My wife and I are planning a week-long Yucatan trip (very excited). We plan to fly into Cozumel, rent a car and drive to Merida. We'll spend a few days out there exploring, before coming back for some lounging days in Cozumel.

How long of a drive should we expect from the Cozumel airport to Merida? (Including the ferry, I guess.)

And is it better to drive up to Cancun to get onto 180, or should we drive south to Tulum and then north to get on 180?

Finally, is there something flawed with this plan that I am missing?

Thanks in advance!

you'll have to rent a car in Playa del Carmen rather than Cozumel, since the ferry is only a passenger ferry. Other than that I can't help you.

Oh, and I have seen ISIS Rentadora recommended for a rental, and make sure you get lots of insurance. I haven't been to Cozumel yet, going next week, but this is what I have learned in my research.

There is a car ferry, but I wonder if it wouldn't be simpler to take the people ferry and rent a car in Playa del Carmen. I think you need to make reservations for the car ferry at least 24 hours in advance, and I'm not sure if all rental agencies will let you take the car to the mainland.

You are NOT ALLOWED to take Cozumel rental cars across to the mainland on any ferry. You will have to rent a car in Playa after you exit the ferry.

I would agree that taking all the insurance coverage is a good idea on this type of drive. You want to make sure you have a good look at the car you rent before heading out. They tend to "look" o.k., but not be in excellent working order at times. You pretty much get what you pay for, so don't skimp on cost. I would consider using one of the International rental companies like Hertz or Avis and asking for a brand new car. You won't find a service station on every corner in Mexico like in the U.S., so you don't want to have any problem along the way.

Where are you staying in Cozumel? Your hotel should be able to set up a good rental in Playa and have someone meet you at the ferry with the car.

Ditto all of the above regarding car rental in Playa del Carmen.

You are probably looking at a 2 - 3 hour travel time to drive from Playa to Merida, once you get past the wait and transit time for the ferry, and the inevitable wait for the rental car to be available. It appears to be illegal, in Mexico, to have a reserved rental serviced, fueled, or anywhere within twenty miles of the pick up location.

The distance is not far, but there are a great many "distractions" along the way.

Driving into and out of Merida itself is "interesting".

I've made the trip Cnacun-Merida several times, and next time I will probably be more sensible and take the 1st class bus.

We've driven from Cancun to Merida before and never had a problem - took us about 4 hours at a leisurely pace. Also, we've rented many cars in Mexico, and found everything to be fine. Just be diligent as you would anywhere. We've always used our AMEX which carries all the insurance we need.
Whatever you do, don't take the back way from Tulum to Merida. It's scenic but a lot longer than driving straight out from Playa/Cancun.

Have fun - Merida is wonderful!

Thanks for all the excellent advice.

My plans have changed slightly, and it now looks like we will be flying into Cancun and renting a car there. We haven't changed the trip itinerary: driving to Merida and ending in Cozumel.

But am I to understand that I will not be able to take my rental car to Cozumel? Or that I need to make a car reservation on the ferry?

That is correct, you will <u>NOT</u> be able to take your Cancun rental car to Cozumel.

One more thing: When you rent a car, be sure to take a look at what you're getting before you sign up. Your credit card company back home <u>may</u> cover you for collision insurance - it may not. Most of the smaller, less expensive rental companies don't want to accept AM EX because it costs them too much in fees. They usually give a discount for cash payment. So be prepared. We usually give them our AM EX card for the rental, but they don't run through a charge. This is in case we have an accident. At the end of our rental, we pay cash and get our cc receipt returned.

Do consider taking the personal liability insurance. Sometimes you can negotiate this ahead of time to be included in the rental price. I have read that if you injure a third party, U.S. insurance and credit cards don't cover that and you could find yourself in the police station trying to come up with enough cash to cover injuries. It is worth while to contact your credit card company in advance to be assured of the International coverage. Also, contact your own insurance company to see if they offer any coverage.

Ok, good to know. Thanks again! And I hear ya on the insurance.

So it sounds like I will need to drop my car off at Playa del Carmen, which looks fine to do at not a large additional cost on the Hertz website.

Final questions:

Should we get a car on Cozumel?

What will be the best way to return to the Cancun airport from Cozumel now that I will not have a rental car? (We are staying at the Intercontinental.)

Thanks!

It depends on what you want to do while in Cozumel. If you're just going to stay put at the Intercontinental, you won't need a car. Its about a $10 taxi ride round trip to town from the Presidente IC. The ferry pier from Cancun is right downtown.

