Getting to Coba Mayan Ruins

[gopbroek]

Another option for a day trip is to take the ADO bus from Playa (station near the pier) to Coba. It looks like they run a daily bus @ 9 AM (8AM ferry from Cozumel will link up or a 7 AM ferry and a leisurely breakfast). Per the schedule it gets to Coba @ 10:55 and the return bus leaves Coba at 3:10 PM and gets you back to Playa at around 5:20PM. Cost runs $162 MXN or $8.40 USD each way PP.

The ADO bus system is really a pretty good way to get around and cheap and relatively reliable. The buses I have taken to Cancun the last few years have TV (Spanish), restrooms that were clean and I believe they are beginning to equip them with WiFi, You can pre-purchase tickets at the ADO office across from the TAXI office on Calle 2 between Avenue 5 & 10.

One of these days if I get caught up in another multiday El Norte I am thinking of heading over to Chiichen itza (8AM bus) then over to Valladolid (16:30) spending the night and then to Tulum for the afternoon and then back to Playa.

Here is a nice guide to bus travel

How to use the ADO buses in Mexico: A Guide

 

[horn34]

Cancun Car Rental | Rent a car in Cancun - America Car Rental

Again, change the currency to pesos to get a better rate.

 

[DandyDon]

Cancun Car Rental | Rent a car in Cancun - America Car Rental

Again, change the currency to pesos to get a better rate.

Thanks for the link. I don't know why my search didn't find them. Changing to pesos sounds like a good idea, and I see the option at the top of the page, but it doesn't change the currency on rates?

 

[horn34]

Make sure you are clicking the change currency link, not the change language link. They are right beside each other.

 

[Okcdiver2]

I've rented a car 3 times from Edgar at Isis in playa. Its margaritas nephew. Nice cars and walking distance from pier. I have drove all over the yucatan. Just go slow and watch for topes they put em craziest places. i would spend more than a day.

 

[DandyDon]

Make sure you are clicking the change currency link, not the change language link. They are right beside each other.

Yeah, I was clicking the right link, but didn't notice that it was changing. My bad. It looks like they allow about 15:1 while the going rate today is 19:1 so that does indeed save 26%!

Do they have an office at the dock with cars there? Easyway is cheaper including full insurance at USD rates, but can be a pain to deal with. Except dealing with America in pesos gets them almost the same.

 

[wnissen]

If there's a reasonable ADO bus, that's absolutely the right thing to take. Renting cars is always a crapshoot, even with "American" agencies. I strongly prefer to not drive at night in Mexico due to the topes, which are sometimes hard to spot even when you are going to speed limit. The ADO bus is easy to book online, they tend to be on time, and they are definitely nicer than Greyhound.

 

[Chavodel8en]

I would recommend going with a tour company. I did a tour a few years ago (Dec 2016), that combined Coba, Tulum & a cenote. Its just so much more convenient to do it with a tour company, and not have to worry about anything. I think it cost like $85-90 per - I don't quite remember, but it was a bit pricier bc it included 3 things

Its difficult for me to remember the tour company I went with - It might have been something "Yucateca". You find the deals online through various resellers. I forget the reseller I used, but its one of the popular ones. Vitigator? Its the reseller that TripAdvisor generally directs you to in the Yucatan. You can maybe save a few bucks by booking direct, rather than through the resellers, but its very easy to use the resellers, and there's an online record of your purchase, which you may prefer.

I put a review on Tripadvisor under the name of the tour company. You may want to review Trip Advisor for some more recent info & reviews of tour companies. As I understand it, these tour companies are constantly merging, etc. so unless the info is recent, it may not be very useful.

The van they used was fine, not luxurious, but it had AC. Maybe a dozen folks. The guide was great, a Maya gentleman who gave insights into Coba, Tulum & cenotes. It was kind of a long day doing all 3 things, but maybe you can find a Coba/cenote tour.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I second @gopbroek ’s recommendation of bus. I don’t recall whether I took ADO or a more local bus—it was over 10 years ago—but it was super-cheap. If pressed for time, other options may be better.

 

[ReefHound]

A tour is great for those that need their hand held but you'll pay for it. Maybe not so much more if you are a single traveler but if there are four of you, that per person tour fee adds up fast. You'll also be expected to add tip and will be herded to tourist souvenir shops and on a strict schedule. Figure on $400-500 for the day.

The actual admission fees to sites like Tulum and Coba are less than ten bucks. A car rental will probably be the cheapest overall option but ADO will be very close. Either way will be about $100-200. You have more flexibility with a rental car but also more responsibility. You have to figure out the bus schedules on ADO but if you figured out the airline flights and shuttles then you can do it. Even cheaper than ADO is the colectivos.