Is it safe to rent a car in Mexico?

I am going to Acapulco and want to know if it is safer to rent a car or to take taxis. I read not to drive after dark because the roads are not lighted. I am staying about 10 miles out of the "hotel district."

Well it is safe but unnecessary. Cabs are super cheap; look for the small VW beetle cabs cause they are cheapest; the larger the cab the more it costs generally. And you want the white ones with blue stripes. The yellowish ones are collectivos which are a whole other ballgame. The cabs are negotiable; before you get in determine your price; probably will be cheaper if you ask in Spanish (cuanto meaning how much; and know your spanish #'s), and you can barter the price like you would in the market for goods. Also, sounds scary but I took the bus most of the time when I lived there. They all pretty much go up and down the strip (costera miguel aleman) and they cost 5-6 pesos (about 50 cents). Cabs would run from 20 pesos (cheapest) to 50-60 along the strip; you can get a cab to the airport for about 200-300 pesos. Even if you are out of the hotel district, you can access costera miguel aleman easily i am sure since it runs all the way out to Old Acapulco.

You can rent a car but drivers there are kinda nuts and seem to have their own 'code' so although they never follow rules of the road they seem to not hit each other; but those of us who drive in USA/Canada would have a hard time keeping up. The Costera is lit at nite but other roads are dark. Also, local police sometimes give bogus speeding tickets or anything ticket they can think of to tourists in a rented car; maybe cause they figure if you have money to rent a car you have money to pay them off. I would rely on taxi's; they are so much more convenient and safer - find one you like and get his phone number and he will come when you call. Mine was Freddy - tell him 'hi' if you meet him and have a great trip!

yes to get around

Nothing is safe in Mexico, lol

No. Nothing is safe in mexico. By the way, don't drink the water!!!

yes its safe, but i would just take taxis, everything like food,hotels,shopping and beaches are all in walking distance...

Yes I have been to Cozumel twice and rented a car both times. Just get the insurance and document any previous damage prior to taking the car. And remeber this, stop sighns in mexico are optional so always pay attention because they will not.

yes, my family and I went on a cruise two years back, we stopped in Cosamel, Mexico, we rented like 5 cars(big family) and they all worked fine the whole day! Good Luck

Perfectly safe to rent a car, make sure you get Mexican car insurance. And roads are not lit at night.

It will probably work out cheaper than taxis in the long run!

yes

It is perfectly safe to rent a car in Mexico
just don't drive it on Mexican highways---they're killers !!!

I would say yes and the following is a page where you can get good answers. I just came home from Puerto Penasco, we drove there from Yuma of course you need to have the insurance that can be bought at the border............be careful and make sure that the company you use is one you know...........
The second link will give you the info that you need to rent a car.......

Well, the Mountains, curves are scary. Me, frequent visitor, never.

im from acapulco, and i would say to go around in taxis better, by this im not saying it's not safe to rent a car, but the thing is that the cost of a taxi is cheaper than renting the car.

If you are staying in the Hotel District you mean the one that is away from the main part of Acapulco and is close to the airport?

Taxis will be cheaper, but if you travel numerous times a day between the hotel district over the hill into Acapulco Main then you will spend a lot for taxis. This will still be cheaper in the long run over renting a car. Besides with a rental you are responsible. With a taxi, you only pay for the ride.

As to it being dark and the roads not lighted, where do you live? Haven't you even driven on a road that has no street lights? You need to get out more often.

The reason not to drive in a lot of parts of Mexico is the following. Mexico is Open Range. They are unlike the US that has fenced all livestock in. At night the livestock migrates to the roads because the roads retain heat longer than the ground does. This can present a very deadly situation. But as far as Acapulco is concerned, you wouldn't have to worry about it there.

Taxis all the way. That is what I do when I go there. It is just easier overall.

We just got back from there. We rented a car. They have Avis, Hertz, ect... and they will negotiate prices. We got ours for $20.00 a day. We did take a taxi a few places the night we turned our car in and they charged $5.00 to go a block away. Then $20.00 to go to the airport. So, it was much cheaper to use the rent a car. I suggest getting one at the airport.
Everyone said cabs are negotible but, they just said $5.00 or whatever when we got in.
The car was very basic, no radio, no cd player, but had a/c.
The roads are lighted. People do drive a little crazy though so be careful. The parking sucks though. They don't have parking lots at very many places so you have to park on the street a lot.
Also, gas stations were spread out a bit. But they were full service. Have fun!!

It is VERY SAFE if you rent the car from a know car rental like Hertz, etc. They have stand in every airport and in hotels.