Vive Mexico: Swine flu down, bargains up in Mexico

TULUM, Mexico—The last time Bud Olson visited Mexico, he ended up in a hospital with kidney stones and missed the ancient Mayan ruins in the seaside town of Tulum.

So when he heard that swine flu was sweeping through Mexico just weeks before he was to return this year, the 43-year-old Seattle, Washington, resident and his friends threw all caution to the warm Caribbean breezes and went anyway.

Olson is one of the intrepid few who decided to come to Mexico in the throes of the epidemic.

His reward? No lines, great service, empty beaches—and lower prices.

"There was no one at our resort," said Olson's friend, Penny Moeller, 44. "The service was spectacular. But it's a shame for the economy."

Moeller says she ended up paying $142 (1,907 pesos) a week for a rental car she originally booked for $350 (4,700 pesos).

Yes, it might just be the perfect time to head south of the U.S. border: Sure, swine flu is still alive—in fact, it's now a global pandemic—but chances of contracting it in Mexico, where the outbreak was first detected, are probably at their lowest.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the epidemic peaked in Mexico in late April and now has spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The CDC says it will continue to be a threat south of the equator, where countries are entering the winter months and traditional flu season.