Bag Drag Question

[mediumone]

My wife and I just did this trip. We took a cab from PDC to the airport and it was only $40 for the two of us. The taxi stand on the pier said they would do it for $100, we said no thanks. When we reached the square just outside of the ticket offices another driver was standing there asking if anyone needed a taxi. $40 was cheap, and I felt it was well worth not having to wait for the bus. Btw, his name was Marco, and he said he works there every day. Nice guy.

He would have been thrilled at $30.00

 

[blue steal]

Guitar crazy are you talking about the ticket office for the ferries or the bus station?

 

[Guitarcrazy]

The ticket office for the Ferry. As soon as you come off the pier, on the first street corner. There were several people there hawking their services to the people leaving the ferry. We didn't use the bus station, but did get dropped off there on our way into PDC from Cancun.

 

[ggunn]

He would have been thrilled at $30.00

Quite possible. They get fares from Cancun to PdC but have to go back unloaded and unpaid if they can't find a return customer.

 

[gopbroek]

From what I have been able to see transport fares out of an airport in Mexico are often higher than a negotiated fare with an individual operator going to an airport and this is not just in tourist areas, I have seen this at various airports in central Mexico also. Taxis at from the airport to Playa hold the line at $87 USD but a return trip is often in the $30 to $40 USD range. The exception to this seems to be pre-arranged Vans, this may be due to the fact the other operators do not know what they are actually charging, I think the in bound pricing is lower due to the same reason.
Buses back and forth from Playa to the Aeropuerto for some reason are more that twice the price of a Bus, to or from Cancun, which is a greater distance.
Then again US airline pricing also is beyond comprehension.

 

[Ron Lee]

I buy my ADO bus ticket for the return trip to the airport (CUN) a day or so early.

Look for it near the ferry ticket counters on the ferry pier unless they moved it.

As for which ferry and bus, I plan on being at the airport three hours before departure. Find the ADO bus that supports that and the ferry that supports meeting that ADO bus.

Of course you can spend the night on the mainland the night before if you wish.


www.tinyurl.com/7m3r6

 

[mediumone]

Quite possible. They get fares from Cancun to PdC but have to go back unloaded and unpaid if they can't find a return customer.

Yeah, I know. One of these times I'm going to go around to the departure area to see if I can spot a PDC or even Tulum taxi and negotiate a screamin deal.

I buy my ADO bus ticket for the return trip to the airport (CUN) a day or so early.

Look for it near the ferry ticket counters on the ferry pier unless they moved it.

As for which ferry and bus, I plan on being at the airport three hours before departure. Find the ADO bus that supports that and the ferry that supports meeting that ADO bus.

Of course you can spend the night on the mainland the night before if you wish.


www.tinyurl.com/7m3r6

Last I heard, the ADO ticket booth is on 2nd, east of the taxi dispatch/terminal area. That could be outdated information as well.

 

[ReefHound]

I just arrived back in Houston this morning after doing the bag drag for about the 5th or 6th time. This time was not much fun. Despite taking a 2pm bus to CUN for a 5:30 flight, we missed it due to a bus crash on the highway. Taking a taxi would not have mattered. 3 hours in traffic moving inch by inch. In the big picture, it was a minor inconvenience. United didn't charge to rebook on the 7:30am flight, a 72 peso bus to Cancun, a $900 peso hotel that was clean and decent, and a $200 peso cab back to airport.

It will probably change my valuation on when it's worth doing the bag drag, though. We saved $200 per ticket and even after the shuttles, ferries, and extra hotel still saved a bit but I think I might lean to a split ticket next time where we fly into CUN and out of CZM. The arrival isn't as much of a concern. Doesn't take as long. You'll probably be at your Cozumel hotel about 3 hours after landing. You can always get a shuttle or taxi right after exiting the airport and the next ferry is always less than an hour away. Even if get there after the last ferry you can get a cheap Playa hotel and an early ferry and not miss any planned activities. The return is where all the stress and risk lies, in my opinion.

Ironically, on my last bag drag last year, as we headed south on a bus from the airport the northbound was backed up for many miles and I had commented that a lot of people were going to miss flights.

 

[Prop Joe]

I did the ADO bus on the way back in January and it took over 1:40. I was not happy an I almost missed my flight. Maybe its just me but it seems to take longer getting back to the CUN airport than it does getting to PDC? I don't mind but I think the next time I'll taxi if in a time crunch. I used to budget an hour to commute but it seems to take longer now. PDC is a busy place these days!!! WAYYYY to much traffic

 

[blue steal]

I had thought about one way into Cancun and back out via Cozumel but the price was way to high.
Sounds like I may have to leave Cozumel a bit earlier and have a back up plan for a hotel if we miss our flight.
$30 for a taxi from PDC back to airport sounds good if one can get it.
Of course this would require not making reservations ahead of time on the bus.