That's the rub. We have no desire to stay in either location. Our destinations would be more along the lines of Valladolid (Chichen Itza Ek Balam, cenotes), Lake Bacalar, maybe Tulum. But the flights I find to the two locations (non-stop): Cozumel can be decidedly cheaper. Although it would involve schlepping bags from a taxi to a tricycle taxi, getting to the ferry, crossing, and renting the car in Playa del Carmen. Versus spending hundreds of dollars more for the relative convenience of leaving the airport at Cancun in a rental and you're on your way. Decisions, decisions. Anyone ever been, where this was a choice?
I love the Cancun Mexico area, I prefer to stay in Playa del Carmen or Tulum, but you have to stay in the hotel zone for a night at least once. I have never stayed in Cozumel until last year, when we flew directly there and stayed a night and loved it. Very different than Cancun, slower pace, not as busy or crazy, felt more safe. I will stay in Cozumel longer next time I go and then go straight to Tulum, were Casa Malca is. It's a different scene as well (think more hippie, eco friendly), and we only spend the day there... I've done Chichen Itza, it's an all day trip, about 3 hours from Playa. and you have to take the toll way, so bring pesos.
I like landing in Cozumel and taking the (fast) ferry -- it's usually cheaper to land in Cancun and take the bus.
The ferry across is not bad, access in and out of Cozumel's airport is pretty darn easy compared to Cancun, grab a taxi right outside the airport or you can hire one as soon as you clear customs (they will bombard you as soon as you cross through the sliding door), that`s what we did, party of 5 with bags, cost us $50. The ferry ride is actually fun, yes it will be a pain to drag bags through the ferry check in process but its not a bad trade off................Have fun!!
I greatly underestimated the amount I would spend in tolls from cancun to chichen-itza. Bring plenty. The buses that take you will get you there in time, but you gotta be at the meeting point at 4AM.
I've been to Cozumel and Cancun area probably 40 times. The ferry is easy. However, the last time I was on the ferry the cartel exploded a bomb on a different ferry that day. You could tell something was up. The police were armed to the teeth with belt fed machine guns on trucks and even had a show of force by marching their police force down the main street in Playa del Carmen. Apparently a government official owned the ferry and was working with another cartel so they blew it up. We usually use the yellow ferry which is Ultramar.
Merida, yes. We actually went there last year (we loved it), including Uxmal the Mayan site. I've looked at it as an option. I think it's do-able for what the flight to Cozumel would cost. We could still hit our main destinations. Just a little more driving. (But my wife likes the road trip thing.) I have heard of the tolls on that Cancun-Merida tollway. I'll never complain about Beltway 8 - Hardy Toll Road again.
Ok can use this thread to recommend an all inclusive in cozumel? We were at the buck naked riviera maya recently and the seaweed was really bad.
When I looked for flights (direct: I don't do the connecting flight b.s.) on both Southwest and United, we ended up with tickets on Southwest to Cozumel, during spring break (not that we're "spring" breakers, I'm more like an "early fall" breaker, and I have to go with my wife's time-off schedule), we'll fly to Cozumel. $600 less for the two of us than to fly to Cancun. We'll spend a couple nights there and then wind up a few days down the Yucatan Peninsula in Bacalar, a town next to its namesake lagoon of seven (blue) colors. I want to see it before it becomes the next Tulum (i.e., completely overrun by us gringos).
Nice! Im looking to go to Cancun in April. A few days there, a few in Cozumel and a few in Tulum... I have not heard or been to Bacalar, but will look into it..
Laguna Bacalar is about a 2.5 hour drive south of Tulum. There is a nearby "airport" in Chetumal, but very few airlines serve it as of yet. So Bacalar is largely more difficult to reach than Cancun, Cozumel, Merida, etcetera. But look up the pictures. You'd think the water was photoshopped. We've never been, but the "secret" is out, and I want to get there before the hordes truly descend and it's ruined. I'd hope the Mexican government will recognize the fragile ecosystem involved and take steps to semi-limit tourism there, but they're still preparing a Mayan site near Bacalar called Ichkabal, which hasn't opened yet but could become another Chichen Itza in popularity (some of its buildings are massive). This will make Quintana Roo tourism down there just blow up. I won't be able to see pre-hordes Ichkabal; Bacalar, we'll get there as we can. Note: I remember watching a YouTube video of a couple's trip in Bacalar. She was saying, half-jokingly, she almost didn't want to share their trip so people don't discover and swarm the place. God forbid the place becomes Lake Havasu.
We changed up our plans on this trip. We did go, but shortened the trip by two days because, well, my wife was freaked out about getting home. We did two days in Cozumel and three in Tulum. Bacalar will have to wait until we can travel again. Let's see: Cozumel is gorgeous, the clearest, bluest water. We also went to their small Mayan site of San Gervasio where the employees' rescue dog Blackie led the way (guides were in short supply on a Sunday morning and Blackie seemed ready for a little exercise; those are the little touches on a trip that I remember). The town of San Miguel de Cozumel is a little over-touristy. For a while I thought my new name was "Amigo Amigo". Chichen Itza: We got there when they opened. Much less hot, far fewer tourists and vendors (although they weren't far behind). The vendors there gave me two other new names, but in English ("One Dollar"; "honey, is this the Yucatecan dollar store?" I asked my wife) and in Portuguese ("quase de graça", almost free, because I was wearing my Brazilian soccer shirt). We got a guide. If you ever go, get a guide, it makes a ton of difference. Tulum ruins: Unbelievably beautiful, perched against the Caribbean. The Riviera Maya to me is otherwise Maya Disneyworld but it's a good base to get around with a rental car.
Most of the western side of Cozumel is sargasso-free. The eastern side looks good but those are the rough-surf beaches anyway. (God's most beautiful shades of water, though.) Taking the ferry across to PDC, you ser scraps of seaweed floating to shore. Looks like they're keeping beaches there clean. Tulum had some beaches clean. Some spots were heaped with seaweed, though (where there were no hotels and such). We didn't even go to a cenote because we came back early. It'll have to wait.
Glad you got to go before they stopped service. We had plans to go to Nashville this weekend (cancelled) and Tulum next month (cancelled). When we visited Tulum, we did the guide and it makes a ton of difference. When I did Chitzenitza, I didn't get the guide, but should have. We hope to go in June or July or whichever month they open up tourism back up. We will stay in Tulum a few days (Casa Malca area) as it's nice...
You rushed back to be on lockdown? I would’ve never came back at least not the foreseeable future. Traveling and vacationing seems so distant.