Cozumel On A Budget - How my family of 5 toured the entire island for under $100

[rockbock]

what shop did you get the rum at?

 

We got it at one of the shops in the port. All of the port shops sell the 1 liter Bacardis for $12.99, but one of them also had the 3 liter for $33.00. I don't recall the name of the store, but there weren't too many liquor shops, so I'm sure if you asked around you'd find it.

[Sup'd]

thanks for the review and the idea.

 

I have the car rental protection plan that you can add on to an american express card for a flat $20-$25 fee per rental. Of course the car rental company would need to accept AMEX, the global companies should be versed in how it works if something happens it shouldn't be a hassle. AMEX takes care of everything and you can walk away.

[rockbock]

thanks for the review and the idea.

 

I have the car rental protection plan that you can add on to an american express card for a flat $20-$25 fee per rental. Of course the car rental company would need to accept AMEX' date=' the global companies should be versed in how it works if something happens it shouldn't be a hassle. AMEX takes care of everything and you can walk away.[/quote']

 

Check very closely on this before you rely on it. My understanding is that even though some of these programs will follow through and pay like they say they will, people have been detained in Mexico pending payment. So if you don't have the Mexical insurance, they have the right to hold you there until you pay. Personally, I wouldn't want to find myself in a situation where I had to either (1) pay for all of the damage on a credit card and hope that AMEX refunds me everything I had to pay out, or (2) miss my ship because I'm being detained in Mexico.

[Laughing Angel]

Sup'd, I believe in not taking chances and I've read too many scary stories on these boards. Just about everyone who has ever rented a car in Cozumel says the same thing: GET THE FULL MEXICAN INSURANCE.

 

As was mentioned earlier, if there's an accident, incident or situation involving your rental car, you could be detained until damages are settled. I'm sure AMEX would help you, but that would be dependent on the situation, how soon they could get things settled and the departure time of your ship.

 

Seriously, GET THE FULL MEXICAN INSURANCE.

[rockbock]

I forgot to mention something else in my last post, Sup'd. Another reason to consider NOT risking relying on the AMEX program in Mexico is because the cost savings to you isn't really going to be all that much. The car I rented cost me $53 out the door. The rental fee was $10 and there were some fees and taxes added to that amount. I'm not sure exactly how much it came to, but let's assume that the car rental plus non-insurance costs came to about $14. Add in the $25 that you'd need to pay AMEX for their program, and you're at a total of $39. You'd be hard pressed to ever find somebody more frugal than me, but there's no way I'd pay $39 for a car rental in Mexico without Mexican insurance when I can add in all of the Mexican insurances for just $14 more.

[Rosieo]

Looks like a wonferful time in Cozumel. We have been there several times and twice we rented a jeep and drove around the island. It was a fantastic time!!! Once we reserved a car ahead of time and once we just got one when we got off the ship. Very easy with no hassles at all. We did get the insurance and even for a jeep it was a good value. I agree with you, we did not like Paridise Beach. To touristy for us. We stopped and swam at many beaches along the way and really enjoyed Coconuts. We are doing back in December on a cruise and then again in April for a week of diving. Both times we will be renting a car or jeep! We like to get away from the touristy areas and renting a car is the way to do it.

[roothy123]

We were in Cozumel a couple years ago. We rented a car and drove around. We also found few people on the roads, so not a big deal to drive there, even though it IS Mexico! My husband loved driving a blue Beetle, but there was no floor on it - or at least no carpeting of any kind. It was pretty primitive. We didn't have any problems, though.]

 

Question: Does anyone know if there is a second lighthouse in Cozumel? We went to the big one, and climbed to the top, but I keep seeing something about a second one on the southern tip.

[ottasha]

We have been to Cozumel about 5x and have also rented a car and loved it. The other side of the island is beautiful.I have been to paradise beach 3x and the last time April 2011 we had the same issue with terrible water conditions and ended up leaving. I recommend Margaritaville on the water. You can snorkle and use water toys free right off the dock. We are going again in December and I think we're going to try Mr Sancho's and end up at Margaritaville again for free snorkeling.

[carami1-123]

Thank you so much for your post. I especially liked your plan for packing lunches from the ship. What a great idea!

[H82seaUgo]

Thank you so much for your post. I especially liked your plan for packing lunches from the ship. What a great idea!

 

you may find yourself in a local jail cell, for the fine, taking food off the ship.

[adnil530]

I thoroughly enjoyed your review. We are going next month. I'm not seeing your pics though...:cool: Do you have them posted somewhere else also? I'd love to see them!

 

Linda

[rockbock]

I thoroughly enjoyed your review. We are going next month. I'm not seeing your pics though...:cool: Do you have them posted somewhere else also? I'd love to see them!

