Nicolette, I think the problem is that it poses a security risk to the hotel since whoever finds the key could just walk in to the hotel and use the amenities and perhaps cause some damage. Most keys are only valid for a short time but even that is enough for someone to cause mischief. There’s also the hassle of cancelling and redoing the keys. Still, $100 does seem pretty excessive to me regardless.

Keep the ‘non-verbal’ repertoire handy for places where little or no English is spoken, but why not take the trouble to learn a few basic phrases in the vernacular? My wife and I learnt Greek because we went there regularly on holiday and almost without exception, (even if they spoke English a bit), the locals loved us for TRYING to use THEIR language

Hi Kenneth,

We’ve spent half a year at times south of the American border and have survived unscathed. Sure, there are dangerous areas in any country however we personally know more than a few people (alone or with their families) who have driven from Alaska to the tip of South America without any problems whatsoever. We even know a few people who have done a good portion of it on a bike!

As to Mexico being dangerous and the southern cartels, yes they exist however, for the most part, they aren’t interested in tourists. Also, some of the areas with the most unrest are near borders and the majority of the country is unaffected. For example I often felt more anxious for my parents who wintered down in Texas near the border than we ever did after months in deeper Mexico.

If you’re worried about driving south yourself, there are other options like with a large caravan of fellow travelers with the idea being safety in numbers. Judging from the amount of vehicles with Canadian and American license plates we’ve seen, it would seem lots of North Americans have survived with their life intact and continued to do so year after year.

You can check out sites like U.S. Passports and Visas for warnings and advisories on international travel as well as the Government of Canada’s Travel Alerts page.

As to driving down to South America, you might have a problem around Darien Gap but other than that it’s definitely doable. Just search Google for forums of travelers driving to South America for a lot of discussions as to areas to avoid and areas to see.

Good luck and safe travels!

you mention, “You can travel to almost anywhere in Mexico or Jamaica and be safe.” That’s not what I heard. I see stories of Mexican cities that are like war zones everyday on tv. And I understand that the cartels rule the southern part of the country with an iron fist. Yes, most of these troublesome cities are border towns w/the US like Laredo & Ciudad Juarez and political & social reasons are why they are so crazy violent; but I imagine that if I tried to drive from the Texas border into Mexico, thru Mexico, and onto Guatemala, into Central America, and eventually South America that I wouldn’t make it past Mexico City with my life or having my car seized by crooked cops. I’ve often thought about driving down to Central America. Most Americans don’t even realize its entirely possible to drive to South America, but if I dared do it, I would not expect to ever see home again, especially in one peice. But if I had reasonable assurance that it would be safe to do so, I might actually consider doing it. I know to stay the heck out of El Salvador for fear of certain violence. Please advise.

Especially the one about how travelling long-term doesn’t need to be expensive – that’s the one I repeat to my friends almost every day.

All the others are right on point too.