US-Mexico border prepares as vaccinated travelers can enter US starting Nov. 8.

Source: CBS8

The U.S. will lift travel restrictions on Nov. 8 making it possible for travelers outside the country to enter for the first time since the start of the pandemic. This new travel system will require vaccinated foreign air travelers to show proof of full vaccination and test for COVID-19. Also starting on Nov. 8th fully vaccinated people can cross the Mexico and Canada border for nonessential travel. In early January, those traveling for essential purposes will be required to show proof of full vaccination. 

The opening of the Mexico border for nonessential tourism is a huge win for San Ysidro where 86% of their customers come from Mexico. 

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Patzcuaro is the non plus ultra destination for a Day of the Dead experience (VIDEO)

Source: Mexico Daily Post

One of the most anticipated festivals this year for “Day of the Dead” is that of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, where the streets are painted orange by the marigold flowers that reach the pantheon where the offerings are in the tombs on November 1 and 2. 

The Night of Souls is part of this event that this year could leave visitors out due to the health emergency of Covid-19 with the intention of taking care of the residents. 

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Mexico’s Cancun airport passes pre-pandemic tourism mark

Source: AP News

Mexico passed a milestone of sorts in September when the airport at the country’s biggest coastal resort, Cancun, surpassed pre-pandemic levels of passengers.

The Airports of the Southeast group, which runs the terminal at the Caribbean coast resort, said Wednesday it handled 1.66 million passengers in Cancun in September, 4.4% percent more than in the same month of 2019.

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Stranded expats find a solution as government hands out residency cards

10/01/2021

Source: Mexico News Daily

What would you do if you could not go home? That was the question many foreigners in Mexico faced during the pandemic, as some borders closed and others imposed expensive quarantine restrictions.

For incoming Americans and Canadians, getting a visitor’s permit to enter Mexico can be as easy as buying a flight or making a quick stop at the border. But when it comes to extending their stay, the same Americans, Canadians and others foreigners ordinarily have to leave the country, which can be difficult during a pandemic.

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Tourism ministers want incoming travelers to be screened for COVID-19

09/03/2021

Source: Mexico Daily News

State tourism ministers are going to press for international travelers to be screened for COVID-19.

Mexico’s association of tourism ministers will ask the federal government to implement a policy that requires incoming travelers to present a COVID-19 vaccination certificate or a negative test result.

Oaxaca Tourism Minister Juan Carlos Rivera Castellanos, who heads up the association, said the proposal will be taken to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs next week.

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Should travelers avoid Mexico as delta surges? For locals who need them, it’s complicated.

09/01/2021

Source: The Washington Post

With many of the world’s borders closed or heavily restricted, Mexico has remained one of the most popular destinations for Americans throughout the pandemic thanks to its low barrier of entry. Flights are often affordable, and coronavirus protocols have been manageable.

Destinations such as Cancún, San Jose del Cabo and Mexico City are routinely the most booked international trips for U.S. travelers, and Cancún International Airport reported it exceeded pre-pandemic aerial traffic this summer.

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Covid Explodes in Cancun and Los Cabos as Third Wave Hits Mexico

07/23/2021

Source: Bloomberg

A third coronavirus wave fueled by the highly contagious delta variant is battering two of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations on opposite coasts, Los Cabos in the Pacific and Cancun on the Caribbean.

In Cancun, cases have soared to a point where the Hard Rock hotel has set aside two floors for guests with symptoms. Some hotels say they offer discounts for those in quarantine until they’re no longer contagious.

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Americans Are Flocking to Mexico. Should They Be?

07/16/2021

Source: The New York Times

Mexico’s reputation as an alluring travel destination both before and during the pandemic has met a sobering reality: Despite growing vaccine efforts, the coronavirus is surging, especially in tourist hot spots.

Though the U.S. land border with Mexico has been closed to nonessential travel since the start of the pandemic, vacationers can fly into the country with no quarantine or testing requirements, opening the door to unvaccinated travelers who might contract the virus in Mexico and bring it back home, or for any traveler to pass it on to a Mexican citizen.

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How a Mexican Lagoon Lost Its Colors

07/12/2021

Source: The New Yorker

The water of the Bacalar Lagoon, on the east coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, is as pure as glacial ice. It contains scant organic material: some of its oldest inhabitants are oligotrophic microorganisms, so called for their minimal diet. As a result, the lagoon puts on a spectacular display in the sunlight. It’s said that there are seven distinct shades of blue in the water, from deep-sea indigo to sunset violet. In English, Bacalar is sometimes called the Lagoon of Seven Colors; its original name in Mayan, Siyan Ka’an Bakjalal, translates roughly to “place surrounded by reeds where the sky is born.”

My wife grew up near Bacalar, and we moved there in 2019. Last May, we started adjusting to pandemic life. In the town center, hotels have “blue” in their names and a local brewery serves blue beer to ecotourists. Our house is in a more secluded spot, about eighty yards from the shore. At five o’clock each afternoon, I would stroll to the lagoon to meet my wife’s seventy-five-year-old grandmother for a swim. The water appeared vibrant and transparent. Save for a police watchboat, which passed by in the evenings, we were always alone.

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US Updates Travel Advisory Levels for Destinations in Mexico

06/20/2021

Source: Travel Pulse

The U.S. State Department on Friday raised the travel warnings to two states in Mexico while downgrading four other Mexican destinations.

The U.S. raised its warnings from Level 2 (“Exercise Increased caution” to Level 3 (“Reconsider travel”) for Baja California and Guanajuato. Baja California, in particular, is a heavy tourist destination that includes Tijuana, Mexicali and Ensenada.

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