Rent a car/jeep in Coz?

[augie]

Hi Gang,

I've been following the threads in this forum for a while now, and they've been quite helpful - thanks!

After years of talking about it my wife and I have finally booked a trip to Cozumel for this coming November (12-19). We'll be staying at the Fiesta Americana and diving with Caballito Del Caribe.

We've got plane, hotel, and dive reservations made, the only thing I can't decide is whether or not to rent a vehicle.

We'll probably dive each morning (whether or not we dive any in the afternoon is highly dependent on how much energy my wife will have for that) then head into town most evenings for dinner, shopping, and to just see the town.

I plan on visiting the east side of the island, which I've never seen, at least once, and possibly more.

I know that I could try and rent a vehicle for the day if we wanted to go exploring, but the fact that so many cruise ships call might make it more difficult to just walk in and rent.

There seem to be a number of posters here that have been to Coz a lot, what are your opinions on the hassle/value of renting vs taking cabs?

Thanks for all opinions!

 

[ALS7657]

Augie,
We just returned after an action packed week and I would say use the cabs and rent for a day to explore the island. A friend of mine rented from Budget, $45 for the day I think, but be careful and check the vehicle out. The Tracker he rented had no brake lights or speedometer working. There's only one road around the island and it is fun to stop in the local bars around the east side and take in the flavor. They don't look like much and don't expect great restroom facilities but stopping in for a beer at each one was fun. Wear your suit so when you see those nice beaches you can stop in for a dip. Wear some good shoes if you walk on the rocks though, they are sharp and will cut you.
ALS

 

[SueMermaid]

Definitely take a trip to the east side of the island. Also, there is a Mayan ruin, San Gervasio, on the way over that's worth seeing.
We rented a VW "Thing" that was a piece of crap and pooped out on us in the middle of nowhere. We were lucky that we were with some people who knew how to get that oversized lawnmower working. But as ALS warned, careful what you rent.
We took cabs into town and rented a car for the day, that worked out well. Just pay extra for the good car.
*Sigh* I loved that side of the island. I believe there was a bar called "Mezcalito's" that was a mighty fine place to sit and sip the beverage of your chioce and loook out at the wild, beautiful ocean.

 

[epconti]

Augie,

Definitely plan on renting a jeep at least one day. The east side of the island is incredible. Also, being able to explore the center is pretty interesting. Don't go too far into the jungle without 4 wheel drive though. I hear the bogs will grab tires. Only word of warning: familiarize yourself with the metric system. When we stopped to fill our tank up with gas, neither my wife or I had any idea how many kiloliters to order for gas. We ended up putting about a quarter-tanks worth of gas in and were too embarrassed to ask for more. Have a great trip!

- eric

 

[amandasdaddy]

Its so much fun to cruise the Island.


I am leaving right now for Cozumel !

Lucky me!

Have a nice week..... I'll be 85 feet under water this time tomorrow....

 

[Fly N Dive]

Sue,
your right on the name it is the bet place!!!, the first on on the left if you go across the island on the straight road. they have the best cevichei sp? and supposedly the best margiretias sp? but as i am not 21 i wouldn't know.

augie,
i did a google search on Fiesta Americana and it says 15 min from the city, i think this is by car, so you might want to rent one, the only problem is parking. we stayed a Plaza las Glorias which was like 10 min walking from the heart of the city. if you are going out every night you should find out how far it is, if its too far to walk you have two options rent a car, or take taxis. i think that taxis would be cheeper unless you really dont wan to walk far. but rent a car to go around the island

 

[Kat]

I stayed at FA & there is no problem finding parking at the hotel. As far as parking downtown, it's a little tougher. But my boyfriend & I rented a car in NYC and found street parking 3 times in Manhattan, on a Friday night...so we figured Coz would be no problem. We did get stopped around 1AM, by a so called policeman, who wanted some cash for parking illegally. We hadn't parked illegally, but told him we had spent all our money in 'Carlos & Charlies' - which was true. So he let us go.

The east side of the island is not to be missed. I liked the ruins as well, but went w/ no shoes. So it was a long, slow painful experience. Shoes are a must-sunscreen too. Lots to see & do on this wonderful island, both under water & topside.

 

[mediakzar]

Rentadora Isleña builds and rents dune buggies. The buggies are also used for their Jungle Tour and are so popular that on more than one occasion, they've been unavailable when we tried to rent them. But if available, this is our favorite ride in Cozumel. They have a web site at: http://www.cozumelhomes.com/Buggy/Buggy.htm and thier office is on Calle 5 next to the Costa Brava Restaurant.

Joel
http://www.mxtravel.com

 

[ggunn]

epconti once bubbled...
Augie,
Only word of warning: familiarize yourself with the metric system. When we stopped to fill our tank up with gas, neither my wife or I had any idea how many kiloliters to order for gas. We ended up putting about a quarter-tanks worth of gas in and were too embarrassed to ask for more. Have a great trip!

- eric

I don't mean to laugh at your expense, but if I'da been drinking milk, it woulda come out my nose! One kiloliter is more than 250 gallons.

A "close enough for government work" rule of thumb is four liters to the gallon. When in doubt, fill it up.