Holiday destinations

[sburns]

Mexico spends a lot of money and is working very hard to keep quintaroo from becoming another Acapulco disaster

Sent from the future

Is this same country the one where the border security check is pushing a button?
Yeah I have little faith in how well they are going to protect stuff.

 

[bigpoppa]

Is this same country the one where the border security check is pushing a button?
Yeah I have little faith in how well they are going to protect stuff.

Dont you live in Scarborough?

 

[PacoT]

Back to holiday , go to Rome and dodge pickpockets , get mugged in Nairobi , snatch and grabs are everywhere in Peru and Chile . Any travel is not without risk , but it’s extremely manageable. I have zero fear of Mexico , but I’ll go to Cabo or the Quintanroo area where your miles from the problems . I dress down and take cabs, rental cars are targets .
Don’t go out looking for trouble and it won’t likely find you . So many horror stories have lots of drinking and coming home from the bar late attached to them .


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As a Mexican I concur with this ^^^^

 

[crankcall]

My wife has a fascination with Czar era Russia and wants to see the Hermitage and Winter palace stuff . But that’s a bad idea right now . So we will go to Alaska in June , on a clear day maybe we can see Russia .
Brother has been to Israel and Jordan annually for last 5yrs ( he’s churchy) and guess what ? That’s a bad idea this yr too . So he’s going to see family in Italy.
The world’s a really big place , you can see the places that are not on fire . Maybe things settle down and you can go in the future . Family friend has bought a hotel in Nicaragua, 10 yrs ago if your plane stopped in Nicaragua you stayed on board , now I’m headed down in April to learn surfing .
Pick fights worth having .


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[jc100]

My wife has a fascination with Czar era Russia and wants to see the Hermitage and Winter palace stuff . But that’s a bad idea right now . So we will go to Alaska in June , on a clear day maybe we can see Russia .
Brother has been to Israel and Jordan annually for last 5yrs ( he’s churchy) and guess what ? That’s a bad idea this yr too . So he’s going to see family in Italy.
The world’s a really big place , you can see the places that are not on fire . Maybe things settle down and you can go in the future . Family friend has bought a hotel in Nicaragua, 10 yrs ago if your plane stopped in Nicaragua you stayed on board , now I’m headed down in April to learn surfing .
Pick fights worth having .


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Nicaragua’s great. Recently the politics has left things a bit unstable though. Nicaragua is one of the few places left where a fistful of $CDN goes a very long way.

 

[bigpoppa]

I refuse to live in fear and have smaller balls than this person



afterall, not everyone can be as brave as a 100 lb, extra white dutch girl though.

 

[Mad Mike]

Nicaragua’s great. Recently the politics has left things a bit unstable though. Nicaragua is one of the few places left where a fistful of $CDN goes a very long way.

My daughter spent a few months studying in Nicaragua, then doing some service work helping teachers learn English.

Money did go a long way, food, drink, accommodations and local adventures were inexpensive. But money went a long way because there wasn't much worth spending it on. Dining was mostly Su Casa. $2-3/meal, $1 drinks, and fun stuff was mostly beach outings and hikes. Nightlife was dangerous, hungry dogs were a menace, and traveling alone was not advisable for foreigners. She was there just before the pandemic in 2019.

 

[jc100]

My daughter spent a few months studying in Nicaragua, then doing some service work helping teachers learn English.

Money did go a long way, food, drink, accommodations and local adventures were inexpensive. But money went a long way because there wasn't much worth spending it on. Dining was mostly Su Casa. $2-3/meal, $1 drinks, and fun stuff was mostly beach outings and hikes. Nightlife was dangerous, hungry dogs were a menace, and traveling alone was not advisable for foreigners. She was there just before the pandemic in 2019.

I was in Granada. Had a 5-6 bedroom Casa with a private pool in a private courtyard and a maid for $100 US a night (all in/total) right near the centre. I felt like a drug lord. Ate in fabulous restaurants for not a lot of $$. Tourist stuff was dirt cheap. Most of the town was safe but we had a security guard for some upmarket places just down the street too. We still walked to most places. I can see there not being too much choice elsewhere but if you’re near the beach all you need is cheap beer and fresh seafood and every rag-tag beach town I’ve ever been to has that somewhere. This was a few years ago now but not that long ago.

Have to add, it was one of my favourite vacations. I even went to the local barbers there for a decent razor cut. Lots of quality chocolate/rum stuff. Views of volcanoes etc.

