How to get to your hotel or villa from the Cozumel airport
This part of your Cozumel vacation can be frustrating if you do not know the tricks of the game so I will help you out here as much as I can. If airport transfers are not included in your vacation package, you have a few options, none of them are 100% hassle free, but ithat is just the way it is here unfortunatley.
1. Rent a car from one of the airport rental agencies (Executive or Avis). This can be done online prior to your arrival (recommended) or upon arrival to Cozumel. This is by far the easiest and most hassle free option, but likely the most expensive one as well.
2. Buy an airport shuttle transfer at the airport. The price will be between $8 and $15 per person depending on where you are going. There is a price list at the shuttle window. Once you clear customs, you will walk out a set of glass doors. As you come of these doors, straight ahead in the left corner, you will see the ticket window. This is a van service and they fill the van before they leave and then shuttle you to your respective hotels. This is definitely the most uncomfortable way to go.
3. Take a taxi, but you will have to go off airport property to do this. More convenient and usually less expensive, depending on where you are going. Make sure you ask how much to where you are going before you get in.
Unfortunately, it is against the law here for hotels or dive operators to provide transportation to their guests and clients. Legally, tourists are only to be transported by rental vehicles, airport shuttles or taxis. You will see hotel shuttle busses, but be forewarned, these are only for the employees. The taxi union is strong and powerful, so we do not want to upset them!
Renting an Automobile
(Copied from Cozumel Insider www.cozumelinsider.com)
Renting a car in Mexico can be a completely different experience than in the United States. It may cost you a lot more if you don't plan ahead and be very careful as to what you are getting. It is not uncommon to pay anywhere from US$60 to $80 per day for a small rundown car. You can roll the dice and try to bargain upon arrival at your destination, but most companies know the options out there and adjust their prices accordingly. Insurance:
Something important to remember is that U.S. insurance companies do not make direct payments for damages outside the country. If your rental car is involved in an accident, you will be required to make full payment of all damages by Mexican law before you leave the island. The rentadora is "supposed" to supply you with the necessary reports for you to take to your insurance company at home to recover payment. For those companies that require a mandatory insurance fee of US$10 a day, it will usually include collision, with a deductible of anywhere from US$650 to US$1000.
Make sure you know exactly what you are covered for!
Rental Car Checklist
Spare tire and working jack
- All doors lock and unlock, including trunk
- Seatbelts available/function for all passengers
- Seats move forward and back and no sprung backs
- Windows roll up and down
- Proper legal papers are in the car with phone numbers and address of company
- Horn, foot brakes and parking brake function properly
- Clutch, gearshift, all gears (including reverse) work properly
- Note the time you picked up the car and know when it needs to be returned
- Note how much gas should be in the tank when returned
- Make sure you thoroughly check the car before you take it too far
Rental Car Options
There are many dozen car rental agencies now operating on the island. With the increase in cruise ship traffic over the last several years it is much more difficult to just walk up to an agency and find an available car so advance reservations are a good idea. Please note however, that as with the airlines, it is very common for the rental agencies to OVERBOOK reservations especially during high season. You may very well arrive to pick up your car with a confirmed reservation in hand only to discover that there are no cars available. Keep in mind that the car rental agency can only control so much with clients.
Once a client takes a car and then decides on their own not to return it on time, there is very little the car rental agency can do. In large metropolitan areas where there are multiple offices of the same rental agency, most every reservation can be accommodated by the offices working together to adjust/move fleets to where the cars are most needed. But because Cozumel is an island, fleet adjustments are not really feasible or cost effective so there will be times when there just are no cars!
Most agencies here on the island work together to try to help each other out in fleet shortage situations but in the end analysis: Cozumel is in fact an island with limited resources. As a visitor to the island it can be helpful to remember this!
Please DO NOT rent scooters! Everyday Here in Cozumel, people are scraped up off the roads as a result of moped accidents.
