hiring a driver for the day

[coolcat12]

We were in Cozumel last week on our Oasis cruise. My 21 year old daughter and I booked with Eduardo and had Leo as our driver. Had great pre trip communication with Eduardo and Leo was the BEST! We had emailed plans earlier to snorkel and swim but we were both sunburned from Labadee and Jamaica so we changed plans there with no problem.

 

We met Leo in the taxi area and we stopped at a big grocery store for some snacks and sodas. Leo drove us around and told us history, wildlife and facts about Cozumel. We went to San Gervasio to see the local Mayan ruins. After that we stopped at Coconuts bar for a break and toured that side of the island. We truly enjoyed his company and I would not hesitate to recommend this taxi-tour and driver!

[K1mmyD]

Just got back from Cruise and had Alberto! :D:D:D He was wonderful!!! If anyone has questions please feel free!!

[maldenmusic]

My 24 year old daughter and I had Alberto as our guide on May 31 and it was excellent! We did a 5 hour tour and wish we could have had longer. We had originally rented a car but changed our minds when we found out about this service. Went to lots of places we'd never been and got an inside tour from someone who lives there. He speaks good English and is very informative. Will definitely use again.

[murph1031]

We are thinking about renting a driver, we had planned on renting a car, but the horor stories have freaked my wife out so we are now doing the rented driver route. This tread is long and I have scanned thougha lot of pages. It seems like

http://www.toursplaza.com/categorias/info/hiring_a_driver

are the most popular group, am I right? If not please give me others, when reading 30 something pages it all tends to flow together.

One of my main concerns are if we stop for lunch is it uncomfortable leaving the driver, or is it expected that we invite him to lunch? And will they stop when ever we want to stop?

On top of that here are a few questions

1) The site above charges $95 for three hours then $25 per extra hour. How does this work? If we book for 4 hours do we pay for the four hours, then at the end do we pay any extra? OR we we just book the 3 hours, pay the deposit and then settle up at the end of the trip for whatever we owe.

2) How long will it take us to drive around the island, we want to do ruins, tequila, drive the east coast, down to lighthouse with a stop there, and then back up the west coast to boat.

3) would you recommend stopping for lunch during the drive or waiting until later once dropped of to get a late lunch. Is there a must eat stop on the east coast? We would really like to try some real mexican food, first time in Mexico. It seems like if we stop for an hour to eat lunch, that an hour less of driving and sightseeing time.

 

We are on the island from 11am until 8pm, but will likely board ship around 6pm because we have late dining, we are mum and dad and two sons ages 17 and 15.

 

One last question on the website I linked above they only have a reseravtion page, how do I contact them first to see if their available, and discuss pretty much everything I asked above.

OK one final question came to mind, Tip? I assume you tip extra after trip, how is this based? what is normal for say a four hour trip?

 

Thanks

Murph

[maldenmusic]

We are thinking about renting a driver, we had planned on renting a car, but the horor stories have freaked my wife out so we are now doing the rented driver route. This tread is long and I have scanned thougha lot of pages. It seems like

http://www.toursplaza.com/categorias/info/hiring_a_driver

are the most popular group, am I right? If not please give me others, when reading 30 something pages it all tends to flow together.

One of my main concerns are if we stop for lunch is it uncomfortable leaving the driver, or is it expected that we invite him to lunch? And will they stop when ever we want to stop?

On top of that here are a few questions

1) The site above charges $95 for three hours then $25 per extra hour. How does this work? If we book for 4 hours do we pay for the four hours, then at the end do we pay any extra? OR we we just book the 3 hours, pay the deposit and then settle up at the end of the trip for whatever we owe.

2) How long will it take us to drive around the island, we want to do ruins, tequila, drive the east coast, down to lighthouse with a stop there, and then back up the west coast to boat.

3) would you recommend stopping for lunch during the drive or waiting until later once dropped of to get a late lunch. Is there a must eat stop on the east coast? We would really like to try some real mexican food, first time in Mexico. It seems like if we stop for an hour to eat lunch, that an hour less of driving and sightseeing time.

