The last Mexico Mix column looked at why Mexico's drug-related violence has recently spilled into tourist destinations. This time, we'll look at why that shouldn't stop you from traveling to Mexico.



The concept hasn't changed: Stay away from the trouble spots and exhibit some common sense, and you're more likely to perish in a tequila-fueled Jet Ski mishap than at a homicidal drug trafficker's hands. What makes this concept more complicated today is that you can no longer rely on the common wisdom about sticking with established tourist destinations.


Outside those nine states, the total homicide rate for the four years is a more tolerable 1.1 to 29.8 per 100,000. In 2010, Mexico City's drug-related homicide rate was 2.2 per 100,000. While it is not an exact comparison, since the Mexico database tracks specifically drug-related deaths, Washington, D.C.'s homicide rate for 2009, the latest year for which the FBI's Uniform Crime Report is available, of 24 per 100,000 adds some perspective. California's rate was 5.3; the U.S. national average was 5.0.


Here's a closer look at the top five:

1) Tlaxcala (1.1 deaths per 100,000): Mexico's safest state is also its smallest, tucked just east of Mexico state like a notch in Puebla's side, with the Sierra Madre Oriental dominating its eastern boundary. It is an agricultural state with a significant tourism industry made up mainly of Mexican visitors and a smattering of history-minded German, French and Swiss travelers. Its primary attractions, barely known to U.S. tourists, are precolumbian archaeological sites such as Cacaxtla and colonial architecture in and around the capital city of Tlaxcala. The state has more than 1,000 archaeological sites, only seven of which are open to the public. It's tailor-made for travelers hankering for an authentic cultural foray safely removed from the hordes.

2) Yucatán (1.3): The land of the Maya is arguably Mexico's most beguiling state, and its safety is icing on the cake. (Drug-related deaths doubled in 2010 — from 1 to 2.) Despite being overshadowed by Cancún and the Riviera Maya in neighboring Quintana Roo, the Yucatán has a well-developed tourist infrastructure, thousands of archaeological sites, refreshing cenotes, grand haciendas, uncrowded beaches, stunning wildlife, widely varied ecotourism and unfailingly gracious people. You could visit every year for the rest of your life and never run out of things to do and see. If you're still wary of going to Mexico, think of Yucatán as a country apart — many of its residents do.


4) Querétaro (2.02): Also among Mexico's smaller states, Querétaro is one of the most geographically varied, ranging from desert to tropical rainforest. The capital, Santiago de Querétaro, was designated the "third city of New Spain" in 1531 and is a trove for history buffs. It is best-known, however, for its role in ending Spanish rule. Overshadowing such momentous events as Maximilian's execution or the signing of the Treaty of Hidalgo and Mexican Constitution, its greatest source of pride is being the place where the fathers of independence plotted to overthrow the Spanish. Ecotourism is the mainstay of the Sierra Gorda biological reserve. The state also claims three of Mexico's major wineries and maintains a Cheese and Wine Museum. San Sebastián Bernal, whose Peña de Bernal is the third-largest rock in the world, is one of Mexico's Magic Pueblos.

