the middle of chilly Chiapas, and nearby Sumidero Canyon makes an adrenaline-filled day trip!

But perhaps the best medium-sized city to visit is Oaxaca. Oaxaca is home to Indigenous culture, outstanding cuisine, mezcal, and surrounded by stunning natural wonders. (Oaxaca is both the name of the city and the state.)

If you want to get off the beaten path in Mexico, you can definitely do that. One exciting trip further north is to Copper Canyon, where you can ride the train through some of the country’s most spectacular scenery. If you’re looking for an emerging city, check out Guadalajara and its excellent restaurants, bars, and breweries. The tequila fields of Tequila are a short drive away, too! And Campeche is a pint-sized colorful city between the Yucatan and Chiapas.

Why I Fell In Love with Isla Holbox, Mexico

An old-fashioned maroon car parked in front of a white building with two streets on each side of it, lined with jacaranda trees. — Mexico City is nothing like you think it will be!

Travel Insurance for Mexico

Travel insurance is vital for trips to Mexico — or any other country. If you get sick or injured on your trip, or even have to be flown home, travel insurance will help you in your time of need and protect you from financial ruin.

And it’s not just about injury. If you get robbed, travel insurance can refund you for what was stolen from you. If your flights are cancelled due to weather, travel insurance can refund you. And if you have an emergency and need to get home immediately, travel insurance will help you get home fast.

I use and recommend World Nomads travel insurance for trips to Mexico.

Kate wearing a red dress, standing in front of a bright yellow and white gate of Izamal in front of a bright blue sky. She holds a multicolored striped purse around her shoulder. — Enjoying Izamal, a bright yellow town!

Don’t be afraid — Mexico is waiting for you!

I have had so many wonderful experiences in Mexico, and I want you to have those experiences, too! And trust me — once you’ve gotten into Mexico, it’s hard to tear yourself away. Even though I’ve been so many times, I keep planning trip after trip.

I know you’ve got people in your life who think you’re crazy for wanting to travel Mexico alone — but you’re going to do great. Consider this your blessing. Read up on travel safety, go to Mexico, and have the time of your life.

Then come back and tell me all about it!

Planning a Trip to Mexico:

Places to Visit in the Yucatán and Mexico’s Caribbean Coast:

Places to Visit in Inland Mexico:

Places to Visit on Mexico’s Pacific Coast:

Have you traveled solo to Mexico? Have any travel tips? Share away!