A small VW can be rented for about $25 per day. A larger car (Jeep etc.) will run about $45. Its easy to rent a car for just one day from your hotel if you'd like to take a drive around the island or you can hire a taxi for the same drive.

To get back to the Cancun airport from Cozumel you will take the ferry to Playa del Carmen and then the bus to the airport.

The bus costs about $7 US and will hold all your luggage, stowed underneath. It's air conditioned and has a bathroom -- they even show a movie. The ride between Playa del Carmen and the Cancun airport takes about 45- 50 minutes. It runs pretty much every hour from around 8 AM to 9 PM.

There should be guys with bicycles to help with luggage at both ferry piers. They are bikes with big square basket/carts on the front to hold the luggage. You will tip them a dollor or two per bag for this help. They can direct you to the bus or a taxi.

Be sure to check the weather and allow ample time to return to Cancun on your day of departure. If the sea gets churned up by a storm, the ferries have been known not to run -- very seldom happens.

Just returned this week from similar 10 day trip, Cozumel to Merida and back. We flew into Cozumel and spent 4 nights at El Cantil Condos just south of town. Rented a car with AC for $45 from ISIS for 24 hours and toured the island. We stopped to snorkel at various places...Corona Beach Club and the public area just off the road north of Fiesta Americana were best(palapas and vacant lifeguard stand mark the beach). Also went scuba diving for a day.
Took ferry across to Playa and picked up rental car from National. About $200 for 5 days including all insurance and taxes. Drove to Tulum ruins for a couple of hours. Then drove to Holbox Island for 1 night(left car over night in Chiquila and took ferry). At 7am, tour out to snorkel with whale sharks that feed in this area June-mid September. Saw at least a dozen whale sharks and hundreds of dolphin. At 3pm, ferry back to Chaquila and drove to Valladolid for one night. At 7:30am, drove to Chichen Itza, 10:30 at Ek Balam and noon at Dzitnup Cenote. Checked out of Hotel Meson Del Marques at 2pm and drove to Merida. Checked into boutique Hotel Hacienda Merida for 2 nights. At 7am, drove to Uxmal to see ruins..arrived at 8:30 because it was a confusing getting out of the city center. Just over 2 hours spent at Uxmal and then a yummy lunch at the Pickled Onion in Santa Elaina. 5kms away, we spent 30 minutes at ruins at Kabah. Back to Merida with a stop in Yaxcopoil to visit the Hacienda/museum. Back to hotel in time for my husband's 5pm massage...only $40 for an hour. Last day in Merida was a Sunday, the best day in the city because the streets are closed- activities and vendors are all over the Zocolo. The Zocolo has free wifi which was pretty cool, so I was able check e-mail on my iphone and use internet. At 3:30pm, drove back to Playa via toll road that cost about US$33(very pricey, but fast and no speed bumps) and took just over 3 hours.
Returned car and took 8pm ferry back to Cozumel for last night before afternoon departure.

Favorite ruins- Uxmal and Ek Balam
Favorite meal- gringas tacos at the zocolo
Good restaurants in Cozumel- La Candella, Kinta, Guidos

Please let me know if you have any questions!

What a great trip, Nicci! One question - how was the drive from Tulum to Chiquila? I wanted to do that when we were in Cozumel (I was thinking of staying on Akumal instead of Coz) but ended up not doing it and missed out on the whale sharks.

It was only 2 hours on paved roads with some potholes through jungle brush. Saw about 6 cars total going the other direction.
Whale sharks were really neat, but I felt a little bad for the whale sharks after 3rd time in. Our boat had 5 people and we went in 2 at a time for 3x each. The boat drives around until it is facing one of the animal's head and you jump in and swim with it as long as possible. They are much faster that you would think, so it only lasts about a minute. Towards the end, I felt like we were harassing the poor things. You look around and there's about 20 other boats doing the same thing.

Thanks to everyone for your advice. The trip was wonderful, and driving from Cancun to Merida and back again was a piece of cake. (Watch out for those brutal speed humps.)

One lesson learned: if renting a car from Cancun airport during the busy season, pre-pay for your reservation. When we arrived our Hertz reservation was no good, nor were most people's, because they simply had no cars except for people who had pre-paid. No other national car rental agencies had extra cars either.

We ended up renting from a local operation and paid too much for an older car. Nonetheless, it worked well enough to get us there and back.