Heading South of the Border...

[Vagabond Poet]

I'm beginning to gear up for my first backpacking trip, And could use some advice.

After reading Lonely Planet's guide to Mexico, I'm completely stoaked. I'm still in the early planning stages so I haven't decided which route I'll be taking, but they all seem to end in Mexico City. But I suppose my question is this:

How safe is backpacking around Mexico for a poor gringo like myself? Anything necessary I should bring?  Any advice that will help get me through would be helpful.

Thanks in Advance!

[Greg]

Hey man...welcome to the forums!

I spent a month in Mexico last year...mostly working on a photography/writing project, but can offer a little tidbit of completely biased advice -
Mexico is relatively safe but WATCH YOUR GOODIES!

In 1 month I had my sunglasses stolen, 2 pairs of flipflops stolen, and my cell phone violently snatched out of my hand on the street. I was one of the luckiest ones,
a camera man on our crew had an HD Video camera stolen!

Especially on the beach, if you go for a swim - anything left on the towel/sand is fair game....even worn out flip-flops and half empty water bottles.

So use discretion down there before you pull out your camera to snap something on some back street. You might also want to consider building a "mugsy" wallet...just get a cheap wallet,
stick a couple fake or canceled credit cards in it and some dollars. Keep it handy in your front pocket and keep your real cash hidden somewhere. That way you can throw a mugger
something to make them go away rather than loose any real cash in the deal.

I'd love to keep up with your trip down there...are you keeping a blog or photo album online? I'll link it! 

Cheers!

[Vagabond Poet]

Awesome, thanks again Greg!

I'll be leaving around Sometime around the first of the year, I imagine. I am debating making the trip alone, but I question the safety of the situation. Especially as south as Mexico City. =/

A friend of mine suggested Puerto Rico instead? Stating that it is much safer, and there is more to see.

Any advice greg?

[johnnymac]

A solo tripper. Nice. What's your actual itinerary?