Budget travel in Latin America has a specific safety calculus that's worth being explicit about, because the blanket 'it's dangerous' reputation is inaccurate in most tourist-visited contexts.

The country-level variation is enormous: Chile and Uruguay have safety profiles similar to Western Europe. Costa Rica has a well-developed tourist safety infrastructure. Colombia has transformed dramatically and most tourist areas are safe for independent travelers. Honduras and El Salvador have specific areas that require avoidance but large swaths that are perfectly safe for prepared travelers.

The specific risk model: the risks in Latin America for budget travelers are mostly petty theft and opportunistic crime rather than targeted violence against tourists. The mitigation is: don't walk with expensive equipment displayed, use ATMs inside banks or malls rather than on the street, don't take out your phone unnecessarily in crowded areas, and use Uber or local ride-hailing apps in cities rather than flagging taxis.

The experience gap between travelers who did the research and those who didn't: travelers who read recent trip reports, understood which neighborhoods to avoid in specific cities, used shuttle services rather than public transport after dark for inter-city routes, and generally exercised the same situational awareness they'd exercise in any unfamiliar urban environment had great experiences. Those who applied no judgment had worse experiences — not typically violent ones, but theft and scams.

The net assessment: Latin America is worth going. Don't let the aggregate country-level safety statistics prevent you from the specifics — most popular tourist routes are well-traveled and the problems are concentrated in specific zones that are easily avoided.