Mexico DF Santa Maria la Ribera Neighborhood

Hi, I have a couple of questions about safety in Mexico df.

My partner and I are going to Mexico df and planning on staying in the Santa Maria la Ribera neighborhood... would someone tell me how safe it is? we have been to mexico df 4 years ago, and we stayed in coyoacan for 3 weeks, never we felt unsafe in mexico, we also never went out very late, I'm wondering how it is in Santa Maria la Ribera.

Also, because we did not want to take risks, we never used taxis... what about uber?
thanks all

Check your Private Messages.

LW

Why send private messages on an issue like this? For safety reasons, I would not recommend communicating with Thorn Tree members via private messages... just too many things that could go wrong. If there's something to say, say it in public. Anyone looking for dating or love matches or whatever should use a different method.

Santa Maria is a fantastic neighborhood with a strong community vibe, and I kinda wish I were staying there right now. That said, there are some areas that are a bit sketchier than others... even though the overall safety of the neighborhood has improved a LOT in recent years. What part of the neighborhood are you staying in exactly? Near the kiosk? Don't worry about not staying out late... it's a 24-hour city and there is a ton of fun stuff to do in the evening hours.

Taxis are safe. Ubers are safe. There's always a tiny chance that you could get some crazy, but this is true in New York, Bangkok, literally everywhere. The days of "dangerous" green taxis and serious problems in CDMX are in the past.

great!! thank for your message. I think we are staying to the south and east of the kiosk... I'm really looking for staying in Santa Maria after reading your message.

Ooooh, that's a great area... and you're very close to the (extremely busy) Buenavista metro stop.

Just to be clear, the area used to have a worse reputation for crime... and if you walk directly east, you'll find yourself in some slightly sketchier areas. However, I go there all the time (I love the restaurant "Mi Jacalito" right north of the kiosko), and I'd love to stay there. One can't miss attraction in the area is the "Art Corridor" on Calle Mosqueta, directly between the Buenavista and Guerrero metro stations. An artist's collective painted literally hundreds(!) of absolutely incredible, huge murals lining the entire street, many of them of women... the effect is awesome and must be seen to be appreciated. You're also very close to the convenient Revolucion station... you should expect to see some prostitution and down-and-out characters around there, but it's still relatively safe.

You're also very close to the Chopo museum, which is another must-see in the area. I think you'll really like SMdR, it's much less touristy than Roma or Condesa but there's a reason why it has received the "Magic Neighborhood" status...

I visited Del Chopo and the Santa Maria la Ribera neighbourhood this morning, and I´ve visited several times in the past. But I´m not out late at night, and we´ve had few reports from others staying out late in that neighbourhood. I´ve found that there are a lot of prostitutes of both genders along Ribera de San Cosme during the evening. And I´ve found few hotels in that neighbourhood; are you staying at a private residence? Be careful about which taxis you take, that is, take a secure taxi with standardized marking and driver´s licence displayed, or better yet, ask your hotel manager to arrange the pickup.

Be careful about which taxis you take

Why, exactly, and how does one do this?

In terms of 2018, please, not, you know, 1999. [spoiler: taxis are fine, and safe... Uber is also fine, though there have been some unpleasant, well-publicized incidents recently]

I've walked around in SMdR many times as late as midnight lately... easy peasy. The side streets near San Cosme/Revolución are worth avoiding, but otherwise, pretty tranquilo, and it's easy to stick to bigger streets, like Insurgentes.

great!! thank for your message. I think we are staying to the south and east of the kiosk... I'm really looking for staying in Santa Maria after reading your message.

There's another PM in your In Box.

LW

^^^^^ come on, that's just weird

Be careful about which taxis you take, that is, take a secure taxi with standardized marking and driver´s licence displayed, or better yet, ask your hotel manager to arrange the pickup.

Good advice. There are still problems with some (mostly pirate) taxi's detailed in newspaper and TV news programs. Many taxi's now have an 81\2 x 11" page taped to one of the rear passenger windows ... that includes driver photo and license information ... which has been reassuring to many passengers. I won't use Uber (not because of safety concerns, though)... but many people in the city do.

LW

with standardized marking and driver´s licence displayed

That's pretty much all taxis now. The city has cracked down (they're not even allowed to ride around at night without turning the interior light on, which I really dislike), and you'd be hard pressed to find an unmarked, pirate taxi to just jump into. All taxis should have the driver's license displayed and except for a few red-gold holdovers, which should be gone by this year, almost all are of the standard pink/white variety. There's never any 100% guarantee of taxi safety in any city in the world... even if you ask the hotel to call a taxi every time you need one, which would be a major pain, you never know who's going to show up or if you might get that one-in-a-million.

I second the motion that Santa Maria la Ribera is a cool neighborhood. I like it a lot, very family oriented with a good market and some nice color and shady trees. The kiosko is cool, and the geography/national history museum - the building anyway - is great. And because the Buenavista neighborhood is undergoing a real revamp it's made the entire area busier and, I think, safer for sure than it used to be.

The Vasconcelos library @ Buenavista is fantastic, and the Metroubus runs right along Insurgentes. Great area all around. I hate to recommend it because I don't want to see the place get busier!

• Andrew

PS - oh and I know it's an oft debated issue and has been forever, but personally speaking I have zero qualms using cruising taxis these days in CDMX. Caution is still required in dodgy areas perhaps, and if a driver is too enthusiastic maybe find another one, but of the last 50 or so taxis I've used in CDMX over the last years I've never had anything remotely close to a problem. So for what it's worth I think taxi travel is now safe. (I know, I know, it's a debatable point...)

I second the motion that Santa Maria la Ribera is a cool neighborhood.

Last year (maybe it was 2 years ago), I started a discussion about what I think are colonies in the city on the bubble to attract substantially more foreign tourists. Santa Maria de la Ribera was one of the two.

During my last two visits to the city, including Feb.2018, I've stayed exclusively in accommodations in the colonia, spent the bulk of my time and took most of my meals in restaurants there.

When I get around to it I will post a report. But, it's time has come and the colonia deserves the attention of more foreign visitors ... particularly Mexicophiles unfamiliar with the colonia.

LW

I remember that discussion, Lake:

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-mexico/mexico/mexico-city-colonias-with-potential-to-become-the-next-colonia-roma

The time perhaps is nigh - I was there the day before yesterday and noticed A LOT more people mooching around than I recall from previous visits. Day trippers, Mexican primarily, eating ice cream and wandering through the park and looking at the kiosko. A few of the shops around the park have been updated (a cool cafe even) and there is quite a lot of residential construction in the neighborhood, old buildings getting face lifts and some quite modern flat blocks.

The time perhaps is nigh - I was there the day before yesterday and noticed A LOT more people mooching around than I recall from previous visits.

Yes, it's increasingly becoming gentrified... in a nice way. Many small restaurants, shops, good Mercado. Popular with 20-something Mexicans ... and families. One of the very active parks in the city. New apartment construction seems to st art at the peso equivalent of US$150k and above. And ... for Lutheran's, one of only 2 Lutheran Churches in the region.

Day trippers, Mexican primarily, eating ice cream and wandering through the park and looking at the kiosko.

Weekends and holidays are crazy busy in the Alameda. Teens learning swing dancing on the kiosko, adults with danzon and rock and roll with hundreds of adults on the plaza on weekends.

A few of the shops around the park have been updated ...

The Delegation is putting finishing touches on a total rehab of the Colonia's cultural center ... across from the Alameda.

LW

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