Is driving in playa the same as Cozumel

herdfans4 · 07-19-2012

I posted this on playa tripadvisor forum but thought I would get some opinions here too. Thanks

We have driven on two different occasions in Cozumel and found it easy and fun. We had a great time cruising over to the wild side and coconuts. My question is this. Will we find driving south from playa to tulum, coba, or chitzen itza more of a challenge than Cozumel. We are armed with all of Map chicks maps. My concern is last year while in cancun it seemed chaotic trying to drive there ( we took taxis and bus easily but did not rent a car). We are trying to decide between three options and I would love to hear opinions on which would be best.

Option 1

We have made arrangements with USA transfers already for transport to and from our condo at Xaman Ha, but could cancel this fork other options. After getting in playa we could then rent a car to travel down to tulum and akumel on a few different days and maybe a trip to chitzen itza depending on how the kids do at tulum (they don't do heat well).

Option 2

Rent a car from airport and drive self down and back and all around. I am concerned because of the risk of getting stop between playa and cancun seems high and would not want to be hassled on way to airport. I have read a lot of things about what to do if pulled over, but I am always nervous on the day we fly so would like to avoid if this is a high likely hood.

option 3

USA tranfers to playa and then bus to tulum and taxis or collective took akumel. Not sure about chitzen itza if we do this as we are not tour bus kind of people and like to explore on our own. But could put up with it if they could get us there very early and out before crowds.

Also I should mention that it is me, hubby, 2 big kids 10 and 8, and my dad and his wife. Not sure but think we would have to do 2 taxis for this reason.

Thanks

EZsmoke · 07-19-2012

We are also debating this same situation. Believe we are leaning toward option #3. Being able to walk from one end of a beach (Akumel) and visit all the beach rest./beach clubs and not have to go back to the other end of beach at end of day for the car just hop in a cab or collective and head back to playa. Also being our first trip to playa kind of want to get a feel for the area.

u2girlie · 07-19-2012

We don't mind driving around at all when we are down there. When you are in Playa, right in town, it's a bit hectic & definitely busier than Cozumel. We always have whoever is in the passenger seat on the lookout for crazy drivers and to shout directions - like a rally car driver & their co-pilot.

Once you get out of Playa, it's easy squeezy. The only thing to watch for, and again, passenger does this in our car, is watch for the speed limit signs. They change speed limits quite a bit on the main highway. Mostly when you're coming into a town but it could be 80 kph, down to 60 kph and 20 feet later it's 40 kph and then back to 60 kph. It seems pretty random to me but maybe there is a method to the madness I haven't figured out yet?

It's good to keep an eye out for that. OH and how could I forget, the topes!!! They have them in Cozumel but they appear quite a bit on the main highway (speed bumps) which you don't expect on that kind of road.

We've never had any run ins with police - which some people worry about. Of course, obey all traffic laws, no drinking & driving, wear seat belts, the usual stuff you'd do at home.

I think you'll be fine. I'm sure some locals can chime in with more road experience than me down there but hope this helps.

Oh and to actually answer your question!!! I'd vote for Option 1. Gives you a bit more freedom to do what you want. You can always rent the car for just a day or two days and not the whole time you are there.

herdfans4 · 07-19-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by EZsmoke

We are also debating this same situation. Believe we are leaning toward option #3. Being able to walk from one end of a beach (Akumel) and visit all the beach rest./beach clubs and not have to go back to the other end of beach at end of day for the car just hop in a cab or collective and head back to playa. Also being our first trip to playa kind of want to get a feel for the area.

Are you down there the same week as us. August 4 to 11th. I saw on another post that you would be at xaman ha too. Do you have kids? Would love to find some kiddos at the condo for mine to play with. We are getting padi certified with Mexico blue dream this trip and my dad and his wife are watching them. Would be great if they had some buddies to hang with.

herdfans4 · 07-19-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by u2girlie

Oh and to actually answer your question!!! I'd vote for Option 1. Gives you a bit more freedom to do what you want. You can always rent the car for just a day or two days and not the whole time you are there.

thanks for the great info. This is actually my favorite option too. Since we are staying at xaman ha just inside playacar phase 1, I think getting out of playa by car should be a little easier. At least by studying the maps from map chick. Love the co pilot idea.

