First timer with car questions.

[northerner]

:) Hi everyone, We will be in Cozumel in 3 weeks. Dumb question, Can you drive a rental car to the main land? Should we, or can we rent on the main land? How far is Chitchen Itza from port? I see that there are 6 ships in port the day we are, will that make for mass confusion? Sounds like 20,000 more people then I am used to. :eek: :D Any advice for us new comers is welcome and much appreciated. Happy sailing to all and to all a Jello shot or Three! Teresa

[solita]

I am alittle confused. You are coming into Cozumel, correct? And are interested in going to Chichen Itza? Although it is possible to rent a car in Cozumel, you may not take it off the island via the car ferry. All rental agencies I know do not allow you to do it. If you do not want to do the ship organized tour then you can go over to Playa de Carmen and rent a car from there or take the bus. But you are talking about a very long and confusing day. From Cozumel, it will take you about 3-4 hours just to get there - possibly longer depending on what transportation method you take (including a 45 minute ferry trip to Playa de Carmen).

[MandyCSP]

Taking a car on the ferry is prohibitively expensive. Better to rent one in Playa del Carmen. (Hint: Be sure to check out the "quirks" of driving in Mexico.) But the trek to Chichen Itza is probably too far. There are some ancient ruins in Tulum & Coba. Do some research on these to see if they might interest you. i also have started a thread on getting to these as we are planning a trip in Jan. Good luck.

[ArkansasFish]

I would not leave the ISland, you would be really pushing it. WAit til you go on a cruise that gets you closer to where you want to go. Like the other person said, transportation is an issue! You would be spending all your time traveling and you may not have enough time!! Don't risk it, you might miss the ship!!

[northerner]

I had a feeling that there would be a glitch in my plan. A few months ago I posted a poll, which was the best Ruin, and 90% said chichen Itza was by far the best. Many said I could get there from Coz. I will rent a car in Plya, I kinda thought I'd not be able to get one from the Island to the main land. Does anyone know where Chichen is?

Thank you so much for helping avoid a possible let down. I think maybe Tulum is a better bet for us. What do you think?

[ScubaMare]

Chichen Itza is in the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula, roughly between Merida and Cancun. The day would, indeed, be a very long one. Dock in Cozumel. Catch a ferry to Playa del Carmen (45 minutes). Then another roughly 2 hours up to Chichen Itza. There's (3) hours there and you haven't begun to explore the massive ruins. We're proabably talking an 8-10 hour day. We've stayed on the island many times for a week at a time and still haven't been able to find time to do this trip. I can't imagine trying to make it on a cruise, especially outside the ship.

You are far better off either staying on Cozumel and going to San Gervasio -- about an hour of touring -- and then spending the rest of the day snorkeling, shopping, or exploring the island or ferrying to Play del Carmen and going to Tulum or Coba. Tulum is much closer to Play del Carmen and would be an easier and less stressful day. Although these ruins aren't as grand as Chichen Itza, they are quite impressive with the ocean as the backdrop.

I worry that if you try to get to Chichen Itza you would stress yourself out hurrying to catch ferries and buses and then watching your watch so you don't miss your ship's departure.

[CozInsiderJacq]

I agree that it would be better to try the Chichen Itza trip when you are going to be here longer and to enjoy the local sights of Cozumel, however if you do decide to go to Chichen I would recommend that you book a tour through your cruise ship. If you go on your own and for some reason don't make it back to the ship on time ~ they will leave you....if you are late on a ship tour~ they will wait.

[northerner]

I guess we will do Tulum and forgo Chichen Itza for a different trip. Cobo looks really good too, but it is only 1/2 hour from Chichen so we will stick to Tulum. Is st. gervasio good, first time I heard of it. I'll do a little look around to see if I can find it. Thanks again, Theresa

[solita]

They are the ruins that are in the middle of the island here. They are small but nice. It is a jungle setting rather than the open area like at Tulum or Chichen Itza. You will see lots of iguanas too! It is a tour that you can do on your own if you want...just jump in a taxi. The taxi stands have posted fares from each pier so there is no question about price to get there.