We ordered a private van to take us from Cancun airport to our Airbnb in Playa del Carmen for $60…read moreUSD + $10 USD tip. After staying in the area for a few days, we realized there's a bus that goes about every 30mins from Playa Del Carmen to the airport for only $12USD per person. We wanted to try this for our returned flight. We arrived here the day before to buy the bus tickets with assigned seats. Our Airbnb was about 7mins walk away. There was a line but it went fairly quick. It's warm there so be ready for the heat as there's no AC. It's not a new bus station. We came back about 45mins before our bus and waited in the waiting area. The bus arrived about 5mins before we are to leave. Have your printed ticket or your confirmation on the phone ready to show. The baggage handlers helped us put our luggage on the belly of the bus. We tipped them a few dollars. The bus was clean and fairly newer. Easy 1 hour ride to the airport. There were some overhead USB ports above your seat if you want to use your cable to charge your phone, etc. Definitely will use the bus more in the future when visiting Playa del Carmen. Saved us money and time.

¡Los más irrespetuosos! Se ve que odian su trabajo porque en lugar de ayudar a la gente se ve que…read morelo odian y se molestan porque la más sencilla pregunta. ADO ES EL PEOR. Por favor inviertan en capacitar a su gente porque el servicio es pésimo. Me hicieron comprar más boletos!

Your new best friend for the day!!…read more My group was so happy to have booked Soy la Persera as our personal tour guide for the day! On the recommendation of a work associate who really knows the Riviera Maya well, I reached out to Monica asking for suggestions for a tour of the area. She responded to my email in a matter of minutes. She suggested multiple itineraries from which we could pick and choose, and even add to or subtract from. We are not the "young and fearless" types, so we declined to choose anything with the words "adventure", "Zip-line", or "ATV". There were still a number of options to choose from. First, let me say that our guide, the eponymous "Mr. Yayo", was awesome; truly a professional. He showed up at our resort promptly on time with a spotlessly clean van containing a cooler stocked full of beer and water, the only two things that life truly requires. Being total nerds, we started out day with a tour of the Mayan ruins @ Tulum. There, we were presented to another great site-based guide, Gabrielle. From there, we went to sit our lazy butts on the beautiful Playa Paraisio. This built up our appetites, so Yayo took us to Taqueria Honorio in Tulum for lunch. What a great place! I never knew that Lechon was the way God intended for me to eat pork!! Just to confirm, we ordered Pabil tortas for comparison sake. Sure, they were great, but Lechon shall for ever remain supreme! After this, we needed to relax some more. It was Cenote time! We scheduled two: The very remote and privately owned Taak Bi Ha cenote, which could better be described as a grotto-like cave. The lighting was very dramatic and reminded me of Ludwig II of Bavaria's grotto at Linderhof. Stunningly beautiful. We stayed here for just a short time as the water was low, and swimming would be better at the second cenote: the Azul Cenote. Another great "locals" favorite. Our group enjoyed our time here relaxing in the natural beauty of the area. Our day with Mr. Yayo will be remembered as the most fun day of our trip to Playa. Many thanks to Monica for her great correspondence and organizational skills! The price we paid was well worth it. We shopped several other tour companies, and no one else came close. Ask for Mr. Yayo!

Soy La Pesera was recommended to us by someone who traveled to Playa regularly and loved their…read moreservice. They're an independent tour company and will customize private tours for a reasonable price. We had a group of 4, and for $100/pp US had a full day of fun. (That's the same or less as a non-private tour thru big operators!) That included a private, clean, air conditioned van with a private driver (more on that later). Plenty of ice cold water and beer too! They'll offer you suggestions but you really can build your day according to your interests. We started at Tulum to see the ruins, moved to the Paraiso beach club for complete relaxation on powdery sand and then visited 2 ceynotes. Let's not forget an incredible lunch - all included. I really liked that we went to smaller, local ceynotes - ones the big groups just can't get to. Takbiha ceynote is family owned and completely underground - we were the only ones there! Azul ceynote is popular with locals and offered a refreshing end to our day - probably my favorite part. Our driver/guide was Yayo and I'd highly recommend requesting him. He was super friendly, and made sure we spent our time wisely (went to Tulum early to beat the crowds and did ceynotes last for the same reason). He also took us to a great small spot in Tulum for the BEST lechon and cochinita! Monica, the owner was quick to respond to our booking questions too. So happy we used them instead of one the big group tours on 5th!!

