car rental or hire driver at pier?

[adams.580]

I have never been to Cozumel. Is it like other ports where drivers hang out around the pier offering tours, or should I just rent a car. There are a lot of other cruise ships in port the day we will be there, so we want to get away from town for a while and check out the other side of the island. I am a little worried about driving, and the cost of a rental car with the required insurance is pretty high for one day. Has anyone hired a driver at the pier to take them around for the day and how much did this cost approximately?

Thanks!

[familycruzer]

My best suggestion is to book a tour with Gerry. He is a taxi driver in Cozumel and I found him through Paradise Beach Tom.

We spent a wonderful afternoon with Gerry touring as much as we could of Cozumel since we were there only a few days after Hurricane Dean. He spoke very fluent English, gave us insider tips to all the sights we did get to see, and drove safely compared to other taxi drivers in Cozumel.

I believe he charges $80 for three hours and $20 for each additional hour and he has an air conditioned wagon. He can also get his hands on a van for a bit more money is you need more room.

He is worth every penny, in fact we booked him again for a day this coming January.

[marshacher]

Familycruzer -

How do I contact Gerry? We are looking for a car and driver to take us to Adventure Park and then San Gervasio. Thank you.

[familycruzer]

Familycruzer -

How do I contact Gerry? We are looking for a car and driver to take us to Adventure Park and then San Gervasio. Thank you.

 

 

You can contact him at cozumeltaxi@hotmail.com.

 

Darlene

[2CoolCanucks]

We just got back from Cozumel and rented a car there for our one day stay. I loved the fact that we could be on our own and stop where and when we wanted to. The initial cost was fair. We had reserved online and it appeared to go very smoothly at first.

 

However, I found out this morning that our credit card (which you must present in order to rent the car for insurance purposes) has been charged a ridiculous amount after the fact. ( I didn't trust the attendant's manner of processing our transaction at the kiosk and so decided to do a quick check). I called my credit card company this morning to check if there were any charges from this company and to my shock there was!!!

 

We had paid our rental fee and re-filled the gas tank. We had stayed on the main roads and as two responsible and mature adults, had driven well below the speed limit. It should have been a "done deal".

 

I am now in the process of communicating with this rental company (which is one of the "regular" ones on the cruise terminal) to get this problem straightened out.

 

I will keep them anonymous at this time but if they do not rectify this situation soon, I will warn the patrons of these boards not to use this company's services in Cozumel. (and I will also let you know if they fix this properly)

 

My point in posting this is to warn you to be aware and suspicious when you rent cars in foreign countries even from reputable companies. Remember the names of all attendants who help you.

Make sure the gas tank is FULL when you take the car off the property and if it isn't ( which was our situation) make sure they note that on your rental agreement upon leaving and upon return.

Get receipts and don't let them keep your copy of the rental agreement "for their records".

Don't let them bully you or patronize you.

Watch out for their "I don't have any change" tactic when you are paying in cash. (This is their scheme to get more money from you. I would rather tip as an honest gesture of thanks than feel duped out of the extra 4 or 5 dollars which they "don't have in change" for your $20s. )

 

And if you are on a cruise and need to be back on your ship before it leaves (duh), make sure that you bring the car back in plenty of time so that you can have time to get a manager to talk to should the attendant attempt to be fraudulent. We didn't have the time to wait around for the manager in our situation as our ship was leaving shortly.

 

Renting a car would of course be my first choice but these types of "your worst nightmare" situations, makes the thought of renting again very frustrating. I am hoping that this situation will be resolved fairly and as soon as possible for us.

 

This is obviously not the norm in car rentals.... but be prepared and warned just in case.

[kenf333]

I'm with Familycruzer on this one, Gerry has had several good reviews. I know I would not want to be driving around with alot of people and ships in port.:)

[smiledocMA]

I have never been to Cozumel. Is it like other ports where drivers hang out around the pier offering tours, or should I just rent a car. There are a lot of other cruise ships in port the day we will be there, so we want to get away from town for a while and check out the other side of the island. I am a little worried about driving, and the cost of a rental car with the required insurance is pretty high for one day. Has anyone hired a driver at the pier to take them around for the day and how much did this cost approximately?

Thanks!

 

 

We used Gerry last week as well. I endorse him 100%. When you book with him make sure you have your time zones correct. He will give you his local time which might not match you ship's time. Also, get his cell number in case there is a change in your ship's arrival.

He is a terrific driver.

 

smiledocMA

[familycruzer]

I emailed him about our booking in January. Our itinerary was reversed at the last minute so I believe we are going to be tendering in but have no clue to which pier and how long it will take to reach land. The reply I got back .....