 

We are on the island from 11am until 8pm, but will likely board ship around 6pm because we have late dining, we are mum and dad and two sons ages 17 and 15.

 

One last question on the website I linked above they only have a reseravtion page, how do I contact them first to see if their available, and discuss pretty much everything I asked above.

OK one final question came to mind, Tip? I assume you tip extra after trip, how is this based? what is normal for say a four hour trip?

 

Thanks

Murph

We booked through Eduardo on their web site and paid a $50 deposit via Paypal. 3 hours is the minimum. Once your tour is over your driver will figure out what you owe. We went for a 5 hour tour and owed $95 after our deposit. I guess tipping is a personal decision depending on the serivce you recieve but we are pretty generous when it comes to this and gave our driver a $40 tip. He accompanied us when we went into the grocery store to buy snacks and drinks for our tour but declined our offer to buy him anything. He also paid for the ice for the cooler he keeps in the car. When you reserve you give them a general idea of what you want to do if you know or they can make suggestions. Alberto was waiting for us when we arrived with our itenerary and we discussed it then off we went. He took us around town and showed us local things before venturing out across the island to see the San Gervasio ruins then the east side of the island. He stopped anytime we wanted to take pics or get out and look around and made suggestions. He was very knowledgable about the history of the island and spoke good English. Our last stop was a beach we have visited many times and we planned to eat lunch there. We offered to buy him lunch but he declined. We spent nearly 2 hours here before heading back to the pier. All in all it was a stress free tour and I'm glad we chose to do this rather than rent a car.

[newbiecruiser09]

One last question on the website I linked above they only have a reseravtion page, how do I contact them first to see if their available, and discuss pretty much everything I asked above.

OK one final question came to mind, Tip? I assume you tip extra after trip, how is this based? what is normal for say a four hour trip?

 

Thanks

Murph

 

After we paid the deposit on PayPal we got an email from Eduardo confirming the reservation. It also had his email in it. I emailed him with a question and received a response very quickly--w/in a few hours if i remember correctly. He is VERY reponsive and helpful with any questions and very willing to assist.

[LRene]

We are thinking about renting a driver, we had planned on renting a car, but the horor stories have freaked my wife out so we are now doing the rented driver route. This tread is long and I have scanned thougha lot of pages. It seems like

http://www.toursplaza.com/categorias/info/hiring_a_driver

are the most popular group, am I right? If not please give me others, when reading 30 something pages it all tends to flow together.

One of my main concerns are if we stop for lunch is it uncomfortable leaving the driver, or is it expected that we invite him to lunch? And will they stop when ever we want to stop?

On top of that here are a few questions

1) The site above charges $95 for three hours then $25 per extra hour. How does this work? If we book for 4 hours do we pay for the four hours, then at the end do we pay any extra? OR we we just book the 3 hours, pay the deposit and then settle up at the end of the trip for whatever we owe.

2) How long will it take us to drive around the island, we want to do ruins, tequila, drive the east coast, down to lighthouse with a stop there, and then back up the west coast to boat.

3) would you recommend stopping for lunch during the drive or waiting until later once dropped of to get a late lunch. Is there a must eat stop on the east coast? We would really like to try some real mexican food, first time in Mexico. It seems like if we stop for an hour to eat lunch, that an hour less of driving and sightseeing time.

 

We are on the island from 11am until 8pm, but will likely board ship around 6pm because we have late dining, we are mum and dad and two sons ages 17 and 15.

 

One last question on the website I linked above they only have a reseravtion page, how do I contact them first to see if their available, and discuss pretty much everything I asked above.

OK one final question came to mind, Tip? I assume you tip extra after trip, how is this based? what is normal for say a four hour trip?

