If staying in Playa del Carmen would it be a good idea to rent a car & drive to Coba & Chichen Itza?

Question

We're non-Spanish speaking Americans who have never been to the area. We want to see the ruins but aren't excited about the planned trips that take a whole day and only let you stay 4 hours.

Answer 1

I agree that you should rent a car. The freedom of having your own car is great. I hate being crammed in a bus with lots of people. I would rather be on my own and go where i please.

Answer 2

don't rent the car for Tulum...it's close enough to bus or even a taxi. Do it on a separate day...Head for Coba early...It's much nicer before the crowds arrive and all the dust begins to fly...

Spend the night away from coba....the choices for places to stay there aren't good in my opinion. If you arrive early In Valladolid or closer to Chichen Itza, so much the better...whatever your choice, read up on your options beforehand...you will not regret it. DO NOT Drive in the early evening and night. Get settled early so that you can enjoy your evening prior to visiting Chichen Itza..Now this is a big place and if you plane to see it all, (recommended)...you want to get there early and perhaps even stay another night in the area, but again, don't get stuck driving at night. Also, there are some of Mexico's most beautiful ruins, near Merida...you may want to check them out too if you have the inclination.

Answer 3

You can certainly rent a car to see the ruins, however, please don't expect to see both of those in one day.  If I were doing what you describe, I'd drive to Coba the first day, very early, and see the ruins there for as long as you desire.  From there, spend the night in Valladolid and spend some time that evening enjoying the town.  Get up very early the next morning and drive to Chichen Itza so that you miss the arrival of the tour buses and have the ruins more to yourself to enjoy.  If you can, plan on spending the night near the ruins, or even go back to Valladolid, but be sure to catch the night show at Chichen Itza.  

Some great alternatives to traditional huge bus tours are found on the website below.

Answer 4

Definitely rent a car. I don't like the structured and rigid schedule of planned trips. Leave early in the morning, as early as possible to make the most of the day. I recommend hiring a guide though. It's worth the money. Also stay for the light show at night. Since you have your own transportation, stay at Valladolid, (a short drive away) This will allow you to stay at chichenitza all day and way into the night. Then next day, shop and walk around Valladolid. Take your bathing suite because they have cenotes there (springs). Try to get a hotel in the downtown area. Those are nice, not 5 star, but nice.

Have fun!!!

Answer 5

Renting a car is ok, but make sure you don't get lost and make sure you obey the speed limits.  My son and his friend were speeding and they got caught (19 year olds).  It was a close call, but the officer's were scarey and asked them for a bribe to get away.  They had to pay the officer so he wouldn't give them a ticket.

Also, if you are looking to relax, renting a car is just like being a home.  Take the tours because they are great and well worth it, but it will take you a lot of time to do the tours regardless of whether you rent a car or not.  Plan on making it a day and you won't be disappointed.

Answer 6

I was just there and we went toTulum and we took a collectivo which is like a 12 passenger van and it was $3 each way. We were able to stay as long as we liked and it was a fun experience. I don't know how much it would cost you to get to chichen itza but our ride was about 45 minutes. They also have a bus station in town that takes you there and it was about the same price(not a tour bus). I looked at bus prices by going to google and typing in my question or bus prices from playa del carmen to tulum and I got a good list.

Answer 7

ohh man playa del carmen is very nice been there, and the ruins are amazing, yeap if you want to get to know the place, i would say yeap rent a car. the eximent to know the place arround is very good, have fun.

Answer 8

Call the transportation, vacation, watersports, tours and fun experts actually in Mexico at 1-888-862-3806 they are the best. www.cancuncatamarans.com or www.cancuntransportationservices.com or  www.britsincancun.com

Answer 9

Renting a car is a must to avoid the crowds at Chichen Itza! My husband and i got there at 8:00am when it opened and like 25 people were there and when we got done about 400 people were waiting in line! We drove the old coba road and had no problems.(we don't speak spanish either!) The ruins (Chichen) costed about 10 us dollars a person. Definetly after the ruins visit Ik Kil cenote it is 10 minutes from Chichen and the most beautiful thing i have ever seen. That was 6 us dollars a person. The one thing i regret is the car rental company i used which goes under several names, America car rental, Cancun rent-a-car, Carribean rent-a-car and Continental rent-a-car. They are in the process of ripping us off right now. I would strongly recommend Rentadora Isis in Playa del Carmen for a car rental company. They are very nice and honest people. From Tulum it took us about 2 1/2 hours to get to Chichen driving the speed limit. Not sure from Playa though. Hope you trip goes well and have fun!