Practical Information for visiting South And Gulf Coast of Mexico

Coverage for mobile networks is good in Oaxaca city, San Cristobal, Veracruz and the larger towns from Telcel, which again has the best rural reach, and it thins substantially in the sierras and the Lacandon.

Local SIMs are cheap and easy.

Wi-Fi is standard in hotels and hostels in the cities and generally decent; Oaxaca has a good cafe-working culture and a significant remote-worker population.

Power cuts follow storms in the wet season, and the highland villages can lose supply for longer.

Download offline maps before the mountain roads, where signal disappears for long stretches and route-finding matters.

The region is generally safer for visitors than northern Mexico, but it has its own specific issues.

• Chiapas has seen increasing criminal-group activity, particularly along the Guatemalan border and in parts of the highlands, and several governments now advise care. Check current guidance for the specific areas you plan to visit.
• Road blockades by protesters or communities are common in Oaxaca and Chiapas. They are not usually dangerous but can strand you for hours. Do not attempt to force through.
• Photography in indigenous villages can provoke genuine hostility, and at Chamula has led to cameras being taken and people detained. Take the prohibitions seriously.
• Mountain roads: landslides, fog, and long drops with no barriers. Do not drive them at night.
• Earthquakes, which are frequent and sometimes severe.
• Altitude at San Cristobal and on Pico de Orizaba.

Oaxaca city, Tuxtla Gutierrez and Veracruz have reasonable private hospitals; the highland and jungle areas have clinics only, and serious cases go to Mexico City. Insurance covering evacuation is worth having.

Vaccinations: routine cover plus hepatitis A and typhoid; rabies for rural stays.

Mosquito-borne illness: dengue is endemic in the lowlands with regular outbreaks, and chikungunya and Zika circulate. A malaria risk exists in rural lowland Chiapas and parts of Tabasco — check with a travel clinic if you plan to go into the Lacandon.

Altitude: San Cristobal at 2,200 metres causes mild effects in some people; Pico de Orizaba at 5,636 metres is serious mountaineering requiring acclimatisation and a guide.

Stomach upsets are common; drink purified water only and be sensible about where you eat, though the busy market comedores are generally fine.

Sun is strong at altitude even when the air is cool.

Photography in indigenous communities is the critical point. Many Oaxacan and Chiapas villages prohibit it, and inside the church at San Juan Chamula it is absolutely forbidden — cameras have been confiscated and people held by community police. The belief is that a photograph takes something from the person. Ask first, everywhere, and accept no as final.

Usos y costumbres: village authorities have real power. Follow instructions from community police without argument.

Buying crafts: prices in villages are usually fair and hard haggling over a rug that took a month to weave is poor form.

Mezcal is sipped, not shot, and is offered as hospitality.

Churches are in use and often syncretic; be quiet and unobtrusive.

Greetings before requests, always.

Emergency number: 911 nationwide. Angeles Verdes assist motorists free on 078.

Medical. Oaxaca city and Tuxtla Gutierrez have private hospitals used to foreign patients. From the Chiapas highlands or the Lacandon, evacuation takes hours.

Road blockades: wait, or turn back. Do not attempt to drive through one, and do not photograph it.

Earthquakes: alerts sound in some cities. Know the safe spots where you are staying, and note that older adobe buildings in the highland towns are vulnerable.

On Pico de Orizaba, use a guide and register your climb; rescue is limited and the mountain has killed climbers who underestimated it.

In the wet season, mountain roads close from landslides with no notice; keep a spare day before an onward flight.

Consulates for several countries are in Oaxaca and Veracruz.