Is solo female travel in Mexico safe? Here are some scams to be aware of and my experience visiting the 32 states alone

Hola! My name is Trisha and I started solo female travel in Mexico in 2018. I have visited all 32 states of Mexico alone and fast-forward to today, I have a permanent residency and on the way to Mexican citizenship! This article will give you an overview on what’s it like to travel different places in Mexico alone as a woman.

Funny story – I did not want to do solo female travel in Mexico. I originally wanted to go to Syria and the Middle East. I always write safety is objective because I believe every woman traveling in this world has a certain level of traveling. It’s not a race or a social currency but more often than not, our safety depends on how we navigate ourselves in our travels.

For example, when my friend from Hong Kong traveled to Syria by herself, I was a little surprised at how she pulled it off. Don’t get me wrong, I am not underestimating this friend but for someone like her brought up in such a traditional small country culture, it was quite amazing to know that girls like her don’t relent.

I recently reached out to her for stories about her experience traveling in Syria. She told me that before coming, she planned the trip accordingly by making sure she knows locals in Aleppo. She passed me that contact (which is also a woman) with a little warning that Syria is not for everyone. She asked me if I am to come to Syria, I should not write about it like it’s rainbows and unicorns.

Syria is still a little unstable and only female travelers who have experience will be able to pull it off. I felt very privileged that she regarded me as someone with the gold star experience. But did realize that regardless of gender, the levels of the travel experience are distinct for every human being.

So this experience brought me to start my solo female travel in Mexico. Here are my real-life experiences in the place I used to fear, but now I call home.

In a hurry? Here are my top recommendations for your trip to Mexico:

🇲🇽 Mexico Trip Planner: I’ve been living in Mexico since 2018 and I can help you plan your trip through a 1-1 chat. You may book a call with me here.

🏄 Things to do in Mexico: Use the code PSIMONMYWAY10 to get a 10% discount on activities in Mexico!

🛏️ Accommodations: I only book accommodations on Booking.com since they have an option to pay at the property. This way, I can check if the hotel reservation is a scam or not.

✈️ Cheap flights to Mexico: I use WayAway because of the perks of getting a cashback on every flight I book!

🚗 Rental cars in Mexico: Driving in Mexico is fun and safe! You can rent a car here for as low as $25 per day!

🚌 Busses in Mexico: Busses in Mexico are comfortable and cheaper than domestic flights. If you have time and want to save on cost, buy bus tickets online!

🛜 Mexico E-SIM: Purchase an E-SIM for Mexico for as low as $6 per day. You can customize your data plan here.

🚑 Mexico Travel Insurance: Do not travel to Mexico without insurance. I use Ekta Traveling for Mexico trips not longer than 10 days and SafetyWing for month-long trips.

Is solo female travel in Mexico safe?

Mexico, I guess, in terms of safety is in the mid-level. I’ve been here before, at a totally tranquil time, but many have told me that today is quite different. Preparing to come to Mexico is a little painful. There are a lot of things you will read on the Internet about how unsafe Mexico is.

This will either break you (cancel the plans) or make you (go for it). In my case, having visited Mexico before, I did not feel very pressured, but I did feel my limitations. Those limitations came in the form of an Uber driver in Mexico City. When he knew where I was staying, he warned me that where my hotel is located is not really a safe zone.

“You’re in an unsafe zone. Be careful.” the Uber driver said as he dropped me at my hotel in CDMX.

“Aren’t all places unsafe?” I asked with a roaring doubt in my head.

I’m scared. I’m really scared. For the past few years, I’ve been inside my comfort zone, living in Tel Aviv and Subic Bay, where things are too stable and too familiar.

I returned to that moment when I first visited Mexico 6 years ago — what was different?

Solo travel reminds you that it’s not merely a destination or a set itinerary that transforms you—it’s your personal responses to the unexpected twists along the way. Every solo journey is an evolving adventure, where the way you handle challenges, navigate loneliness, or revel in newfound freedom reshapes who you are.

The traveler you embody today might be worlds apart from the one you were on your first solo trip, and every new solo travel journey has the power to reinvent that identity once again.

Everything that I was or am told that I couldn’t, shouldn’t, won’t, or can’t do — I do. Everything that was or is ignored and didn’t/doesn’t matter — I make matter. Everything that was or is pushed to the back burner by someone else — I bring to the forefront of my life.

