Car Rental Playa del Carmen

[Ed Hatfield]

I need to rent a car this Wednesday and Thursday in Playa del Carmen. I need a six passenger, 4 adults and 2 children, that won't break the bank. Any recent experiences would be appreciated. Posts or PMs are welcome.

 

[cwhitpan]

Did Alamo from the airport last trip, but with the fees it got a bit pricey. The minivan had a clunking in the rear, so they upgraded us to a 12 pass van free of charge. Good experience overall.

Europcar actually got good reviews from another couple, and they are right at the airport too.

Good Luck! Enjoy your trip! JUST REMEMBER to have PESOs for Gas. They do not take CC or American $!

 

[DandyDon]

Good Luck! Enjoy your trip! JUST REMEMBER to have PESOs for Gas. They do not take CC or American $!

I don't remember that? I remember watching to be sure the pump was zeroed out so I didn't get taken by an old scam as the pump tenders handle the money - and keep any excess I guess.

I've rented from Easyway, aka Cancun car rental, in PDC a couple of times because they're cheap and so am I. Easy Way Cancun Car Rental: your Cancun Airport Rental Car I got mad both times at their being slow to arrive or failing to meet my ferry, but I got it done okay. It helps to know where their office is, three blocks from the ferry dock I guess. Av. 10 Norte, entre 2 y 4, Mza 7, Lote 7, Loc. 1, 803 3665 or 803 4171. Looks like their Toyota Avanza (aut) with their total insurance discount would be $150 for two days. 10% discount for AAA, etc.

Would a Jeep Wrangler be big enough? The former Budget franchise seems to be Blueway now. Manual, No Air Conditioning. Sidestep.com quotes them offering that for $17/day, $38 total w/tax, $12/day CDW, Full Liability costs are hidden on reservation page but under Local Policy link $13.00/day, and more taxes = less than $100 I think.

I think I'd go with the Avanza or larger with auto trans and air.

 

[Ed Hatfield]

So I checked on-line and confirmed the info from Dandy Don. It was 150US$ for the Toyota with the taxes and insurance included. I walked down to the 10th Ave office and made the same request and was promptly quoted 140US$ per day. When I mentioned the on-line price they said it wasn't the same vehicle. I asked for a quote with the Toyota and was told it wasn't avaialble. I asked when would be available and the agent could't say. After several phone calls he said he would have more info tonight after 1800. I got his phone number and told him I would call after 1800.
I went straight back to the condo and made the same request on-line. 20 minutes later I had a reservation followed by a conformation and a message that someone would be at my condo on Wednesday morning at 0900 with the vehicle.
I'll let you know Wednesday how all this pans out. I also booked my first dive of the week for tomorrow and can't wait to get wet.

 

[DandyDon]

Haha, don't count on any of that, but good luck. take a print out of the res.

Isis around the corner (see info at bottom http://www.islacozumel.net/services/isis/) gets great reviews, but he is higher, 10% deductible, and charges extra for credit cards - all understandable enough with good service.

 

[ibj40]

Did Alamo from the airport last trip, but with the fees it got a bit pricey. The minivan had a clunking in the rear, so they upgraded us to a 12 pass van free of charge. Good experience overall.

Europcar actually got good reviews from another couple, and they are right at the airport too.

Good Luck! Enjoy your trip! JUST REMEMBER to have PESOs for Gas. They do not take CC or American $!

We were in the Yucatan this past December. Got an Avis car at the Cancun airport and headed straight to Uxmal via the tollroad and Merida. Needed to get gas on the way back, and in a little town that I can't remember the name of right now, they wouldn't take USD, and we didn't have enough Pesos, so we whipped out AmEx (my preferred) and they wouldn't take that, but they saw VISA and we were in business. Back on the main road, coming down from Cancun to PDC (again via the tollroad from Merida, where at one of the midway gas stations, we exchanged American bills for American coin - almost got a great exchange rate, they wanted to give us eight quarters for each USD!), we stopped at a 7-11, and they took any card you had (including AmEx).

One thing to remember about Mexico and AmEx, a vendor, even with an AmEx sticker on the door, will often tell you that your AmEx card has been refused. This is due to the fact that AmEx charges a higher fee than VISA/MC, but if you ask them to run it again, and tell them that is the only way you can pay, for some reason, that second time, your card will be golden.

Have a spare 200 Peso bill hidden in your "secret" pocket, just in case you get in a jam (but remember that gas down there is sold by the litre, and pretty durned expensive). 200 Pesos might only get you enough to get to the next Pemex station.

:cool2:

 

[DandyDon]

Yeah ok, when you leave the resort, you leave the resort. Good to have the coin of the realm on hand. Thanks for the heads up.

Another good reminder: Top off early and often. We once pulled into the mainland town that serves as the ferry connection to Holbox late in the evening, in a hurry to get to the island, so we bypassed the open gas station to park and hire a boat. On our return Sunday morning, it was closed! We had maybe 1/4 tank and need to get to Cancun before our flight! We hit the road hoping and were so happy to find an open station out in the jungle!

 

[Ed Hatfield]

Easy Way showed up 0800 on the nose with the proper Toyota vehicle. The bill was exact for the 150US$ including the insurance. They were an hour late picking it up today but that was OK as we weren't going anywhere.
We had two great days. Took the grandchildren to the Crocodile zoo, saw the Cancun hotel zone, went to Coba, snorkelling with turtles at Akumal. Great two days with A1 weather.
Booked two more dive days - Saturday and Tuesday with GeoFish.

 

[DandyDon]

Great! Glad it worked out well for you.