driftwood
Contributor
Get the maps, they are worth their weight in gold. Save you a ton of time and money. Eric may not like HC but I have always been very happy with the arracherra nationale. El Fogon is also very good. La Tarraya has good food and a view that is hard to beat. El Oasis has some very good shrimp tacos.
The ADO is the least expensive way to get to PDC from the airport. That being said, there are a lot of houses for rent in Playacar and Playacar is a big place. Depending on where your house is located, you may want to hire two or more taxis at the bus station. Doing the bag drag for better than a mile is not my ideal way starting of a vacation. Taxi fare to Playacar, call it $50p to $75p per taxi.
There was a similar thread on the Coz forum and one alternative was to hire a van/driver for the day. One company quoted a rate of $275us for 8 to 10 hours. Not a bad deal for 5 people and you don't have to go through the hassle of renting a car for the day (that should save you a couple of hours). Eight hours is plenty of time to see both Tulum and Coba with stops for lunch and a cenote to cool off (I like the Grand Cenote just north of Tulum). There is ADO service to both Tulum and Coba. You might want to ask at Playa del Carmen info for the bus schedules. If it were me, hire the van and driver. No hassles, your driver will be your best resource for good local eats and a fountain of local knowledge.
Regardless whether you hire a van/driver or rent a car, be sure to take plenty of water. There is no shade at Tulum, the sun is brutal even in the mornings and there is little breeze at Coba since you are mostly in the jungle. Figure 4 liters water pp. If you forget the water, stop at the Super San Fransisco at the intersection of 307 and the Tulum/Coba road to provision up.
If I were doing the day trip from PDC to Tulum and Coba, I would hit Tulum first and head for Coba. As you enter Coba, there is a good place for late breakfast/lunch to the right overlooking the lake. Tour the ruins in Coba and hit a cenote on your way back to PDC. The two best cenotes are Grand Cenote just outside of Tulum and Dos Ojos south of Akumal. Trust me, after the two ruins, you will want to cool down a bit.
The ADO is the least expensive way to get to PDC from the airport. That being said, there are a lot of houses for rent in Playacar and Playacar is a big place. Depending on where your house is located, you may want to hire two or more taxis at the bus station. Doing the bag drag for better than a mile is not my ideal way starting of a vacation. Taxi fare to Playacar, call it $50p to $75p per taxi.
There was a similar thread on the Coz forum and one alternative was to hire a van/driver for the day. One company quoted a rate of $275us for 8 to 10 hours. Not a bad deal for 5 people and you don't have to go through the hassle of renting a car for the day (that should save you a couple of hours). Eight hours is plenty of time to see both Tulum and Coba with stops for lunch and a cenote to cool off (I like the Grand Cenote just north of Tulum). There is ADO service to both Tulum and Coba. You might want to ask at Playa del Carmen info for the bus schedules. If it were me, hire the van and driver. No hassles, your driver will be your best resource for good local eats and a fountain of local knowledge.
Regardless whether you hire a van/driver or rent a car, be sure to take plenty of water. There is no shade at Tulum, the sun is brutal even in the mornings and there is little breeze at Coba since you are mostly in the jungle. Figure 4 liters water pp. If you forget the water, stop at the Super San Fransisco at the intersection of 307 and the Tulum/Coba road to provision up.
If I were doing the day trip from PDC to Tulum and Coba, I would hit Tulum first and head for Coba. As you enter Coba, there is a good place for late breakfast/lunch to the right overlooking the lake. Tour the ruins in Coba and hit a cenote on your way back to PDC. The two best cenotes are Grand Cenote just outside of Tulum and Dos Ojos south of Akumal. Trust me, after the two ruins, you will want to cool down a bit.
