Help..Car Ferry Coz to Playa del Carmen

[coz4-2]

We are staying a week..and wanting to go to the mainland. We have looked on line to find info on the car ferry but the one site we found has the times and instructions in spanish..my wife is decent w/ espanol but we can not interp all of it.

Help please!

[CaptEsteban]

About 2/3 way down the page
Cozumel Insider - Cozumel Transportation - Taxi, Bus, Ferry, and Rental Car Information (http://www.cozumelinsider.com/Trans)

[Christi]

You are much better off taking the regular ferry to go to the mainland. The car ferry has limited hours, is very expensive, and rental cars cannot be taken off island.

The regular ferry runs pretty much every hour and you can rent a car on the other side. If you just want to go Playa del Carmen, a car is not even practical.

[Christi]

About 2/3 way down the page
Cozumel Insider - Cozumel Transportation - Taxi, Bus, Ferry, and Rental Car Information (http://www.cozumelinsider.com/Trans)

That information is old and now very inaccurate. There are no longer two car ferry companies - only one so there are not that many crossings an some of them are only cargo crossings - so they do not allow passenger vehicles to cross on those trips. You have to get there 30 to 45 minutes before departure to make sure you get space - and that's not even enough sometimes.

It takes more like an hour and a half, not an hour.

As that site says, this is not a tourist activity.

Saliendo de Calica (Mainland departures from Calica)
Horario
4:00 a.m.
8:00 a.m.
1:30 p.m.
6:00 p.m.


Saliendo de Cozumel (Cozumel departures)
Horario
6:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
4:00 p.m.
8:30 p.m.

Domingos (Sundays)

Saliendo de Calica
Horario
6:00 a.m.
6:00 p.m.


Saliendo de Cozumel
Horario
8:00 a.m.
8:00 p.m.

[coz4-2]

Thanks for the info. We were not planning to just drive around PDC. We were wanting to drive north towards Cancun...site seeing and maybe south if time allowed. Cost is not an issue. But, if rental companies do not allow vehicles to cross over...that is. Who enforces this, ferry or rental companies?

[Christi]

Thanks for the info. We were not planning to just drive around PDC. We were wanting to drive north towards Cancun...site seeing and maybe south if time allowed. Cost is not an issue. But, if rental companies do not allow vehicles to cross over...that is. Who enforces this, ferry or rental companies?

Well, not much to see on the way to Cancun other than mega resort entrances...it's not a pretty coastal drive in either direction. Tulum is to the South which is a nice day trip.

The ferry doesn't enforce the crossing - the rental car companies do. So if you take it across and have any issues - you'll have much bigger issues. Again, much better to rent a car on the other side.

[mstevens]

Listen to Christi - the drive north from Playa is somewhat industrial at worst and quite boring at best. Southward, the drive itself is nothing to write home about, but at least there are some interesting places to go.

We rent cars from ISiS Rentadora in Playa when we want to drive around the mainland. It's a fairly quick walk from the ferry landing, in the Hotel Tucan.

[Offroad]

From what I've seen, the age and condition of rental cars on Cozumel is much different from what most are used to in the US. I would not want to take a rental that far away from its home. My wife and I had to push start a VW pointer on Coz to get it going, fortunately it was a manual transmission and was easy to do.

[DandyDon]

<<----<<<< Voting for forget the drive to Cancun! Take the passenger ferry, one-way tickets only so you don't get stuck waiting for your ferry company on return if the other leaves sooner, don't take their schedules seriously, rent car at PDC with full coverage regardless of what you think you have in coverage, head south along the coast.

I'm planning on doing that for a day, to visit Tulum and Coba ruins. First stop will be grocery store for a gallon of water each; too much is better than not enough. Take DEET spray, sunblock, your own maps. I suggest the Mayan Adventure map from Can-do maps (http://www.cancunmap.com/chichen_itza.html). Oh yeah, take the compass off of your reg and with you.

[Christi]

<<----<<<< Voting for forget the drive to Cancun! Take the passenger ferry, one-way tickets only so you don't get stuck waiting for your ferry company on return if the other leaves sooner, don't take their schedules seriously, rent car at PDC with full coverage regardless of what you think you have in coverage, head south along the coast.

I'm planning on doing that for a day, to visit Tulum and Coba ruins. First stop will be grocery store for a gallon of water each; too much is better than not enough. Take DEET spray, sunblock, your own maps. I suggest the Mayan Adventure map from Can-do maps (http://www.cancunmap.com/chichen_itza.html). Oh yeah, take the compass off of your reg and with you.

Perfect advice Don on all counts!

[firstdive2005]

I'm from Alberta, Canada. When my wife and I go snooping around other countries any backroad is interesting for us. We loved cruising north of Playa. We just hit tons of backroads to check out anything that was on the path. We loved buzzing down to Tulum and stoping in wherever a road went. I could never give anyone directions to what we found. But weve seen alot on neat things. The compass was handy a couple of times, but the roads always led to somewhere. When you have snow 8 months of the year sometimes, just looking at a palm tree for an hour is fun. lol. I hope your adventure is as fun as ours are. We go down there alot and always seem to find something new. I tend to rent the better cars on the mainland as tow trucks are fewer apart. ON Coz, I alway rent the famous Mexican Ferrari from ISIS, MaRgarita has it gased and I try to get one with a good clutch. lol. Just kidding about the clutch all her cars are pretty good and she is a doll the rent from.

[psychocabbage]

https://www.e-zrentacar.com

we just found it today and booked our cars for our trips as they seem the cheapest.. They seem to not care where you take the cars as long as you dont go out of mexico.. but I dont know..