Absolutely no problem! Gerry will probably know before you do, the taxi grapevine is very efficient! See you next month..

I agree with other posters ... make sure he knows which ship you are coming on and how long after you dock you plan to meet up with him.

 

Darlene

[safeflt1]

I read many posts regarding hiring Gerry for the day and our group did as many of you recommended and we had the time of our lives. Gerry met us right at the cruise terminal with a van (our group had 9 family members), provided a cooler and took us to a local market so that we could purchase drinks and snacks. He was very courteous and told us many interesting stories about the island and sights that we visited. His english is very good and he took us to all of the places that we wanted to visit, plus others that he recommended to us. When we wanted to buy gifts, he would tell us if the price was good and even bartered better prices for us if we weren't sure. I highly advise anyone looking for a island tour to book him! You won't be sorry and his diverse music collection will have you in a party mood. We were in Cozumel on Thursday 12/22 and we were the only tour that he personally had booked for the week. The rest of the week, he simply works for the taxi company service.

[fiveo911]

Hey all. Great info you are all sharing. One question I have not seen addressed: Our family is going in September on Liberty and traveling with my DD who will be turning 2 when we sail. We have not decided if we will take a taxi tour or rent a car, but regardless, we will be needing a car seat. Not really sure if we can find one for possible rental along with the car, or just need to plan on bringing ours, but really we not looking forward to carrying it with us as we will be in port until 10:00. Anybody been through this? Better to just bring our carseat with us and take it back to the ship when the tour / rental is done, then strike back out to do whatever else?

[familycruzer]

Email Gerry through Mike at cozumeltaxi@hotmail.com. I dont know the answer to your question but maybe they can help you out.

[2CoolCanucks]

We just got back from Cozumel and rented a car there for our one day stay. I loved the fact that we could be on our own and stop where and when we wanted to. The initial cost was fair. We had reserved online and it appeared to go very smoothly at first.

 

However, I found out this morning that our credit card (which you must present in order to rent the car for insurance purposes) has been charged a ridiculous amount after the fact. ( I didn't trust the attendant's manner of processing our transaction at the kiosk and so decided to do a quick check). I called my credit card company this morning to check if there were any charges from this company and to my shock there was!!!

 

We had paid our rental fee and re-filled the gas tank. We had stayed on the main roads and as two responsible and mature adults, had driven well below the speed limit. It should have been a "done deal".

 

I am now in the process of communicating with this rental company (which is one of the "regular" ones on the cruise terminal) to get this problem straightened out.

 

I will keep them anonymous at this time but if they do not rectify this situation soon, I will warn the patrons of these boards not to use this company's services in Cozumel. (and I will also let you know if they fix this properly)

 

My point in posting this is to warn you to be aware and suspicious when you rent cars in foreign countries even from reputable companies. Remember the names of all attendants who help you.

Make sure the gas tank is FULL when you take the car off the property and if it isn't ( which was our situation) make sure they note that on your rental agreement upon leaving and upon return.

Get receipts and don't let them keep your copy of the rental agreement "for their records".

Don't let them bully you or patronize you.

Watch out for their "I don't have any change" tactic when you are paying in cash. (This is their scheme to get more money from you. I would rather tip as an honest gesture of thanks than feel duped out of the extra 4 or 5 dollars which they "don't have in change" for your $20s. )

 

And if you are on a cruise and need to be back on your ship before it leaves (duh), make sure that you bring the car back in plenty of time so that you can have time to get a manager to talk to should the attendant attempt to be fraudulent. We didn't have the time to wait around for the manager in our situation as our ship was leaving shortly.

 

Renting a car would of course be my first choice but these types of "your worst nightmare" situations, makes the thought of renting again very frustrating. I am hoping that this situation will be resolved fairly and as soon as possible for us.

 

This is obviously not the norm in car rentals.... but be prepared and warned just in case.

 

Update on this situation:

I have learned today that our quick and immediate investigation into this situation has helped to rectify the problem. The company's head office has cleared it up for us. We are grateful.

However, we have learned that when ever you are in doubt about something like this, deal with it immediately. Keep track of as many details as you can while it is still fresh in your mind. Take pictures of the car, licence plate number, and keep a papertrail of everything. Explain your situation clearly and include as many details as you can so that the company can "understand" your situation fully.

 

I want to be fair and so once again, I will recommend renting a car in Cozumel because up till this incident, it has always been the best way to explore for us. I am still sold on renting cars for day trips and will do so once again on our next vacation.

 

...and now I can sleep again tonight. :)