Every year, many U.S. citizens travel to Mexico for vacation, including Spring Breakers. In 2017, 28.6 million tourists visited Mexico and 8.22 million were U.S. citizens who traveled by air, according to a report published by the Mexico Board of Tourism.
In an interview with The Rider, Ashley Garrigus, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Consular Affairs, said she recommends students follow the four steps of the Traveler’s Checklist before traveling abroad.
“The first [step] is to get informed,” Garrigus said. “So, for Mexico, we want people to read the information that we have … in our page.”
Information about Mexico, and for any other country, like entry/exit requirements, local laws or medical care can be found at travel.state.gov/destination by searching for your destination.
She said the second step is to make sure you have all the required documents.
“Your U.S. passport, check the expiration date before you travel, so it does not expire while you are there or you get to the airport and find out that it is expired when you are at the airport,” Garrigus said.
The third step is to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP, which is a program that allows the Bureau of Consular Affairs to get in touch with U.S. travelers if there is an emergency, Garrigus said.
“Let’s say you are visiting Mexico City, if there is a pretty serious earthquake, we can have your contact information on file to reach out to you if anything should happen,” Garrigus said.
To enroll in STEP, visit step.state.gov.
Garrigus said the fourth recommendation is to buy travel insurance.
“A lot of times when people are traveling abroad, they don’t realize that their medical insurance does not cover them when they are overseas,” she said. “So, having the travel insurance, which a lot of times you can buy as you are purchasing your flight, means that if you are, you know, at a really fun event as part of Spring Break and you slip and fall and get really injured, you can be covered for whatever medical treatment you end up needing to have while you are traveling.”
Samantha Lopez, UTRGV director of International Admissions and Student Services, told The Rider that students who plan to travel to Mexico should check the Mexico travel advisory published by the Bureau of Consular Affairs.
“My recommendation is for them to be very careful,” Lopez said. “Basically, right now, they are recommending not to travel to the states of Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas. We know that we have a lot of students that are from Matamoros, [Tamaulipas, Mexico,] but there is nothing that they can do about it. We might have students that are not from Mexico that they might want to travel to one of the states and we are telling them, ‘This is what they say and in the end, they are the experts.’”
She said students can still visit other places in Mexico that do not have a travel warning.
To see these travel advisories, visit travel.state.gov/destination and then click on Country Information and then search for your country of destination. In this case, Mexico.
Garrigus said students should be aware of these advisories before they visit Mexico.
“Overall, Mexico is a pretty safe country to travel to,” she said. “Millions of U.S. citizens travel there every year, but there are certain areas within Mexico where we recommend people to not travel because of safety. We want people to be aware of that before they go.”
Garrigus also recommends that travelers drink responsibly.
“Over the past year, there have been reports from U.S. citizens concerned that they may have consumed unregulated alcohol,” she said. “So, we are just telling people to drink responsibly and in moderation. Stop and seek medical attention if you start to feel sick and if you have any questions about that or you need to report that you experienced what you think was drinking unregulated alcohol, you should contact us.”
Depending on where you are in Mexico, there will be a U.S. Consulate or a Consular Agency that is closer to you, Garrigus said.
Lopez advises students to take safety precautions.
“Always use the toll roads when possible,” she said. “Avoid driving at night. Do not display wealth, such as wearing expensive watches or jewelry. Always be extra vigilant at the ATMs or when visiting banks. So, if they are going to do that, they … [should] have already their cash or their form of payment ready so that they don’t go to one of these places.”
Lopez also recommends students to enroll in STEP.
Garrigus said there is also a page that contains information specifically for students.
To view the page, visit travel.state.gov, go to International Travel and click on the Students Abroad button.
For more information about traveling to Mexico, call the U.S. Embassy in Mexico at 011-52-55-5080-2000 or email ACSMexicoCity@state.gov. In case of an emergency while traveling to Mexico, call 01-55-5080-2000, Ext. 0. To see the locations of all U.S. embassies and consulates, visit usembassy.gov.
