First Cozumel Trip - Suggestions/Tips Welcome

[agilulfo]

I just booked our first Cozumel trip (10/24-11/3)!

After doing some research on this board and other places, I booked a trip to Cozumel in Oct/Nov flying JFK direct into Cancun with Mexicana ($394 each ticket). I guess we will take the bus/ferry trip over to Cozumel but this will save us $500 between the two of us.

I booked our stay with Caribe Blu Hotel through Blue Angel Dive Shop. Jeanie is very nice a responsive to all my questions. Now, the hard part, wait 110 days!

Since this is going to be our first trip to Cozumel/Mexico, any suggestions/tips are welcome. For example, I am wondering if we should take a trip to see the Mayan ruins and, if so, what would be the best way to go about it given our itinerary.

Are there any must do dives? Any dining suggestions? Should we rent a vehicle at some point to tour the island or is it better to take cabs? If we decide to go see the Mayan ruins on the mainland, should we do it from Cozumel, or should we book a hotel in either Playa del Carmen or Cancun on the first/last night of our trip and do it then?

I am reading the many posts on the board but I figured I might as well ask the questions directly.

Thanks!

 

[mitchsea]

I just came back from my first trip to Cozumel and it was great. We visited the ruins at Tulum on an off diving day and it was worth the trip. You don't need to get a hotel in Playa. Just take the ferry across and walk about 3 blocks (north?) where you can get a ride in a "Collectivo" shuttle van for $3.00 right to the gate of the archeological park. Do the same to get back. If you take a cab it will run you $42.00 each way, so the Collectivo is the way to go. Enjoy.

 

[diveborg]

You definitely want to get the Cozumel map from Can-Do Maps and travel guides After that, you'll be prepared to spent a day, or at least the afternoon, driving around the island and seeing the quite East side. Don't rent a moped however. Spend the money and rent a car and be certain to get the full coverage insurance. I've used Cozumel Insider - Cozumel MX - Activities, Accomodations, Trip planning and so much more... for a car rental and was quite pleased with the customer service.

If you want more suggestions for non-diving things to do, check out Doc's list of things to do in Cozumel and while you are at it, here is his Cozumel Survival Guide

Finally, Christi's restaurant list is a good place to start for choosing where to eat. My suggestion is to skip the large chain restaurants and try out some of the places where locals eat, like Las Palmas.

One place to eat not on the list is La Conchita del Caribe with I recommend if seafood is what you want to eat.

 

[AZdiver1279]

You'll have a great time!

Two of the dive we especailly liked was Santa Rosa Wall and Palancar Caves...we saw turtles and rays. We ascended to shallow reefs and saw nurse shark. Structure was nice also.

We were not sure how to get to Playa to catch the ferry so we spent $80 for a taxi...ouch! On the way back to Cancun though we rode the bus...$6.00. Much better! It was anice ride, AC, restroom, videos, comfy seats. Sorry I can't recall the name of the bus but it's the major bus line...they are orange in color. You can catch them from Cancun airport and it will take you to downtown Playa del Carmen where the big bus station is. There are locals that will offer to take your luggage to the ferry a few blocks away(they use a tricycle), they work for tips only so it's up to you what a fair price is...we were generous because our bags were plent and heavy.

We taxied everywhere we went but we didn't do much but dive and go to dinner at night. If you want to tour around the island definately rent a car over a scooter.....my opinion the scooter are risky....the rules of the road are different in Coz.

Hope this helps!

 

[agilulfo]

take the ferry across and walk about 3 blocks (north?) where you can get a ride in a "Collectivo" shuttle van for $3.00 right to the gate of the archeological park. Do the same to get back.

Thanks for the tip. How long does the day trip take, more or less (from Coz)?

 

[agilulfo]

Spend the money and rent a car and be certain to get the full coverage insurance.

Thank you for all the useful info! Question: why do you suggest to get the full coverage? Is there a problem with MCC coverage in Cozumel?

 

[CRC]

Get the full coverage on the rental so that you won't be on the hook for any damage done to the car by yourself or others - such as potholes, someone putting a dent in the car while you are on the beach, breaking off a mirror, etc. You will be expected to pay for that damage when you turn in the car. Even with insurance, there may be a deductible.

Another website to peruse while waiting for your 110 days to go by is

Cozumel My Cozumel: A Reliable Travel Resource A lot of useful info in there. Have fun. Cozumel is a great place.

 

[TSandM]

A couple of tips . . . We found the best restaurants were NOT the ones right on the waterfront. Getting even a few blocks back into the city meant we had better food and substantially better prices. The seafood was wonderful.

Second tip: IF you are fairly experienced divers, with good buoyancy control, I highly recommend a day trip to the mainland to dive the cenotes. This is an experience which is virtually unique to this area (whereas you can dive reefs anywhere ). It is not difficult to trek over on the ferry, and any number of dive ops will pick you up in Playa del Carmen for a day of cenote diving. Or you can book with German Yanez, who lives on Cozumel, and who is a lovely man who has done a great deal of cave exploration in the area. If you search on "cenotes" here, you will come up with a number of reports from people who have done this (the most recent is from ItsBruce, and was just a few days ago). I have yet to see anybody say that it wasn't a wonderful experience.

 

[diveborg]

Thank you for all the useful info! Question: why do you suggest to get the full coverage? Is there a problem with MCC coverage in Cozumel?

I'm not sure what you mean by "MCC coverage", but as CRC alluded to, having the full coverage insurance is literally your get-out-of-jail-free card should you have an accident of some sort. If you don't have the mexican insurance and do have some problem, then you will have to pay out of pocket for all damages before you leave the island. Going to jail isn't out of the question. Sure, your credit card might offer rental car coverage, but that will only help you once you return the the states and file a claim with them to be reimbursed for the charges.

One other bit of vehicle rental advice, choose a car over a Jeep. A car is less expensive, can be locked, has a better more comfortable ride, and is more likely to have AC. If you just have to have a Jeep, keep in mind that just about all the rental Jeeps in Cozumel have had their 4 wheel drive shift linkage disconnected, so even if you wanted to engage the 4 wheel drive you wouldn't be able to do so. Stay on the paved roads.

 

[TSandM]

Actually, if you are going to Coz, I'd do the math very carefully as to whether it will pay off for you to have a rental car at all. Especially if you buy the full insurance, rental cars in Mexico are fiendishly expensive, and in my experience, often have multiple things that don't work (not to mention not being able to get the kind of car you carefully reserved, and paying for what you end up getting instead). If I could do the diving I do there without having a car, I would do it in a heartbeat.