If you are an American, going to Mexico. Anytime I visit someone in San Diego I make it a point to go to Tijuana. But when I tell some of my friends this, they make it seem like I am just asking to be cut into pieces and put in a barrel of acid. To be fair, It is the second most dangerous city in Mexico, but the horror stories are blown way out of proportion. I've been to Mexico a bunch of times and I have felt sketched out by some people, but its usually a harmless scam. I have never felt that my safety was even close to being in danger.

Tijuana is great because it's like a cheap version of Vegas minus the gambling. The Tijuana party district is awesome. Some dude will convince you to go into some bar or restaurant across the street and all of a sudden they are a crossing guard and make the cars stop, then you get to the bar/restaurant and you can get absolutely shitfaced for like 10 dollars just hanging out on the patio, and ordering beer by the bucket. They also don't give a shit about what kind of currency you are using. Sometimes I think they even like American dollars more. Are strippers and prostitutes your thing? If so, you wont stretch your dollar out any farther than Tijuana.

Sure, The Mexican Drug war is still going on but I really don't think that they care about American tourists. I am pretty sure half of the American tourists that go down there are looking for a crooked pharmacy that's probably run by the cartels to buy pills that you need a prescription to get in America. So why would they want to mess with potential customers? Just don't be an idiot and walk around looking to start shit and you will almost certainly be fine.

TL:DR: Americans think Mexico is way more dangerous to visit than it actually is.