• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Mexico - should I rent a car?

TwentyONE

TwentyONE

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 2, 2011
Messages
2,087
Reaction score
78
Location
DC
We are going to Mexico (Yucatan) in May. Flying to Cancun and staying at a small hotel in Playa del Carmen. The wife is big on not doing the all inclusive thing as we've had some meh experiences in the past. So we are planning to rent a car and drive to a number of the ruins (south to Tulum and Sian Kaan one day and then Coba and Chichen Itza another day). We will mostly stay on the toll roads, but it looks like to get back one day we will need to cut through some small towns on the "Libra"-Free road.

There are currently no travel warnings for the states we will be visiting, but according to the state dept, its suggested to stay in tourist areas, take the tourist buses, look like a tourist, talk like a tourist, eat like a tourist, etc, etc, etc. Apparently the threat of fake road blocks, kidnapping, false identity situations, etc., exists everywhere.

But I'm not too worried about it. This area of the country, from what I understand, is pretty safe, save for the typical petty crime.

Anyone ever rented a car here? Anyone been down there in the last 6 years or so since the drug war set off? I've been in some dicey areas of the world, but have never been to Mexico.
 
Just steal one.

Seriously- how good is your Spanish? If you can speak it well, I say go for it. Just remember to keep some cash stashed in the vehicle for... uh... "tolls" and on-the-spot legal "advice" from certain officials.
 
Friends of mine (two girls) lived down there and did just fine... I went to visit and never felt unsafe (we were staying in Playa del Carmen and spent decent time in Puerto Morelos - this was in 2008). I feel like you'll be OK if you're a pretty savvy traveler, the main question I have is whether or not you speak spanish (SO helpful in so many situations).
 
94Deac said:
Just steal one.

Seriously- how good is your Spanish? If you can speak it well, I say go for it. Just remember to keep some cash stashed in the vehicle for... uh... "tolls" and on-the-spot legal "advice" from certain officials.
Click to expand...

and this.
 
I've lost most of my Spanish but my wife's is good. She hates to haggle though. It will pretty much be me negotiating with anyone we encounter and her translating.
 
lbE08 said:
Friends of mine (two girls) lived down there and did just fine... I went to visit and never felt unsafe (we were staying in Playa del Carmen and spent decent time in Puerto Morelos - this was in 2008). I feel like you'll be OK if you're a pretty savvy traveler, the main question I have is whether or not you speak spanish (SO helpful in so many situations).
Click to expand...

Did your friends have a car down there?
 
I went to Akumal (just south of Playa) 3 years ago and stayed at a friend's place. These friends have been back more recently than me. We didn't rent a car, took cabs south to Tulum and north to Playa, and did just fine. My friends were there last summer and they always rent a car because they're there for 2-3 weeks and travel around a lot. They were pulled over on the way back to the Cancun airport and taken for $200 by a local cop (the alternative was the local Mexican jail). I'm pretty confident this is much less likely to happen in a cab.
 
TwentyONE said:
We are going to Mexico (Yucatan) in May. Flying to Cancun and staying at a small hotel in Playa del Carmen. The wife is big on not doing the all inclusive thing as we've had some meh experiences in the past. So we are planning to rent a car and drive to a number of the ruins (south to Tulum and Sian Kaan one day and then Coba and Chichen Itza another day). We will mostly stay on the toll roads, but it looks like to get back one day we will need to cut through some small towns on the "Libra"-Free road.

There are currently no travel warnings for the states we will be visiting, but according to the state dept, its suggested to stay in tourist areas, take the tourist buses, look like a tourist, talk like a tourist, eat like a tourist, etc, etc, etc. Apparently the threat of fake road blocks, kidnapping, false identity situations, etc., exists everywhere.

But I'm not too worried about it. This area of the country, from what I understand, is pretty safe, save for the typical petty crime.

Anyone ever rented a car here? Anyone been down there in the last 6 years or so since the drug war set off? I've been in some dicey areas of the world, but have never been to Mexico.
Click to expand...

Just did this exact thing. Flew to Cancun, rented a POS car - it was a stick shift, no radio, tiny and slow - but it was like $70 for the week. Had no problems at all, and it was really nice to have that level of freedom. Hit up some Cenotes, snorkeling, a couple restaurants... Would have cost the same amount for the taxis to/from the airport.

Use common sense and you'll be fine.
 
My friend was just telling me a story the other night about hitting another car in Mexico. He was (very poorly) pulling into a parking spot and slammed into the car next to him. Some guy came over to investigate, and my friend asked him what he thought he should do. The guy responded "well, if you were a Mexican, you'd just drive off." So my friend just drove off.

There, I just helped you solve a situational problem.
 
Carry a "bribe wallet" that you can pull out when you get pulled over. 30 bucks in pesos. "Lo siento, senor. No tengo mas."
 
As far as Tulum I would be OK with - but Chitzen Itza is pretty far away isn't it? Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable tooling all over Mexico as an American gringo...
 
I don't rent cars in Mexico due to policia selective enforcement of traffic "laws". Last I checked, rental cars in Mexico are easy for the police to ID. I certainly wouldn't do it for Cichen Itza.

If you do rent a car:
Take the insurance - your credit card coverage probably won't be valid
Take copious pictures of the car before renting, including the spare (or lack there of) and tire tools,
Make a copy of your drivers license and only carry that when driving,
Carry only a small amount of cash in your wallet - hide the rest on your body
Obey the speed limits,
Make sure your wife is cool with the "I have to pee" excuse if the police hassle you for too long.

My wife and I renewed our vows in the Yucatan several years ago and the minister was late due to being shaken down by the police. They apparently put up temporary speed limit signs on a curve just to write some tickets (cash only);)
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the advice. I've heard a lot horror stories about getting shaken down by police, but it mostly seems to be in or around Cancun.
 
DCDeac said:
Just did this exact thing. Flew to Cancun, rented a POS car - it was a stick shift, no radio, tiny and slow - but it was like $70 for the week. Had no problems at all, and it was really nice to have that level of freedom. Hit up some Cenotes, snorkeling, a couple restaurants... Would have cost the same amount for the taxis to/from the airport.

Use common sense and you'll be fine.
Click to expand...

Did you go to Chichen Itza?
 
TwentyONE said:
Did you go to Chichen Itza?
Click to expand...

No, just Tulum, didn't have enough time for Chichen Itza. Maybe I'm not paranoid enough, but driving around in the Playa Del Carmen area seemed like no big deal, and the rental car agencies aren't mom-and-pop ripoff shops - I think we used Avis. My Mastercard covered rental insurance in Mexico, and the whole thing was no different than renting in the US minus the crappy car and how cheap it was. There are a ton of golf courses and plenty or visitors driving around, so I'm not sure I buy that people are routinely getting pulled over for being white and are forced to pay off police officers. I mean, they have a PGA Tour event there...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top