Mexico travel safety: Hurricane Simon and FCDO advice

Hurricane Simon was still sitting just off Mexico’s Pacific coast on Monday 12 October, and UK travellers are being told to follow local advice. The Foreign Office (FCDO) has not issued a specific “do not travel” warning linked to the storm, according to The Independent and Yahoo News UK. For anyone asking whether Mexico travel safety has changed, the answer depends heavily on where you are going.

Simon reached Category 4 strength on Saturday, according to Al Jazeera, and weakened to Category 3 on Sunday night, CNN reported. At 03:00 local time on Monday its maximum sustained winds were 185 km/h, with the centre about 75 km south-west of Cabo Corrientes, according to The Watchers, citing the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Hurricane Simon Mexico tourist areas: what is happening on the coast

The storm threatens one of Mexico’s most popular tourist regions, covering Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Michoacán. Puerto Vallarta’s international airport has been closed, and Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico notices scheduled it to stay shut until 08:00 on 13 October, The Watchers reported. Manzanillo airport was due to reopen at 08:00 on 12 October.

Businesses in Puerto Vallarta boarded up windows and placed sandbags at entrances, according to Al Jazeera. Police told tourists on the boardwalk to take shelter, the Associated Press reported. In Manzanillo, heavy rain flooded homes and streets, and the Navy helped remove water from houses, according to CNN.

Mexico’s civil protection agency placed 28 municipalities in Jalisco and Colima on its highest cyclone alert and another 93 on high alert, Al Jazeera reported. President Claudia Sheinbaum urged residents to stay sheltered until authorities declare the danger over. The agency warned: “The wind and rain will suddenly and deceptively subside, creating an apparent calm that does not mean the danger has passed.”

Mexico travel advice weather warnings: what the FCDO and others say

The FCDO said Simon “is bringing heavy rain to Mexico’s Pacific coast” and could cause “life-threatening” flooding and landslides, very high winds and “dangerous” ocean conditions. It told travellers to monitor local and international weather updates and to “follow advice from local authorities and your tour operator”. Its warning anticipated landfall near Manzanillo on Sunday 11 October, but CNN reported that the track shifted and the storm has stayed offshore, so forecasts have changed.

Separate, longstanding FCDO advice against all but essential travel covers parts of Baja California, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Jalisco, Colima, Guerrero and Chiapas. These are unrelated to the hurricane. The US embassy in Mexico urged people to “avoid beaches, swimming, boating and other coastal recreation”.

What happens next, and what to check

The NHC expects Simon to move slowly north-west through early 13 October, then turn north and north-east towards west-central Mexico around midweek, according to The Watchers. It should stay a hurricane through midweek before weakening over mountainous terrain. Forecasters say track uncertainty is higher than normal.

If you are booked to travel, contact your holiday provider first. Because the FCDO has not advised against non-essential travel, there is no automatic right to a full refund, and companies are not obliged to refund cancellations, according to The Independent. Some insurance policies cover natural disasters that stop you reaching your destination, so check your policy wording. Delta has waived change fees for flights to Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta until 15 October.