Buffalo, NY (WBEN) After the US Embassy issued a travel advisory for Mexico, AAA is offering advice for people planning to spend spring break there.
AAA"s Elizabeth Carey says the most important things is to keep an eye on your surroundings. "Make sure that you have legitimate travel plans made in advance. For example, if you're going down to Mexico, if you want to go on an excursion, make sure that's booked through your travel agent or through your resort or your cruise line, so you're not just going with some stranger that you met on the beach or on the street to go, say, snorkeling or something like that," advises Carey. She warns a lot of different crimes can happen in Mexico. "It could be something like robbing they see a US tourist there, and they're going to try and pickpocket the person, or hold them up and say, you know, give us your wallet. And whatever it might be, sometimes you're just better off going along with that, but being aware of your surroundings and making sure that you're following the rules and you know that you're just have a heightened sense of safety.," adds Carey.
Carey says not all parts of Mexico are under the advisory. "There are different travel advisories at different levels, so they're saying to reconsider travel to certain areas like Baja California, for example, but places like Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, a lot of common places where people go on vacation, you'll be safe if you go to your resort and you follow the restrictions that are there," says Carey.
Carey says if you purchase like travel insurance that allows you to cancel for any reason, you have to look at the fine print and see if you would lose any of the money that you've put down on your trip.
If you do head out, Carey suggests you enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. "This way the US Embassy is going to know where you are, and if they need to get important information to you, you'll through the step process, provide your contact information to them so they can get the important information due of what is taking place," says Carey. She says it's important to make sure you let the government know where you are, so the US Embassy can contact you or contact your emergency contact in the event of an emergency.
Violence on February 22 prompted the alert from the US Embassy.