Car ferry preferences

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Painter

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Location
Provincetown, MA
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I will be in Cozumel in a week with a rental car. I am planning on going to Tulum for a couple of nights with the car. There are two car ferrys, from what I can see. Is one better than the other?
 
check with your rental company. you may not be allowed to take the car off the island. you might have to rent a car on the mainland. just a suggestion.
 
Yeah, I had heard this. So far Alamo has answered by saying, "get in touch with our local affiliate," but the local affiliate hasn't answered. Mex says that I have to provide my own insurance if I go off island, which I would be doing anyway. Still waiting to here from other rental companies.

I suppose that I could rent a car when I arrive on Coz, return it before I go to Tulum, rent a car when I get off the passenger ferry in Playa del Carmen, return the rental, take the passenger ferry back to Coz, get a cab to my hotel and then a cab to the airport from my hotel. Sheesh!
 
I didn't see a lot of difference between the two car ferries. One was cheaper, but both were cheap. Ideal is to rent the car in Cancun and take it to Coz. That is cheaper.
 
US car insurance not valid in Mexico. You have to purchase Mexican insurance.

Credit car insurance is a gamble. Be aware they may find scratches and dind when you return your car if you don't take CDW and Supplemental.

Be aware that any injury to others will be paid by you out of pocket and you will be held by authorities until paid.

The low cost you see per day ($12...) is not what you see when you you get there. They will get some insurance.

Also being a gringo, you will be at fault.

We don't drive (usually) and cab everywhere. Cabs are cheep. When we do rent we get insurance, including medical.

Most people here rent from ISIS or Fiesta with insurance. Runs about $50 a day. Airport rental with all insurance runs $55-65 a day.

YMMV
 
Try phoning Veronica at Fiesta. She speaks great English and is a jewel to deal with. I never had them find mysterious damages to anything I rented from them.
 
Try phoning Veronica at Fiesta. She speaks great English and is a jewel to deal with. I never had them find mysterious damages to anything I rented from them.

I second this - and I believe Fiesta has a location in Playa as well - so they may even work it out to swap the car for you when you arrive Playa without having to go through everything again. I only recommend ISIS or Fiesta on the island or Playa period.
 
Credit car insurance is a gamble.
Yeah, really. Even if you can put together the cash to pay off all claims after an accident, then you have to submit claims & forms in Spanish, then wait to see how much they'll pay. I'd never risk it.

I can think of several reasons to not take a rental car onto or off of the island. Not at all the same as taking one on the Galveston-Bolivar ferry or one across Puget sound. Much easier & safer to rent & drop before boarding the more frequent passenger ferry, then rent again on arrival, either direction.
 
I took both on a recent trip to Cozumel. Ultramar on the way in, Transcaribe on the way out. They are essentially the same, and I recommend to take whichever one suits your schedule.

Ultramar is slightly cheaper at 400 pesos, while Transcaribe is 500. Surprisingly, I found the Ultramar ferry to be slightly more comfortable. The Transcaribe one was an older boat, the inside a bit decrepit. But honestly, it doesn't matter as the crossing is short, and it may just be a matter of individual boats.

As others said, do be sure you have suitable insurance. The driving in Yucatan is fairly safe and the roads in this area are good, but you never know.
 
Mex says that I have to provide my own insurance if I go off island, which I would be doing anyway.]

- not sure how you would do this. as others have stated i am sure, your insurance may not be valid in mexico. we have collision coverage world wide (including mexico) but no liability. so i don't see how you would get the required liability in playa for a car rented on coz ? fwiw....i believe expedia includes the minimum required mexican liability insurance on all its car rentals now.

[I suppose that I could rent a car when I arrive on Coz, return it before I go to Tulum, rent a car when I get off the passenger ferry in Playa del Carmen, return the rental, take the passenger ferry back to Coz, get a cab to my hotel and then a cab to the airport from my hotel. Sheesh!

some car companies will pick you up at the ferry and drop you off again. that may help your planning and speed things up a bit if you rent a car in playa.

edit....see comment regarding insurance in the quote. i messed up when i posted it. oops sorry haha
 

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