Mexico is a beautiful country, let me say that first. The white sand beaches, the food and culture and of course let’s not forget the people. But Mexico for someone who is straining their parents' bank account and probably isn’t in a state of sobriety can be challenging to say the least.
Here are 5 reasons why you should reconsider your bro trip to Cancun or ladies vacay to Cabo:
1. You have to tip
Okay I know, tipping should be a no-brainer. You should always tip your wait staff; they live off those things in most cases. But in Mexico where you usually stay in an all-inclusive plan where everything is provided (food, drink, amenities), tipping can slip into the back of your mind. A lot of people don’t keep cash on them because of this too. And you do need to tip those people, and they will remind you with sass and shitty service if you don’t.
2. Mexico can be dangerous
Mexico is not a place to be drunk by yourself, like most places. But the most terrifying moment in my life was walking back to my hotel alone one night in Cabo. Not only had I heard the horror stories of abductions, stick-ups, etc but it was just not a safe-looking place, to begin with. Long story short, if you want to relax and not look over your shoulder every five minutes to see if your pocket has been picked, don’t go to Mexico as a college kid.
3. You can't go to the hospital
Mexican hospitals are a big no-no in the guidebook to Mexico as a young adult. You don’t know what is in there and you don’t want to find out. If you ever find yourself in a Mexican ambulance about to be whisked away, do what my friend did when he found himself in that situation. Say you are fine (despite having a pretty bad concussion) and get out of there ASAP. Much like the water, you don’t want to mess around with public health services south of the border.
4. Drinking their water is a huge no-no
Love when I tie things together so seamlessly, this is what separates the pros from the amateurs. But yeah, like I said two lines back, something about Montezuma and his revenge means if you drink anything but bottled water you are ending up in a ball on the floor. Not what you want when you just want to beer bong Coronas with Becky.
5. Constant harassment on the beaches
If you are from a city, I’m sure you have dealt with this before. The constant harassment to buy people’s nick knacks that look like are made with Elmer’s glue and lead paint. Yeah I will pass every time on that. But in Mexico, not only are these street vendors more persistent, they’re also very mobile so they can harass you on a 20-minute interval basis on the beach. And even if you tell them to get lost, they either shoot you a look that might be an ancient Mayan curse, or they try to sell you drugs. Got to love that entrepreneurial spirit.
My final thought on this is that Mexico is not Disney Land. You can’t go there wide-eyed and licking a lollipop expecting everything to be sunshine and rainbows while you get plastered. The exact opposite actually, unless you are within the confines of your resort or on an excursion (maybe) you should trust 0 to -1 of the people there. They make a living on the tourist economy and everything from the legal to the illegal are their full-time jobs. If you do decide to spend your vacation with your buddies there, use these as basic guidelines. And don’t be afraid to add in your own, can never be to careful.
Oh, and don’t go to Mexican jail. If you think American jail is bad then you don’t want to see what they got cooking south of the Rio Grande.