Taxi Fare Increase is now official :(

[ggunn]

fftopic:Couple questions off topic. Does anyone tip the taxi drivers?
I think for local rides to town maybe not but for a ride and wait on the wild side......hmmmm.
Second speaking of no change, I have a few larger peso notes 500's and 200's. Where might be a good place to exchange for something smaller.:focus:

Not off topic at all: that's exactly what I do. For an all day trip around the island, I tip. For a ride to town, not.

I usually get my small bills and coins from Mega, Chedraui, and restaurants.

---------- Post Merged at 11:19 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 11:14 AM ----------

Why would it be difficult to break a 500 Peso bill?

For whom? For a supermarket, no, but for a cab driver, maybe so, depending on how many passengers he's had and how many paid with big bills. Of course, he could be using as an excuse to extract more money from tourists. I pay in small denomination pesos when I can to dodge the game.

 

[sassyalice]

Last week after I was done with a dive I met up with my wife and the friends who had joined us for our trip. We were at a place not too far from where we were staying in Akumal, and my wife and friends took a taxi to get there. The plan was for them to snorkel and relax (while I nearly nodded off after a day of diving), eat some dinner, and then take a taxi back to Akumal. The taxi driver who brought my wife and friends said he would stay and take us back. We told him it would be hours (at least) before we were ready to return. He insisted. He sat around the entire time we were there, and when we were done with dinner, he took us back to Akumal. We realized it was a very smart move on his part. By waiting for us, he was guaranteed a fare. If he went somewhere else, he very well might not get a single fare the rest of the day. We talked with him on the way back and realized that he had taken a fare from Cancun to Akumal that morning and then sat in Akumal for many hours dong nothing until our group used him. By waiting for us, he managed to get in one more fare before returning home to Cancun. Those three fares probably constituted a very good day for him.

I personally like to hire them for the day.. (mostly when in the MR or playa area) you toss em a few hundred pesos and you have someone that walks through the crowd to push people out of your way so you dont get bumped.. you never have to deal with pushy timeshare salesmen... (Not that I encourage it.. I just get a giggle out of it..) I like getting spoiled on vacation.. so I tip hard.. and they trip all over themselves to spoil us.. I dont lift a finger on vacation.. and if it cost me a few extra bucks .. it dont matter, as that is why I am there... that isnt done daily as we stay down at the far end of the island.. we have scootered.. and owning a harley.. I will say 50% of all accidents are the riders fault.. but I prefer to travel by car.. you can carry more..

It may cost more then renting our own.. but if it means my favorite driver can snuggle in the back set with me.. I am so hiring a local..

And the people we have met this way is fun as well... they get to know us a little and we have enjoyed some favorite "local" spots where we were the only white faces there.. definitely not on the tourist maps..

Buuuut... I will fight tooth and nail with a driver who is trying to get one by the "gringa" for as little as a dollar.. for principles sake.. and tell him he lost a good tip because of it.. letting him know that bad behavior costs them all... my husband has another name for it.. but I prefer stubborn..

I have no problem with locals paying less in some areas.. I bet gas hurts them.. I was raised in a tourist town.. and hated the hikes when it was tourist season.. and coz is in perpetual tourist season..

 

[blue steal]

Why would it be difficult to break a 500 Peso bill?

Just curious if I would run into a problem with getting change. A 500 peso note could be anywhere from 38-50 US (depending on who's exchanging), and if the bill for say a restaurant or shop is $10US they may not be able to give change.
I run into this problem all the time in the Phillipines. They seem to not be able to make change on anything greater that 2-3 dollars.
You must carry a wad of pesos in very small denominations

 

[mediumone]

Just curious if I would run into a problem with getting change. A 500 peso note could be anywhere from 38-50 US (depending on who's exchanging), and if the bill for say a restaurant or shop is $10US they may not be able to give change.
I run into this problem all the time in the Phillipines. They seem to not be able to make change on anything greater that 2-3 dollars.
You must carry a wad of pesos in very small denominations

Withdraw your Pesos from an ATM. You'll get very close to the official exchange rate. Never heard of a variation of 38 - 50 USD. That's HUGE.


A bill for $10.00 USD from a shop or restaurant??? Tell the restaurant or shop that you're in Mexico, and you'd like to pay using the legal tender of Mexico.

We only use USD for dives and rental cars. Nothing else. Taxi's have tried to give me change in USD --- No, gracias.

 

[ggunn]

Withdraw your Pesos from an ATM. You'll get very close to the official exchange rate. Never heard of a variation of 38 - 50 USD. That's HUGE.


A bill for $10.00 USD from a shop or restaurant??? Tell the restaurant or shop that you're in Mexico, and you'd like to pay using the legal tender of Mexico.

We only use USD for dives and rental cars. Nothing else. Taxi's have tried to give me change in USD --- No, gracias.

$38 and $50 for a 500 peso bill is only 12.8:1 and 10:1. In the past couple of decades the official exchange rate has changed more than that.

But I am with you on using the local currency. From the day I arrive on the island I try to deal with and think in pesos for everything, even diving (my hotel bill is usually prepaid and I don't rent cars). Usually the only time a merchant will try to give you dollars in change is when you pay in dollars.

 

[blue steal]

I asked the girl at the front desk how much a taxi ride would be from the resort to the plaza and she said to expect to pay 60 pesos.
Ok so I stand outside and wave down a taxi and then ask how much to the plaza he says $5US. I say how much in pesos and he says 60 pesos so I'm thinking what the heck at 12:1 I may as well pay in US currency. But otherwise I often pay everything in pesos.

---------- Post Merged at 08:38 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 08:34 AM ----------

$38 and $50 for a 500 peso bill is only 12.8:1 and 10:1. In the past couple of decades the official exchange rate has changed more than that.

But I am with you on using the local currency. From the day I arrive on the island I try to deal with and think in pesos for everything, even diving (my hotel bill is usually prepaid and I don't rent cars). Usually the only time a merchant will try to give you dollars in change is when you pay in dollars.

I have a friend here in Los Angeles who exchanged my dollars to pesos at like 12.5:1 and I asked him to get me smaller bills and he comes back to me with 500's so I was just hoping this was not such a big bill that most merchants would not or could not take it, basing my past experiences in the PI.

 

[DandyDon]

I'm sure it's a little challenging for the drivers to keep up with exchange rates and charge a fair one. It would depend on what they get, not the WSJ - subject to change.

Cozumel is much more affluent than the PI I think, and I think most merchants can break a $50, much less a 500 Peso/$38 USD bill. Smaller bills are appreciated I bet.

 

[ggunn]

I have a friend here in Los Angeles who exchanged my dollars to pesos at like 12.5:1 and I asked him to get me smaller bills and he comes back to me with 500's so I was just hoping this was not such a big bill that most merchants would not or could not take it, basing my past experiences in the PI.

A 500 peso bill is usually fine for a restaurant, bar, or shop, but you'll have trouble spending it for a short hop in a cab. One thing you'll need to watch out for, though, is that if a bill has even the tiniest tear, a lot of places won't take it.

 

[DandyDon]

My bank tellers are nice to put up with me. I take 50 - $1s, 20 - $2s, 20 - $5s, 20 - $10s, the rest in $50s - no $100s, and we got thru the bills carefully making sure none have tears, avoiding marked bills.

 

[blue steal]

I have not seen many 2 dollar bills around lately.
I do pretty much the same, lots of 1's for tips 5 & 10's for the DM's.
Will hire a taxi for the trip to the wild side mescalitos and some exploring one afternoon.
Even though this would cost more than a car rental I won't have to drive and can have a few beverages and just enjoy.