Cancún Travel Risk — Moderate Risk (44/100)
Is Cancún safe right now? Checked 15 October 2026
Cancún scores 44/100 on our travel risk index (Moderate). The US State Department rates Mexico Level 2 (Exercise Increased Caution, updated 29 May 2026); the UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of the country (updated 13 Oct 2026); Canada says: exercise a high degree of caution (with regional advisories). No GDACS or USGS hazard events within 100 km in the last 14 days. CDC travel health notice: Level 1, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Mexico (23 Dec 2025). No change in government advice in the last 7 days.
Political instability (score 20)
Crime (score 45)
September 27, 2026
Cancún, Mexico has a current Travel Risk Calculator composite score of 44 out of 100 (moderate risk tier); the highest-rated risk category is crime at 45/100; the lowest-rated category is political instability at 20/100; last updated September 27, 2026. For official nationwide security advisories, entry requirements, and health notices, see the Mexico travel risk page. Real-time conditions below include live weather, official advisory levels, GDACS disaster alerts, and current news.
Get a personalized assessment for your tripHow safe is Cancún to visit in 2026?
Cancún currently sits at 44/100 on our composite travel-risk index, which puts it in the moderate-risk tier. Most travelers will be fine with normal precautions, but a few categories below score high enough that planning matters. The highest-rated risk category for Cancún is crime (45/100), and the lowest is political instability (20/100). This page was last updated on September 27, 2026; the baseline category scores reflect analytical indicators, layered with live conditions throughout the day. Live conditions — weather and air quality every 30 minutes, US State Department advisory every 6 hours, GDACS disaster alerts every 30 minutes, CDC health notices every 12 hours, and news every hour — are cached at the source and refreshed automatically when stale.
Driven by: security (60/100) and crime and scams (33/100).
A score of 44 is higher than the scores of 57% of the 241 countries we cover.
AI safety snapshot · refreshed Oct 16, 2026
Cancún, Mexico currently carries a moderate baseline safety risk of 44/100 and a US State Department advisory level 2. Travelers should exercise caution due to recent travel warnings from Global Affairs Canada regarding violence and storms, alongside ongoing issues with crime, costs, seaweed, a global Level 1 dengue health notice, and active drought conditions.
AI-summarized strictly from the live public-source data below (US State Dept advisory, GDACS, CDC, Google News). Auto-refreshed at most once per day on the first visit. Not official advice.
Live conditions last refreshed: Oct 16, 2026 02:35 UTC
What should I do now?
- Run a real assessment. Open the calculator for live data (weather, advisory, news) layered onto this baseline.
- Crime (score 45/100): Use registered taxis or ride-share apps. Keep electronics out of sight in public transit. Read recent reviews for your specific neighborhood.
- Environmental quality (score 40/100): Check air-quality forecasts. If sensitive, pack a mask and adjust outdoor activity. Hydration is critical in heat.
- Check your country's advisory. The single most authoritative live signal. Linked at the bottom of every real assessment.
Day vs Night Safety in Cancún
Guidance based on our scores and official advice — not a measured score.
Daytime conditions are generally secure along major corridors and commercial districts. Keep bags zipped and avoid displaying high-value items openly.
Risk levels elevate noticeably after dark outside main central zones. Avoid walking alone through unlit parks, alleys, or quiet transit stations; favor pre-booked door-to-door transport.
Safety by Traveler Type in Cancún
Guidance based on our scores and official advice — not a measured score.
No group-specific warning is triggered in Cancún for solo travelers (Crime 45/100 · Transport 35/100), women traveling solo (Crime 45/100), families with children (Health 30/100 · Natural disaster 25/100), older travelers (Health 30/100 · Transport 35/100), business travelers (Digital 30/100 · Money 45/100 · Transport 35/100) and lgbtq+ travelers (Advisory 40/100 · Political 20/100): these scores sit in the low-to-moderate range, so standard precautions apply. Local laws affecting LGBTQ+ travelers and gender-specific incident rates are not captured in our scores; check your government's travel guidance.
Score layers
Safety categories
Source: Grounded open data research & citations
Quick facts
| Hospital access | medium |
|---|---|
| Airport risk | medium |
| Road safety | medium |
| Public transport | medium |
| Tourist scam risk | high |
| Night safety | medium |
| Last updated | September 27, 2026 |
Live conditions in Cancún
Real-time data refreshed from public sources — weather and air quality from Open-Meteo, official advisory from the US State Department, disaster alerts from GDACS, health notices from the CDC, news from Google News. For an AI-synthesized briefing tailored to your specific trip, run a personalized assessment.
