Have a Flight Into Cancun but want to stay in Cozumel

[cvchief]

Send you a PM.

 

[JimJam2]

Thank you all for the wealth of great information. PM replied cvchief - thank you.

 

[ggunn]

Do what everyone else suggested - take the Ado Bus to Playa del Carmen then walk to ferry.

How is the ADO bus at handling mucho equipaje? My wife and I always talk about traveling lighter to Cozumel, but we always end up with 3 50.0# bags and a couple of carry-on's. We have flown direct to Cozumel for the last many years, but I might be open to a CUN flight some time if it's significantly cheaper.

 

[DjDiverDan]

How is the ADO bus at handling mucho equipaje? My wife and I always talk about traveling lighter to Cozumel, but we always end up with 3 50.0# bags and a couple of carry-on's. We have flown direct to Cozumel for the last many years, but I might be open to a CUN flight some time if it's significantly cheaper.

Southwest into Cancun WILL be cheaper, especially for those bags. Southwest still allows 2 bags free per passenger - with you and the wife, you could up it to 4 50# bags and still not pay baggage fees on Southwest. Three big bags will run you at least $75-$90 each way on any other airline. So even if airfares are identical, flying Southwest into Cancun saves you $150 +, less the $66 (roughly) that 2 round trips on the ADO Bus and Ferry will run you on the Bag Drag. And based on recent searches, Southwest will save you at least $150 more per person on each round trip into Cozumel. Depending on where you are coming from, of course.

 

[Lorenzoid]

If you have several people in your group, a private shuttle/driver, such as the guy cvchief recommends, makes life much easier than the bus. The bus is so easy, though, I cringe every time someone refers to it as the "bag drag." I've taken buses all over Mexico, and most are far nicer than buses in the US--clean, comfortable, etc. The route between Cancun airport and the ferry at Playa del Carmen couldn't be easier, and there will be plenty of other foreigners doing the same thing. Sure, you have to pull your bag down to the ferry from the bus station and back on the return trip, but it's hardly a major hassle.

I took an "Executive Class" bus once on a long-distance trip, and each row had only three seats--with two luxurious seats together on one side of the aisle and a single luxurious seat on the other. An attendant served drinks and snacks. The ADO bus between Cancun and Playa del Carmen is a bit more ordinary, but on the whole I'd take a bus in Mexico over a Greyhound in the US anyday.

 

[mstevens]

How is the ADO bus at handling mucho equipaje?

They have capacious luggage capacity. I've never seen the cargo area even half-full.

 

[mstevens]

If you have several people in your group, a private shuttle/driver, such as the guy cvchief recommends, makes life much easier than the bus. The bus is so easy, though, I cringe every time someone refers to it as the "bag drag."

We (now, thanks to cvchief) use the same "van guy" when we have 3-4 people or are on a tight schedule. It's a bit less than the bus for 4 pax, and they meet us when we land and leave when we're ready so I can justify the somewhat higher cost for 3 pax. cvchief would likely point out that the van goes where you want, so if you want to stop to beer up or get talavera or handblown glass or whatever, that's cool.

For 1-2 people the bus is significantly less expensive. As many have said, it's comfortable. It takes a bit longer if it stops at another terminal, and you may have to wait for a departure (I used a van alone once because I had to be at the immigration office on the island before they closed that day and the bus wouldn't have got me to the ferry in time to make it). The bus does not stop between the airport and the bus station nearest the ferry in Playa del Carmen.

For a flight leaving from CUN, I dislike using the bus because it stops at a second station in Playa del Carmen on the way to the airport and seems to take forever. A van makes me feel much more secure about making my flight. Better yet, depart from CZM whenever possible.

 

[Ricardo V.]

Mucho equipaje? No problem.
Just bring a few dollars for tips. You will get great service and staff will be more than happy to assist you loading and unloading.
As mentioned earlier, we travel with mucho equipaje considering dive gear, photo and video equipment and never had a problem.
Cheers.
PS: Assuming your bags have wheels, your challenge is actually rolling the bags from inside the airport to the bus stop, then from ADO playa to the ferry terminal, then from the Cozumel terminal to a taxi, or the place you select to stay.
It's very easy.
PS: Almost forgot to mention something relevant... most of the times in our past experience, the bus has less than 10 passengers onboard, including us. As you can see in photos from posts made before this one, these are big confortable buses. I don't know how they keep it profitable, but they are on time and generally crowded. Last time, on the way back to Cancun, we had to wait 30 minutes to the next bus because the trip was full, or so did the ADO people vending the tickets said. So, I got a bit nervous because I just wanted to make sure we made it in time to the airport, and opted to go on a taxi instead. The taxis are literally parked 30 feet from the ADO terminal, just across the entrance to the bus terminal building.
We got to the airport in time, no problem. Taxi was just my wife and I, plus our bags... one of which had to ride in the front as a passenger because of space. I think we paid 650 pesos, which is super affordable considering the car was brand new, the trip took an hour and the taxi lady was courteous, professional and a safe driver.

 

[mstevens]

BTW, Southwest started flying to CUN in 2014, so it's hard to think of them as having "just started".

We flew with them to CUN when they did first start, but since then from my neck of the woods it's been cheaper to fly from my "local" airport (Manchester, NH) to Cozumel on Delta than to take SWA to Cancún. There are no direct flights on SWA to CUN even if I drive to Boston. So really after that first flight I haven't really had a reason to take Southwest

 

[blue steal]

One other tip. When you arrive in Playa del Carmen I always use the bicycle guys to transport all my gear to the ferry dock. They will make sure it gets on the ferry, just make sure to get luggage tags. Coming back same deal, they will take it right into the waiting area of the bus depot.