Mexico: A tourist’s guide

Despite some dangerous areas, the country has plenty of places tourists can roam in peace.

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A vendor sorts chiles in Tlacolula market in Tlacolula, Oaxaca. One of the largest states in Mexico, the state features sky-high mountains, arid valleys, lush tropical forests, cloud forests and beaches next to steep rocky hillsides. The state is a safe place for American tourists to travel and is known for its rich culinary traditions.

Manuel Valdes / AP

Tourists walk around the Kukulcan temple, also known as El Castillo (The Castle), a pyramid dominating Chichen Itza archaeological site. The complex was built by the Mayan civilization in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Cris Bouroncle / AFP/Getty Images

Merchants sell souvenirs in downtown Tijuana.

/ Alamy

A member of the U.S. Border Patrol walks behind a line of cars at the San Ysidro gate at the border between Mexico and the United State in Tijuana, Mexico. The border town still deserves some caution, although it has gone through a renovation after government crackdowns on drug cartels. Security experts recommend avoiding low-end bars and only eating and drinking items that have been prepared in front of you.

Francisco Vega / AFP/Getty Images

A soldier of the Mexican army with a machine gun mounted in a truck patrols the streets of the Tierra y Libertad neighborhood, on the outskirts of Acapulco, Guerrero state. In its heyday, Acapulco was the glittery playground of jetsetters and silver-screen royalty such as Elizabeth Taylor and Brigitte Bardot. Now, heavy cartel violence has effectively cleared out its beaches.

Pedro Parto / AFP/Getty Images

San Miguel de Allende, in Guanajuato, is a safe place for tourists, and is a World Heritage Site surrounded by many other historically important cities.

/ Alamy

The Chichen Itza archaeological site is close to several safe beach resorts on the peninsula, including Cozumel and Playa del Carmen.

Cris Bouroncle / AFP/Getty Images

The Twin Pyramids of the archaeological site of Ek'Balam, a complex built by the Mayan civilization in the Yucatan Peninsula, is a safe tourist destination in the Mexican state of Yucatan.

Cris Bouroncle / AFP/Getty Images

The Oval Palace at the archaeological site of Ek'Balam, a complex built by the Mayan civilization in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Cris Bouroncle / AFP/Getty Images

A view from the beach in Resort Centre, Playa del Carmen. The resort area is safe for tourists and offers relaxing beach getaways.

/ Alamy

Tourists walk along the beach of Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo State, Mexico. The area is largely a safe oasis from the drug-related violence in other parts of the country.

Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP/Getty Images

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

epa03708924 Franziska (C) wears a helmet and carries a shield during the recreation of The Battle of the Teutoburg Museum in Bramsche, Germany, 20 May 2013. The everyday life of Romans and the Germanic people is depicted at Museum Park Kalkriese during the Romans and Germanic people days. EPA/Friso Gentsch

Photos of the day

Battle of Teutoburg Forest reenactment, Mars Curiosity rover drilling, massive tornado strikes Moore, Oklahoma and more.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

This combination of Associated Press photos shows left, a neighborhood in Moore, Okla., in ruins on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, after a tornado flattened many houses and buildings in central Oklahoma, and right, flattened houses in Moore on Monday, May 20, 2013. Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. (AP Photo)

Okla. tornado loosely followed path of 1999 twister

Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the area in May 1999.

Lea Bessinger salvages a picture of Jesus as she and her son Josh Bessinger sort through the rubble of the elder Bessinger's tornado-ravaged home Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Moore, Okla. A huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening an entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Tornado near Oklahoma City causes more damage

Rescue workers are searching for survivors after a twister carved a long path of destruction in a suburb of Oklahoma City. It was part of the...

FILE - In this undated publicity file photo, members of the Doors, from left, John Densmore, Robbie Krieger, Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison, pose for a portrait. Manzarek, the keyboardist who was a founding member of The Doors, has died at 74. Publicist Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald says in a news release that Manzarek died Monday, May 20, 2013, at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his family. (AP Photo, File)

Ray Manzarek, founding member of the Doors, dies at 74

Manzarek co-founded the Doors after meeting then-poet Jim Morrison in California. The band went on to become one of the most successful rock-and-roll...

US actress Rosario Dawson smiles on May 20, 2013 as she arrives for the screening of the film 'Wara No Tate' (Shield of Straw) presented in Competition at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. Cannes, one of the world's top film festivals, opened on May 15 and will climax on May 26 with awards selected by a jury headed this year by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLIALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images

Eye on entertainment

Rosario Dawson, Alec Baldwin, Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Bow Wow, Amy Poehler and more.

A man walks on sulphur and mineral salt formations near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, with an average annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius). For centuries, merchants have travelled there with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted and shaped into slabs, then loaded onto the animals before being transported back across the desert so that it can be sold around the country. Picture taken April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (ETHIOPIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 2 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'ETHIOPIA'S ANCIENT SALT TRAIL'
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Ethiopia’s salt trail

For centuries, merchants have traveled to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted...

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