getting to Cozumel with bags

[gopbroek]

I have a one shot direct flight out of DFW, which works well for me, but like Houston and Atlanta it is an AM flight which is not friendly to western connecting flights. Unfortunately last year’s DFW afternoon flight was discontinued due to low load factors. If I had to connect and could not make the connection to Cozumel and it required an extra overnight, I would try for Cancun. I love the island of Cozumel and its culture, but I come to dive. The simple math to me is an extra day of travel is a lost day of diving. If I could make Cancun by 6PM I should have no problem making the last Playa ferry @22:00 and dive in the morning. If I could not make the last ferry there are cheap hotels near the Playa Pier and the AM ferry would get me to Cozumel in the at 7:45. Provided you have arranged it in advance (for me a ride to the caleta) I can do the AM dive @ 8 AM.


The primary purpose of my trips is to dive.


Plan B: see if your op is running a twilight dive which should depart @ 3PM (ish) that gives you a late afternoon dive to check out and settle in and then a nice night dive.

 

[judydivescoz]

I am not a bag drag fan. I've done it and I have also used Mayair. I think I have flown NYC to ATL to CZM 30 times with never a problem........ not yet anyway. For me, I would need to save $200.00 on a flight to make me consider. Just love getting off the plane getting thru customs and having a friend pick me up. Looking forward to February

 

[DeltaWardog]

We flew in via Cancun our first trip to Cozumel. We did the bus and the ferry thing (and an ill-advised trip to Senor Frogs while waiting for the ferry). 2nd trip we flew straight to Coz and I swore that's what we'd do forever after.

On our upcoming 6th trip we're flying into Cancun. It's amazing what $550 tickets vs $1200 tickets x 3 people will do to your willpower. Time for our first bag drag since 2007!

 

[DandyDon]

Sorry but $200 each way for baggage fee is a deal breaker. That's more than the flight from Canada and back, free baggage. Maybe I'll just cave dive in Tulum

Next...

The little planes that Maya Air flies over the channel don't have much luggage room, and the agents have a lot of leeway on what they can charge then & there - but I like to know before I go to them, so I just avoid them.

Thanks but I am flying Westjet from Canada who offers free baggage to all military and former military members. They extend that service to US military which sadly your airlines don't reciprocate. Besides the baggage charge is only for the last leg of the flight from Cancun to Coz

I see that you live on the island. Are you booking from Victoria or Vancouver?

My best advice is to pair down the baggage. My son and I shared one suitcase, and our dive bag was the other piece of luggage. Free on American going to Coz, but it cost $25 a bag coming back to the States. Add a couple of backpacks as carryons and we were fine for a week.

Yeah, yeah, some of us like to take as much as we want, our own diver gear that we bought to dive with, etc.

Unfortunately the direct flights into Cozumel are a long trip from Vancouver Island. I took that route in 2013.

Flew from Comox to Calgary, overnight flight from Calgary to Toronto, and morning flight from Toronto to Cozumel.

Return leg was Cozumel to Toronto, Toronto to Calgary, overnight in Calgary, and morning flight from Calgary to Comox.
I stayed overnight with relatives in Calgary, so saved the cost of a hotel room.

It sure would be nice to be able to get a direct flight from Vancouver to Cozumel.


I recently booked a return flight from Vancouver to Cozumel for just under $500.00 on United Airlines. The actual air fare was around $340.00 but when you add in all the extra fees, brought it up to $500.00. It is a milk run, but was much less than any of the other airlines were charging.

Divegoose

The word "direct" has a specific meaning with plane tickets, but there are shorter itineraries. I see some from Victoria to Cozumel in April: 14-¼ hours going, 18-¾ hours returning. Vancouver airport is easier and cheaper of course.

EDIT: I just did a quick search on Expedia and came up with a night flight from Vancouver leaving at 10:50pm on Westjet to Toronto, 4+ hour layover, then a DIRECT flight to Cozumel arriving around 12:30 for $721 pp. The dates I used were April 3-11, don't know when you want to go, but I just picked those dates as they are just after Spring Break high prices. And FYI - that is almost the same price I have to pay from my location!

I guess you mean non-stop from Toronto? The word "direct" has a another meaning with plane tickets.

I know he likes to use West Jet for the free luggage fees and probably avoiding changing planes in the US which can be a hassle. From Victoria or Vancouver to Cancun or Cozumel tho, West Jet charges about $200 CAD more than the lowest cost fares offered by various US airlines.

