Last minute tricks, tips or tidbits

[Christi]

On my up-and-coming trip to Isla Mujeres (from Cozumel) I was thinking of taking the ADO from Playa to the Cancun bus terminal and then a taxi to the ferry but you just suggested a shuttle from Playa to the ferry. Is the ADO/taxi a bad idea? Is there a particular shuttle company you recommend?

If you set up a whale shark tour out of Cozumel, your transportation from Playa to the boat should be covered - this is the shuttle I am referring to - it's part of the package and is a specific/private van just for those going on the tour.

The boats leave Cancun which is only 15 minutes from Isla Mujeres - they simply pass Isla Mujeres on the way out - but then stop at Isla Mujeres north beach on the way back from whale shark tour and serve lunch - fresh ceviche and sandwiches.

If you're actually going to stay on Isla Mujeres for a few days, then ADO to Cancun Centro and then taxi the ferry terminal to Isla Mujeres would be the way I would suggest.

 

[elora_c]

Tempted to do the whale shark tour myself when I'm there in a few weeks. I'm debating whether I want to skip my last day (only 2 dives that day anyway) to try. Is there a particular company (or companies) that do this from Cozumel? Thanks.

 

[Fish Finder Girl]

Read the sticky at the top of the page :
Arriving/Departing the Cozumel Airport - A Guided Tour
There is a lot of good info there.

The hardest part of this trip for me is waiting for the shuttle to take off.
You can be the first through immigration, your bags can be first off the conveyor,
and sail through customs. But the shuttles are sorted to certain areas of the island, and will not leave until they are full. I've waited more than 25 minutes several times.
I'm used to it now, but being type A, it was tough the first few trips.
I once left one of my wife's bags in the shuttle, and a half hour later it was returned by the shuttle driver. We love Cozumel and it's people, it is our go-to scuba destination.

We grab our bags, roll them down the sidewalk and across the street from the airport to catch a cab $8-10 for two of us to Scuba Club Cozumel. We usually beat the first vans out of the parking lot.

 

[ggunn]

We grab our bags, roll them down the sidewalk and across the street from the airport to catch a cab $8-10 for two of us to Scuba Club Cozumel. We usually beat the first vans out of the parking lot.

You might want to keep quiet about it; that strategy only works if a very low percentage of the folks getting off the plane do it. When it starts getting so popular that a crowd begins making that trek, it starts affecting traffic out at the traffic circle and the police step in to stop cabs from picking up fares out there. It happens from time to time.

Speaking strictly for myself, I have no problem with the airport shuttle system. I am on "island time" from the time my bags are checked for the flight down; when I get to Cozumel I am never in so much of a hurry that the few minutes earlier I might get to my hotel makes any difference to me, and the amount of money I might save is minuscule in the grand scheme of things. Of course, a factor in my attitude is the fact that traveling light isn't in our vocabulary; lugging all our equipaje the 100 yards or more over uneven pavement through the tropical heat in the middle of the day is too much like work for me to even consider it. I grab a beer from the vendor right there by the loading area, throw my gear into the back of the van, make some new friends among my fellow new arrivals, and take the shuttle ride to my home away from home.

Heavy sigh. I am ready to go again right now.

 

[ggunn]

Is there anyone awake out there? Just checking...

 

[nodakdive]

Is there anyone awake out there? Just checking...

I find the whole "shuttles only" strategy ingenious and efficient. Usually, I'm being hustled off to the hotel a little faster than I care to be hustled. I differ in that my vacation starts when I get through Customs. Traveling, for me, is akin to the 9th circle of hell.

 

[Augustus]

just curious when the drone footage was shot.

Right now is the best time to swim with whalesharks in the blue water, about 3 miles NE of Isla Mujeres, ~ 2hr boat ride from Cozumel. There are hundreds of them there. You won't miss them. So, no diving, just snorkeling with them. Check out my video that I took 2 weeks ago, below:


Below are drone pictures of the whaleshark party from @Ken Kurtis. Definitely it is a snorkeling tour that you don't want to miss when you are in the neighborhood from July to September. They are about the size of the boats (shown as white specs in the blue):

View attachment 418839
View attachment 418840

 

[Dan]

just curious when the drone footage was shot.

@Ken Kurtis gave them to me last year.

 

[ggunn]

I find the whole "shuttles only" strategy ingenious and efficient. Usually, I'm being hustled off to the hotel a little faster than I care to be hustled. I differ in that my vacation starts when I get through Customs. Traveling, for me, is akin to the 9th circle of hell.

For me, the worst part is getting up, getting the taxi to show up in time to take us and all our crapola to the airport, and running the gauntlet to get checked in, our bags checked, and getting through the TSA rigmarole, all in time to board the flight and on a couple of hours sleep. From there on it's not stressful; it's a bit of a crunch at the Cozumel airport with Immigration and Customs to deal with, but I am there on the island and there's no time pressure. If it takes an hour to get to my hotel (it usually doesn't), it's no big deal; I am there for a couple of weeks. The thing I hate isn't the time it takes to get somewhere, it's the stress that comes from being in a hurry. I don't do that to myself when it isn't necessary.

 

[Milkman670]

Speaking of Cozumel tips, does anyone know how to say "jelly beans" in Spanish? The translator on Google gives me what would be translated from Spanish to English as "bean jelly." Not quite the same thing.

I tried asking in Vallarta at a candy store and at the Casa Ley but nobody seemed to understand what I was asking for. Do jelly beans not exist in Mexico? I did end up with some nice candied fruit though

Edit: I just discovered that Brach's Jelly Beans are made in Mexico. Someone must sell them...

Hmmm, I wonder if they come in jalepeno flavor

Try
frijolitos confitados