nicolino

booked at the riu cancun was ondering if it would be better to take a taxi from the airport or book a shuttle service roundtrip. does anyone have any suggestions? havent been to mexico for over 20 years do they still charge a cash departure fee at the airport and if so how much is it?

colokid

No departure fee, it's included in your ticket. You can take a taxi, private van, bus and then taxi, or Grayline vans. The taxi will need to be arranged for as you depart, the private van can be booked online beforehand, the bus is outside the doors and to your right, and the Grayline is out the doors and directly in front of you. Taxi charges per car, private van charges per car and the Grayline charges per person.

succeed

Actually I believe there is a departure fee for U.K. citizens, and it can be paid in pounds, dollars, or pesos. It fluctuates with the exchange rate, and these days seems to be around $56 per person. Sometimes though, depending on the airline, the cost of this might be included in the airfare, but I haven't heard of that happening often. People from the U.K that I met when I was there this year were told to make sure they still had some cash set aside for this at the end of their vacation.
I'd highly recommend you book transport before you go. They will be holding up a sign for you at the airport, indicating the company name, and it will be easy to find them. Otherwise you'll be faced with a sea of options and too many people offering to give you a ride, and you may find the number of people hounding you to be overwhelming.
I recommend Best Day for transport. I've found them to be reliable, highly professional, and their rates were good.
http://www.bestday.com/Transfers/

nicolino

thanks to all for your replies and input. we are from the usa and years ago they charged a $15.00 departure fee per person in cash only. thanks for the best day recommendation. we took your advice and booked our round trip transfers online.

Christina

I have a similar question, and wondered if it is possible to book the group shuttle vans upon arrival at the airport without any trouble or not? I'm going to Fiesta American Grand Coral Beach in Cancun itself and as far as I can see, they do not have their own hotel transport van like some hotels do in the US. I didn't get transfers in my package, and so was going to book Olympus Tours online if that seemed like the best advice. Some of the big hotels use them, I think that's where I got their name, and Best Day will not book a transfer online for a single person. Which is irritating, as they have group vans in any case to fill up.

Any advice or comments on Olympus? Or would there be any chance I could just book Best Day or Olympus from a desk at the airport and not have any problems? Olympus is a little more expensive than Best Day, but not too much so. I'll admit I have no knowledge of taxis in Cancun, but suspect there could be problems with that given how much crime is around there in general including the police (re trying to rip you off, or are the txis in Cancun perfect angels?)

succeed

There is a Best Day desk in the airport, in the corridor after you exit the secure area with your luggage. It would make sense that they should be able to accommodate you on the spot, but the only way to be sure is to contact them in advance. I've had to e-mail them in the past and they responded to me promptly (another reason I always recommend them). And contact Olympus Tours too so you can compare.
In the airport you will definitely want to look like you have a plan in mind (either a desk you're heading towards or a pre-booked transfer you're looking for) - at no time do you want to look confused. And don't let anyone "help" you with your luggage, unless they are wearing the uniform/emblem of the correct company.

nicolino

thanks for that info succeed. how is weather in decmber. i heard it is still very warm. i already have roundtrip transfers. did it over the internet and printed them

schmerl

Weather in December is great. Warm during the day and then can cool down a bit at night.

Christina

thanks, I'm going to try to call Fiesta Americana to see what they say. But Best Day won't let me book as a single person, I tried them. I know what you mean about knowing where you are going, as I've done this in Puerto Vallarta and I think I did just get an official taxi there, I must have been feeling lucky -- but it actually worked out fine, or maybe they had a flat taxi fee there, actually. I'm going to try to see if Cancun does, that makes it not so worrison.