Security

As with any other large metropolis, Mexico City suffers from some crime and violence problems. However, the city is safe for tourists if certain precautions are taken to avoid any incident.
To avoid robberies, be alert at airports, stations, crowded peseros, metro and buses. Also, whilst being on the street project confidence, walk as if you know the place very well (particularly if lost).
Keep your belongings close to you. Avoid carrying ATM cards, credit cards or large amount of cash.
Most importantly, if you get mugged don't resist but rather give away whatever valuables you have, most of the time robbers only want money and nothing else, stay calm, try not to get scared, be cooperative but not coward. Most likely, you'll have a great time and nothing will happen, don't worry ;)

Mexico is safer than many cities in the U.S.
While the media sensationalizes stories of violence in Mexico, Mexico is safer than many major U.S. cities. Travelers feel relatively safe visiting popular U.S. cities like Miami, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, Washington D.C, or Atlanta. Visitors from around the world enjoy these vibrant cities in relative, reasonable safety. Yet each of these cities is statistically less safe than Mexico.

Media Favoritism versus Facts.
New Orleans is beloved and its renaissance is showcased in the news. The FBI reports the murder rate of New Orleans is declining, but it is nearly 4 times higher than all of Mexico and over 5 times higher than Mexico City. New Orleans is still an amazing place to visit and the Media is right to champion this inspirational city.  But Mexico is at least as remarkable and there is a clear difference in how each of these storied destinations is portrayed in contemporary news.
Every city and country has places that are safe and dangerous. Mexico is no exception. The areas that are dangerous should be avoided. And those that are safe should be enjoyed and celebrated.

Which Mexican States & Regions are safe?
The U.S. State Department’s warning recognizes that Mexico’s tourism areas do not experience the safety issues seen along the Texas border. In fact, 27 States and the Mexico City Federal District have no advisories or limited advisories outside of their tourism areas. Travel to only 4 States is advised postponed or avoided.




Mexico is safer than many vacation destinations.
While the media often portrays Mexico as the most dangerous place on earth, it is statistically quite safe. According to NationMaster.com which uses U.N.-based data, Mexico doesn’t even make the list of the 36 nations with the highest murder rates. Mild-mannered nations like Sweden and Switzerland top Mexico for murders on NationMaster.com.  The assault rate in the U.S. is nearly 5 times greater than that of Mexico in the independent Prominix report adjusted for under-reported crime.

Cellphones and SIM cards

If you are gonna stay in Mexico for a long period (more than 2 weeks) it would be good to get a Mexican SIM card.
There are only 4 carriers in Mexico: Telcel, Movistar, Iusacell, and Unefon.

Many Telcel users will recommend Telcel because they think it’s cheaper… but it’s not!

We strongly recommend you to get a Movistar SIM card. You can find them almost everywhere, there is a lot of cellphone shops in the city. It should cost between 50 and 90 pesos. Then ask the vendor to set it on Plan Movistar Ilimitado.

For $200 pesos you get:
- Unlimited navigation on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and email (Yahoo!, Hotmail and gmail)
- 200 extra MB to use them as you want
- Unlimited SMS to Movistar numbers
- Unlimited calls to Movistar numbers
- 200 SMS to other Mexican companies + USA and Canada
- 500 minutes to call other Mexican companies + USA and Canada

These benefits are valid for 30 days.

When Mexicans give you their phone number, they will usually give you 10 digits.
This is the way to dial:

Given number: 55 12 34 56 78

From a Mexican cellphone----------------- 55 12 34 56 78
From a public phone ------------------ 044 55 12 34 56 78
From a foreigner cellphone ------- +52 1 55 12 34 56 78
SMS from a foreigner cellphone---- +52 55 12 34 56 78
What's App messenger ------------+52 1 55 12 34 56 78

Language

Even though you will find people that speak English or other languages in touristic places, in the street, buses, stores and restaurants you will need to say some words in Spanish, so, try to learn at least how to ask for food, ask directions and other basic things to have a better experience in Mexico.

Try asking young people, they are more eager to speak English.

If you will be here for a long time you could take some lessons. There are several schools that teach spanish as a foreign language; CEPE, CENLEX, Cecuallende and La Salle are some options. An additional benefit is that some will give you an student ID, with which you can get discounts on bus tickets on holidays, archaeological sites, museums, movie theaters, etc.

You can also have a language exchange with local people, there are several tandems for language exchange and at CouchSurfing community there are always people willing to learn or improve their language, so you can write in the CS Mexico City forum and for sure someone will answer you.

Money and Currency

- Where to exchange money
You can exchange your money at airport when you arrive, there are a lot of places to exchange money, the prices are good, just check at least 5 different places to be sure you're choosing the best exchange rate: avoid the places that are near to the boarding gates or right outside the exit, these are the most expensive. If you arrive late in the night you can also find places to exchange money in touristic places at the city, principally over Reforma avenue, downtown or Condesa area. Most of the banks also have this service available.

- Exchange rate
The exchange rate is always changing, but almost is always surrounding 12.50 Mexican pesos for each American dollar (Dec/2013), we mean MXN 12.50 ~ USD 1

- How to pay
In Mexico City you need to pay everything in Mexican pesos, almost nobody take dollars, euros or other currencies. If you take a taxi remember, the taximeter is in Mexican pesos, NEVER IN DOLLARS!