cozcharlie
Contributor
This has mostly been said, but felt like chiming in since I have done the bag drag more times than I can count. I think one year I did it 15 times.
1). If you are on a shorter trip, try hard to fly direct into CZM if extra cost isn’t brutal. When you have to allow for ferry times not lining up perfectly with flight times , risk of traffic in Playa and on way to airport etc , you wind up having to allow for a fair amount of buffer in case something goes wrong (in addition to the actual ferry and land travel times ) Doesn’t matter too much on a 10+day trip, but if you are doing a 5 or 6 day trip the bag drag can eat up a significant percentage of your vacation. I had to do the drag a lot in 2017-2019 time frame since it was coming on days when I couldn’t go direct into Cozumel but I don’t recommend it for shorter trips (mine actually were short trips, but I couldn’t avoid it)
2). I used to use the bus , but I don’t use it anymore. The average travel time has blown out a lot over the years. Can’t remember the exact reasons, but increase traffic (especially near the bus station in Playa), the other terminal stop within the airport and occasional extra stop in Playa all came into play. Multiple times the bus made me 2 hours later into Cozumel than the car (combination of bus wait time , longer travel time and just missing a ferry ) Maybe they have fixed some of the problems but how often to trends work in your favor. Also crime has gone up a lot on the buses , heard plenty of stories about one guy bumping you while another loots stuff from your bag. This historically wasn’t much of an issue, but is now. Lastly —Covid. Vaccines aren’t 100 percent effective and Q Roo is still in an outbreak. I guess if you know you are going to have to wait a long time for the next ferry anyway the bus might be an option post Covid.
3). Mayair closed a few years ago (pre-pandemic) and haven’t restarted as far as I know. Used. them if schedules aligned with my US flights but that didn’t happen very often at the end. They evidently used to cancel flights fairly frequently which was a pain (never happened to me )
4). As noted Leo’s FlyCozumel is pretty expensive. Think they are using a small sightseeing Cessna on a private charter basis (not a schedule) Someone already provided the link. You could spend as much CZM-CUN round trip as your flights to US. For some people might be worth it if you are on a long weekend and cost isn’t a consideration (for that price direct to CZM would be cheaper if it were available, but a lot of times schedules are really pared back during Hurricane season ).
5). Haven’t used @cvchief s van guy but that likely would be the the best method for doing the bag drag, especially if you aren’t traveling solo. I usually used the cars straight from the airport vendor (?Supershuttle?) for 1100 pesos , but I gather that may have changed. The rate at the airport was like 20 percent cheaper if you paid in pesos btw, so I always kept pesos. I used them because they were easy, but I have seen many many positive comments on cvchiefs guy over the years so he would probably be the best option (and cheaper ).
6). Ferries historically were totally fine but are more crowded now due to the duopoly between Ultramar and Winjet (aviomar) alternating days. They also aren’t running every hour. They slow down during mid afternoon especially. This can add a lot of time to your trip if you miss a ferry but 5 minutes and have to wait 2 or even 3 hours for the next one. All this has Increased crowding during a pandemic—what could go wrong. These don’t have the air circulation of jets going 500 mph (unless you sit outside). I have posted a winjet schedule below. (Note they are operating on odd numbered days this month )
1). If you are on a shorter trip, try hard to fly direct into CZM if extra cost isn’t brutal. When you have to allow for ferry times not lining up perfectly with flight times , risk of traffic in Playa and on way to airport etc , you wind up having to allow for a fair amount of buffer in case something goes wrong (in addition to the actual ferry and land travel times ) Doesn’t matter too much on a 10+day trip, but if you are doing a 5 or 6 day trip the bag drag can eat up a significant percentage of your vacation. I had to do the drag a lot in 2017-2019 time frame since it was coming on days when I couldn’t go direct into Cozumel but I don’t recommend it for shorter trips (mine actually were short trips, but I couldn’t avoid it)
2). I used to use the bus , but I don’t use it anymore. The average travel time has blown out a lot over the years. Can’t remember the exact reasons, but increase traffic (especially near the bus station in Playa), the other terminal stop within the airport and occasional extra stop in Playa all came into play. Multiple times the bus made me 2 hours later into Cozumel than the car (combination of bus wait time , longer travel time and just missing a ferry ) Maybe they have fixed some of the problems but how often to trends work in your favor. Also crime has gone up a lot on the buses , heard plenty of stories about one guy bumping you while another loots stuff from your bag. This historically wasn’t much of an issue, but is now. Lastly —Covid. Vaccines aren’t 100 percent effective and Q Roo is still in an outbreak. I guess if you know you are going to have to wait a long time for the next ferry anyway the bus might be an option post Covid.
3). Mayair closed a few years ago (pre-pandemic) and haven’t restarted as far as I know. Used. them if schedules aligned with my US flights but that didn’t happen very often at the end. They evidently used to cancel flights fairly frequently which was a pain (never happened to me )
4). As noted Leo’s FlyCozumel is pretty expensive. Think they are using a small sightseeing Cessna on a private charter basis (not a schedule) Someone already provided the link. You could spend as much CZM-CUN round trip as your flights to US. For some people might be worth it if you are on a long weekend and cost isn’t a consideration (for that price direct to CZM would be cheaper if it were available, but a lot of times schedules are really pared back during Hurricane season ).
5). Haven’t used @cvchief s van guy but that likely would be the the best method for doing the bag drag, especially if you aren’t traveling solo. I usually used the cars straight from the airport vendor (?Supershuttle?) for 1100 pesos , but I gather that may have changed. The rate at the airport was like 20 percent cheaper if you paid in pesos btw, so I always kept pesos. I used them because they were easy, but I have seen many many positive comments on cvchiefs guy over the years so he would probably be the best option (and cheaper ).
6). Ferries historically were totally fine but are more crowded now due to the duopoly between Ultramar and Winjet (aviomar) alternating days. They also aren’t running every hour. They slow down during mid afternoon especially. This can add a lot of time to your trip if you miss a ferry but 5 minutes and have to wait 2 or even 3 hours for the next one. All this has Increased crowding during a pandemic—what could go wrong. These don’t have the air circulation of jets going 500 mph (unless you sit outside). I have posted a winjet schedule below. (Note they are operating on odd numbered days this month )