 

Linda

 

I'm so sorry that my photos aren't showing up. I uploaded them to a free hosting site, not realizing that it had a maximum monthly bandwidth. Last month that limit was never reached, but apparently there were a lot more views this month. The photos will show up again on 11/22.

[Cruzin Fool]

Thanks for the great review and pics! My question is how did you get such a great rate on the car rental? I just checked our date of 3/2/12 and the lowest rate I can find is $95.00!!! Any suggestions?

[CanadaJulie]

Thanks for the great review and pics! My question is how did you get such a great rate on the car rental? I just checked our date of 3/2/12 and the lowest rate I can find is $95.00!!! Any suggestions?

 

Me too ! Total was over 150$ when you added all the insurance and waivers... Yikes... With a family of 5 too, I'd love to try this !

[rockbock]

We got a subcompact. It was small, but there was plenty of room for the five of us since it was just one day. It was supposed to be manual transmission, but they gave us an automatic anyway. The rate was less than $10 per day, but adding all of the insurances brought it up to $53.

[CanadaJulie]

Did you book online or called them directly for the rate ? The alamo (dot com) website has a 100$ daily rate ??? :confused: *** ? I don't want to buy the car, just borrow it for a few hours... ;)

[Couple of Kentuckians]

Thanks for sharing the pictures, We will be there in June 2012, Hope we have as good of a day as ya'll did.

[oklahoma cruiser]

great pictures! we've been there before, but never to the eastern side. Not sure we'll make it this trip (we're travelling with a large group) but next time maybe. glad to hear you didn't have any issues taking food off the ship, but personally we like to experience the local food...not senor frogs in an exotic location. guess that's what makes the world go round - different tastes.

 

thanks again for all the pics!

[rockbock]

Wow, I just checked the Alamo sites and I saw those huge rates too. Not sure why...virtually every rental place had low rates when I looked. Consider looking into Isis Rentadora. It is a local rental place and comes very highly recommended. I went with Alamo because (1) it was an International Company, and (2) Isis Rentadora wasn't located at the port. We would have had to take a taxi there for pickup (but they would return us to the port in the evening at no charge). The prices were similar to what I paid Alamo though. If I couldn't have rented via Alamo, I would have used this place.

 

Here's a link to the site...prices INCLUDE all Mexican insurances.

http://www.rentadoraisis.com.mx/9601.html

[pcrum]

Sorry you had issues with Paradise Beach. We were there in 7/10 (just before the pool was built) and had no issues with the water. It was rocky in places and we wished we had brought water shoes, but other than that, we loved it and our teens loved the inflatable water toys. It was busy, but not overly so as the photos show. I would not hesitate to go there again based upon our experience.

 

 

 

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Near the end of our stay, it really emptied out:

 

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[newbiecruiser09]

Loved your pictures and review!! Thanks for posting it. We are thinking of hiring a car for our day in Cozumel and your review has given me some ideas about where to go and not to go. THanks for taking the time to post it all :)

[baylovesduke]

I enjoyed your review and your pictures. I'm sorry that you didn't like Paradise Beach. It didn't look like that at all when I was there in May last year. We really enjoyed it, and the pool was definitely amazing. I've heard that Mr. Sanchos is enjoyable as well if you are looking for another beach for your next visit.

[rockbock]

Thanks. We'll be back the first week of October. I think this time we're going to either go to Chankanaab or The Money Bar. I'd rather do Chankanaab, but I'll probably opt for The Money Bar instead, since it's going to cost us $100 in admission to get into Chankanaab and the snorkeling near The Money Bar is supposed to be amazing.

[rockbock]

Sorry you had issues with Paradise Beach. We were there in 7/10 (just before the pool was built) and had no issues with the water. It was rocky in places and we wished we had brought water shoes, but other than that, we loved it and our teens loved the inflatable water toys. It was busy, but not overly so as the photos show. I would not hesitate to go there again based upon our experience.

 

Honestly, even after looking at your pictures, I still would never choose to return to Paradise Beach. The water certainly looks a little less murky than it was the day I was there, but it doesn't even come close to the gorgeous water on the east side of the island. And no matter how nice the water looks, you can't change the fact that you're sitting on a tiny, narrow, strip of beach on a lounge chair so close to your neighbors that you're almost toughing them. That's just not relaxing IMO.

 

I'm considering spending the day at The Money Bar on my visit this October, but certainly not for the narrow strip of beach...it would be strictly so we can get in some quality snorkeling. If I was looking for a beach day, I'd be back on the east side.

[shoppingfan]

Very nice review and great pictures...

thanks so much for the information

 

We are a family of 4 with kids aged 6 and 11 & surely need inexpensive activities.