snappysammy · 07-19-2012

outside playa, driving is pretty easy
use extra care in town, lots of bad driving going on

your kids are not so good in the heat and you are coming to playa in august??
best wishes, and make sure the air in the car works before you drive off the lot

herdfans4 · 07-19-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by snappysammy

outside playa, driving is pretty easy
use extra care in town, lots of bad driving going on

your kids are not so good in the heat and you are coming to playa in august??
best wishes, and make sure the air in the car works before you drive off the lot

Lol. Yes that did sound kind of crazy I guess. We were in cancun at same time last year and thought that even with sunny days and warm temps the breeze off the ocean was nice. They are fine as long as there is a body of water near by to swim in. Guess cenotes would help with that after chitzen itza but so far inland I know it will be much hotter without the ocean breezes. I just don't know how impressed they would be if they felt like they were melting at midday. If we go we will drive ourselves and leave play no later than 6 am

EZsmoke · 07-19-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by herdfans4

Are you down there the same week as us. August 4 to 11th. I saw on another post that you would be at xaman ha too. Do you have kids? Would love to find some kiddos at the condo for mine to play with. We are getting padi certified with Mexico blue dream this trip and my dad and his wife are watching them. Would be great if they had some buddies to hang with.

We will be there July 31st to Aug 7th. Will be traveling with 2 teenage girls. Girlfriend and i are 50. Now i'm thinking about doing a rental for our day to Tulum and akumel.

EZsmoke · 07-19-2012

We are from KC MO area, where are you guys from herdfans4?

herdfans4 · 07-19-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by EZsmoke

We are from KC MO area, where are you guys from herdfans4?

We are from Huntington, WV. We are big Marshall thundering herd fans thus the herdfans4. Lol. Sounds like my boys are too young for your girls. Oh well. We are in late 30s and my dad just turned 60 (his wife is younger lol).

caramba · 07-20-2012

We always rent a car at the airport, and also stay in Playacar Phase 1 for a good part of the time we're there. Yes, very easy to get in and out of...
We take day trips, overnight trips, go all over the place with our rental and have never had a problem. If you don't think you'll be needing the car every day then I agree with u2girlie that option 1 sounded like a good plan.

Bluespicker · 07-20-2012

Driving in Mexico is a piece of cake. Stop signs are really yield signs and speed limits are just a suggestion. All seriousness aside driving in Mexico is easy as long as you watch out for a lot of bad drivers and keep to a reasonable speed. I love driving in Mexico you can drive like an asshole and fit right in.

Babaloo · 07-20-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluespicker

I love driving in Mexico you can drive like an asshole and fit right in.

:
Exactly!

beam-eye · 07-20-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by herdfans4

...me, hubby, 2 big kids 10 and 8, and my dad and his wife. Not sure but think we would have to do 2 taxis for this reason.

Ask Pablo (or whoever is now operating the registration desk at Xamen-Ha) to call for a Taxi Syndicate "van" for 6 people - rent it for 1 or 2 hours for close-in travel. If that works well, rent it for half-day to go to Akumal. If that works well, ditto Tulum (either same day or different), and maybe for the longer trip to the ruins as CI if the bus thing doesn't appeal to you. If the van works well for Akumal, but you still want more freedom, rent a big car or van in Playa for the drive to Tulum.

Re: the speed limit signs, I suspect that whoever "designed" the highway picked it out a magazine (from a picture of a real highway in the US) and said "Let's build one of those", and then ordered enough signs (from 20 km/hr to 110 km/hr) to randomly plant one every 100 meters along its entire length from Cancun to Chetumal - this makes it easier for the planting crew because 1) they don't have to worry about which sign goes where, and 2) it gets rid of all the signs relatively quickly. ¿Es mas eficaz, no? Let the drivers figure it out - that's why they have cars. Suerte!

u2girlie · 07-20-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluespicker

Driving in Mexico is a piece of cake. Stop signs are really yield signs and speed limits are just a suggestion. All seriousness aside driving in Mexico is easy as long as you watch out for a lot of bad drivers and keep to a reasonable speed. I love driving in Mexico you can drive like an asshole and fit right in.

That's how I drive in NYC & Boston.

