Any ideas on getting to Xel-Ha?

[callandre]

On a previous tour of Tulum and Xel-Ha out of Cozumel, we decided that we liked Tulum, but we'd love to spend more time at Xel-Ha. We'll be in Cozumel again next March and would like to know if anyone has any experience in getting over to Playa del Carmen by ferry and then managing to get to Xel-Ha either by taxi (how much $$) or by public transportation, or by way of any tour companies that DON'T include Tulum in the trip? From the website for Xel-Ha, it sure looks doable, but I am not so sure if the busses run on "Island time"!! Any input?

 

[BobTuck]

It is definitly do-able, just keep in mind that on the return you will have a 45 minute ferry ride not including the time to wait for it. I would try to catch a ferry that would get you back to Cozumel at least an hour and a half before sail away.
That being said...

Once you cross over to Playa del Carmen in the morning you have a few options for the day:

There is a hertz and a national rent a car 1 block from the pier. You can rent a car and be in control of your own excursion.

There will be a dozen or more willing tour guides on the street that would love your business and their rates are reasonable. This is what we ended up doing. We had 9 people and we found a guide with a 15 seat van to take us around for the entire day for $140 for the entire group, (pay on your return). Thats $17.50/each if you don't count my daughter. We had him take us to Tulum and thats all we wanted to do. On the way back he took us off the main road to a less travelled resort area and showed us a Cenote, which is an underground cave that leads to the ocean. Pretty cool. He also showed us a nice little beach with a small hotel that had a bar on the beach. It was a nice extra. The guides name is Fernando and I'm sure he is still there. If you happen to run into him let me know. We often joke about going back and hiring him again.

Taxi is another option but your are risking not being able to find one for the ride back. Lastly, there is a local bus service but I would not recommend it. About 10 years ago we stayed at a resort in Playa del Carmen and rode the buses a few times to get to a few places to go snorkling. Service is very slow and we were the only Americans on the bus. Once we waited an eternity for the bus to take us back. We thought we were stranded. The plus side in that was we were not going back to a cruise ship.

Whatever you do make sure you leave time to get back. Xel-Ha is probably 60 or more miles from the ship. Good Luck!

 

[callandre]

Thank you SO much, I had emailed a tour company, (Cozumel Coastal Tours) and sure enough, for a "mere" $240 they would meet us at PDC and take us TO Xel-Ha and back, but they wanted Paypal prepayment, and I don't know them well nor have I seen much written about them, so I decided against it. However, you have given me a good idea, we will just take our chances at the pier and if we manage to find someone we feel good about, we'll try your advice. We have two Special Forces Army Seargents with us, so we'll be well protected! Your advice about time is well taken...any idea how I could get a ferry schedule to/from PDC and Cozumel? I can only IMAGINE your experiences on that bus!! I will surely look for your old guide...good ones are worth their weight in gold!

 

[BobTuck]

Here is a link to the ferry schedule in Cozumel. However, I would check at the pier the day you are there to be sure it is accurate.

http://hotel--playa-del-carmen.com/Cozumel-Ferry.htm

Good Luck finding a guide!, but be very skeptical. When we found Fernando we really were planning on renting two cars from Hertz, but felt that the guy behind the counter was giving us the run around. I don't think he had the cars we wanted and was trying to rent us something else. Anyway, we had Fernando show us his van before we agreed to hire him and we did not pay a dime until we returned.

I prefer to do excursions on my own whenever possible. The cost difference is significant and usually you end up getting to do more.

As long as you are careful and mindful of the time you should have no problems and a good time.

 

[callandre]

Thanks, this helps me to sketch out a plan, and at least if we "wing" it, there is always Chankanaab as a back up plan if the ferry and/or weather don't seem to be co-operating with the idea of Xel-Ha. I appreciate the link, gracias!