Haven't been to Cozumel in over 10 years and wow what a difference. There is still the old terminal…read morenear Senior Frog that seemed to me a bit more authentic than this one. Seeing its new, they have upscaled the shops with a lot of brand names and overpriced goods. While this is very clean and well kept, gives the vibes of a typical tourist shopping area. We ended up meeting our excursion guide here and they have a great transportation terminal on the back side of the buildings.

I went to Cozumel in 2004 and it has evolved tremendously over the past twenty years. There is…read moreplenty to do when you get off at the cruise terminal and lots of picture taking. If you don't have an excursion, it'll be fine since the area has plenty to do and isn't like Costa Maya. We went to Chankanaab to spend the day there and saw the manatees as well as the dolphins. We were able to have an open bar and non-alcoholic beverages and lunch. I highly recommend this part of Cozumel to explore since it's a great experience. After we arrived back at the terminal, we did some shopping and got shirts and souvenirs to bring back home. There are plenty of bars and restaurants to check out if you want to get your fix. It was a fun hump day!

Adrian was a great guide to both the food and various topics about Baja and Mexico in general. All…read more3 eateries were delicious with a range of dishes from the freshest, moistest and lightest Baja fish tacos imaginable to ceviche and empanadas. Also a decent selection of beers and micheladas to accompany them. He was also patient while I shopped for a pendant for my wife. Really nice guy with life stories to share, including working as a personal chef and galley preparation on deep sea fishing boats. He definitely knows his seafood.

From start to finish, our food tour led by Alejandro was something taco-bout! (sorry)!…read more It was a wonderful way to learn about and enjoy the local cuisine and culture of Porto Morelos. Alejandro was awesome and flexible as everyone in our party has done tours with them before. There were a couple of stops we'd all been to before, and so we pivoted to other dining spots without missing a beat. My only complaint was I gained 2+ Kgs (5 lbs). Would absolutely do another tour with Eating With Carmen, and it would be great to have Alejandro as our guide.

Hands down, the absolute best people to use. We used Playa Transfers to get from Cancun Airport to…read moreour condo in Playa del Carmen. Traveling with my elderly father and 2 children, we decided to go with a private transport. We were quoted at $162. $81 both ways, private service, directly from point A to B, for 5 people was a steal. Our driver was waiting for us outside with a cute little sign with our name on it. Helped load our bags, had the air conditioning running, and provided fun info along the ride. We also used them for our day trips to Tulum and Chichen Itza. It was basically an "open" service, meaning we reserved a private transfer to use any way for an allotted amount of time - 4, 6, or 8 hours. We reserved 6 hours ($200) for drive to Tulum, lunch, and either snorkeling or cenotes. Again, they were there early to pick us up and drive us where we needed/wanted within our 6 hours. We chose 8 hours for Chichen Itza. Drive (private transfer), tickets to Chichen, private guide at Chichen Itza, Cenote swim, and lunch buffet- $510. Again, they were absolutely amazing and personalized our service to meet our needs. Absolutely the BEST!!!!! We love Tello, Raul, and David!!!!!

We have used Playa Transfers many times and found them great. HOWEVER THIS TIME THEY LEFT OUR GROUP…read moreOF 5 and 6 STRANDED AT THE AIRPORT. We had to pay for additional transfers and our entire group including the kids were quite upset. I would not use them again.

