It’s a booze-fueled rite of passage that teens and college kids across the country are determined not to miss out on.
But after a series of terrifying Spring Break incidents involving youngsters, it’s no wonder many American families are filled with dread about their kids’ vacation plans.
And the advice from experts shows they are right to worry – with warnings about disappearances, sudden deaths, illnesses and kidnappings making this year’s options for a safe Spring Break more limited than ever.
Once-popular tourist spots are now considered no-go zones, according to Patrick McCall, president of McCall Risk Group Inc.
These include parts of Jamaica, Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Dominican Republic, where the search for a missing University of Pittsburgh student is ongoing.
Many of the areas are known for violence, including robberies, sexual assaults, and murders, according to McCall, whose New York-based firm provides security details for families, executives and celebrities including the Kardashians and Alicia Keys.
To help families navigate the Spring Break season, McCall has compiled a list of locations travelers should urgently reconsider – and explained all the potential dangers lurking in the sun and surf.
Top experts have revealed where Spring Breakers should avoid vacationing due to crime, disappearances and tourist deaths (Pictured: File photo of Spring breakers in Cancun, Mexico)
Mexico – including Cancun and trendy Tulum
For Americans, Mexico is one of the most-visited countries by both Spring Breakers and vacationers throughout the year. But foreigners should be on high alert.
McCall, who often has his team stake out resorts in Mexico or even travel with families and teens, said major hotspots like Cancun and Tulum should be avoided.
Patrick McCall (pictured) runs a New York-based firm that provides security detail for families and celebrities, including the Kardashians and Alicia Keys
Instead, he recommended visitors stay in less-populated areas near Cancun, such as Playa Mujeres and Isla Mujeres.
McCall added that Americans should also avoid traveling to Mexico City, Tijuana and Acapulco.
In August, two Oklahoma college feared they had been drugged at a swim-up bar in Cancun – with one of the young vacationers believing she ingested fentanyl.
In September, the US Department of State issued a travel advisory for Mexico due to homicide, kidnapping, carjacking and robbery concerns that are ‘widespread and common’ in the county.
Multiple Mexican states were named in the advisory, including Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa, Zacatecas and Tamaulipas.
In March of 2023, four US citizens were kidnapped and two killed while traveling to Matamoros, a city in Tamaulipas.
The private investigator said major hotspots in Mexico, including Cancun and Tulum (pictured) should be avoided
Jamaica
While Jamaica is another big tourist attraction, McCall advised travelers to stick to their resorts when on the island.
‘In regards to Jamaica, I would never recommend venturing out of the resort unless on a resort-sponsored excursion, and even then I would suggest caution,’ he told the Daily Mail.
In January 2024, the US raised its travel alert to the second-highest level and warned Americans to reconsider visits after the country saw 65 murders in a single month.
In June 2023, American tourist Quintaria Roker was found dead inside her hotel room in Montego Bay.
The 24-year-old, from West Palm Beach, Florida is said to have arrived just days earlier to meet up with a man she met online.
While Jamaica is another big tourist attraction, McCall advises travelers to stick to their resorts (Pictured: Montego Bay)
Belize
Visitors to Belize should be cautious in the Central American paradise.
Although McCall considered the country to be mostly safe, he suggested that travelers refrain from going to the capital – Belmopan – and other urban areas.
Instead, he said tourists should book trips in eastern Belize.
His advice comes just weeks after a group of three young Massachusetts women were found dead at a beach resort in the country.
Their deaths may have been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning and not a drug overdose as local police initially suggested, a source told the Daily Mail.
Around the same time, a wealthy Colorado real estate developer was found dead with a single gunshot wound to the back of his neck at his luxury villa complex in Belize.
In December 2022, a nursing student from Louisiana who was vacationing with her family was shot dead after gunfire erupted outside of a nightclub in San Pedro.
In June 2019, a Virginia-based cardiologist vacationing with his family was killed while fly fishing with a local tour guide when someone opened fire on their boat in Sand Pedro.
And in January 2016, renowned ABC journalist Anne Swaney was strangled to death in western Belize while on a yoga-filled vacation. Her body was found floating face-down in the Mopan River.
Although McCall considers the country to be largely safe, he suggested that travelers refrain from going to the capital – Belmopan – and other urban areas
Wafea El Arar, 26, Iman Mallah, 24, and Kaoutar Naggadm 23, were found dead in their hotel room at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort in San Pedro, Belize on February 22
Dominican Republic
McCall said he considers the Dominican Republic to be safe, but popular tourist areas there have been plagued with crime.
As an alternative to visiting Santo Domingo or Punta Cana – two major hotspots in the Caribbean country – he recommended taking a trip to Cap Cana instead.
The area offers high-end resorts, stunning beaches, shops and more.
The Dominican Republic is currently investigating the disappearance University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, 20, who vanished while staying at the Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana with five friends.
Konanki, from Virginia, was last seen walking towards the ocean with an unknown man and a group of friends in the early hours of March 6 in newly released surveillance footage from the resort.
Her body has not yet been found and local police believe she drowned.
Her family is less certain, and they are calling for an investigation into human trafficking.
McCall said he considers the Dominican Republic to be a safe place, but tourist destinations like like Santo Domingo (pictured) and Punta Cana can be dangerous
The Dominican Republic is currently investigating the disappearance University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, 20, who vanished while staying at a resort in Punta Cana with five friends
Aruba
Neighboring Aruba was the scene of one of the most shocking tourist disappearances in American history.
Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old Alabama high school graduate, vanished on May 30, 2005 – the same day she was expected to fly back home to the US.
