Hi Mexico-loving friends! I hope you are all having a wonderful start to the holiday season and looking at some warmer places south of the border to enjoy your time off. There are a few changes in the Mexico traffic-light system leading up to Christmas and I have a feeling we'll be seeing a few more changes as we head into 2022.

Hi Mexico-loving friends! I hope you are all having a wonderful start to the holiday season and looking at some warmer places south of the border to enjoy your time off.  There are a few changes in the Mexico traffic-light system leading up to Christmas and I have a feeling we'll be seeing a few more changes as we head into 2022.

Traffic Light Changes

For those that are new around here, last year Mexico's federal government created a traffic light system to help businesses and people understand the risks of Covid-19 in each state around Mexico. It was then up to the state governments to decide how to interpret these traffic light colors. Currently, red means the highest risk of covid and that hospitals are near capacity. It means that capacity at restaurants and hotels is lowered. In some places, it will mean that you will not be able to sit inside a restaurant at all, but only place an order for take-out (unless they have outdoor seating available). For the next two weeks, there will continue to be no states in the high-risk "red" category. Orange is a level below red status and means that there is still a high risk of covid-19 and many restrictions are still in place. The federal government have given control over to the state governments to decide how they implement these colors and what restrictions should be in place. These are the states that will remain in orange with a risk of possibly moving into the red because of continued increases in severe cases and hospitals becoming overrun. There is currently no states in the orange level. Yellow means lower risk level and most places are allowed to have up to 50% capacity. States in yellow are allowed to have fans at sporting events and bars are allowed to be open (in some states clubs are also open in Yellow). Museums and other tourist attractions can be back open with restrictions. Baja California (home to Tijuana and Ensenada) has moved from orange down to yellow this week. The other northern states of Baja California Sur (home to Cabo and La Paz), Sonora, Chihuahua, and Coahuila have all moved from green to yellow this week as case numbers increase in these states. Green means that there is a very low risk of Covid, that many places can have more than 75% capacity and almost all services can resume. Precautions like masks and temperature checks are still being taken, especially when going indoors. There are now four states currently in the green. All other Mexican states except Baja California are now in the green. You can view the full map on the government website here. Just know that "green" and "yellow" look different in every state and even within every city and small town that you may want to visit in Mexico. Please check below for my list of friends and fellow content creators who live in different parts of Mexico. The best way to know what restrictions are still in place is to get in touch with someone who actually lives in the city or town in which you plan to visit.

Mexico Immigration Updates

As things continue to change with the immigration policies in Mexico, I want to make sure to keep you guys up to date whether you are planning to head down just for a few weeks or you're looking to sort out your long-term residency, there are lots of changes coming in 2022. Alex of Backpacking Brunette has been keeping everyone in the know on her YouTube channel and her latest video which you can watch here gives you the most up-to-date information about entering Mexico at the moment. If you missed the first video that she made, you can watch that one here. There is a lot of hearsay and scaremongering going on in many Facebook groups at the moment, so my biggest advice is to seek out expert advice from immigration lawyers (Alex recommends someone she trusts in her videos) and go from there.

Expats & Locals Around Mexico

As always with Mexico, I highly recommend seeking out people who are currently living in the places that you want to visit. With Covid rules changing constantly and safety issues cropping up every now and again, only people who are on the ground there living it every day can share with you what's really happening. For updates about Mexico City, as always I recommend following Ubish Yaren on Instagram. You can also follow Anais of The Curious Mexican for updates on the restaurant and food scene in Mexico City and what is back open. For information about what's going on in and around Puerto Vallarta, be sure to follow along with the Kinetic Kennons on YouTube. For updates about what's going on in Oaxaca, Susan of Brooklyn Tropicali has been sharing her updates of what's going on around the city and state of Oaxaca. For regular updates about life in Merida and around the Yucatan, check out Mexico Cassie who has also recently written a fantastic guide about Traveling Yucatan with Kids. Shelley of Travel Mexico Solo also shares her experiences in Merida and around the Yucatan. Her Instagram is a particularly good resource for what she's seeing at the moment. The Yucatan Times is the local English newspaper in Merida that shares local updates and news reports. To keep up with what's going on in and around Querétaro, follow Alex of the Backpacking Brunette. Vallarta Daily is the local English news there where you can learn about any changes in the situation in Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding Nayarit beach towns as well. Janine Around the World is traveling around the Riviera Maya at the moment sharing her experiences on her blog and Instagram. Riviera Maya News is the local English newspaper there where you can keep up with changes. The Mexican government's Coronavirus website is a huge resource for those that are currently living in Mexico and want to know more about what's happening in their state. As always, a great place to keep up to date with news about what's happening all over Mexico in English is Mexico News Daily.

Visiting Mexico Soon?

If you are planning a trip to Mexico soon, I hope you'll have a browse of the different Mexico guides on my blog or have a search through my YouTube videos to help you plan your trip! If you are planning to spend the holidays in Mexico City, check out my articles about Christmas in Mexico City and New Year in Mexico City.  I also have FOUR extensive guidebooks available for Baja California Sur (brand new and published in July 2021!), Mexico City (updated this year with tons of new content!), Merida, and Guanajuato! If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to email me by simply hitting reply on this email. Speak soon and safe travels, Laura