Safety in Mexico: what overland travellers should know
Our summary of the country advice published by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Viaggiare Sicuri) on 26 May 2026.
Safety
- States to avoid — The ministry says to avoid travel to Sinaloa, where rival factions of the cartel have been at war since September 2024 with a heavy army deployment, and to Guerrero, where there has been widespread violence in Chilpancingo, Acapulco and the rural areas; if you do go to a tourist destination in Guerrero, fly. Non-essential travel is also to be avoided in Michoacán, Sonora and Tamaulipas, where firefights between the security forces and criminal groups are frequent.
- States needing extreme care — Jalisco has seen serious clashes between drug cartels and the security forces: limit movements there, above all at night and in rural areas, and cover the legs to Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta by air. Maximum caution also applies in Estado de México, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Baja California, Colima, Chiapas, Zacatecas and Veracruz, where criminal groups are present in force and clashes between rival cartels can spill over into attacks on public transport. Parts of Puebla have seen firefights between security forces and the gangs that tap fuel pipelines, and coaches on public and tourist routes get robbed, mainly at night, in Chiapas, Jalisco, Mexico City, Estado de México and Veracruz.
- Chiapas highways only — Robberies of foreigners and demands for informal road tolls have been reported when crossing rural communities in Chiapas, and the ministry says not to venture off the state highways. Some indigenous communities do not welcome foreigners, who are sometimes disrespectful of local customs, so do not take photographs without asking permission first.
- Capital districts and kidnapping — In the capital, thefts and robberies concentrate in crowded places such as the metro, bus terminals and markets; avoid the Tepito and Iztapalapa districts and, in the urban belt, Ecatepec, Naucalpan and Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl. Kidnapping for extortion happens, as do virtual kidnappings, where money is extorted from the victim under threats or relatives are made to believe someone has been taken. If you are robbed, stay calm and do not resist or try to run, because reactions are often violent.
- Land borders — Migration flows heading into Mexico through Guatemala can cause problems at the border, and the ministry says to avoid crossing land borders in those areas and to follow the instructions of the local authorities. The land borders with the United States, Guatemala and Belize are open, but the Guatemalan ones can close periodically, so check their status before setting off.
- Earthquakes, volcano, cyclones — Mexico is strongly seismic: the south-Pacific coastal states Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas are high-risk areas, and Mexico City and the whole Valle de México feel quakes with epicentres more than a hundred kilometres away because of the subsoil. The Popocatépetl volcano south-east of the capital sits at alert level Yellow phase II, and civil protection asks people not to stay within 12 km of it. The Pacific coast and the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatán peninsula in particular, get cyclones roughly between June and October.
Before you rely on this
This is our summary of advice written by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Italian travellers, published on 26 May 2026. We summarise in good faith, but we cannot guarantee it is accurate, current or complete, and we take no responsibility for decisions made on the basis of it. Rules change without notice and are applied by officials at the border, not by websites. Always read the original source and the travel advice your own government publishes for Mexico before you travel. GuideMeet has no way of checking whether an individual guide meets any standard mentioned here — ask them directly.
Source: Viaggiare Sicuri — Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, updated 26 May 2026. Last checked by GuideMeet on 2026-09-20.