Anyone been to the tourist side of Mexico? Your thoughts?

[Bebpo]

Thinking about taking a cruise down to the tourist parts of Mexico, Cabo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta for an easy relaxing vacation.  Anyone been and have any thoughts?  I grew up doing the usual runs to Tijuana in HS, but otherwise never been to Mexico proper, though since these are the resort/tourist places, I'm not sure if these places qualify as legit Mexico.

[VomKriege]

Have a small experience spending a vacation in a luxury resort village / gated millionnaire community on the coast of the Jalisco region. Most interesting thing overall was taking / renting a small boat to go to small creeks otherwise unattainable. Very much not "authentic" though. Do try to make a stop on the coast in a smaller place to chill out.

[chronovore]

[Tasty]

Going to Columbia in January so I can't judge.

[Samson Manhug]

I went to Juarez last year and it was fine.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

The guy in the glasses is based one me

[close]

[VomKriege]

Going to Columbia in January so I can't judge.

The university ?

[Tasty]

Going to Columbia in January so I can't judge.

The university ?

No the coke place.

[VomKriege]

Oh, Colombia.

[chronovore]

 For what it's worth, I've never been to the touristy spots you mentioned. I've only ever been to Tijuana and by all accounts everyone knows it is a complete shithole. My experiences there were weird, eye-opening, and mildly traumatic. I've had the full tour there and, fair or not, have written off the country as a net loss.

[Madrun Badrun]

I've avoided Mexico, but only because I don't want to be raped. 

[Bebpo]

For what it's worth, I've never been to the touristy spots you mentioned. I've only ever been to Tijuana and by all accounts everyone knows it is a complete shithole. My experiences there were weird, eye-opening, and mildly traumatic. I've had the full tour there and, fair or not, have written off the country as a net loss.

This is my exactly experience too growing up in So Cal 

But sometimes I feel bad at writing the whole place off, plus there's not a lot of non-Mexico places to take a nice sunny cruise to from LA/SD.  Could fly to Florida and then go to the Caribbean, but hurricane season right now, so yeah, no.

[Mupepe]

Mexico has some really nice places and lots of cool stuff to do. However, the tourist spots don't really offer much you can't get somewhere else either except some smoking hot latinas trying to make you over pay for shit. The closest you'll get is a "tour" to more tourist traps (like bullshit markets) and possibly to a pyramid.

There are better places to vacation unless you want to go see Mexico City, Monterrey or somewhere truly off the path. I should also plug Juarez since that's where my family is from.

[recursivelyenumerable]

I've been to Cabo when I was 15

Thoughts:

It's def a tourist trap
Despite this, it is def still Mexico
Damn good seafood

I wanna go to Mexico City sometime...