Tres Pelicanos question

[Skittl1321]

For those of you who have dove with TP before- since they have more than one divemaster, do I need to plan to have cash to tip daily; or will they let me tip when I settle up my entire bill?

Is it preferred to tip in dollars or pesos if I need cash?


I need to make a bank run for pesos and dollars and am trying to figure out if I need to put this into the budget for them too.

 

[shardison]

Dollars are gladly accepted on the island.

 

[Skittl1321]

Dollars are gladly accepted on the island.

I know that- but note that the question said preferred.
(I need to change them anyway- because using dollars is a bit of a rip off with taxis, so if they'd rather have pesos, I can do that; but not if they'd rather have dollars, because then the stack of bills is smaller.)

I'm also wondering, with this op specifically, if I need to have any sort of cash to tip. The op I used last year gladly accepted a credit card tip, which makes my life a lot easier. (And TP does let me use a CC to pay my dive balance, but they didn't say anything about tip.)

 

[Christi]

Change your USD to pesos here - you will get a better rate - or use the ATM even better rate

 

[jbjclj]

We have been diving with them for 13 days. We have had Sevando for 10 days and Jorge for 3. I always pay at the end, but keep a log of who we dove with and the captain. I pay in pesos, but most people seem to use cash and tip daily. I have a Capitol one bank card that I put cash into before we leave and use the bank around the corner to get pesos as I need. Mega has a good exchange rate also.
You will love them!

sadly, the port is closed today

 

[Skittl1321]

Change your USD to pesos here - you will get a better rate - or use the ATM even better rate

What do you recommend people do to get out of the airport?
Everything I've read says not to use the airport ATMS, but don't we need pesos to pay for the shuttle?
WellsFargo charges me a flat fee to get pesos, so changing for a small amount doesn't make a huge amount of sense.

Will they take a credit card for the shuttle?

---------- Post added November 19th, 2014 at 10:23 AM ----------

We have been diving with them for 13 days. We have had Sevando for 10 days and Jorge for 3. I always pay at the end, but keep a log of who we dove with and the captain. I pay in pesos, but most people seem to use cash and tip daily. I have a Capitol one bank card that I put cash into before we leave and use the bank around the corner to get pesos as I need. Mega has a good exchange rate also.
You will love them!

sadly, the port is closed today

Thanks.
I hope the port doesn't stay closed for long- any chance it will open for the afternoon? Or is it pretty bad today?

 

[diverokc]

You can use pesos or dollars for the shuttle. I am unsure about CC.

---------- Post added November 19th, 2014 at 10:34 AM ----------

Is aldora diving the east side today?

 

[jbjclj]

I usually have pesos left from previous trip, if not I use dollars. I usually get 200 in dollar bills before I leave for tips. You are staying at Suites Bahia so you can just walk two blocks to the bank when you get in.

 

[Christi]

You can use pesos or dollars for the shuttle. I am unsure about CC.

---------- Post added November 19th, 2014 at 10:34 AM ----------

Is aldora diving the east side today?

No - wind is out of the ENE - creates problems over there too

 

[MMM]

Credit cards are not widely accepted at businesses outside of the dive shops and big jewelry stores. And I'd be surprised if your dive op doesn't offer you a 5% discount if you pay in cash (pesos or US$). You can use pesos or US dollars for the airport shuttle...in fact the sign shows both as I recall from the stickie at the top of the forum. As others have said, rather than bring a wad of pesos with you, it's generally preferable to withdraw them from a bank ATM. You can generally get about $6000 at a time and I get charged a flat fee of roughly $2 Canadian. Check with your bank to see what its policies are. And as for tipping in dollars or pesos...I would tip in pesos since I think it is more respectful to pay in the currency of the country you are in, but either way, it's no big deal. Since TP is a small op, you could probably tip at the end if you keep track of each of your DM/crew and I am sure the manager will get it to the right people. I wouldn't do this with a bigger place with many dive boats and DMs however and would tip each day. Making sure you have the right change is a PITA though...just one more thing to try to remember as you get your poop in a pile in the morning.