I was just in Puerto Vallarta last week and felt completely safe. The most threatened we felt was when we were watching CNN-- it was funny how they painted the picture of mexico vs what we were actually living/seeing! We talked to several US citizens who live there now and they said that tourist cities are safe-- it's just like traveling anywhere. Stay where you know you should be and you'll be fine. We were out in the clubs, took a trip into the jungle and had a blast on the beach. We can't wait to return!