It was probably the most organized port of our 7-day Western Caribbean trip. Yes, the shopping…read morevillage is touristy. There were many places set up for photo opportunities. There's a landscaped water feature area that's a haven for turtles and iguanas. I feel like the layout of the shops & restaurants are more spread out and spacious. I liked the shops here better. There's a Ron Jon Surf Shop and a Rogers Boots Shop (reminded my hubby of "No Country for Old Men"). I can't comment on the restaurants because we didn't try any of them. There is a Fat Tuesday, Three Amigos, and Panchos Backyard. I so wanted to stop for dessert and coffee at Banana & Company, but there's just never enough time. Hopefully there will be a next time. Our shore excursion was very well-organized here. We met our guide in front of Ron Jon's. She walked us to the taxi pickup area where we were whisked away to Barriecito. It was such a memorable experience. The taxi fare was part of the excursion, but it's actually a good price just to take a ride around the whole area. Honestly though, you really don't need an excursion here. There's a lot to see even if you decide to walk to Punta Langosta or venture out into San Miguel de Cozumel on your own. It was a fun port of call!

Out of the 3 ports our cruise visited this one for Cozumel, Mexico saved the BEST for last…read more There are SO many shops that passengers who didn't book a shore excursion would have fun shopping and eating here. We booked a tour to a Mayan Village so just got a Mexican mango flavored popsicle super refreshing and hit the spot cuz it was HOT. I saw a cute Stitch Ohana hand painted wooden plaque on our way to the tour vehicle so on the way back to the ship found the booth and had it personalized. We had to be back on the ship if not I would have surely filled up my suitcase with more items here like footwear and handbags. The tour we took also stopped at a Tequila Factory and I saw leather goods across the street and by the ancient church but it didn't seem like we could stop to shop. Glad we got to buy a few hand made jewelry and pottery whistle at the Mayan Village. If we ever go to Cozumel again I'll choose to just leisurely enjoy Puerta Maya then return to the ship when I'd had enough.

I had never been on a submarine and booked this as a shore excursion while on a cruise. Very…read moreprofessional operation where the reception girls are competent, the waiting facility is air-conditioned and the 23 year-old electric submarine looks like it was built last year. Pristine maintenance! The ride out to meet the sub takes about 20 minutes on a substantial single-level boat with a capacity sufficient to seat both the 40 people riding out to get on the sub and the 40 who are getting off to return to shore. Guests are safely monitored in all transition processes by multiple staff members. You will spend about 45 minutes under water. There was no sense of cramped quarters, but we were two of seven (including two crew) out of 41 seats (20 down each side, shoulder to shoulder). I would expect that if all 40 seats were taken by "average sized tourists" you would wish the seats were wider. The entire passenger compartment is generously lined with 24-inch portholes that adults need to lean over to see out of. The tour area occurs where the sea floor is white sand, which adds to visibility. Don't expect bright colors at 100 feet down (there are lots of misleading photos out there). You get a nice slow turn around the 184-foot sunken former WWII USN minesweeper "Scuffles" (C-53) and you will see a nice variety of fish, which for us included a manta ray and a couple of large snapper plus schools of smaller fish. An Atlantis employee iwas along to narrate, leaving the sole duty of the Captain piloting the vessel. It appears that you can save about $26 off of the regular price of $105 by booking online a week or two in advance through tripadvisor. Most guides tell you to take a taxi to the Atlantis Submarine waterfront departure facility, but if you are arriving by cruise ship the walk from the dockside taxi stand at the International Pier to the Atlantis Submarine departure office is shorter than the walk from the ship to the taxi stand (about 1,500 feet). If your cruise ship docks at the Puerta Playa Cruise Pier, it's twice that far.

I visited here for a cruise excursion. The guide does the tour in Spanish and English. They do a…read moregreat job pointing out the various sea creatures you'll sea during the visit and safety. I was sad not to see any sharks since I'm shark obsessed. I have heard from others who did the tour you sometimes do see sharks. It's incredible feeling to be below the sea seeing all the fishies.

If you want the convenience of getting to your destinations safely and the freedom to enjoy the…read moresites at your own pace, Playa Vacation is the way go to. Enjoyed the private tour to Tulum & Grand Cenote, US$150 flat rate for the van. It's essentially a private driver for the day, as entrance fees to the ruins & cenote are not included in the flat rate. Direct and convenient pick up & drop off from our lodging (and at each site), got to stroll and enjoy the sites at our own pace, and also had the freedom to add locations as we went (we got to explore Akumal & a local tacos al pastor spot). Great value!