[betsyinczm]

Dunno if someone mentioned this earlier (I'm too lazy to read back), but Margarita has a PDC office as well and THOSE cars are what she refers to as "highway cars" versus her "island cars" in CZM.......in other words they are more substantial, with AC, 4 doors, etc.......just FYI.....Betsy

[DandyDon]

Perfect advice Don on all counts!
Thanks! :lotsalove:

<<----<<<< First stop will be grocery store for a gallon of water each; too much is better than not enough.
Maybe 1-1/2 gallons each, or 2? Water is cheap at the grocery. Sometimes you wish you had more to drink and more to share with idiots. :silly:

https://www.e-zrentacar.com

we just found it today and booked our cars for our trips as they seem the cheapest.. They seem to not care where you take the cars as long as you dont go out of mexico.. but I dont know..
Used them last year, and probly will this year. I have driven standard shift pickups, double clutch pickups older than most of y'all, spit gear floor shift trucks up to 25 tons, and a number of other manual shifts since I was 10 or 11 - but I never could figure out how to shift that piece of caca VW Pointer so that the trans didn't set off a loud alarm for every up or down shift to/from high. All my Mexican rental cars will be automatic now, and larger than needed. :eyebrow:

Don't expect them to be on time. If time is important, set up a backup res. Their office is maybe 5 blocks from the ferry dock in PDC.

[coz4-2]

We decided over the weekend if we were going to go to the mainland and drive around...we would catch the people ferry...and rent a jeep PDC.

Thanks for all the info!!!

[ggunn]

We decided over the weekend if we were going to go to the mainland and drive around...we would catch the people ferry...and rent a jeep PDC.

Thanks for all the info!!!
Get something with A/C; temps can be significantly higher on the mainland than on Cozumel, especially if you go inland. When I went to Chichan-Itza a few years ago, it was 15-20 degrees hotter there than on Cozumel.

[coz4-2]

When people here in the states hear we are thinking of going to the mainland and drive around...they keep bringing up about the violent drug gangs. I understand around border towns and/or the bigger cities...but any reports of issues from Tulum,PDC or Cancun?

We do basically just what "firstdive2005"...we see something interesting we stop. We have not been to Cancun in years...just thought we might drive up one day. There is a bar south of Cancun that a guy is a partner of (the guy is on a morning talk radio)...that she wants to find. What is the drinking and driving laws in Mexico anyway. I know on the island...as long as you behave no issues. We are not going to get plastered by no means just curious...

Thanks for all the advise!!

[DandyDon]

When people here in the states hear we are thinking of going to the mainland and drive around...they keep bringing up about the violent drug gangs. I understand around border towns and/or the bigger cities...but any reports of issues from Tulum,PDC or Cancun?
Nah, the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan was developed specifically to attract foreign tourists so the government makes sure we feel safe. I spent some time in mainland Cancun, not Isla Cancun hotel zone, and I felt no threats at all. I did notice a lot of armed soldiers at hotel entrances, but I got the idea that they were there more for show - making sure we felt safe, not for any existing problems.

Last year, my bud & I took the back roads to Holbox - no problems, other than poor maps then and getting lost. There have been some problems on the other side of the Yucatan peninsula, but not only are those far from your route, those problems don't have reason to move toward the Caribbean coasts; they follow the drug trade, which is not being channeled thru that part.

Night time driving is discouraged simply because of the road challenges, but we did it.

What is the drinking and driving laws in Mexico anyway. I know on the island...as long as you behave no issues. We are not going to get plastered by no means just curious...
Uh, no - you may be mistaken there. I would not drink at all and drive, on Isla Cozumel or anywhere else.

[yak]

Since you'll be driving around on the mainland, you should probably read this (http://www.playa.info/playa-del-carmen-forum/25203-mexican-police-careful.html), and take a decoy wallet with $200 pesos or less and an old expired license if you have one.

[Christi]

Nah, the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan was developed specifically to attract foreign tourists so the government makes sure we feel safe. I spent some time in mainland Cancun, not Isla Cancun hotel zone, and I felt no threats at all. I did notice a lot of armed soldiers at hotel entrances, but I got the idea that they were there more for show - making sure we felt safe, not for any existing problems.

Last year, my bud & I took the back roads to Holbox - no problems, other than poor maps then and getting lost. There have been some problems on the other side of the Yucatan peninsula, but not only are those far from your route, those problems don't have reason to move toward the Caribbean coasts; they follow the drug trade, which is not being channeled thru that part.

Night time driving is discouraged simply because of the road challenges, but we did it.

Uh, no - you may be mistaken there. I would not drink at all and drive, on Isla Cozumel or anywhere else.

There is a no tolerance for drinking and driving on the island! Be careful about that!

As far as being stopped for speeding, etc. The ONLY thing they can legally do is give you a ticket and take your license. When you go to the Municipal to pay your fine, you get your license back. DO NOT PAY BRIBES - if you do - you are encouraging them to continue. Yes it is an inconvenience to go down to the station to pay your fine - but if you're actually speeding or violating a traffic infraction, that's the price you pay and it is a much better alternative than contributing to corrupt officers.

[DandyDon]

Additionally, as a member of DAN, you have Legal assist benefits under Travel Assist. There is a different number to use in Latin America if calling collect; I'd probly just use my cell and try to main number; see you ID card, my current SIG or their web site. When in doubt or don't know, call them ASAP.

DAN Travel Assist is a little different, part of membership rather than insurance, covers you even in your home country if over 50 miles from home, and there is really a lot of coverage there. Excerpting...

Legal Referrals: Referrals to local qualified attorneys. Telephone interpretation provided when necessary.
Bail Advances: Up to $5,000 in bail funds with an acceptable guarantee of reimbursement.
Legal Assistance: Advise the proper embassy or consulate of your incarceration.

Details: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/membership/travelassist.asp