Cozumel to Akumal

[mobeachlovers]

How does the price of a rental car for the day-assuming there is parking somewhere near the bay-compare to just getting a taxi each way?
Tripadvisor reviews are showing a lot of hassling from tour operators/guides if you try to snorkel by yourself...any recent travelers on here seen this?
thanks

 

[mediumone]

How does the price of a rental car for the day-assuming there is parking somewhere near the bay-compare to just getting a taxi each way?
Tripadvisor reviews are showing a lot of hassling from tour operators/guides if you try to snorkel by yourself...any recent travelers on here seen this?
thanks

I haven't experienced it personally, but have read from unimpeachable sources that the whole situation has become very ugly on a number of occasions, complete with the torching of buildings, (I've seen the pictures), road blocks to the entrance, ect.

Our first two trips were to Akumal. We'll never go back, as it is no longer the same place (not even close), that we fell in love with.

To answer your questions;

An educated guess puts the taxi fare at not less than 350 pesos. I would recommend America Car Rental, aka Cancun Car Rental.

Yes, the tour operators and guides have taken hassling to an art form. On the flip side, Americans (from the US), and others, think that the rules about chasing and touching the turtles don't apply to them. We have found that it has become a disgusting environment.

 

[gopbroek]

I went over last September for a day trip since my wife likes to snorkel there and it did seem much more commercialized over a few years prior when I got certified at ADS. The tour operators seemed to really go overboard with the busses from the resorts up north and the outer parking lot is no longer 'free'. We went over in the early morning prior to the main glut of busses arriving and went directly over to the shop and visited with the staff. When we then proceeded from the shop to the beach the tour guides did not hassle us but if we would have wandered in directly off the road with a confused expression, I suspect it may have been a little different.
Another good spot that used to be very good for snorkeling was Xcacel beach. A few miles soth of Akumal about a half mile south of the Chemuyil exit (you have to go a little further south and use a turn around) is a road that goes over to what used to be a very undeveloped bay. The road is very clear on google maps but is easy to miss so you have to look close. Lots of life in the bay and on the south end is a path to an unguarded cenote you can swim and cool off in. Last time I went there in 2013 (?) a kid had rope arcoss the road and was charging $10 USD a head, 100 pesos worked as a compromise for a car load.

 

[ReefHound]

35 or 40 pesos. It's only 45 to Tulum since they raised the fare.

You're right. I just remembered, 70 pesos was fare for two.