Planning a trip to Cozumel - Advice?
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Others on this forum would know better than me. I know we walked down the main drag from our rental at Palmar and negotiated with a few folks. I got the Thrifty guy to go to $40 with all insurances, and went with him. I didn't rent from the airport.
Best deal and service seems to be with ISIS, but things change fast in Cozumel.
Dave Dillehay
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The insurance at Isis requires the renter to be responsible for a 10% deductable. So if you total a car worth $25.000, you will need to pay $2,500 even though you had the "complete" insurance. I rented a few weeks ago from thrifty/dollar at the airport. I reserved on orbitz for $4.00 a day and paid $25.00 per day for complete coverage. With tax it was about $36.00 per day for a new car with everything working.
Isis is more expensive, leaves the renter financially responsible for damages and most of the cars are old.
The agent at thrifty gave me his personal cell phone number to call 24/7 if I had any problems.
Isis is more expensive, leaves the renter financially responsible for damages and most of the cars are old.
The agent at thrifty gave me his personal cell phone number to call 24/7 if I had any problems.
lamarpaulski
Contributor
There’s a lot to see in town, most dive ops are there and that’s where you have great selection of surprisingly great restaurants, hotels, etc. You can walk to most if you stay near town. After a long day diving it makes it easy.
I also advised renting a car (ISIS) and exploring the rest of the island, esp Punta Sur. Crocodiles and beautiful sandy (currents)beaches and exotic birds. Places look like a Corona beer commercial. Worth at least a day.
I am disheartened by reports of violence in the Yucatán proper but there is also great exploring of awesome Mayan temples and cenotes which are accessible from Coz via ferry to Playa and then rent a car or bus it.
I did that a few years ago via rental car from Playa and loved it. Not sure if I would do that now.
Rob9876
Contributor
Because the town is worth exploring. Other places you would likely stay are only near resorts (with not much else around to explore) that don't really give you much in the way of culture. The town is also not far from San Gervasio ruins, which are worth seeing.
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It's always fun when someone asks advice here. It's a friendly forum of nice folks willing to share their opinions. Just don't ask for dive op suggestions without specifying what's important as you get barraged with too many unexplained favorites. There are so few bad ops on the island, but mostly I stay away from the huge ops.
Avoid leaving it parked much tho, with all of the tags & batteries being stolen. and never leave anything in a car.
I'm staying downtown at Mary Carmen's, a cute little hole the wall place for $37. The beds are a little hard, and hot water can be iffy, but I like it - and it's always quiet, unless there is a birthday party in the courtyard - then it gets quiet at 10pm deadline. Feeding cantaloupe from breakfast to the roaming turtles is fun, but they are not shy, so drop it before they snap.
Oh, most places take US Dollars, but most things are cheaper in Pesos aside from dive ops who quote Dollars. Be sure to tell your bank that you will be using your debit card there (I have forgotten twice, losing my cards!), and only use the bank ATMs to withdraw - never the free standing machines.
There is a lot of town to explore, but staying in or close to town makes it easy to connect with Ops, restaurants, etc. Cabs are often cheap enough, but get a quote before you get in. I'm planning to visiting the Butterfly Garden in a few days, even tho many of their fliers got blown away in the storm last week. It'll still be interesting to see the garden, plants, eggs, crawlers, survivors - then go back in August for a comparison. Cozumel Butterflies
The two most recommend on FB Cozumel are Isis and Thrifty. Be sure to get full coverage from the agency. I know your credit card claims that they will cover losses if you decline, but then you'd have to pay all claims before you could leave the island, whatever they say the losses are, then file claims with your receipts in Spanish. Anyway, compare quotes with full insurance to those two.
Avoid leaving it parked much tho, with all of the tags & batteries being stolen. and never leave anything in a car.
That's true, but that's when I tell my credit card company that I declined and give them receipts for that deductible. I'm not sure that will work, but I can stand the 10% risk. And I drive the cheap VWs.
I think it'd be okay even now as long as your avoid the specific areas our State Department warn about, and avoid traveling at night. The new highway thru the jungle makes Chichen Itza easier, with a side trip to Ek Balam. Coba & Tulum are great to visit, but not the same day.
I'm staying downtown at Mary Carmen's, a cute little hole the wall place for $37. The beds are a little hard, and hot water can be iffy, but I like it - and it's always quiet, unless there is a birthday party in the courtyard - then it gets quiet at 10pm deadline. Feeding cantaloupe from breakfast to the roaming turtles is fun, but they are not shy, so drop it before they snap.
Oh, most places take US Dollars, but most things are cheaper in Pesos aside from dive ops who quote Dollars. Be sure to tell your bank that you will be using your debit card there (I have forgotten twice, losing my cards!), and only use the bank ATMs to withdraw - never the free standing machines.
Mark Rappaport
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Scuba Mau
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There you go. Cheerleading for favorite op, but no reason. Is he operating?
Mark Rappaport
Registered
Sorry about that. We have dove on Cozumel many times with different operators, some big, some small, and find Mau to be the best. He and his staff are professional, safe and always fun. they will always be diligent about safety but also let you do your own thing, They will accommodate different sized groups with different skill levels. They are willing to take you pretty much wherever you want to go, weather permitting. The DM's and instructors are top notch. they have quality rental gear (we never rent). They use small, fast boats. Did I mention they are a lot of fun?
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