Arriving/Departing the Cozumel Airport - A Guided Tour

[cutty]

Its the 1st time we have to arrange our own transportation to the Iberostar. Are there line-ups at the shuttle van booths. Any advantages to pre-booking through one of the web sites.
Graham

 

[MMM]

Its the 1st time we have to arrange our own transportation to the Iberostar. Are there line-ups at the shuttle van booths. Any advantages to pre-booking through one of the web sites. I don't think you have a choice of operators and so am not sure what you mean by booking through a website. All outgoing traffic from the airport is the taxi union vans.
Graham

Nope and nope. The whole process takes about two minutes. The longest wait is for your shuttle to fill up since they don't leave until they are stuffed to the rafters. But you can buy a beer to drink while you are waiting.

 

[fred3798]

Is there a way to avoid the wait for a van to fill up - like taking a private van/limo/car? I know there's no taxis, but if I don't want my hotel to charge me $100 for a pick-up, is there a middle ground like a private van?

 

[Sue Sue]

Its the 1st time we have to arrange our own transportation to the Iberostar. Are there line-ups at the shuttle van booths. Any advantages to pre-booking through one of the web sites.
Graham

Hi cutty, Also, web-purchased pre-booked ticket price for the shuttle can be inflated. After passing through the sliding glass doors, just go directly to your Far Diagonal Right to the ticket booth. Then go immediately outside to the shuttle vans. As MMM said, once outside it will only take a few min's. getting assigned and on to your shuttle.

You mention "we" in your question. If you are traveling with a group, a good tip is to send all but one person outside with the luggage as soon as you pass through the sliding glass doors. Having only one person to navigate the ticket purchase and the departure lobby is less complicated than trying to move a group around.

Have a wonderful trip ! Sue

 

[Sue Sue]

Is there a way to avoid the wait for a van to fill up - like taking a private van/limo/car? I know there's no taxis, but if I don't want my hotel to charge me $100 for a pick-up, is there a middle ground like a private van?

I have never heard of any private transportation from the airport. Overall, the wait from the point of shuttle assignment to being on your way out of the airport has never been more than 10 min/s or so. They do fill up rather quickly.

 

[MMM]

Is there a way to avoid the wait for a van to fill up - like taking a private van/limo/car? I know there's no taxis, but if I don't want my hotel to charge me $100 for a pick-up, is there a middle ground like a private van?

the only way I know is to walk off the airport property (a long driveway) and flag a cab down on the street. The cabbies are sometimes a bit nervous about picking you up too close to the airport since it could land them in hot water with the union so you might have to walk a block or so. I wouldn't recommend this approach if you have a few people in your group or a ton of luggage to lug. (I guess that must be why they call it "luggage"!). Different board members have different points of views on whether this is right or wrong and no one view is absolute. It is what it is. But really, the wait for the van to fill isn't onerous.

 

[Prop Joe]

Nope and nope. The whole process takes about two minutes. The longest wait is for your shuttle to fill up since they don't leave until they are stuffed to the rafters. But you can buy a beer to drink while you are waiting.

You do not have to pound the beer if the van fills up quicker than you think. You can bring the open beer with you on the van (or any other Taxi on the island). We do it all the time. If you do not feel comfy with such a thought, ask the driver if open beer is okay. I've never had a driver say no. I bring a thin neoprene can/bottle "Huggie/Koozie" in my back pack for this part of our trip. You are on vacation at this point, relax...




(Don't do this a rental car though, ever!)

 

[fred3798]

What is the difference between the rates at the top of the board and the bottom of the board?

 

[mstevens]

What is the difference between the rates at the top of the board and the bottom of the board?

The top is the per-person rate in pesos for a shared van ("Collectivo").

The bottom is the per-person rate in pesos for "Special Services" ("Servicios Especiales"), which basically means a non-shared van.

 

[Ms. Ann Thrope]

Not shuttle rates, but I thought there might be a few people out there who might want to see posted taxi rates for tourists (as of Jan. 2012):
View attachment 117087

From what I can tell, the local rate is about half that. The Blue Angel is still called "Caribbean Blue" on this sign. There might be other, similar inaccuracies. I would assume you can calculate the back-to-the-airport rate by adding El Centro-airport rate to the hotel-centro rate. And always ask the rate before you get in. As many times as I've been to Cozumel, every so often I fail to do that, and it's not uncommon to be asked for more than the customary fare. It happened to us this last time we returned to the airport.

I should have mentioned that the above rates were posted near the downtown ferry pier.