CZM Airport Transfers

[Sue Sue]

The name on the shared shuttle van booth is (are you ready?) TAXIS!!........go figure.........the booths that Sue Sue is warning you about all say "Travel Advisory"...there are about six or more of them and ARE to be avoided as she said......some of those creeps will actually even grab your arm!....don't fall for it.......Betsy

I really feel sorry for folks who get caught in the web. I therefore try to tell as many people while on the plane who are sitting around me about the setup. I simply ask if they are aware of the timeshare people and if they say no, then I give them the inside scoop and how to avoid them. Of course, there are folks who are looking for a timeshare opportunity and then great...but otherwise getting stuck with this scam at the very beginning of a vacation can really be a bummer.

Betsy, Not only has my arm been grabbed but the salespeople have even stepped in front of me and blocked my way to try to get my attention. One time, I attempted to dodge the guy by moving left but he stepped left, then I moved right and he stepped right, all the time he was directing me to his "ticket booth" and holding my arm. I kept saying firmly and simply "NO" and "No thanks" and NO Gracias" and tried to step around him. I finally had to yell at him.. "No...leave me alone !". Then he stepped aside. This type of sales aggressiveness is very common with the timeshare people and needs to be avoided. I can't say it needs to be stopped because that won't happen.

Also, for any Park Royal guests while I am on my timeshare rant...once you check in at the front desk you may be directed by the porter who has your luggage to the special "information activity desk" before heading down the stairs to the elevators to your room... ( This is the only way to get to your room from the lobby) Unless you want a timeshare pitch, just keep on walking and the porter will eventually follow. There is also a timeshare kiosk near the bridge as you pass through to the oceanside pool.

 

[Len]

You can't be serious. We went through last August and were quoted $8 per person for the airport shuttle. We then walked out to the traffic circle and got a van size Taxi to El Cantil for $12 total. $48 for the shuttle or $12 for the taxi.....
-Charles

I guess if you can squeeze 6 people and 12 bags into 1 cab, this makes sense, maybe. For 2 people, the shuttle is $16 vs $12 for the cab. Dragging bags down the street in the heat or rain is not worth $4 to me.

 

[jjwdiver]

Great info, thanks Sue Sue.

 

[ReefHound]

I guess if you can squeeze 6 people and 12 bags into 1 cab, this makes sense, maybe. For 2 people, the shuttle is $16 vs $12 for the cab. Dragging bags down the street in the heat or rain is not worth $4 to me.

To some it's about more than $4 (assuming just 2 people). It's about not waiting there 15 minutes or more while the driver gets the van full, not being squeezed into a van with 10 or 12 other people who may be sweating or wheezing on you, going directly to your hotel (or stopping at a store for cervezas) instead of making several stops at other hotels first, and not worrying about whether your luggage is going to get off at one of those stops.

 

[betsyinczm]

Trust me, Sue Sue, I know!......it's shameful but you sound way way too polite....hahha......the last two times one of those thugs grabbed my arm I stopped and hissed in Spanish: "if you don't let go of my arm right this minute, I am going to scream for the police"........yup, that worked and I am sure English would as well!!........hahha.....Betsy

 

[Gdog]

As far as bag drag and taxi grab or shuttle at airport, as long as everyone understands both sides of the story, then to each his own. I just grab the shuttle. Not that big a deal to me. I do carefully watch when they pull luggage out at any stops tho.

 

[Harro10]

I have done the shuttle from the airport on all my Cozumel trips except the last one. The positives of the shuttle, for me, are that it is a known "quantity". I know where to buy the tickets, how much it costs, where to get the shuttle and it will get you to your hotel. The negatives I have experienced or witnessed are waits for the correct shuttle (sometimes 15 minutes - not really that bad), can be several stops before your hotel, crowded, luggage misdelivered (rare- but watch to make sure your luggage is not dropped off before you are), and I have even seen a passenger struck in the back of the head with a hardshell suitcase while sitting in the rear row of the van while it was being loaded.
On my trip this December I was traveling with my son and the weather was nice so I figured I would try the bag drag along the airport exit road to the traffic circle outside the airport for a taxi. We each had a wheeled bag and a carry on that attaches so the walk was not bad at all. I made eye contact with a taxi driver while he was pulling away from the front of airport and he was waiting for us across the circle. In this instance the taxi was a significant saving of time and money and was not much of an inconvenience. However, there is no guarantee that you will not have to wait for a taxi at the circle. The taxi driver did tell me that the police do not like them to do this.
Would I do this again? In nice weather traveling with my adult son I probably would and accept the risks.
I am going to Cozumel again in two weeks with my wife and I know she will have none of this bag drag on the airport exit road so the shuttle it will be for this coming trip. She is also much smarter then I am.

 

[ggunn]

I agree and I don't think anyone could really believe the taxis out front cost as much as the shuttle vans in the airport (else there would be no reason to ban taxis from picking up at the airport)...

One reason for the introduction of the vans was to avoid the huge traffic jam that there would be in front of the terminal were it necessary for everyone to take a cab from the airport, especially when two or three large planes arrive at once. The infrastructure of the CZM airport just isn't built to handle that much traffic.

I would not be surprised to see them bring in a similar system for the cruise ships. When two or three of them come in at once to the pier near La Ceiba there are cabs lined up along Melgar almost to Villablanca to take on cruseros and it's hard to get a cab anywhere else.

An airport transfer to Caribe Blu costs me $8. I could schlep all my stuff (and there's usually a lot of it) in the heat of the day out to the curb and possibly get a cab for $5, maybe quickly, maybe not. YMMV, but I take the shuttle.

This same subject comes up regularly in here, and it's always the same discussion. A relatively few folks think it's worth it to walk out and get a cab, but most don't. Those of us who take the shuttles by and large don't do it because we don't know any better. The piddling amount of time we (may) save and the cheapness of a cab just aren't worth the hassle. If you travel with just a carry-on, hey, go for it. If you take your full airline alottment of bags, take the shuttle.

 

[ReefHound]

One reason for the introduction of the vans was to avoid the huge traffic jam that there would be in front of the terminal were it necessary for everyone to take a cab from the airport, especially when two or three large planes arrive at once. The infrastructure of the CZM airport just isn't built to handle that much traffic.

That may be a "justifying" reason, the kind of "reasons" authorities always come up with to sell an idea to the public, but the primary reason is clearly money. When a taxi minivan can profitably take 6 people to a nearby hotel for $12, there's no reason a full size van should cost $96 ($8 x 12). Even if their costs were double, which I doubt, it would be $24 / 12 = $2 per person.

This same subject comes up regularly in here, and it's always the same discussion. A relatively few folks think it's worth it to walk out and get a cab, but most don't. Those of us who take the shuttles by and large don't do it because we don't know any better. The piddling amount of time we (may) save and the cheapness of a cab just aren't worth the hassle. If you travel with just a carry-on, hey, go for it. If you take your full airline alottment of bags, take the shuttle.

I'd say the vast majority of people coming into Cozumel are not even aware of the cab option. That's the only reason some of us get into these discussions - to make people aware. Then it's a personal preference based on one's budget, luggage, weather, health, attitude, experience, etc.

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

Kind of like a visit to the Gato Negro cantina, the airport shuttle is just one of those things that makes a visit to Cozumel memorable.

My only request is PLEASE, if you have to pick a day to skip the shower and not wear deodorant, don't make it the shuttle day.