Her body was never found and she was declared dead in 2012. In 2023, Dutch tourist Jordan van der Sloot admitted he had killed Holloway for rejecting his advances.
McCall told the Daily Mail that Holloway’s case was ‘unique’ because the crime was not committed by a local.
He said that the country has changed over the years to ‘accommodate tourists and give a safe and clean feel and environment’.
But it’s ‘typically not a hotspot for people looking for all-inclusives as that is limited on the island,’ McCall added. ‘Most of the resorts are open and can be accessed from other hotels and from the street, although most have a decent security presence.’
The Bahamas
The popular Caribbean country was placed under a travel advisory last January after 18 murders occurred in the capital alone.
The US Department of State issued an ‘increase caution’ warning over fears Americans could be victimized by gang violence.
‘Violent crime, such as burglaries, armed robberies, and sexual assaults, occur in both tourist and non-tourist areas,’ the advisory stated.
In June of 2024, Chicago woman Taylor Casey mysteriously vanished while on a yoga retreat.
Casey was last seen at Paradise Island, a resort near the capital of Nassau, local police said at the time.
To this day, Casey has not been found.
The Bahamas was placed under a travel advisory last January after 18 murders occurred in the capital alone (Pictured: Stock image of Nassau)
In June last year, Chicago woman Taylor Casey mysteriously went missing while on a yoga retreat in The Bahamas
Trinidad
Although Trinidad is not a popular tourist destination among Spring Breakers, there are still many dangers to be aware of on the Caribbean island.
As recently as January of this year, Trinidad and Tobago declared a state of emergency due to escalating violence that has plagued the region for over a year.
In 2024 alone, 614 homicides occurred in Trinidad and Tobago.
The state of emergency was first put in place on December 30 and was later extended on January 13 by three months, according to the US Embassy Trinidad & Tobago.
Although Trinidad is not a popular tourist destination, especially among Spring Breakers, there are still many dangers for visitors to the Caribbean island (Pictured: Stock image of Castara Bay)
Haiti
In September 2024, a ‘do not travel’ advisory was issued for Haiti, which has long been plagued by violence and poverty.
In November, a Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida was hit by gunfire while trying to land at Port-au-Prince airport in Haiti.
The U.S. Embassy located in Port-au-Prince said the ‘security situation in Haiti is unpredictable and dangerous.’
In September 2024, a ‘do not travel’ advisory was issued for Haiti – a Caribbean country that has long been plagued by violence and poverty (Pictured: Housing in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti)
‘You should consider your personal security situation before traveling anywhere in Haiti,’ it warned. ‘Only attempt to depart Haiti or travel within Haiti if you believe it is safe for you to do so.’
McCall said that his firm recently saw an ‘uptick of people traveling to Haiti for vacations,’ but the trend ‘has since died down.’
He also noted that natives have decided not to travel back, even to visit family.
Travel tips to avoid danger
For those who still choose to travel to these places, McCall and other leading experts have shared helpful tips that could keep tourists out of trouble.
Kevin Coffey, a travel risk trainer and retired detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, said it is essential for parents to have ‘what if’ and ‘raw’ conversations with their children before they leave for vacation.
He noted that parents need to talk to their kids about having a ‘backup plan’ in case they lose their phone or it runs out of battery while traveling.
‘Life is so connected to that phone, but now it’s missing, it’s gone,’ Coffey told Daily Mail.
Kevin Coffey, a travel risk trainer and retired detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, said it is essential for parents to have ‘what if’ and ‘raw’ conversations with their children before they leave for vacation
The former detective, who investigated crimes against travelers for decades, said that staying with a group is key.
‘Always, always, always use the buddy system and never violate that, especially when someone is female,’ he said, noting that women in previous cases he worked on had often been left alone when crimes were committed.
Travel agent Mandy Litterini said tourists need to keep their guard up at all times, especially when ‘vacation brain’ involving alcohol or other substances comes into play
Travel agent Mandy Litterini told the Daily Mail that using reputable tour companies is also important.
She added that tourists need to keep their guard up at all times, especially when ‘vacation brain’ involving alcohol or other substances comes into play.
McCall warned that many people love to let loose and have drinks on vacation, but that they need to watch what they are consuming.
‘Tourists should not purchase or consume any homemade alcohol,’ he said, citing pulque in Mexico and mamajuana in the Dominican Republic.
‘From sanitary reasons to the possibility of these homemade local favorites being tampered with,’ McCall explained. ‘Same goes for illicit drugs, even marijuana could be mixed with a deadly combination.’
McCall warned that many people love to let loose and have drinks on vacation, but they need to watch what they are consuming. ‘Same goes for illicit drugs, even marijuana could be mixed with a deadly combination,’ he said
McCall suggested planning everything in advance, especially transit for when tourists arrive at their destination.
He said doing research on the location is also crucial, whether through travel sites like Tripadvisor or local Facebook groups.
He stressed that popular all-inclusive resorts in any location should be properly vetted before booking.
‘Look for a resort that is enclosed – private beach, gated entrance. We are seeing a lot of issues with resorts that have connecting beaches, free access for anyone to enter or exit,’ McCall explained.
‘The better resorts record license plates and driver’s information when you leave or enter the resort, as well as your name and room number.’
McCall also warned that his firm has also noticed an increase in crime domestically.
‘We are seeing an increase in tourism-related crimes in the state of Florida as well as New York, just as we are seeing an uptick in Mexico, Jamaica and Dominican Republic,’ he said.