And today, even after years of being on the road and somewhat calling this the second gap year in Latin America, I fear. I fear. I am afraid. But there is always that voice inside my head that asks, “who is braver than you?”

I answer, all the time, “no one.” And that makes all my fears go away.

I’m out of the game for the past year as I was living in my comfort zone for a long time. I slowly processed how I feel about solo female travel in Mexico and I can’t get to that exact feeling. I am not 100% confident. Ever since that Uber driver told me that my area in Mexico City is unsafe, I had doubts going out at night.

But I did solo travel female in Mexico anyway because what do I have to lose? Until I try, I will never know.

I feared solo female travel in Mexico a lot

Most women who want to travel Latin America alone think that they will not have a seat on the table because more often than not, this region, especially Mexico is associated with “machismo”, a strong sense of masculine pride.

I tried the ride-sharing from Mexico City to Guadalajara and to my surprise, I had a 6-hour ride with 3 grown men who did nothing but be nice to me.

I actually had no idea I was going to pave the whole way with men (pictured on the cover photo of this post). I also didn’t feel threatened when I arrived at the meeting point.

These men didn’t feel harmful at all. I am not sure if you feel that when you’re traveling but for me, there is a good and bad light shining around strangers.

This is what I look at when I feel threatened. I always see that aura in everyone! If I saw the bad light, believe me, regardless if I already paid for the ride, I will not push through. But I did. Because these men looked so harmless.

In this ride, I was expecting to be asked why am I, a woman, traveling so far away from home by herself. They didn’t bring it up. Never. I was even involved in their conversations, but there were topics where they did not ask for my opinion. I guess, in a way, they don’t notice that Mexican men still label some conversations masculine and feminine.

In my experience traveling the whole of Latin America, men become more protective and caring when they see a woman traveling alone. They always warn the women, “don’t go there, it’s not safe.” Women are always given assistance whenever they ask for it. But if you’re a man, they will never tell you where to go and where not to go.

Often, there are almost zero conversations about safety. Men who are traveling by themselves do not receive these warnings because, hmmm. gender. I guess in this case, being a woman is not a curse.

Mexico gets a lot of bad press when it comes to women traveling alone (it is pretty extreme in some areas). But I’m thankful that everywhere I have been in this country, people were very caring and respectful.

Can you drink tap water in Mexico?

Yes and no. When I lived in Sayulita and Puerto Vallarta, I did not drink tap water. But when I moved to Cabo, the water quality was significantly different from the mainland. Cabo has advanced in-house filtration, so I never really worried.

Drinking tap water in Mexico all depends on where you are. In some areas, the water treatment processes might not be as rigorous or consistently maintained as they are in your home country. Just to be safe, do not drink tap water in Mexico.

I even brush my teeth with mineral water! After showering, I also make sure to wash my hair with potable water because Mexico’s water can really mess your hair up. Some beaches are even affected by this water problem so don’t ingest ocean water as well.

How about the drug cartels in Mexico?

I posted this photo on Facebook, sharing my experience solely about this ride without generalizing safety in Mexico for women travelers. I received a comment from a Mexican. I think he misinterpreted my post and ended up to an understanding that I publicly proclaimed that Mexico is a safe country.

I am glad your travels have been safe. That being said, Mexico’s “bad press” is well-deserved. Femicide is a problem in Mexico. Women are abducted, tortured, raped, and killed at an astounding rate in Mexico. Many simply “disappear” and are never found. Worse, such crimes are rarely investigated and if an arrest is made, the punishment is usually very low. So again, I’m glad you’re having a safe trip, but don’t paint Mexico as a wonderful oasis vis-a-vis women. Because it isn’t.

I am very aware this isn’t the case. But I am still confused on how I should process these feelings towards safety in Mexico. When I arrived in Guadalajara 2 weeks ago, my friends and family back home had no picture of this city but Narcos Mexico on Netflix.

This show tells. A story about the beginning of the drug war in the country, led by Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, the famous convicted Mexican drug lord who formed the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s. But the keyword here that most of us highlight is Guadalajara. We omitted the 1980s as an important element. And that was almost 40 years ago.

After Miguel Angel comes to El Chapo, another famous druglord who’s life has multiple series on Netflix. These shows show us that Chapo ruled the drug cartels in Sinaloa.

