Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The US State Department recently updated their safety and security information system to make it easier for international travelers to understand.

In the new system, Travel Advisories have replaced Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts. Every country has a Travel Advisory, which provides one of four standard levels of advice: 1. Exercise Normal Precautions, 2. Exercise Increased Caution, 3. Reconsider Travel and 4. Do Not Travel, as well as an explanation for the level and precautions U.S. citizens should exercise while visiting.

On Wednesday, January 10, 2018, the new Travel Advisories were published, replacing the Travel Alert issued on August 22, 2017. In this report, Mexico was placed at Level 2 overall, due to criminal activities in certain parts of the country.

The good news is that most all of Mexico's popular vacation destinations are exempted, including tourist areas in the States of Quintana Roo and Baja California Sur, which were previously under Travel Warnings due to violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens.

There are currently no Advisories for travel to tourist areas in Quintana Roo, including Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and the Riviera Maya; nor for Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo and La Paz in Baja California Sur.

Though violent crime and gang activity have been reported in some parts of the States of Jalisco and Nayarit, there are No Travel Advisories or restrictions for stays in the following tourist areas: Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Chapala, and Ajijic in Jalisco; and Nuevo Vallarta, Punta Mita, and other Riviera Nayarit destinations, Santa María del Oro and Xalisco in Nayarit.

However, the State Department considers travel to some of Mexico's other popular vacation destinations to be dangerous for U.S. citizens.

The State of Sinaloa is under a Level 3 advisory (Reconsider Travel) and visitors who decide not to heed the advice and travel to Mazatlan are warned to stay within the Zona Dorada and historic town center.

All tourist areas in the Pacific Coast State of Guerrero are under a Level 4 (Do Not Travel) warning, including Acapulco, Ixtapa, Taxco and Zihuatanejo.

The U.S. State Department's latest Mexico Travel Advisory, which includes state-by-state assessments that clearly outline areas to stay away from and places that call for caution as a way to encourage travelers to make intelligent decisions, can be read HERE.