07-19-2012	#1 (permalink)
herdfans4 lost on fifth Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 15	Is driving in playa the same as Cozumel I posted this on playa tripadvisor forum but thought I would get some opinions here too. Thanks We have driven on two different occasions in Cozumel and found it easy and fun. We had a great time cruising over to the wild side and coconuts. My question is this. Will we find driving south from playa to tulum, coba, or chitzen itza more of a challenge than Cozumel. We are armed with all of Map chicks maps. My concern is last year while in cancun it seemed chaotic trying to drive there ( we took taxis and bus easily but did not rent a car). We are trying to decide between three options and I would love to hear opinions on which would be best. Option 1 We have made arrangements with USA transfers already for transport to and from our condo at Xaman Ha, but could cancel this fork other options. After getting in playa we could then rent a car to travel down to tulum and akumel on a few different days and maybe a trip to chitzen itza depending on how the kids do at tulum (they don't do heat well). Option 2 Rent a car from airport and drive self down and back and all around. I am concerned because of the risk of getting stop between playa and cancun seems high and would not want to be hassled on way to airport. I have read a lot of things about what to do if pulled over, but I am always nervous on the day we fly so would like to avoid if this is a high likely hood. option 3 USA tranfers to playa and then bus to tulum and taxis or collective took akumel. Not sure about chitzen itza if we do this as we are not tour bus kind of people and like to explore on our own. But could put up with it if they could get us there very early and out before crowds. Also I should mention that it is me, hubby, 2 big kids 10 and 8, and my dad and his wife. Not sure but think we would have to do 2 taxis for this reason. Thanks

07-19-2012	#3 (permalink)
u2girlie Life=Playa (almost) Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Playa del Carmen Posts: 3,712	We don't mind driving around at all when we are down there. When you are in Playa, right in town, it's a bit hectic & definitely busier than Cozumel. We always have whoever is in the passenger seat on the lookout for crazy drivers and to shout directions - like a rally car driver & their co-pilot. Once you get out of Playa, it's easy squeezy. The only thing to watch for, and again, passenger does this in our car, is watch for the speed limit signs. They change speed limits quite a bit on the main highway. Mostly when you're coming into a town but it could be 80 kph, down to 60 kph and 20 feet later it's 40 kph and then back to 60 kph. It seems pretty random to me but maybe there is a method to the madness I haven't figured out yet? It's good to keep an eye out for that. OH and how could I forget, the topes!!! They have them in Cozumel but they appear quite a bit on the main highway (speed bumps) which you don't expect on that kind of road. We've never had any run ins with police - which some people worry about. Of course, obey all traffic laws, no drinking & driving, wear seat belts, the usual stuff you'd do at home. I think you'll be fine. I'm sure some locals can chime in with more road experience than me down there but hope this helps. Oh and to actually answer your question!!! I'd vote for Option 1. Gives you a bit more freedom to do what you want. You can always rent the car for just a day or two days and not the whole time you are there. Last edited by u2girlie; 07-19-2012 at 08:10 PM..

07-19-2012	#2 (permalink)
EZsmoke sandflea Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 9	We are also debating this same situation. Believe we are leaning toward option #3. Being able to walk from one end of a beach (Akumel) and visit all the beach rest./beach clubs and not have to go back to the other end of beach at end of day for the car just hop in a cab or collective and head back to playa. Also being our first trip to playa kind of want to get a feel for the area.

07-19-2012	#6 (permalink)
snappysammy añejo Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 12,275	outside playa, driving is pretty easy use extra care in town, lots of bad driving going on your kids are not so good in the heat and you are coming to playa in august?? best wishes, and make sure the air in the car works before you drive off the lot

07-19-2012	#9 (permalink)
EZsmoke sandflea Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 9	We are from KC MO area, where are you guys from herdfans4?

07-20-2012	#11 (permalink)
caramba añejo Join Date: May 2002 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 6,644	We always rent a car at the airport, and also stay in Playacar Phase 1 for a good part of the time we're there. Yes, very easy to get in and out of... We take day trips, overnight trips, go all over the place with our rental and have never had a problem. If you don't think you'll be needing the car every day then I agree with u2girlie that option 1 sounded like a good plan.

07-20-2012	#12 (permalink)
Bluespicker añejo Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Playa Posts: 4,760	Driving in Mexico is a piece of cake. Stop signs are really yield signs and speed limits are just a suggestion. All seriousness aside driving in Mexico is easy as long as you watch out for a lot of bad drivers and keep to a reasonable speed. I love driving in Mexico you can drive like an asshole and fit right in.

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