By the way, that’s where Miguel Angel is from but chose to operate in Guadalajara for a higher power.

“You should go to Sinaloa and write about the situation there,” a friend from Guadalajara told me. And this friend is literally from Culiacan, the largest city in and the capital of the state of Sinaloa.

By situation, he meant how it is so far from what’s on the Netflix shows. I think when we’re watching TV shows about Mexico or about anything, we tend to forget to consider the timeline of what we’re watching.

There is a subliminal message implying that it’s in present time. Just to clarify, where I am now (Guadalajara) is peaceful. It’s not like you’re walking on the street and you’ll witness the drive-by shooting like in the movies. The cartels are very quiet I don’t even know where to look.

A friend from France travels Sinaloa by herself and told me it’s all good. And so, I have added Sinaloa in this Mexican journey of mine. So yes, I am torn, but I am considering my sources: is this person telling me these things travel a lot? Do we have the same travel style?

Has this person been to this destination in the past year? Although I don’t believe there’s a lot of credible sources about travel safety but travel bloggers themselves, here’s what I researched about solo female travel in Mexico. Mostly on where not to go.

• The US State Department always issues travel warnings to certain countries. They made a map of the worst places to travel in Mexico, published on January 10, 2018. The 5 states labeled unsafe in this map are the northern border state of Tamaulipas and the Pacific coast states of Sinaloa, Colima, Michoacan and Guerrero. They are all labeled “level 4” unsafe. I don’t even know what that level entails but Sinaloa is in this list.
• This article listed the 12 most dangerous cities in Mexico to avoid at all costs. The list is super surprising as it involves cities I kind of knew from friends who are locals here. The list mentioned Mazatlan, where one of my friends from Spain is currently traveling there. Acapulco, where I plan to go, is also in this list! Of course, Sinaloa is a favorite in every safety in Mexico article.
• This article by Celeb Stoner (what a name for a website) listed not only 12 but 16 most dangerous states in Mexico.

I think the problem with these resources is they don’t tell how it is for travelers. They don’t cite exact experiences on how readers will relate to them. They only put keywords like “39.32 homicides per every 100,000 people.” These are facts that are sort of political than experiential.

Will I get kidnapped in Mexico?

One of the top worries for solo female travel in Mexico is kidnapping. I received a message from an Instagram follower that struck me: “is it true that kidnappings are common? I plan to go to Mexico but I am afraid to be kidnapped.”

I did not want to answer this because the word “kidnap” is something I don’t understand in Mexico. Yes, sure, you hear it on the news that someone got kidnapped but based on my daily environment and surroundings, I do not know anyone or have seen anything like it in where I live in Mexico.

I couldn’t even answer the question, “who would kidnap you?!” I hardly heard of foreigners and tourists being ‘kidnapped’ or even involved in a cartel war in Mexico. So, if you are a solo female traveling in Mexico (or anywhere that the news has labeled unsafe), I ask you to tell an experience-based story in any way you can.

Do not base it on State Department facts, especially if you are already physically present in that country. Sharing your experience is the only way to help people understand this confusing world of safety for female travelers.

Common scams for solo female travel in Mexico

1. Taxi & Ride-Share Scams

Unofficial taxis or drivers may refuse to use the meter, take unnecessarily long routes, or claim that the meter is broken. They might also pose as licensed drivers but aren’t. This only happens in cities where Uber is not available (for example, in Oaxaca).

Ubers are not available in many Mexican destinations because of the local taxi industry’s opposition. In many cities, established taxi unions and associations have considerable influence. They argue that ridesharing companies like Uber disrupt their market and bypass long-standing regulatory frameworks.

When they refuse to use a meter, take unnecessarily long routes, or claim that the meter is broken, ask them to stop and tell them that you want to leave. Give them 50 pesos, walk away, and never look back. This is a very rare instance but it does happen.

Before you take a taxi in Mexico, make sure that you negotiate the price first. Even if you are in a hurry and your Spanish is non existent, take the time to negotiate. Another option is to confirm if there is a meter before riding the taxi. If something feels off, don’t hesitate to cancel the ride.

2. Currency Exchange Scams

Street money changers or unofficial booths may offer attractive rates only to provide counterfeit currency, wrong change, or even shortchange you on the deal.

Mexico’s economy still relies heavily on cash, especially in local markets and smaller towns. The constant flow of cash creates an attractive opportunity for counterfeiters who believe that quick exchanges of money can go unnoticed in busy, cash-based environments.

