Questions for first trip to PDC

[cpichette]

I have just made arrangements for the family to go to PDC for spring break in late March. I've made arrangements with Jason at Fantasea for diving and one of my kids certification dives, so I'm set there. We are renting a house in Playacar a block off the beach. There are two adults and three teenagers. I have a couple of questions:

1. Do I need a car? It looks pretty easy to catch the ADO bus at the Cancun airport to PDC. We are arriving and departing in the middle of the afternoon out of CUN, so scheduling doesn't appear to be a problem. I've "walked" around town on google earth and it doesn't look like I need a car in PDC itself. If we want to go to Tulum and/or Coba, it looks like there is pretty easy public transportation down there as well. So I'm having a hard time rationalizing a car. Any thoughts?

2. Given that there are five of us, it looks like the ADO bus would be about 500pp. For that price, is there a private transportation alternative we should arrange for? I'm thinking there mu st be a company that runs service between CUN and PDC using vans or SUV's that would be price competitive.

3, Do I need to arrange for a tour guide service to got to Tulum and Coba or is it sufficiently obvious that you get there and can walk around and figure it out? What is the best way to do that? I would like to maximize the educational experience and don't mind paying for that. OTOH, a lot of the tours I've seen online involve a lot of extraneous stuff (beach visit, cenotes snorkeling, etc) that we don't really need. Any suggestions on guides would be appreciated.

4. Local restaurant recs would be appreciated. HC Monterey seems like a local favorite. I've searched this and some other forums, but new input would be appreciated.

Thanks

Craig

 

[Beyond_Diving]

My $0.02:

I've never heard anything but good things about Jason and his operation.
Cars are not an absolute necessity, but nice to have. They are expensive to rent in Mexico. If you are planning to visit coba, tulum, chichen, or other mayan ruins, you could hire a tour operator, but check the prices and compare to what it would cost you to rent a car (sometimes its worth the extra hassle to rent and drive yourself).
ADO from airport in cancun to playa will cost you about $100 pesos per person. private transport will cost you in excess of $800.
HC Carnes SUCKS! it is terrible. There are plenty of good restaurants all over playa (and surrounding areas), so you won't be short of options.
hope this helps..

erik

 

[tommydz]

get a map from cancunmap.com lots of info for the money. a good restaurant is la tarraya right on the beach next to were jason loads the dive boat. no need to rent a car. we like to spend a whole day in tulum. ruins, grand cenote, and the beach you wont be sorry. good luck.

 

[SolarStorm]

I have used a company called USA Transfers before (and just at christmas). You cant go wrong. Aggressively priced, professional and reliable, and cheaper than a cab. Email I used was: brant@entertainment-plus.net

 

[annlaur]

Cancun Airport Transportation - Cancun Airport Transfers - Cancun International Airport, Cancun Taxi, Cancun Shuttle, Cancun Bus
A shared shuttle from the airport to Playacar will cost more than twice as much as the bus, but offers door to door service.
You might want to rent a car one day to go to Tulum and Coba, and use public transportation the rest of the time.

 

[TSandM]

I have heard it said a number of times that hiring a guide at the ruins is well worth the money spent. When my husband went to the ones at Tulum, he hired a guide, and was happy that he did. They are not well signed (if at all) and you don't learn very much if you don't have a narrator.

As far as restaurants go, we really liked a place called Ajua, which is on Calle 4 between 5th and 10th. They have a wide menu including a good selection of Mayan dishes. They make great margaritas, and have free wifi. We'd go sit in the bar and check our e-mail while downing a frosty drink, and then order dinner and enjoy that. We went there several times in the same trip!

 

[Mike]

3, Do I need to arrange for a tour guide service to got to Tulum and Coba or is it sufficiently obvious that you get there and can walk around and figure it out? What is the best way to do that? I would like to maximize the educational experience and don't mind paying for that. OTOH, a lot of the tours I've seen online involve a lot of extraneous stuff (beach visit, cenotes snorkeling, etc) that we don't really need. Any suggestions on guides would be appreciated.
Craig

To eliminate the extraneous stuff (beach visit, lunch at a vendor specific cenote etc...) while maximizing the educational experience...

just hire a private tour guide at Coba. Not sure if they are at Tulum or not, I imagine they are. I have been to Coba, Ek Balam, Talum and Chichen Itza. In my opinion, Ek Balam and Coba benefit from a guide because they are not as fully 'restored' or as fully in place so some interpretation is needed. There is so much info available on Chichen Itza that you can become quite educated on it online in an hour or two. And if you have a guide at one, 50% or more will be identical from location to location and the difference will be specifics related just to that site.

 

[sdiver68]

4. Local restaurant recs would be appreciated. HC Monterey seems like a local favorite. I've searched this and some other forums, but new input would be appreciated.

Thanks

Craig

Carboncitos, get the salsa sampler!

 

[robint]

ditto........... get the Mayan Adventure MAP at www.cancunmap.com and you will be very happy!
Also, they have a map of Playa del Carmen with all the restaurants (sample menus to some with prices), etc on it. They are maps and tour guide books all in one.

 

[divinglife]

Just wanted to give you a quick recommendation for tour options with your group. There is a store called The Snorkel Shop (The Snorkel Shop / Mexican Tour East | Home Eng) and they're just great! The do snorkeling tours but also do ruins tours. They have their own van, the guide is a partner in the business, and are just small and personalized and very competitively priced. You can check out some reviews on trip advisor.
As for restaurants, look for some older posts on here, there have been many good recommendations. Here are some of my favs:
La Bamba Jarocha: seafood and fish
El Pirata: very local, only lunch, seafood and fish
Los Aguachiles: fish and shrimp tacos AMAZING!
El 10: burgers and steaks
And a new addition to my list would have to be Wicky's right on the beach. They are retardedly expensive for dinner but their lunch menu is great and they have some of the best burgers in town!