Jim Baldwin:
It was more of a clarification
What to take to Cozumel? And other questions.
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It was more of a clarification
MichiganDiver
Contributor
We will be at the Villablanca. We are diving with Papa Hogs. So, not all-inclusive.
Useful information. I appreciate hearing from one who knows!
Sadly, I have had that stunt pulled on me so many times on Cozumel that I have pretty much stopped tipping cab drivers altogether unless they do something above and beyond the call. Plus, if you pay in dollars, you are already tipping them; from Caribe Blu the fare to town is 35 pesos or US$4. Four dollars is more than 40 pesos.Christi:
There are exceptions. A couple of years ago, my mom, my sister, and I were looking for an old friend who is a native Cozumeleno; he has advanced Parkinson's disease and is moved around a bit as his family cares for him. All we had was an address written down, and none of us speak Spanish well enough (very few of his family speak any English) to ask complex questions or understand the answers.
Anyway, this guy took us to the address we had, got out with us and conversed in Rapid Spanish with the folks (not whom we were looking for) who were there, got a second address and took us there, talked to the folks there, got a third address which was the one where our friend was (all these houses were way back in the residential area), waited for us while we visited with him, and took us back to the hotel, all the time maintaining an amiable attitude and practicing his English by keeping a running chat with us all through the ordeal. I tipped that guy very well.
MichiganDiver:We will be at the Villablanca. We are diving with Papa Hogs. So, not all-inclusive.
Useful information. I appreciate hearing from one who knows!
In that case, they can go to one of the public beach clubs such as Paradise Beach, Mr. Sanchos, San Francisco Beach, Palancar Beach or Playa Mia. All of these beach clubs have a variety of activities form water trampolines, to jet skis, parasailing, snorkeling equipment rental and even some tours by boat that go out when they get enough people together. The beach clubs do not have an admission charge (except Playa Mia and Chankanaab) but they do expect you to make a purchase of at least beverages.
Keep in mind that snorkeling at sandy beaches is really nothing more than a sandy bottom and a few fish here and there...so don't expect great snorkeling at the beaches.
ggunn:
Yes, you are actually right Gordon...I was trying to be diplomatic as I've taken jabs before for suggesting that the taxi frivers not be tipped. I find that the friendly, helpful ones as you described are more the exception rather than the rule unfortunately. This just makes the good ones easy to tip...and your guy definitely deserved a big tip
Christi:Yes, you are actually right Gordon...I was trying to be diplomatic as I've taken jabs before for suggesting that the taxi frivers not be tipped. I find that the friendly, helpful ones as you described are more the exception rather than the rule unfortunately. This just makes the good ones easy to tip...and your guy definitely deserved a big tip
Yes, indeed. He asked for $10; I gave him $20.
While credit cards will sometimes cost extra to use it is definitely not at all places. The hotel I recently stayed at did not charge us extra for it, and when it came to restaurants I found that most that accepted credit cards did not charge us extra. That being said, most of the places that we ate did not accept them.underachiever:
In general pesos are your friend. Restaurants, cabs, etc will usually be cheaper if you pay in pesos. ATMs are a great way to get pesos, the machine fee is usually only about $1 which is less than most places in the US. Of course your bank may add its own fees such as the $5 out of network fee that wells fargo charges. After getting money out of an ATM use the large bills whenever you can in order to get change in smaller bills. Small bills are much more useful than large ones since many people will not have enough change.
When it comes to USD I would recommend taking as many ones as you can. They are great for tipping or when you don't have the right amount of change in pesos. Many times in various situations you will run into the no change problem so small bills are your friends.
Yes
I have heard both ways but in general I would say that it is a place where you tip for good service but it is not expected in the way they are at restaurants.
Many of the recommendations I hear from people are for the more expensive touristy places. These are not the places where you are going to find the best food, the best experience orthe best prices. In general I rely on two simple rules when looking for a place to eat 1)are there many people eating there? and 2)How many of them are gringos? Despite being a tourist town when you walk into town a few blocks it is exactly very easy to find restaurants that are busy but have no gringos in them. These are the best places to eat and they are all over town.
One of my favorite places was El Pique. It is a little taqueria across from the San Francisco D'Assis grocery on Avenida 30 and Juarez. It is a great little dinner place that opens around 7pm. A good meal will cost you around $5 or less and the food is great. When I went there it always seemed to be busy but I didn't see a single gringo.
Another place I really liked I can not remember the name of. It is south of town a little ways on the beach. It is past most of the resorty hotel beach club type places that are near town. By the road they have a sign saying that they have their own fishing boats. It is a nice little outdoor bar/restaurant on a sandy beach. To get to it you drive from the main road down a dirt driveway through the jungle to the beach. The food was good and the prices weren't bad. They had good seafood. The swimming and snorkeling was good. You could go out rather far and it was still shallow. Anyone by any chance know the name of this place?
~Jess
JessH:
While I would agree that the places that cater to the gringos on the island will tend to be more expensive, I will take issue with you on the quality of the food. Places like La Veranda, El Capi Navigante, Especias, La Cocay, Prima, Sonora, La Choza, La Morena, etc. are great places to eat, and they feature many dishes that are not available at the more rustic places. As to being "touristy", that is really a matter of definition and degree. To me, Carlos n' Charlie's is disgustingly touristy, La Choza is not, although the clientele is largely norteamericano. I do not discount a restaurant out of hand simply because there are other visitors to the island eating there. DSFDF and YMMV.
Hi, Gang,
We usually tip on Cozumel and do so without a grimace. For my DM and his crew we are generous because they are simply wonderful and make our diving a complete joy. We have been diving with them for over a decade and they have never disappointed. Not once.
As for cabbies, I usually toss in 10%...hey, most rides are only $5...50 cents does not seem like a penalty. Now, we have not been to Cozumel for over a year--that will be cured soon--so, maybe cab rides will be more and the 50 cents has become $1. Again, not a bank account breaker for someone who is polite and gets me where I want to be.
In restaurants, I use the same criterion I use at home: good service deserves a good tip; excellent service deserves an excellent tip.
All that said, I want you to leave Cozumel with a smile on your face and with good feelings about your time there. So, if tipping really gets your goat, just do not do it. Cozumel is a very special place to us and I hope it can be the same for everybody else.
joewr
We usually tip on Cozumel and do so without a grimace. For my DM and his crew we are generous because they are simply wonderful and make our diving a complete joy. We have been diving with them for over a decade and they have never disappointed. Not once.
As for cabbies, I usually toss in 10%...hey, most rides are only $5...50 cents does not seem like a penalty. Now, we have not been to Cozumel for over a year--that will be cured soon--so, maybe cab rides will be more and the 50 cents has become $1. Again, not a bank account breaker for someone who is polite and gets me where I want to be.
In restaurants, I use the same criterion I use at home: good service deserves a good tip; excellent service deserves an excellent tip.
All that said, I want you to leave Cozumel with a smile on your face and with good feelings about your time there. So, if tipping really gets your goat, just do not do it. Cozumel is a very special place to us and I hope it can be the same for everybody else.
joewr
ggunn:
I do not discount a restaurant simply because there are tourists there, and I have eaten at some of the places that you just mentioned. That being said if you want the best bang for your buck no matter where you are it is usually best to figure out where the locals eat when they go out. When you do this you will find some of the best food and more often than not you will be very happily suprised by the prices.
~Jess
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