College students: Are security problems in Mexico making you rethink Spring Break there?

Most college students trudge to their classes in the cold winter months hoping they will be rewarded for their hard slog when Spring Break comes around in March. The break is too long for students to stay on campus and too short to fill with anything Mom or Dad might suggest (like working). A week-long getaway to blow off some steam truly fits the bill, and many use this opportunity to explore areas a bit farther away from home or campus.

The U.S. State Department estimates that more than 100,000 American teenagers and young adults travel to Mexico for Spring Break each year – mostly to resort areas in places like Acapulco, Cancun, Cozumel, Tijuana and Cabo San Lucas. Travel deals south of the border are easy to find, and the lure of warm temperatures, white sands and relaxed drinking laws is difficult to ignore.

While parents and colleges have long tried to impress upon their students the importance of safety abroad, this year the State Department is doing more than issuing a simple warning to drink responsibly, know local laws and be aware of their environment.

Late last month, the State Department warned students bound for Mexico to “be very aware and very alert” to the rising number of drug-related murders, kidnappings and other crimes in our neighbor to the south. It advised students to steer clear of areas of prostitution and drug-dealing, where Americans have been kidnapped and other innocents have been caught up in indiscriminate violence between Mexico’s warring drug cartels. While most of the serious bloodshed has occurred in towns along the U.S.-Mexican border, resort areas in Cancun and Acapulco have been the site of killings as well.

Two days ago, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives urged college students to avoid parts of northern Mexico altogether – including Tijuana and the popular Rosarito Beach — over Spring Break because of drug-related violence there.

As Atlanta-area students prepare to take off for Spring Break, I wonder how they are reacting to these new warnings. If you’re still trying to plan a spring break trip or relocate to a “safer” destination, check out these budget-friendly ideas from the AJC. You can view photos of these destinations here. Then, when you’ve got some pretty pictures of your week off in paradise, don’t forget to submit them to the AJC’s Spring Break photo gallery for everyone to see!

If you’re headed out of the country, did security concerns affect your travel decisions? Has anyone changed their plans to go to Mexico this Spring Break? How many spring breakers will still make the trip south of the border? Will you alter your itinerary or travel plans while there because of safety warnings?

Did you reschedule your Mexican getaway to a new location? If you’re changing plans and steering clear of Mexico, where will you go instead?

What’s more important when you make your SB travel plans – a good deal, a good location or good security at your destination?

Editor’s note: An AJC reporter is working on an article about metro Atlantans who are going to Mexico for spring break or who are rethinking their plans. You can reach him at: bsmith@ajc.com.