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As a Woman, Can I Really Travel Without Much Fear for my Safety?

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Inside Slum Tourism

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Break Bread and Brie in France

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10 Wanderlust-Inducing Summer Concerts

Call it world music or global pop or the sound of the world hum. Ben Keene reveals 10 acts on tour that are sure to transport you. Plus videos.

A Journey Into ‘The Second World’

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‘The Worst Guidebook Writer Ever’?

Lonely Planet author Robert Reid reviews Thomas Kohnstamm’s “Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?” and weighs in on the controversy surrounding it

A Bad Situation Gets Worse in Tijuana

Hi Jim:

I wish I was in Tijuana, eating barbecuuuuuued ig-u-a-na!

Now I feel bad. I know I don’t have to lie to feel comfortable in a crowd, but what of it.

I dare you to step over this borderline. Knock this battery off my shoulder. Victory doesn’t taste so sweet. It leaves kind of a bitter taste in my mouth.

In the margins of our modern-day maps, the winged harpies are howling for revenge, like in that Tarantino-backed road stop movie full of vampire banditos.

I’ll eat Fritos until I pass out tonight, vowing not to visit the somber sombrero shade of touristic Tijuana and its “Yello!” jello-shot joykills.

Viva Zappata!

Sad but true. Tijuana has so much potential for tourism that it’s amazing how they managed to screw it up. I guess the new border crossing identification rules didn’t help either.

There’s a decline of tourism to the US in general. You guys make it hell for o/s people to visit

This is happening in many Mexican border towns.  Some are outright battlegrounds w/politicians and police being gunned down in the street in daylight. 

Unfortunately, it is now overflowing the border into some US border towns.

Tolerance is not acceptance.  Hopefully the Mexican govt and citizenry will help themselves and take care of their business.

Yet many people still think it’s ‘unfair’ for US to want to know who, how, when, where and why someone comes to visit US.  Kinda like your own home’s front door.  It’s done for sea and air travel, why not by ground where it’s currently much easier to avoid such unpleasant details? 

BTW we (US) just gave Mexico $1.4Billion so they can shore up their SOUTHERN border from illegal border crashers.

Going to Baja California is somewhat respresentative of what happens there. We frequent going to places there such as, Tijuana, Ensenada, Rosarito and Puerto Nuevo. Places for getaway, amusement, shopping and eating. We hadn’t had any problems our times there. For the most part if you’re respectful and not the typical arrogant ugly teen or party idiots that go there you shouldn’t have any problems.
We’re just curious if anyone who is living there or know of people who have first hand experience there where and when are the typical areas that are affected by these drug wars or other crimes? tourist areas? Against tourists? Kidnapping of rich people? What’s reported is at times accurate but often times exaggerated. Crimes happen in the U.S. everyday. But not as high profile as the drug wars. It seems it’s at the hideouts or homes of the drug cartels against each other or against the law enforcement of Baja.
Opinions? Actual first hand news or happenings?

p.s.
I respect and support the right of any sovreign country protecting and policing it’s border from illegal and unwanted interlopers friendly or unfriendly. Especially the terrorist , drug, and criminal kind like Mexico does with it’s southern borders.
As the U.S. does and will do with both of it’s borders. You want no borders move to Europe.

I am in Los Barriles, Baja Sur (between Cabo and La Paz, and it appears that there are even less visitors this far south. While I can’t say border violence is the ONLY cause, I do hear people talking about it.  We have been traveling down here for years and have reassured ourselves that the Mexican government would protect us as their largest source of income.  What has changed?