Is Mexico City Safe for Solo Female Travellers?

Mexico due to its proximity to the US and Canada, is always a popular travel destination. Hence the question – is Mexico city safe for solo female travellers is asked often. Here’s areas to avoid, best tips for solo travel and how to have the best time when visiting!

For many Americans, their perceptions of Mexico City and Mexico as a whole is shaped by Hollywood, certain popular TV shows, and American news shows. So, lots of people associate Mexico City with slums full of clumsily built, drug-ridden, and unsanitary shacks.

Mexico City does have slums, of course – and is worth adding to your itinerary in addition to places like Cancun; just like any other large city nowadays.

However, it’s also a bustling modern metropolis with a gorgeous city centre, lots of historical sights, a lovely night scene, and very modern infrastructure. And, just like any other large modern metropolis, some parts of Mexico City are safe for solo female travellers, and others – not so much.

Knowing which is which and how to stay safe at all times is key for solo female travellers, so let’s go over things in a bit more detail below.

Is Mexico City safe?

Mexico City isn’t just surprisingly safer than what most American TV shows and movies would show you. It is, in fact, even safer than what you’d expect when comparing Mexico City to other large metropolises.

For example, Mexico City has a significantly lower murder rate than many US cities.

On the other hand, however, such statistics should be taken with a grain of salt as they depend on exactly how crimes are categorized, and many are of the opinion that there are too many disappearances and unsolved deaths in Mexico City that should be counted as murders.

So, is Mexico City “safe?” Not really – the city does have its risks and ill-intended people, just like any other place on Earth.

However, is Mexico City more unsafe than other large cities around the globe?

With the exception of some notoriously safe European capitals – no, Mexico City isn’t notably more unsafe than most other modern large cities, and it’s even statistically safer than lots of others.

What parts of Mexico City should you avoid as a solo female traveler?

The quick and simple answer is the same as with any other large city on the planet – avoid all poorer areas in and around the city, especially those parts away from the city centre.

One area to single out, in particular, would be Iztapalapa because of its higher rates of violent crimes against women.

Such areas are a significant part of Mexico City and are themselves a big reason why many Mexican brides flock to mail order bride sites in an attempt to find foreign partners and move out of Mexico.

So, as a solo female traveller, you’d do well to avoid such parts of the city too.

How safe is Mexico City at night?

Some parts of the city are quite safe even at night, but others aren’t.

The places where you can be relatively safe alone at night include Condesa, Roma Norte, and Polanco, for example.

In general, the inner parts of the city and those sections near large tourist attractions are pretty safe even at night, as there are still a lot of people and law enforcement around.

However, in most other parts of the city, solo female travellers would do best to either stay safely indoors or hang out with groups of other people they can trust. If you can’t find a group to walk with, it’s best to get an Uber instead of walking at night.

Safety tips for solo female travelers in Mexico City

Stay in touch with your loved ones

Ideally, you should always have at least a couple of close friends or relatives who are always aware of your day-to-day plans in Mexico City, where you’ll be, at which time of day, and so on.

This way, in case of an emergency, the authorities will always have a couple of well-informed contacts to help point them in the right direction.

Don’t share too much on social media

Keeping your close friends informed of your vacation schedule should not be done publicly via social media but should be done through private messages.

This is a very common mistake nowadays, as everyone always rushes to share everything they do online. This is a bad idea, however, as it enables people with bad intentions to also track your whereabouts.

Keep your valuables safe

This safety tip is crucial for travel anywhere in the world – make sure you’re never carrying too many valuables around, never keep all your money in one place, never use ATMs in alleys, and always make sure that your belongings are kept in trustworthy places that are difficult for pickpockets and other thieves to access.

Get insurance

Emergency health insurance and personal articles insurance are must-haves when traveling, especially for solo travellers. This isn’t just a Mexico City-specific precaution, it’s just always a good idea. The costs aren’t all that great, but the extra safety and security you get are more than worth it.

US travellers should enrol in the STEP program before visiting Mexico City

The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program – or STEP – offers very helpful safety tips, keeps you in contact with the local US embassy in case of emergencies, and also helps your loved ones keep in touch too. For travellers from other countries, it’s equally important to look for other similar programs.

Learn at least a bit of basic Spanish

Knowing even just a couple dozen basic Spanish phrases and words will help you a great deal while you’re in Mexico. Not only will it help you in better communicating with the locals, but it will also help you stay safe.

Having some basic understanding of Spanish will ensure that you can get directions from the locals more easily without misunderstanding them and getting lost, it helps you to not look, as too much of a tourist and an easy mark for pickpockets, and it can even help you understand people when/if they talk behind your back.

Find a safe crowd you can hang out with, especially at night

Being a solo female traveller doesn’t mean you should travel solo 24/7.

One of the best things you can do is to quickly find – maybe even beforehand online if possible – a group of other tourists or locals you can trust to hang out with. This is especially key at night, as you don’t want to wander the streets of Mexico City alone and on foot if you can help it.

Try not to look like too much of a tourist

Pickpockets and other ill-meaning people all around the world are always looking for tourists to scam, rob, or hurt.

Tourists just make for easy marks because they are less informed about the area they are in, as well as less connected with people there. So, if you look like a local as much as possible, you will be considerably safer.

Mexico City is an amazing tourist destination that everyone should visit. Not only that, but a lot of the perceptions Americans and Europeans have about this city are quite inaccurate, and Mexico City is much safer than you might have guessed.

That said, it’s still a large and multifaceted metropolis that has certain ‘less safe’ areas and ill-meaning people. So, all the basic safety tips that apply for international travel everywhere around the globe also apply for Mexico City.