Official travel advisory
Level 2 · Exercise Increased Caution
Mexico Travel Advisory - Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
Read full advisory → · US Department of State
Disaster alerts
Active Disaster Alerts
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Drought is on going in The Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador ORANGE · country-wide · 2026-07-03
The Drought notification level is Orange.
-
Green flood alert in Mexico GREEN · country-wide · 2026-08-18
On 17/08/2026, a flood started in Mexico, lasting until 12/10/2026 (last update). The flood caused 21 deaths and 1663 displaced .
-
Drought is on going in Mexico, United States GREEN · country-wide · 2026-04-30
The Drought notification level is Green.
“~N km away” = event centroid within ~500 km of this location; “country-wide” = a national/regional alert that may not be near this specific city. Source: GDACS · fetched 2026-10-16 02:35:22 UTC
Natural hazard calendar & history
No GDACS or USGS events recorded within 100 km in the past five years.
CDC Traveler Health Notices for Mexico
- Level 1 - Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Mexico (Level 1, 23 Dec 2025)
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Public Domain).
For consular advice on women's safety, LGBT+ travel, and local laws, see the Mexico travel advice & laws.
Check the official entry requirements for your nationality before you travel. See the Mexico entry requirements.
Health notices
Health Notices for this Destination
-
Level 1 - Global Dengue WATCH · 2026-10-02
Dengue is a year-round risk in many parts of the world, with outbreaks commonly occurring every 2–5 years. Travelers to risk areas should prevent mosquito bites. Country List : Colombia, Vietnam, Maldives, Bolivia, Cambodia, Kenya, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Mar
-
Level 2 - Global Polio ALERT · 2026-09-23
Some international destinations have circulating poliovirus. Before any international travel, make sure you are up to date on your polio vaccines. Country List : Afghanistan, Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, Nig
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Level 1 - Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Mexico WATCH · 2025-12-23
Illness and death due to Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) have been reported in the northern region of Mexico along the U.S. border, particularly in Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Nuevo León.
-
Level 1 - Global Measles WATCH · 2025-05-28
Measles cases are rising in many countries around the world. All international travelers should be fully vaccinated against measles with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to CDC's measles vaccination recommendations for international travel. Country List : Afghan
Source: CDC Travelers’ Health · fetched 2026-10-15 19:24:31 UTC
Recent headlines
Recent Headlines · Cancún Mexico
-
'Exercise Caution': Mexico Issued New Travel Warning By Global Affairs Canada Effective Immediately
TheTravel · 6d ago
-
Mexico's beach resorts lose their shine as costs, seaweed and crime drive tourists away
헤럴드경제 · 1d ago
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Canada tightens Mexico travel advisory amid storms, violence
https://www.thetraveler.org/ · 2d ago
Source: Google News · headlines verbatim, dates from publishers · fetched 2026-10-16 02:07:48 UTC
1991–2020 climate normals
Seasonal risk & best time to visit Cancún
The most weather-stable two-month window for Cancún is January–February, when typical daily temperatures run from about 22°C to 26°C and monthly rain averages 52 mm.
Seasonal planning flags include hurricane season in June–November; heavy rain season in September. These are climate patterns, not forecasts.
Climate normals are planning context, not a short-range forecast. Source: Open-Meteo Climate API. Refreshed Sep 7, 2026.
Calculate risk for these travel dates Compare seasonal windows →
Practical safety map
Safety infrastructure nearby in Cancún
Cancún has 10 hospitals, 6 police stations, 4 embassies, 10 pharmacies and 2 fire stations within 7 km of the city center in the latest OpenStreetMap extract.
The interactive map loads when it approaches the viewport.
Facility list (works without JavaScript)
- Hospital: Unnamed hospital
- Hospital: Centro De Salud No.2
- Hospital: Cruz Roja Mexicana
- Hospital: Hospital General Regional 17
- Hospital: Hospital IMSS Ginecopedríatia
- Hospital: Hospital Victoria
- Hospital: IMSS
- Hospital: IMSS UMF 16
- Hospital: IMSS Unidad de Medicina Familiar 14
- Hospital: San Gabriel
- Police: Unnamed police
- Police: Unnamed police
- Police: Unnamed police
- Police: Fiscalia General de La Republica
- Police: PGR (Procuradoría General de La Republica)
- Police: Policía Federal Cancun Centro.