 

Thanks

Murph

 

Hi Murph - yes, you have the right website. As for lunch, it's normally at Playa Bonita. The restaurant provided our driver with his lunch for bringing us there although we were going to buy his lunch. Nothing uncomfortable about it! :)

 

Book the trip for the number of hours you would like. I'd recommend 4 or 5 because we had 5 and ran out of time for all that we wanted to do! Based on what you said you wanted to accomplish, you will likely need five hours. It's not that the island is so big, it's that the traffic can slow things down.

 

Lunch at Playa Bonita is not a waste of time. It's good food and drinks and you're outside, right on the waterfront. If you want to skip lunch, just let them know. But if you want to try that authentic Mexican food, then don't miss out!

 

As for a tip, that's subjective but we normally tip about 20% of our tour cost.

 

Contact Eduardo at eduardoczm@gmail.com and he can clarify for you and answer any questions.

[murph1031]

Thanks for the answers to my questions. I e-mailed Eduardo, and apx. 6pm Monday evening, i got a reply from in before 6.05 same evening, I couldn't believe he answered that quick. I then went back into his website and fill out the resveration form, I had my invoice e-mailed to be in about 30 minutes, which I paid, and then I received another confirmation e-mail with all the details I could prossibly need. The whole process took maybe a total of 90 minutes. Looking forward to the trip and any fear I had about booking, I long gone, they seem like a great company to deal with, after our trip I will leave some feedback here.

Murph

[LRene]

Yep, that's Eduardo! Always on top of things and very efficient! Glad you got it booked, you're going to have a great day!

[maldenmusic]

Thanks for the answers to my questions. I e-mailed Eduardo, and apx. 6pm Monday evening, i got a reply from in before 6.05 same evening, I couldn't believe he answered that quick. I then went back into his website and fill out the resveration form, I had my invoice e-mailed to be in about 30 minutes, which I paid, and then I received another confirmation e-mail with all the details I could prossibly need. The whole process took maybe a total of 90 minutes. Looking forward to the trip and any fear I had about booking, I long gone, they seem like a great company to deal with, after our trip I will leave some feedback here.

Murph

Who did you get for your driver?

[murph1031]

Who did you get for your driver?

 

It didn't tell me what driver I have, just uses the word "driver". At the bottom however its sign like this,

Thanks…Alberto and Eduardo

[Magic City Cruiser]

We just reserved a van for our October cruise with Gerry as driver.

I'm so thankful for CC members for such wonderful information like this. I don't think I would have found all the neat things to do in Coz if it wasn't for CC!

I know we'll have an awesome time!

I'm planning on hitting the "scenic" spots; Chen Rio, Mirador and Punta Sur, taking the Tequila Tour and ending the day at Playa Palancar. I'm hoping we can end up spending an hour or so at Playa Palancar before we head back to the ship! Sounds like a great day to me!

[HammerTX]

We just reserved a van for our October cruise with Gerry as driver.

I'm so thankful for CC members for such wonderful information like this. I don't think I would have found all the neat things to do in Coz if it wasn't for CC!

I know we'll have an awesome time!

I'm planning on hitting the "scenic" spots; Chen Rio, Mirador and Punta Sur, taking the Tequila Tour and ending the day at Playa Palancar. I'm hoping we can end up spending an hour or so at Playa Palancar before we head back to the ship! Sounds like a great day to me!

 

You will love Gerry! He was our driver in April and did an awesome job. For a real treat, ask him to sing for your group :)

[Magic City Cruiser]

You will love Gerry! He was our driver in April and did an awesome job. For a real treat, ask him to sing for your group :)

 

Yes, I was happy to find we'll be with Gerry. He's the one that I remember the most from years back! Will most def ask him if he would honor us with a song!

[johneeo]

We booked the private driver for next week.

 

Looking to do the east side of the island and hit the following. - Punta Morena / Rasta's / Playa Palancar / Paradise.

 

Anything that I should add to this?

[maldenmusic]

We booked the private driver for next week.

 

Looking to do the east side of the island and hit the following. - Punta Morena / Rasta's / Playa Palancar / Paradise.

 

Anything that I should add to this?

