U.S. State Department lifts travel advisory for Mexico’s Playa del Carmen

Earlier this week the U.S. State Department updated its travel advice for Mexico’s Playa del Carmen to say that, “Effective immediately, U.S. government personnel are permitted to travel to all parts of Playa del Carmen.”  This includes using all ferry services between Playa del Carmen and Cozumel.

This reversal comes about two weeks after the U.S. State Department initially issued a travel alert for the entire Playa del Carmen area following an explosion on a ferry.  The advice was later narrowed to include just specific neighborhoods.

The current advice still cautions travelers as follows, “As noted in our Mexico Travel Advisory for the state of Quintana Roo, U.S. citizens should exercise increased caution due to crime.” This advisory also notes that most violent crimes in and around the region are targeted within criminal organizations.

CDC advises travelers to Brazil to get yellow fever vaccine

As an outbreak of yellow fever continues in a large part of Brazil, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending that all travelers visiting the affected areas of the country get vaccinated to help protect against this potentially life-threatening illness. According to the CDC advisory, areas affected by yellow fever include: Espirito Santo State; Sao Paulo state, including the city of Sao Paolo and all coastal islands; Rio de Janiero state, including the city of Rio de Janiero and all coastal islands’ and some cities in Bahia state. More information on this outbreak and a map of Brazil’s impacted areas can be found on the CDC website at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/yellow-fever-brazil