Cozumel - Shore Excursion to Tulim
Jul 15th, 2011, 05:09 AM
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Cozumel - Shore Excursion to Tulim
My family of 4 will be stopping in Cozumel while on the Carnival Dream. In the past we have always purchased our excursions directly with the cruise lines. I heard that you can book them on your own and save some money....I'm all for that!
Can anyone recommend a reputable tour operator? I can across one that does private tours. It's called Cozumel Tours by John and Sandra. Anyone familiar with them? While the price would be comparable, we could be on our own schedule vs. stopping for shopping breaks.
Thanks!
Can anyone recommend a reputable tour operator? I can across one that does private tours. It's called Cozumel Tours by John and Sandra. Anyone familiar with them? While the price would be comparable, we could be on our own schedule vs. stopping for shopping breaks.
Thanks!
Jul 15th, 2011, 05:18 AM
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There is a very easy way to get to Tulum and then you can just arrange for your own guide once you get there. No need for a tour operator unless you really want to pay more than necessary.
Take the ferry from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen. Exit the ferry and walk straight up the street to 5th avenue. Make a right and walk down to the bus station which will be right on your left about a block down. Go in and purchase tickets for Tulum Ruinas round trip. Get on the bus which is a regular coach bus with a/c. Go to the ruins and come back. Take the ferry back over. The ferry schedule is available at the pier. The ruins are not large and do not take very long to see. There is a fabulous beach to the south of the ruins that has a few beach clubs. You can also takee a taxi into the puebla of Tulum from the beach if you want to eat in town. Pollo Bronco and Don Cafeto are two of my favorites. The bus station is in the puebla but also stops at the ruins. You can access the bus at either of those points. Plenty of tour guides at the ruins.
If you choose to go with an operator it will be more prescribed and some people really like that for the ease. Yucatreks is also good.
Take the ferry from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen. Exit the ferry and walk straight up the street to 5th avenue. Make a right and walk down to the bus station which will be right on your left about a block down. Go in and purchase tickets for Tulum Ruinas round trip. Get on the bus which is a regular coach bus with a/c. Go to the ruins and come back. Take the ferry back over. The ferry schedule is available at the pier. The ruins are not large and do not take very long to see. There is a fabulous beach to the south of the ruins that has a few beach clubs. You can also takee a taxi into the puebla of Tulum from the beach if you want to eat in town. Pollo Bronco and Don Cafeto are two of my favorites. The bus station is in the puebla but also stops at the ruins. You can access the bus at either of those points. Plenty of tour guides at the ruins.
If you choose to go with an operator it will be more prescribed and some people really like that for the ease. Yucatreks is also good.
Jul 15th, 2011, 05:35 AM
#3
That is good advice from colokid. I'm also a fan of Don Cafeto, it has nice ambiance together with good food and good prices. There is, or at least was, a nice beach right at the ruins, but there is no place to change at that one. If you are not interested in ruins, Tulum has gorgeous beaches that you can use.
Jul 15th, 2011, 09:47 AM
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Thanks Colokid for the recommendation on the bus. Do you know how frequently they run between Playa del Carmen and the Ruins or puebla of Tulum? I'll check out Yucatreks.
Basingstoke 2 - Two recommendations for Don Cafeto - sounds like the place to go!
Love this forum!
Basingstoke 2 - Two recommendations for Don Cafeto - sounds like the place to go!
Love this forum!
Jul 15th, 2011, 03:59 PM
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First though, how much time to you have in Cozumel? Be aware that the ferry is 45 minutes each way. Once you get to Playa del Carmen, Tulum is about another 30 minutes. Then you'll probably spend about 2 hours at Tulum.
The reason to take cruise tours for this long of a distance from the cruise ship is that you are guaranteed that the cruise ship will wait for you if you're running late. If you go on your own then there is no guarantee. Just something to think about before making a decision.
We have used Yuckatreks. Their Tulum tour includes 2 cenotes for swimming and a beach lunch break. It's an all day trip.
The reason to take cruise tours for this long of a distance from the cruise ship is that you are guaranteed that the cruise ship will wait for you if you're running late. If you go on your own then there is no guarantee. Just something to think about before making a decision.
We have used Yuckatreks. Their Tulum tour includes 2 cenotes for swimming and a beach lunch break. It's an all day trip.
Jul 16th, 2011, 04:43 AM
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I don't remember the times but I have to go to the bus station tomorrow so I'll look. The schedule for the bus (ADO) is here:
http://www.ado.com.mx/ado/index.jsp with the cost. Cost is in pesos.
True about the cruise line tours but I've cruised before and not done the boat tours at all. Also, if you want to beach day it only in PDC and take the cruise tender over then just walk off the make a right or left off the pier at the beach and find a beach club. There's a lot of them.
Also, note that if you take the cruise line tender from Cozumel it will leave you off at a different pier than if you take the Cozumel ferry. The directions I gave were from the Cozumel ferry. The tender will leave you off at a pier at the north end of town which is a 10 minute walk to the bus depot.
Also, be on notice that if you use a beach club or restaurant in MX that sometimes the tip is included in the price. A waiter just tried to do this to me last week and I live here. When you get the bill, add it up and make sure the total is the total they have printed. If they have crossed out the price and written their own price in then the tip/service has been included and if you tip on top of that you will be double tipping. There were a whole lot of cruise folk at the beach club I was at last week and I'm sure a lot of them double tipped if they had this guy. One of the annoyances of being here.
http://www.ado.com.mx/ado/index.jsp with the cost. Cost is in pesos.
True about the cruise line tours but I've cruised before and not done the boat tours at all. Also, if you want to beach day it only in PDC and take the cruise tender over then just walk off the make a right or left off the pier at the beach and find a beach club. There's a lot of them.
Also, note that if you take the cruise line tender from Cozumel it will leave you off at a different pier than if you take the Cozumel ferry. The directions I gave were from the Cozumel ferry. The tender will leave you off at a pier at the north end of town which is a 10 minute walk to the bus depot.
Also, be on notice that if you use a beach club or restaurant in MX that sometimes the tip is included in the price. A waiter just tried to do this to me last week and I live here. When you get the bill, add it up and make sure the total is the total they have printed. If they have crossed out the price and written their own price in then the tip/service has been included and if you tip on top of that you will be double tipping. There were a whole lot of cruise folk at the beach club I was at last week and I'm sure a lot of them double tipped if they had this guy. One of the annoyances of being here.
