Is Cozumel Safe?

July 1, 2011. An American living on Cozumel for 11 years

I believe Cozumel is the safest place I have ever lived. I lived in the U.S. in both large cities and small towns until retiring in 2000. After 24 years of vacationing on Cozumel, I realized this was as close to paradise as I had ever experienced. I always felt comfortable and safe here and I still do after living here 11 years.

But what about the drug wars? The news media is reporting the drug wars taking place on the border between the U.S. and Mexico.  They are real and they are terrifying. I would never consider traveling anywhere near the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Although the violence is generally between rival gangs and attacks on the police, I would still never risk being near that.

But Mexico is a large country, and Cozumel is a small island about 1,000 miles from the U.S. border and the drug wars.  It's about as far away as you can get from the U.S. and still be in Mexico. The island is 28 miles long and 10 miles wide with only one city. You can only get to Cozumel via air, (a busy international airport) on a cruise ship or by taking one of the regular ferrys that travels 12 miles across the Yucatan channel from the Mexican mainland to Cozumel.

But I'm not the only one who feels that Cozumel is a safe destination.  Here are what others are saying.

Houston Chronicle, June 14, 2011.

American and Mexican tourist and travel industry groups have asked the Texas Department of Public Safety to narrow its travel advisories about Mexico, saying the state's current warning is too broad and is hurting business.

The groups met with the Texas Secretary of State's office and DPS last week on behalf of companies and tourism agencies suffering from declining American travel to Mexico.

They say that less than 5 percent of Mexico is affected by cartel and drug violence and future DPS travel warnings should clarify which areas of Mexico pose the most threat to tourists.

"Out of roughly 2,500 municipalities, only 80 are currently recording problems with drug violence," said Shannon Stowell, president of the Adventure Travel Trade Association. "It's a very acute problem versus a ubiquitous problem."

Specifically, the organizations say that popular resort cities, such as Cancun, Los Cabos and Cozumel , are not dangerous for Americans.

"If you look at federal travel warnings, they are very editorial free, just reportage on the facts. But the one that came out of Texas had what I would call an inflammatory message. It was an unfair blanket statement," Stowell said. "It's a damage to our membership."

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/travel/news/7610938.html