Hurricane Simon, briefly a Category 4 storm, has been battering Mexico's Pacific coast — a stretch that includes some of the country's biggest beach destinations, from Manzanillo up through Puerto Vallarta. If you have a trip booked to Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit, Sinaloa or Michoacan in the coming days, here's where things stand.
Mexico's national weather service Conagua downgraded Simon to a Category 3 on Monday, but it's still forecast to dump what officials call "extraordinary" rainfall — over 250mm — on Jalisco. Coastal winds are gusting up to 220km/h and waves could reach nine metres. Conditions should ease through Monday night, but the main risks remain flooding, landslides and dangerous surf, especially in steep terrain and low-lying areas near rivers.
The UK Foreign Office hasn't told Brits to avoid Mexico altogether, but it is flagging the storm specifically: Simon is expected to make landfall near Manzanillo and push through Jalisco, taking in the areas around Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara. The FCDO's existing guidance still advises against all but essential travel to parts of several states, including Sinaloa, Michoacán, Jalisco, Colima and Guerrero — worth checking the exact regions before you book anything to those areas, as that advice long predates this storm.
On the US side, the National Hurricane Center has a hurricane warning stretching from Punta San Telmo in Michoacan to Punta Mita in Nayarit — an area that covers Puerto Vallarta. The US embassy is blunt about the ocean: stay out of it. Rip currents and rogue waves are the immediate danger, so no swimming, boating or beach time until authorities give the all-clear.
Flights have largely escaped the worst. As of Monday morning, Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta airports were operating without major disruption, though Puerto Vallarta suspended inbound arrivals from Saturday evening until Monday morning as a precaution. Ports along the coast have been closed. Delta has issued a travel waiver letting passengers change flights to Guadalajara or Puerto Vallarta free of charge until 15 October — a good sign if you're booked with them, and worth pushing your own airline for something similar.
The trickier question is cancelling. Because the FCDO hasn't advised against travel to Mexico as a whole, you won't get special cancellation rights just because of the storm. Your options depend entirely on your tour operator's terms, and travel insurance won't cover a cancellation made over safety concerns unless government advice changes. One route to check: some policies include natural disaster cover if an event stops you reaching your destination. Dig out your policy documents before assuming anything.
If you're already in the region, the advice is simple: follow local authorities, track updates from the US National Hurricane Center and Conagua, and stay away from the coast until the sea calms down. Jalisco also runs a local alert app for residents that visitors may find useful.
Bottom line: Simon is moving through fast, and most flights are running — but the flood and surf risk in Jalisco and neighbouring states is real for the next few days. Anyone travelling there this week should watch the forecasts closely and talk to their operator before making any changes.
