$$ in Cozumel

[trucker girl]

Lots of small bills. Usually I will take for a week $100 in ones, $100 in fives, $100 in tens and $100 in twentys.

Dave (aka "Squirt")

This is very good advice. I didn't spend much money in Cozumel- we paid for our package and breakfast was included. Meals seemed fairly cheap, too. I don't really do the touristy shopping thing, though.

The ones are definitely good to have. And you keep your cash where you keep your id/passport. That's something worth stealing, too. My hotel (Villa Blanca right across from Papa Hogs Scuba) didn't have in-room safes, but for a small fee I rented a safe in the lobby for my license and birth certificate.

I didn't hit an ATM once down there, though my friend did. The ATM was in pesos and she didn't know how much she took out!

And watch out for the calling cards. I thought I was buying a regular calling card to call home but it turns out you could only use it in a specific type of pay phone- so that was a waste of money.

Oh, and when you get to the airport, ignore all the wierd people trying to charge you a bunch of money to take you to your hotel. Make sure you use the actual airport shuttle. It's cheaper and it's safer-in my opinion. I don't know who those other guys were. There aren't any cabs to take you to your hotel, though you CAN take a cab from your hotel to the airport. Wierd.

These are the things I wish I had known before I got there- but they weren't things that ruined my vacation by not knowing ahead of time.

 

[trucker girl]

You don’t have problems with the small shops taking plastic? I heard that the banks down there charged then outrageous fees. I figured most wouldn’t take it.
Stacy

In general ANY small shop is going to dislike someone using credit card- that goes for the states, too. The merchant looses anywhere from 2% to 3.5% of the sale depending on the card and their agreement.

I do a lot of buying in my small town in Ohio and I rarely use a credit card for that reason. It's just polite to pay cash or check. But that's just my opinion and practice. I only use a credit card for online stuff or if it's a large bill. If you are booking your hotel or multiple dive trips, the credit card shouldn't be a problem. But if you're buying $10 in souveniers, it could be.

In town in the main square they'll have a lot of little shops there and booths and whatnot. If you're into touristy shopping you may want cash for that.

I agree with The Red Head- I think Cozumel is pretty safe. I haven't been all around, but I've been there and the only time I felt threatened was when the drunk guy at the restaurant wouldn't quit talking to me...

 

[ggunn]

Oh, and when you get to the airport, ignore all the wierd people trying to charge you a bunch of money to take you to your hotel. Make sure you use the actual airport shuttle. It's cheaper and it's safer-in my opinion. I don't know who those other guys were. There aren't any cabs to take you to your hotel, though you CAN take a cab from your hotel to the airport. Wierd.

Those guys were trying to sell timeshares. If you get a ride with them it will not be to your hotel, it will be to the property they are hawking. My advice: a polite but firm "No, gracias", and then ignore them.

 

[Christi]

I didn't hit an ATM once down there, though my friend did. The ATM was in pesos and she didn't know how much she took out!

Knowing the current exchange rate makes this easy. The exchange rate right now is running anywhere between 10.5 to 10.8 pesos per dollar

Oh, and when you get to the airport, ignore all the wierd people trying to charge you a bunch of money to take you to your hotel. Make sure you use the actual airport shuttle. It's cheaper and it's safer-in my opinion. I don't know who those other guys were. There aren't any cabs to take you to your hotel, though you CAN take a cab from your hotel to the airport. Wierd.

The airport shuttles are actually to only "legal" way to leave the airport. The people you mention with the "Tourist Advisory" shirts are time share salesmen. Their job is to hook you into making an appointment later at your hotel. They act like they are there to assist you with transportation, but they don't actually provide the transportation...it's simply a lure. As Trucker said, just say no thanks or ignore them and go straight to the suttle ticket window. If you WANT to buy a time share, then make an appointment with them

In general ANY small shop is going to dislike someone using credit card- that goes for the states, too. The merchant looses anywhere from 2% to 3.5% of the sale depending on the card and their agreement.

It's actually more than that in Mexico...try double!

 

[TheRedHead]

I always buy my transportation voucher online. I usually book through expedia.com because of the great deals: 9 days at the Casa Mexicana plus air for $850 pp. The voucher was an add on for $20 per person from Fiesta Holidays. I think that was cheaper than last trip.

Has the cab fare gone up? I haven't seen the posted rates lately, but I did notice a steep increase in the fares.