Is this route still as potentially dangerous as it was? So far, my searches have turned up a lot of posts on various sites, saying 'don't even think about it', but they've mainly been dated from 2007-2012.
Any experience or advice on this route would be very welcome.
If it turns out to be too risky, an alternative is to cross the border at Tijuana, so info on that would also be good.
If you haven´t already read the State Dept travel warnings, you should. Here is an excerpt about the state of Chihuahua (the situation actually sounds worse in Baja California):
¨Chihuahua (includes Ciudad Juarez, the city of Chihuahua, Ojinaga, Palomas, Nuevo Casas Grandes and Copper Canyon): Criminal activity and violence remains an issue throughout the state of Chihuahua and its major cities. If you plan to drive in the state of Chihuahua, you should limit travel to daylight hours on major highways and follow the recommendations below....¨
The plan is to get the train in Chihuahua, so the aim is not necessarily to spend any time in the city. If one crosses the border simply with the aim of travelling straight there, is there a reasonably safe means of getting to the bus station, and are the buses themselves safe? (assuming that one takes precautions regarding one's belongings etc)
That train journey through Copper Canyon sounds amazing, and it's popular enough, so presumably people find a reasonably secure way of getting to/from the places at each end. But yes, the travel warnings are a worry.
If anyone knows of good reliable transfer services, that might be a more expensive but safer means of getting there, maybe?
If you haven´t already read the State Dept travel warnings, you should.
...while also keeping in mind that these "warnings" have been widely discredited, are not especially useful for visitors, and are not coming from reliable sources... though they are good to use for printing out and using to clean your footwear in desert areas.
The phrase: "Criminal activity and violence remains an issue throughout the state of ---- and its major cities" could be used to describe literally almost any US state.
Avoiding the city or not is a personal question (and I only know what I've heard and read, BTW), but all I have heard from folks who have actually been there lately is that it's fine, and in fact a great place to spend a few days in:
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/central-north-mexico/chihuahua
Sadly, tourism in the area has taken a huge hit, whether it's due to any actual crime threat or the sensationalized reports, so getting current info isn't as easy as it used to be. Here is a cool thread with some first-hand info from a few years ago:
For some peculiar reason plenty of the US Americans are eager to visit Mexico and yet expect that they will be beaten up at every street corner from Tijuana to Cancun.
This spring I drove the area in my pickup camper. Had no issues going north and getting into CD Juarez other than an 18 yr old army inspector asking me if I had an extra coke for him (it really was not too scary in spite of how it sounds <sarcasm>). Now the really scary part, I actually spent most of the day hanging out in and around CD Juarez waiting for my wife to fly into the airport. Scariest part here was that I had to drive to a park on the edge of town to walk my dog because there is a wall around every neighborhood and the city park only allowed dogs if they had a muzzle. CD Juarez was pretty ugly in my opinion, typical industrial border town. On the return trip we drove through Chihuahua on the way into the Copper Canyon area and thought it looked like it was worth exploring when we have more time up north. We had no issues.
Si - take a taxi to the central bus station for transport to Chihuahua. Probably need to spend the night there, possibly buy your train ticket the day before (if possible), or first thing for an AM departure - check train schedule in any event. You could get off at Creel, spend a couple nights there - day trips, restaurants. Then continue Creel to El Fuerte; spend the night at El Fuerte; return. The bus portion will possibly have more than one thorough military inspection with passengers off the bus and luggage inspected. At some dicey train stops that have been robbed in years past, there is very high security, with doors locked, windows closed, as passengers get on/off. You'll have a great time.
Having resided on the border (Presidio, TX/Ojinaga, Chih.) for more than 30 years, I can say with reasonable confidence that you will not encounter any problems travelling from Juarez to Chihuahua. Juarez has had an uptick in violence since "El Chapo" was sent to prison in the U.S., but those crimes are primarily between cartels. Juarez' mayor Armando Cabada is doing his best to inspire Juarenses (citizens) to work for an overall better city, so you can't fault them for trying. Chihuahua City has similar cartel problems, but a typical law-abiding tourist is likely not to cross paths with them. I really enjoy visiting Chihuahua for its historic architecture and overall amenities for a traveler.
If you will be taking the train to Copper Canyon, it leaves very early in the morning. You'll probably need to spend the night. Several reasonably-priced hotels downtown. Catching a taxi is a breeze. Just tell your hotel front desk and they'll have a cab for you in minutes. Happy travels
Take a regular cab to the train station from your hotel. We walk from dt Chihuahua to the station regularly when in town during daylight hours.
Hard to see the run from Juarez to Cd Chi being that dangerous, a lot of hype there but whenever traveling one just needs to be aware of their surroundings anyways.
Creel and El Fuerte are both good choices, it just depends on what you really want from a train trip on the CH-P. I was there in January and can never get enough of it.
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