Transportation to/from Coz airport & Occidental

[diversmith]

Howdy all,

We are booked at the Occidental in June and there will be four of us (2 adults & 2 kids). What would be the recommended service to use to reliably get 4 people and a nice stack of luggage back and forth? We are booked for 18 nights so we will have a pile of luggage with dive & snorkel gear plus the normal stuff! Thinking it will need to be a van of some sort.

I received info from Barcelo group/Occidental that their service would be 274.00 USD round trip for the four of us. Seems kinda high to me. Any other ideas? Thanks in advance!

 

[-JD-]

From this thread (worth a read for anybody going to Coz ...): Arriving/Departing the Cozumel Airport

*TICKETS PLEASE !!! There are TWO OFFICIAL METHODS of transportation for tourists OUT of the airport. Different rules apply for the return trip which will be noted later in this article.

#1 – Airport Shuttle --> Purchasing Shuttle Tickets
There are TWO Shuttle Services available-> COZUSHUTTLE and Flex shuttle Taxi

Immediately upon walking through the sliding glass door after customs , make A Beeline to the ticket booth which is located to your FAR RIGHT. Here, you will find an agent sitting inside the booth, behind a window. Tell the agent the name of your hotel/destination address and if you are paying in USD or Peso. The agent will tell you how much to pay and will give you a simple paper ticket(s). The ticket transaction is QUICK and SIMPLE !!!. There will not be any other business with you. You will not have to provide your name or travel plans.. No coupons, brochures or anything "Free" such as a car, jeep or tour will be offered. You will not sign any agreements. If this should happen, you are at a Timeshare booth!

After purchasing your Shuttle tickets,your main goal is to GET OUTSIDE to the shuttle van area ! HEAD TO THE CLOSEST EXIT DOOR. However you may be approached by a people offering additional transportation “assistance” or questioned as to where you are staying...IGNORE IT ! These are ploys and practices are timeshare last ditch efforts and sound very official, just be on your toes and provide a courteous yet firm "NO" !. TIP: [Restroom near ticket booth]

I'm sure someone can pipe in with current rates to the Occidental, but IIRC it was $20ish pp in 2018

 

[halocline]

274 dollars??!! For a van from the airport to the hotel? Wow.

 

[DandyDon]

back and forth?

You can book a private van from the airport to your hotel at the same window, and for four it might be about the same cost as cramming into a shared van.

To get back to the airport, flag any taxi van on the street.

 

[-JD-]

You can book a private van from the airport to your hotel at the same window, and for four it might be about the same cost as cramming into a shared van.

To get back to the airport, flag any taxi van on the street.

Occidental is way south and standing on the street and waiting for an unoccupied taxi is not likely to be efficient, even if successful. The front desk can arrange to have a Taxi for the return trip - Confirm this at checkin, though. We might have lucked out and caught a shuttle that was dropping off an inbound party - memory is vague.

 

[diversmith]

You can book a private van from the airport to your hotel at the same window, and for four it might be about the same cost as cramming into a shared van.

To get back to the airport, flag any taxi van on the street.

So, pricing it at 274.00 round trip through the Occidental, would booking the private van at the airport be a considerable savings? Is it cash only at the airport, or can you use a credit card? Looking through some searched posts it looks like booking at the airport is still going to be close to 100.00 USD for four people each way.

 

[DandyDon]

We might have lucked out and caught a shuttle that was dropping off an inbound party - memory is vague.

Airport shuttles cannot pickup. Union rules. Only a taxi can be used to the airport. Good advice on getting the hotel to call them tho.

 

[-JD-]

Ok, time to bring in the experts ... @El Graduado (try his Shuttle info: Cozumel Airport Shuttle Rates and Routes - EverythingCozumel)

ETA: Occidental is in South Hotel Zone 4

 

[DandyDon]

Ok, time to bring in the experts ... @El Graduado (try his Shuttle info: Cozumel Airport Shuttle Rates and Routes - EverythingCozumel)

ETA: Occidental is in South Hotel Zone 4

Good idea, except that his exchange rate is out of date. Today it's close to 18 Pesos to USD altho their conversion might be different.

So, a private van would be 2,067 MXN or about $116 USD, but a Private cab service would be 865 MXN or about $48 USD. The hybrid cab should suffice, and they should be able to provide one big enough for all of your bags.

On the return, be sure you have the hotel request a taxi with extra luggage room.

 

[ReefHound]

Occidental is way south and standing on the street and waiting for an unoccupied taxi is not likely to be efficient, even if successful. The front desk can arrange to have a Taxi for the return trip - Confirm this at checkin, though. We might have lucked out and caught a shuttle that was dropping off an inbound party - memory is vague.

The hotels generally have taxis there and if not they can summon one. You can do it yourself, too.