 

[wedivebc]

Don Westjet as it turns out is my best bet as pjhansman so kindly pointed out. I prefer to fly from Victoria or Comox because ferry is almost $100 each way to Vancouver from here. After my last fiasco with the morons at TSA flying to DEMA I have upped my USA avoidance fee to $500. I used to happily pay an extra $200-3000 to avoid the TSA hassle now it's gone up.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Another vote for the so-called "bag drag." It couldn't be easier to take a bus or private van from Cancun airport to Playa del Carmen and then the ferry to Cozumel. I don't understand all the fuss people make about this. If you take a private van, the guy is right there waiting for you--with cold beers in a cooler if you ask for that. I hate air travel, and to me, the van/ferry combo seems LESS stressful than Mayair.

 

[Ron Lee]

Another vote for the so-called "bag drag." It couldn't be easier to take a bus or private van from Cancun airport to Playa del Carmen and then the ferry to Cozumel. I don't understand all the fuss people make about this. If you take a private van, the guy is right there waiting for you--with cold beers in a cooler if you ask for that. I hate air travel, and to me, the van/ferry combo seems LESS stressful than Mayair.

A private van is probably nice and once you get to three/four or more people in a group is a cheaper option than the bus. The bus runs more often than several years ago so your wait is less.

 

[Prop Joe]

Of course I'd rather fly to the island, but if cannot and if you need a van:
Airport Transfers - Cancun Valet
$75 one way $135 if you book the round trip. They will be waiting for you with your name on a clip board at the airport or PDC pier. No phone calls (you can if you must), everything is done via email to keep costs down. I've used them many times now (twice this year). Great for a group. Use the rickshaw baggage handlers to hump your bags to and from the pier (tip $1 a bag). Really not that bad IMO.
Sometimes you can get good airfare if you go to the island on the way there and fly from Cancun on the way back (or vise versa). Called a multi city on AA.com. It can save hundreds on airfare, sometimes. I'd rather not take the risk of getting stuck in Houston, Dallas or Atlanta, missing a connection from Chi-town. Been there, done that. We've been stuck from storms in Texas before. If you ever get the chance to have your trip home take 36 hours instead of 4-5 hours you will avoid all connections except on the Yucatan. Once you are on the Yucatan surface transportation is easy and you can relax.

 

[ccannon707]

Agreed on the bag drag and flying into Cancun. From SFO, usually it's not only less expensive to fly to Cancun, but I can actually find a decent schedule because there are more flights. Once I get off the plane, get my luggage, pass immigration & customs... actually feel that tropical air... I'm on vacation. The bus to Playa and the ferry feel like sight-seeing and are a welcome de-compression of the whole harried, being herded like cattle flight trip. Sometimes I stay in PdC for a night or 2 to further relax and enjoy walking to the beach from my budget hotel and getting a $20 massage on 5th Ave. I have also gone to Isla Mujeres (whale sharks) from Cancun instead of heading straight to Coz. For me, going there is about NOT being in a hurry, but to slow down and relax.

 

[DandyDon]

Don Westjet as it turns out is my best bet as pjhansman so kindly pointed out. I prefer to fly from Victoria or Comox because ferry is almost $100 each way to Vancouver from here. After my last fiasco with the morons at TSA flying to DEMA I have upped my USA avoidance fee to $500. I used to happily pay an extra $200-3000 to avoid the TSA hassle now it's gone up.

I can easily understand preferring to avoid US I&C and TSA, even tho some US airlines could be cheaper for you, some dates anyway. I wondered which home airport you were using. Some above assumed Vancouver airport I think, but Victoria would be much closer for you. I hadn't heard of Comox before.

Results will vary greatly with dates, etc. but looking at some dates in April, flying to Cozumel wouldn't cost much more than to Cancun using Westjet only - but does take longer. Some examples...

Victoria to Cancun: 6:45am to 4:34pm - less than 8 hours, one plane change

Victoria to Cozumel: 9:20pm to 1:37pm - over 14 hours

Returns take a little longer on each, and results were similar out of Comox. For simple, same day travel, I'd go for Cancun, shuttle, and ferry - tipping others to handle the bags. Dinner in PDC and bed in Cozumel. Bonus: You can get a private cab in Coz instead of the sardine packed vans.