 

[crankcall]

I think Nicaragua will interesting , buddy has bought a 4 room hotel , its boutique , common pool and patio area , shared bbq's. Came with 4 staff in a 4 room hotel LOL. He's been going down for 5yrs now . The place is about 9yrs old and very reasonable for what it is . He's now playing on a local baseball team and is invested in a beach bar. Correct that there is not a lot to do beyond surfing , beach life and some trail riding, but he has promised me some grilled seafood, a baseball game or two , and free surf lessons , His place is 1/2km from the beach , but up the mtn side so the views look good . Flights in are only through Mexico city which isnt optimal

 

[jc100]

I think Nicaragua will interesting , buddy has bought a 4 room hotel , its boutique , common pool and patio area , shared bbq's. Came with 4 staff in a 4 room hotel LOL. He's been going down for 5yrs now . The place is about 9yrs old and very reasonable for what it is . He's now playing on a local baseball team and is invested in a beach bar. Correct that there is not a lot to do beyond surfing , beach life and some trail riding, but he has promised me some grilled seafood, a baseball game or two , and free surf lessons , His place is 1/2km from the beach , but up the mtn side so the views look good . Flights in are only through Mexico city which isnt optimal

I changed in Mexico City for Nicaragua too. Bring your patience. As your main point of entry/exit you need to go through the main customs and immigration checks there but the good news is that they are pretty proficient at this. We were in what looked like the line-up of all line-ups with tempers flaring among some less patient people but they opened up several extra lines and we breezed through. The big downside was that on the flight to Canada the locals on board the flight thought 20 something degrees was too cold and the flight turned into a sauna as the staff turned up the heating. I think they got the message when I remarked that I had very few clothes left that I could continue to remove.

 

[regder]

That is a smart way to do it.

Mexico, it's literally a wolf in sheep's clothing. You are basically gambling with your safety by going there. The problem is the bad stuff can happen everywhere, there is no way to completely avoid it or thinking you are actually safe. I know you can say the same thing here, but down there anything can happen and to a farther level of extreme, we are not accustom to, and basically the country is lawless so counting on the law(s) that is useless once something happens.

You make it sound like a Mad Max wasteland. There are some bad areas, there are some areas that are perfectly fine. I have spent a combined six months in Mexico (various places but primarily Mexico City) this year as well as multiple visits before. Don't be stupid and chances are you will be perfectly fine. Same way one wouldn't go to South Side Chicago at 2am there are places you probably shouldn't go to either. I am not saying it is Canada level safe but it also isn't the extreme you portray. Whenever there is a shooting, which doesn't happen often, in a safe area such as the Roma and Polanco neighbourhoods of Mexico City they make national news.

Spent Christmas in narco central Culiacan, Sinaloa without issue. The locals do like to shoot guns into the air at midnight on Christmas Eve which was...

Check out what is happening in El Salvador.... Nayib Bukele seems to have found a "solution" but when things are that bad the cost of the solution is VERY high. It is an interesting read none the less (agree or disagree with the approach).

Salvadoran gang crackdown - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This is a difficult philosophical question, basically throw away peoples' human rights in the name of general safety. For what it's worth I was in San Salvador (capital) a year and a half ago and felt perfectly safe wandering around at all hours, probably was a completely different story before the crackdown.



I have travelled most of mainland LATAM in the last couple of years with only a few interesting danger related stories to tell out of it and nothing actually bad happening outside of a couple dollar bribe to a Nicaraguan police officer. They are mostly second world countries and face the occasional political instability. Don't be stupid and expect Canadian levels of safety, or support from the police should things go sideways, but for the most part you will likely have a great time.

 

[bigpoppa]

You make it sound like a Mad Max wasteland. There are some bad areas, there are some areas that are perfectly fine. I have spent a combined six months in Mexico (various places but primarily Mexico City) this year as well as multiple visits before. Don't be stupid and chances are you will be perfectly fine. Same way one wouldn't go to South Side Chicago at 2am there are places you probably shouldn't go to either. I am not saying it is Canada level safe but it also isn't the extreme you portray. Whenever there is a shooting, which doesn't happen often, in a safe area such as the Roma and Polanco neighbourhoods of Mexico City they make national news.

Spent Christmas in narco central Culiacan, Sinaloa without issue. The locals do like to shoot guns into the air at midnight on Christmas Eve which was...



This is a difficult philosophical question, basically throw away peoples' human rights in the name of general safety. For what it's worth I was in San Salvador (capital) a year and a half ago and felt perfectly safe wandering around at all hours, probably was a completely different story before the crackdown.



I have travelled most of mainland LATAM in the last couple of years with only a few interesting danger related stories to tell out of it and nothing actually bad happening outside of a couple dollar bribe to a Nicaraguan police officer. They are mostly second world countries and face the occasional political instability. Don't be stupid and expect Canadian levels of safety, or support from the police should things go sideways, but for the most part you will likely have a great time.

you mean, you werent kidnapped by el chapo?!?!!?!?!

 

[bigpoppa]

Spent Christmas in narco central Culiacan, Sinaloa without issue. The locals do like to shoot guns into the air at midnight on Christmas Eve which was...

They sound like they know how to party to be honest

 

[sburns]

You make it sound like a Mad Max wasteland. There are some bad areas, there are some areas that are perfectly fine. I have spent a combined six months in Mexico (various places but primarily Mexico City) this year as well as multiple visits before. Don't be stupid and chances are you will be perfectly fine. Same way one wouldn't go to South Side Chicago at 2am there are places you probably shouldn't go to either. I am not saying it is Canada level safe but it also isn't the extreme you portray. Whenever there is a shooting, which doesn't happen often, in a safe area such as the Roma and Polanco neighbourhoods of Mexico City they make national news.