- Embassy: Consulado de Colombia
- Embassy: Honorary Consulate of the Czech Republic
- Embassy: Honorary Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Embassy: Oficina Consular de la República de Cuba
- Pharmacy: Unnamed pharmacy
- Pharmacy: Farmacia Bazar
- Pharmacy: Farmacia Guadalajara
- Pharmacy: Farmacia YZA
- Pharmacy: Farmacias del Ahorro
- Pharmacy: Farmacias del Ahorro
- Pharmacy: Farmacias Similares
- Pharmacy: Farmacias Similares
- Pharmacy: Farmacias Yza
- Pharmacy: Pharmacia
- Fire station: Unnamed fire station
- Fire station: Unnamed fire station
Map and facility data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Locations can be incomplete or outdated; confirm before relying on them. See this destination’s numbers or browse emergency numbers by country.
Emergency numbers (Mexico)
| Police | 911 |
|---|---|
| Ambulance | 911 |
| Fire | 911 |
| General | 911 |
See nearby hospitals, police, pharmacies, embassies, and fire stations on the safety map.
Essential local emergency phrases
Show this screen to first responders, hotel staff, or passersby if you cannot speak the local language during an emergency.
Medical access
| Hospital access | medium |
|---|---|
| Pharmacy access | medium |
| Emergency response | medium |
| English-speaking care | unknown |
| Evacuation complexity | medium |
The provided search results do not contain specific details regarding hospital access, emergency response, or medical care for travelers in Cancún.
Common scam patterns
- Ghost Travel Agencies. Travelers have reported suffering scams from ghost travel agencies that exploit customers by offering dream trips at considerable prices, which turn out to be completely fake. Hundreds of people nationwide have fallen victim to these online and agency frauds. Tip: Always book travel through verified, official providers and double-check credentials before making payments.
- Ground Transportation and Transfer Issues. Visitors have experienced issues with ground transportation providers at the airport failing to provide prepaid services or honoring bookings. These grievances involve unauthorized or problematic handling by services operating out of the terminal. Tip: Verify ground transportation bookings directly with trusted operators and file complaints with consumer protection agencies if services fail.
Area notes
- Cancun Hotel Zone. The main tourist hub frequently referenced for safety comparisons, cartel dynamics, and visitor accommodations along the coast.
- Riviera Maya. Mexico's most-visited Caribbean coast destination adjacent to Cancun, featuring specific regional safety and crime data tracking.
- Yucatán. A popular neighboring tourist hub cited as having a more favorable state-by-state safety advisory status.
Nearest embassies & consulates
Find your home country's diplomatic mission in Mexico for consular support, lost passports, or citizen emergencies:
Run a personalized assessment for Cancún
Get a tailored briefing in ~15 seconds, with live weather, advisories, and recent news.
Calculate my trip riskScore history
| When | Score change | Tier | Reason / source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 29, 2026 | 0 → 0 | unknown | Data update Grounded open data research & citations |
| Sep 27, 2026 | 49 → 44 | moderate | Data update scoring v2 |
| Sep 27, 2026 | 39 → 49 | moderate | Method change (scoring v2) scoring v2 |
| May 9, 2026 | — → 39 | moderate | Data update calibrated 2026-05-09 v1.0 (knowledge-based; regional context + Numbeo crime indices) |
Every editorial change to Cancún's composite score is logged here, with the source and reason for the change. Live data overlays (weather, advisories, disaster alerts, news) refresh continuously on their own cadences and are not recorded as score changes — see the Live conditions section above for current overlay state.
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Transparency & Sources
We document the baseline sources, coverage scope, and data inputs for this destination below.
Sources used
- SimpleMaps World Cities (CC BY 4.0): Coordinates, region, population for Cancún
- Travel Risk Calculator score (method v2): Security, crime and scams, health, natural hazards and current alerts for Cancún, from US, UK and Canadian advisories, INFORM, World Bank, UCDP, CDC, GDACS, USGS and OpenStreetMap
- Editorial baseline (Travel Risk Calculator): City-level threat scoring across 9 categories (crime, health, advisory, political, disaster, transport, environmental, digital security, money safety)
Live data overlays on this page refresh asynchronously on the source cadences shown above. Run an assessment to create a trip-specific briefing using your dates and traveler profile.
Baseline scope
- Category scores represent an analytical baseline, updated from official feeds and public records.
Coverage notes
- Transport-hub safety notes (airport, train stations).
Methodology · Full data-source registry · Report a correction
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Disclaimer
Travel Risk Calculator provides estimated travel-threat information for preparation purposes only. It does not replace official government advisories, medical advice, emergency alerts, immigration rules, insurance advice, police guidance, embassy information, or professional security consultation.