Hello. We will be going to the Mayan Riviera and I am wondering if there is anything special that we should know about renting a car there. Also, do we need to be concerned about the paperwork? We are doing our best to learn some Spanish, but it is muy poquito and of course, even in English contracts can be confusing and wordy. Any tips? Thank you!

1. Use a reputable car agency
2. Do a THOROUGH walk around and note ANY and ALL damage and have it written on the contract
3. Drive defensively - the traffic on 307 can be very intimidating
4. Don't attempt to drive in downtown Cancun or to try and find a parking space in Playa del Carmen
5. Be aware that very recently, the Q Roo and Cancun police are stopping tourist drivers for no apparent reason and extracting a bribe.
(You can read more about this and a LOT of other stuff about the region on playa.info)

Unless you just HAVE to rent a car, there are many more safe and cost-effective methods of getting around.

Bus, collectivos, taxis - all easy to find and inexpensive.

I never recommend rental cars for first time visitors to the area.

We rented a car in Playa, and drove to Akumal, Tulum, Coba,etc and never had any kind of a problem. I would imagine driving in downtown Cancun or Playa might be intimidating, but 307 was fine, not that different from the US. We rented at Alamo in Playa, and the agent spoke very good English. However, his filling out of all the paperwork while chatting with his buddies at the desk, then making a few phone calls, etc, etc took forever,even though I did my rental agreement on the Alamo website prior to our trip. Had I not done this it would have taken even longer! I then had to be driven out on the highway to the Alamo rental lot. The whole ordeal took about an hour. It helps to know exactly what you want as far as coverage before you go into the office.

highly recommend executive car rental. They may cost a bit more, but the service is worth it.

Consider purchasing the optional liability and collision insurance. Yes, I know many personal auto policies will extend liability coverage and many credit cards offer collision protection if you pay by credit card BUT you will be in Mexico and you run the risk of having to "pay-up" on the spot if you are involved in an accident. The local police can be very intimidating toward foreign tourists - do you really want to be held in custody while you wait for an insurance settlement?

We are on the Mayan Riviera frequently. Have been for years. Have never rented a car there. We get everywhere we want to go by hiring a taxi or taking a bus. And we don't have the resonsibility of a car which whould sit idle more days than not. We would certaly pay the maximum insurance. Our way, I think is cheaper. When we get some place, we pay the driver and we are done with it. Remember gas is not 'free' in Mexico and we don't have to put up with the "la mordida" (literally the "the bite", but refers to phoney traffic violations--a pay-off to a cop).

On a typical two-week trip, here is how we (two people) get around:

CC airport shuttle to Puerto Juarez
$24US.

boat to Isla Mujeres $7

taxi to hotel $2 (It's short--we could and have simply walked it)

taxi from hotel to muelle (dock) $2

boat back to mainland $7

taxi from Puerto Juarez to Playa del Carmen or Akumal $65 (including $5 tip)

bus PdC to airport $14

Total $121

Extra option:

taxi to and from Akumal Resort to Yal Ku Lagoon $10

taxi back to PdC $25

Total $156

Norm

Hi VacationBound:

We have rented cars in the Mayan Riviera before. I would do it again as it gives you more freedom to stop wherever and whenever you want and there is lots of great stuff to see!

But its a good question and it pays to be knowledgable in this area. To add to the first poster a couple other tips.

1) When getting the car you will be asked to inspect it. Write down every single scratch, dent, ding you see. If it is all documented they won't try to charge you for it when you return the car.

2) Be aware when at a gas station (Pemex). We had our gas cap stolen by the attendant - we guessed it would probably be sold later. We laugh now because I remember making the comment "Look how friendly the women is filling the gas for us." She was smiling at us. What an idiot I was, huh?

3) If you have anything like that happen, remember everything is negotiable in Mexico. If they try and charge you for something, negotiate hard and you can get the price down.

4) As for highway driving, drivers expect you to be in the right lane and able to pull over onto the shoulder if someone behind you wants to pass you. Its done all the time - just keep you eyes peeled on the rear view mirror.

5) One thing we did NOT do was drive at night. No lights, very high speeds. Better to do all traveling during the day and back to where you are staying by nightfall.

Hope that helps! Have fun - wish I was going back!!

I'm so glad I posted this question. Thank you soooooo very much for all of your comments. We were actually only going to rent a car for one day to go to Akumal and buzz around there snorkeling. After everything I read here, I think we will be better to take a taxi and then walk or taxi from place to place. Thanks again everyone. I don't think I am quite ready to rent a car in Mexico.