Here are some key reasons and detailed steps to check if your Mexican bill is fake or real:

Central banks and official currency websites often update their security features. Familiarize yourself with these details for the currency in the region you are visiting. The Mexican banks I use are Santander, BBVA, and Banorte. They are all over the country and you can walk in and exchange USD.

3. Fake Police or Security Stops

Some individuals may pose as local police officers and approach tourists, claiming document irregularities or fines. They then request an immediate bribe or “fine payment.” As a Mexican resident, this already happened to me because they knew I was a foreigner.

I am fluent in Spanish and believe me that I do not speak Spanish to police officers because they rarely speak English. I learned from experience that speaking Spanish to police officers in Mexico only makes the conversation long. If you only speak English, the conversation is cut right away and you can either walk away by telling them you don’t speak Spanish.

If they insist, do not be afraid. Ask for their identification. Legitimate officers will have proper ID and carry official documentation. Another trick I do is to request that they accompany me to the nearest police station before handing over any money. This always works because they do not want the trouble of going to the police station to file a report.

4. Hotel & Booking Scams

There are cases where travelers arrive to find their confirmed booking doesn’t exist or discover unexpected fees (sometimes hidden charges on your bill). Only book through reputable platforms. I use Booking.com or I contact hotels directly since I am fluent in Spanish.

A few days before your arrival, double-check your reservation details, and ask about any extra fees. If I do not want to go through the trouble of bookings, I always avail a Concierge Service from Mexico Insider. They help me book my hotels and accommodations wherever I want to go!

Otherwise, you may also avail yourself of a solo travel chat with me. I can give you advice on booking your hotels in Mexico as a solo female traveler. I’ve stayed in many and can share my personal experiences!

5. Street Distraction & Pickpocket Scams

In crowded markets or tourist sites, groups of con artists may use distraction techniques—one person engages you while another picks your pockets. Always be mindful of your belongings. Use anti-theft bags, keep wallets in front pockets or money belts, and stay alert in crowded areas.

Avoid quick, unsolicited interactions. If a stranger suddenly approaches with an offer or a story that feels contrived, it might be a distraction. Don’t get me wrong, all Mexicans were good to me and I am on my way to Mexican citizenship. But I also had experiences with very bad people and it happens everywhere, not just in Mexico.

Helpful Spanish phrases for solo female travel in Mexico

I am grateful that I dedicated time to learn Spanish when I started backpacking South America in 2012. I am fluent in Spanish, and I consider this to be a super skill!

Below is a list of helpful Spanish phrases with their English translations that you can use while traveling in Mexico, whether for asking directions or signaling an emergency.

English is very common in touristy areas like Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo, so you do not have to worry about that. You will only use these Spanish phrases in less-popular destinations or small towns.

Although Oaxaca and Mexico City are popular destinations, not everyone can speak English in these two areas.

Mexico solo travel safety tips

Finally, I would love to share with you my Mexico solo travel tips. Most of these, you may find really odd but I will definitely make sure that I explain it to you as understandable as possible. You can always visit my full post about solo travel tips in Mexico to see the full list!

Who is your source?

I understand that when it comes to Mexico solo travel, you will come across a lot of bad comments from friends and families. Most of them have not been to Mexico and yet there’s a voice inside your head that wants to listen to them. This happened to me a lot when I first started traveling the world.

I kept in mind that I should only listen to people who are reliable and credible sources in the particular country I am visiting. I always use Couchsurfing to get in touch with locals and see the safety situation.

I have been an OG in Couchsurfing as I’ve been using it for years. Everyone wants to help and will answer your questions quickly!

I am also biased with travel blogs, especially those that are telling stories. Travel blogs are by travelers who are real people. I don’t encourage you to read big publications as they are always about SEO or getting to Google’s first page. Travel bloggers are honest and will always give you honest insights!

Get in touch with the consulate/embassy of your country

I started doing this when I first came to Africa as a 21-year old. 12 years later, the habit stuck and even if I am already confident with traveling solo, I still connect with all the Embassies of the Philippines in a particular country I am visiting.

I really find this comforting! I usually just report to them that I am in the country and share my brief itinerary with them. I also send them the hostels I stay in so that, in case something happens to me, they will know how to start looking for me.