Car hire or transfer - Cancun

benjus

Flying into Cancun in a couple of months, staying a few days in Tulum, then going on to Mexico City (flying from Cancun).

Hiring a car looks tempting as it would potentially be cheaper than transfers, and I assume we'd be able to drive to places like Chichen Itza rather than having to find transport. However, the reviews for pretty much any car hire company in Cancun airport are really, really bad.

Just wondering if anyone on here has experience renting a car at Cancun airport and would recommend the experience.

becominganobsessivesaver

Personally I'd just look to a transfer company, we used Canada transfers who were very reasonable. Much more relaxing after a long flight!

richardw

benjus wrote: »

..... I assume we'd be able to drive to places like Chichen Itza rather than having to find transport...

You may want to double check that assumption.

benjus

richardw wrote: »

You may want to double check that assumption.

Why is that? It's still early days in terms of planning this trip, but I haven't so far come across anything that suggests it's not possible or advisable. There's supposed to be a large car park at CI.

SW17

benjus wrote: »

Why is that? It's still early days in terms of planning this trip, but I haven't so far come across anything that suggests it's not possible or advisable. There's supposed to be a large car park at CI.

I don't know of anything that would stop you driving from the Riviera Maya to Chichen Itza, the highway is fine and there is a car park. The advantage for me of driving yourself over a bus tour is that you can get there early, before the main tour groups arrive, and it's a lot more peaceful to get around and see everything. Of course you could also achieve this by renting a private car and driver (I did it by staying overnight nearby in Piste, quite a few years ago now...).

Personally I don't drive on my occasional (mostly business) visits to Cancun, but only because of the possibility of having to deal with police stopping you for bribes. The actual roads and traffic seem fine on the main routes. The highway down towards Playa del Carmen did have a reputation for being a bit hairy for accidents, especially in the dark, but that was a few years ago, may have changed.

There are some comments about car rental companies on the Tulum forum on TripAdvisor.

richardw

benjus wrote: »

....There's supposed to be a large car park at CI.

What's your source for that information?

SW17

richardw wrote: »

What's your source for that information?

Are you claiming there is no car park?

benjus

richardw wrote: »

What's your source for that information?

Lonely Planet Mexico guide book, plus lots of websites that come up when you google "chichen itza parking".

richardw

benjus wrote: »

... I haven't so far come across anything that suggests it's not ...advisable...

see SW17's post nr 5.

benjus

richardw wrote: »

see SW17's post nr 5.

That post seems generally positive about driving.

Police demanding bribes would be a pain but I think I'd take the chance. This won't be my first time driving in Latin America and we both speak fluent Spanish.

SW17

benjus wrote: »

Police demanding bribes would be a pain but I think I'd take the chance. This won't be my first time driving in Latin America and we both speak fluent Spanish.

Sounds like you'd be ok. I don't have the patience for these situations, and while I can understand Spanish reasonably well, I don't speak it well enough for such an occasion...

If I recall correctly, the locals get into Chichen Itza free on Sundays, so I guess that would make it busier and you may want to avoid.

Also consider a visit to Valladolid, which is about 45km from Chichen Itza, you pass it coming from Cancun or Tulum. I've never made it there, but looks pretty nice, especially if you're into history/culture and colonial architecture.