One of the most important things to remember when renting a car in Mexico . . . accept all of the optional insurance coverages. Yes, the added cost is likely to double the cost of your daily rental. But the cost is worth it. Don't believe all of the "hey, you're covered by your credit card" stories, because, in most cases, they're not accurate. The law in Mexico is very different than the laws in Canada and the USA. In Mexico, you're guilty until you can prove your innocence.

Enjoy the adventure.

I just got back from Cancun and rented a car for the 5 days. Keep in mind that they'll charge you per day which is more than the weekly rate if you use the car for less than a week.

I was a victim of the police stopping me on my way back from Tulum in Playa Del Carmen. The speed limit is 60 kmh and I was doing well over 90 kmh. The officer said that he didn't speak English well and he said I had the option of either going to the station and paying the fine or pay it with him. The fine was 500 pesos (around $45 bucks) so I gave him the money and he let me go. He didn't actually give me a ticket. I don't know if that's a bribe or actually paying a fine.

Anyway be careful about your speed if you drive a car down there.

We just returned from a trip to the Yucatan peninsula where we had a nightmare with Alamo. We had reserved a car a week ahead of time via the internet to collect a car from the Cancun hotel zone office to drive eastward for a week to visit many of the Mayan ruins and Spanish colonial cities. However when we arrived at the office we had to wait 30 minutes until someone else could return a similar sized car and it could be washed. We requested a car that had been been properly checked but since none was available we were told that we would have to pay a $40 a day upgrade. There was simply no reasoning with them. They just didn't care. In the end we took the car because it was pretty new and we needed to get on our way. We took both CDW coverage as well as the additional insurance to cover the DEDUCTIBLE. We already had full medical and travel insurance so you'd think we were very well covered.

For the first 3 or 4 days all the roads were pretty good, however on the 5th day en route to Coba immediately after crossing a speed bump (slowly) I hit a medium sized pot hole that was hard to see in the shadows at about 10 MPH - my first one of the trip. Immediately after it was obvious the car had a complete flat. The tire had a 2 inch long rip in the sidewall and the rim had a inward dent of about a third of an inch. I fitted the spare that was a bit soft and turned around to find a gas station with a air pump. The spare was about 2/3 of the correct pressure but shockingly so was the other front tire. The rear tires were about 3/4 of the correct pressure! We subsequently hit a couple of small pot holes because the road between Valladolid and Tulum are pretty bad but no problem - as indeed there should not be.

We completed the trip using the (full size) spare and returned the car to Alamo at Cancun airport. I was very annoyed with them with what I saw as sloppy pre-rental inspection that could have caused a catastrophic accident at high speed. However, Alamo had absolutely no concern whatsoever for the safety and well being of their customers and they couldn't wait to charge us for the failed tire and the dented rim. Apparently they have a subclause that exempts tires, windshields and mirrors from being covered by the insurance. I thought this was ridiculous as we saw so many other rental cars during the week that were using their spare and even stopped to help some people that had a flat spare! Again and again it was apparent that 1 or more of their remaining tires looked a bit under pressure. With many roads in poor condition especially and loose chippings falling from passing trucks (so much construction is occurring in many parts of the region) that damage windshields, it seems that at least Alamo are possibly CHEATING THEIR CUSTOMERS by ducking responsibility for covering visitors what seems a relatively likely possibility. They obviously know the odds and refuse to accept them and just pass them onto the customer who is forced to take financial responsibility in addition to the cost of the insurance. It just seems so absurd and ridiculous! Basically if you pay about US$180 for a week's damage insurance, you expect to be covered for a TIRE FAILURE and a dented rim. I wanted to get the tourist police involved but the information office and hotel advised us not to (with alarm). We were repeatedly warned that it'd only go against us and they would side with the people at Alamo whom they probably knew.

Once again there was absolutely no reasoning with Alamo. We were charged US$230 + 10% tax for a new tire and rim (that I am confident could have easily be repaired). I intend to take this matter as far as possible because more than the money, I believe Alamo is playing with people's lives with their indifference and casual and cavalier attitude with their customers. To make matters worse, the staff at Alamo then dragged their feet until we had to leave while we could still catch our flight (although they had told us to come in when we were going to the airport).

Before leaving they still had not returned my copy of paperwork, the credit card vouchers I had signed (the system they use for deposit and rental), they had refused to provide any proof of the car's service record. Certainly my credit card company is going to have a fight with me over some of these charges.

Maybe this is standard procedure with all car rental agencies everywhere but I've rented A LOT all over the world and never had this absurd problem before.

Check any exemptions very carefully and be especially wary of Alamo in Cancun. Definitely make sure your car's tires are at the correct pressure (all gas stations are all attendant service and they'll do it for you).