Spent Christmas in narco central Culiacan, Sinaloa without issue. The locals do like to shoot guns into the air at midnight on Christmas Eve which was...

You know this is country which has beheaded people and hung their bodies from highway overpasse's. If that isn't Mad Max wasteland extreme what is.

You can't just avoid it, if the bad stuff happens it just happens and doesn't matter where you are or how you try to avoid it.

I'm not telling this stuff out of fear or to change people's mind about this place. I'm sure people are aware of the dangers, or I hope they are. And if that has been your experience then great, you've been lucky and maybe I haven't.

I spent about 10 years travelling to various parts of Mx with locals and experienced stuff first hand, either directly, or secondary by them, or from 3rd parties (friends etc) who shared stuff going on, and none of it was risky behaviour or being stupid. Just everyday stuff but being dragged down by bad things. Based on that I think spending a few more bucks and going completely different is worth it. But I do miss the food, that was something else!

 

[Mad Mike]

You know this is country which has beheaded people and hung their bodies from highway overpasse's. If that isn't Mad Max wasteland extreme what is.

You can't just avoid it, if the bad stuff happens it just happens and doesn't matter where you are or how you try to avoid it.

I'm not telling this stuff out of fear or to change people's mind about this place. I'm sure people are aware of the dangers, or I hope they are. And if that has been your experience then great, you've been lucky and maybe I haven't.

I spent about 10 years travelling to various parts of Mx with locals and experienced stuff first hand, either directly, or secondary by them, or from 3rd parties (friends etc) who shared stuff going on, and none of it was risky behaviour or being stupid. Just everyday stuff but being dragged down by bad things. Based on that I think spending a few more bucks and going completely different is worth it. But I do miss the food, that was something else!

The only part of MX I’ll go to now is Cancun or Cabo, and even those are only if I’m forced to leave the first world.

I’ve seen enough of the world, I’m satisfied. These days it’s less about the adventure, more about fun, comfort and convenience.

I don’t have white loafers or a closet of Arnold Palmer polos yet … but it’s probably heading that way.

 

[regder]

You know this is country which has beheaded people and hung their bodies from highway overpasse's. If that isn't Mad Max wasteland extreme what is.

You can't just avoid it, if the bad stuff happens it just happens and doesn't matter where you are or how you try to avoid it.

I'm not telling this stuff out of fear or to change people's mind about this place. I'm sure people are aware of the dangers, or I hope they are. And if that has been your experience then great, you've been lucky and maybe I haven't.

I spent about 10 years travelling to various parts of Mx with locals and experienced stuff first hand, either directly, or secondary by them, or from 3rd parties (friends etc) who shared stuff going on, and none of it was risky behaviour or being stupid. Just everyday stuff but being dragged down by bad things. Based on that I think spending a few more bucks and going completely different is worth it. But I do miss the food, that was something else!

Yup, I was even at the bridge in Veracruz for one of the most vicious such things. I don't deny very bad things happen, most of it however is localized to certain areas and certain types of people. I have some close Mexican friends and have met numerous others through them, not one of them lives in fear or wants to move to Canada/US despite having the career opportunities to.

 

[bigpoppa]

You know this is country which has beheaded people and hung their bodies from highway overpasse's. If that isn't Mad Max wasteland extreme what is.

You can't just avoid it, if the bad stuff happens it just happens and doesn't matter where you are or how you try to avoid it.

I'm not telling this stuff out of fear or to change people's mind about this place. I'm sure people are aware of the dangers, or I hope they are. And if that has been your experience then great, you've been lucky and maybe I haven't.

I spent about 10 years travelling to various parts of Mx with locals and experienced stuff first hand, either directly, or secondary by them, or from 3rd parties (friends etc) who shared stuff going on, and none of it was risky behaviour or being stupid. Just everyday stuff but being dragged down by bad things. Based on that I think spending a few more bucks and going completely different is worth it. But I do miss the food, that was something else!

Easy solution, dont join the drug business

Would you also avoid going to NYC because of John gotti?

 

[crankcall]

In fairness John Gotti and associates shot rivals and members that didn’t follow rules .
The cartels on occasion have hung village mayors and police chiefs and whole families to keep the rest in line . Finding a dozen bags of heads in a roadway happened .
Me, I’m not trying to buy coke on holiday , or hanging out at 2am in a small town tavern. Just looking at a guy wrong can get you beat to a pulp if you’re lucky . But it’s been repeated, don’t look for trouble , probably not find trouble .


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[MacDoc]

St Petersburg is wonderful - not many cruise choices left tho

Luxury Baltic cities cruise visiting St Petersburg

Discover the fascinating cities of the Baltic on this luxury cruise, with three day stay in St Petersburg

www.cruisingholidays.co.uk

 

[crankcall]

My wife really wants to see it , but I’m not setting foot in Russia until things change . Having a recent Russian stamp in your passport ? That will get you lots of questions in other countries .


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