Steve Miller
Guest
What is the safest, cheapest, and easy way to get from Coz. to the ruins at Tulum. Bus, Taxi or Tour. I do want to see the Mayan Ruins but I am not interested in any side tours.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Getting to Tulum
- Thread starter Steve Miller
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SueMermaid
Guest
We rented a car at our hotel. That was definitely the way to go. We were harassed as it was by people trying to sell us timeshares, I imagine the pressure is brutal when you step off a tour bus.
Steve Miller:
Safest, cheapest, and easiest may point you in three different directions. Renting a car in Playa del Carmen and driving to Tulum is not a bad compromise; it is pretty cheap, not too hard, and and safety is up to you. It also gives you control on when you go and how long you stay.
Apologies to the other poster, but renting a car at your hotel on Cozumel to go to Tulum is not really an option; you'll have to take the ferry acrosss, and it's people only. Getting a car across the channel is far too much trouble for a tourist.
There are several auto rental offices within a 5 minute walk of the ferry landing in PdC.
D_O_H
Contributor
Steve Miller:
Christi at Blue XT (who's a member of this board) set us up with a Tulum tour that was cheap and very easy. We had a really nice local guy pick us up at the ferry in PDC and shuttle us to Tulum and back. Our guide at Tulum was terrible, but I think who you get down there is just the luck of the draw no matter how you get to Tulum. The price was like $90/person and included roundtrip ferry from Coz, transport, lunch and admission to Tulum and the cave park nearby (aktun chen, I think?). We had absolutely no hassles from anyone trying to sell us anything, which was nice.
Incidentally, I liked the aktun chen tour as much as or more than Tulum. It's about two hours of guided tour through the above water portions of a cenote. The above ground portion of the park is also a nature preserve and they've got a ton of local animals around, which I thought was really neat. If you go, don't try to pet the javalina - they bite!
Pamdiv
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In our pre-dive days, we rented a car, drove to Tulum, made a stop on the way at Cenote Azul (beautiful!) and then snorkeled several beaches on the way back and then shopped at Playa del Carmen before returning. Actually, that's the trip that convinced us that snorkeling was not enough and we need to get dive training. It was a very enjoyable day.
You have several options and have a great time!
You have several options and have a great time!
I believe the buses stop in Tulum and they are cheap. You may need a short cab ride from the bus stop to the ruins. You can check at the depot in downtown PDC. If not you can look into car rental, cab or collectivos right there as well.
SueMermaid
Guest
Whoops. Missed that little detail. :blush: Our hotel was in Cancun.ggunn:
What we found was that many of the tour buses were cattle-like, people were herded on and off, and it just was not for us. (well, I am as easy going as anyone, it's my husband that's high maintenance).
Drewpy
Contributor
I was in the same predicament-car was too much $, didnt want a bus ride with a bunch of tourists... so I asked our waiter at a retaurant in PDC. He gave us directions to a small local park about 3 blocks away and told us to take the local route.
20 pesos for a A/C van ride right to the front of Tulum! It stopped a few times along the way whenever someone was waiting on the side of the highway,but no big deal,it was fun visiting with the locals. and the $ was right! For the return trip we just walked back to the highway and within 5 mins were back on board (a suburban this time) for a nice ride back to PDC-my buddy still talks about this ... it was fun!
Being able to speak spanish helps,but not necessary!
About 4 bucks for the round trip! When we looked into a bus it was about 50 bucks?!! :11:
20 pesos for a A/C van ride right to the front of Tulum! It stopped a few times along the way whenever someone was waiting on the side of the highway,but no big deal,it was fun visiting with the locals. and the $ was right! For the return trip we just walked back to the highway and within 5 mins were back on board (a suburban this time) for a nice ride back to PDC-my buddy still talks about this ... it was fun!
Being able to speak spanish helps,but not necessary!
About 4 bucks for the round trip! When we looked into a bus it was about 50 bucks?!! :11:
Kat
Contributor
The bus/collectivo taxi is an excellent, safe & inexpensive way to travel. My 10 year old daughter & I traveled this way in early Jan. 2005, even after dark. If a mom & a little girl can do it, anybody can. No spanish is needed. It was all locals, mostly on their way to work/home from the huge hotel chains. We were the only tourists.
Moodiejeff
Contributor
D_O_H:
Did the same tour... except we did a Cenote dive (Grand Cenote) then Tulum. Christi set it up for us as well. With the Cenote dive, Tulum, entrance fees, ferry, lunch etc. it was $120 (?) or was it $140a person. Ehh, I don't remember...
The beautiful thing about it is it's a no-brainer. Diego meets you at the ferry in Coz, buys your tickets and briefs you on the ride to PDC. When in PDC you get in his truck, drive the hour to wherever you're going (Cenote, Tulum, Above-ground Cenote), he then pays all admission fees and guides you in the Cenote (for diving at least). Then drops you off at the entrance of Tulum, gives you the admission fee and will wait for you outside until you're done. Whether you hire a guide or not is up to you.
Diego is a super nice guy, speaks perfect english and is full of knowledge about all the sites around there. He's also a Cave certified instructor so he is a great guide for the Cenotes. He helped us with our frog and scissor kicks so as not to stir up the silt.
Another thing to think about is to make sure to bring a bathing suit & towel to Tulum... it has a fantastic beach right there. We unfortunately didn't have any towels so we couldn't do any laying around. It really is an idyllic sitting for sightseeing and/or lounging. If we had towels I'm sure we would have spent at least another hour there.
Hope that helps...
Jeff
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