We had Alberto drive us through the downtown area and show us local landmarks. Also, the San Gervasio Mayan ruins were nice.

[legolas_23]

We booked the private driver for next week.

 

Looking to do the east side of the island and hit the following. - Punta Morena / Rasta's / Playa Palancar / Paradise.

 

Anything that I should add to this?

 

 

Yes. El Mirador. It's along the way. You'll pass by it going to all those places.

[ULCajunCruiser]

Just off the Carnival Triumph today and we had Gerry as our driver on Saturday. Quit looking around and just book this man, he's the real deal. Tell him what you want to do and he'll handle it. Don't have a clue about where to go?? Gerry, will make suggestions. This is easy peasy!!!

 

We were the latter, and Gerry took us on a tour around his town. Stopped at a couple of shops so that the wives could do some shopping, and they came away with all the gifts needed for everyone back home as well as some jewelry for themselves. :p

 

Next we headed to San Gervaso for a tour. Then lunch and drinks on the wild east side, where we had an absolute blast!!!!

 

My only complaint is that I wish the ship had been in port longer!!!! :eek:

 

Don't delay, book him!!!! :D

[johneeo]

Yes. El Mirador. It's along the way. You'll pass by it going to all those places.

 

Thanx, will check it out.

[LHP]

Thanx, will check it out.

 

We have used them as well several times and have always gotten incredible service.

 

Have a wonderful time in Cozumel....(one of my favorite ports) !!

[slp1323]

We usually visit Cozumel by cruise ship but recently went to Cozumel for a week and had a fantastic time. The highlight of the trip was the day we hired a driver for the day with Eduardo Esquer at the website http://www.toursplaza.com/categorias/info/hiring_a_driver.

When I emailed Eduardo he was very prompt. I told him the day and what we would like to see and do on the island. He sent me a confirmation and we paid the deposit. The day of our trip Luis picked us up at our hotel right on time. He had the list of places and made sure we used our time wisely. We went to Punta Sur, El Mirador, Coconuts for a margarita or two, Senior Iguanas for lunch (great suggestion by Luis!) and the tequila factory. It was a perfect day and we loved not being on a big tour. It was just my husband and I. Luis gave us great information about the island. If you plan on being in Cozumel for a day or a week, contact Eduardo and you won't be disappointed. Well worth the time and money.

 

Visited June 2012

Edited July 2, 2012 by slp1323

[CENTEX CRUISER]

Thank you for the info..Would you mind saying how long of a tour you took ? We have been all over Cozumel,but want to go to the east side, and that is really all we want to do . other than maybe shop a little at El Centro.Thanks

We usually visit Cozumel by cruise ship but recently went to Cozumel for a week and had a fantastic time. The highlight of the trip was the day we hired a driver for the day with Eduardo Esquer at the website http://www.toursplaza.com/categorias/info/hiring_a_driver.

When I emailed Eduardo he was very prompt. I told him the day and what we would like to see and do on the island. He sent me a confirmation and we paid the deposit. The day of our trip Luis picked us up at our hotel right on time. He had the list of places and made sure we used our time wisely. We went to Punta Sur, El Mirador, Coconuts for a margarita or two, Senior Iguanas for lunch (great suggestion by Luis!) and the tequila factory. It was a perfect day and we loved not being on a big tour. It was just my husband and I. Luis gave us great information about the island. If you plan on being in Cozumel for a day or a week, contact Eduardo and you won't be disappointed. Well worth the time and money.

 

Visited June 2012

Edited July 2, 2012 by JC KRUZER

[johneeo]

Thank you for the info..Would you mind saying how long of a tour you took ? We have been all over Cozumel,but want to go to the east side, and that is really all we want to do . other than maybe shop a little at El Centro.Thanks

 

You book a three hour tour. Total cost is $95. You pay a $50 deposit when you book it.

 

At the end of the tour, you pay what you owe. We booked the 3 hours, wound up taking a total of 4 hours, paid it and tipped our driver Alberto.

 

Very simple to do. When we got off the ship, he was waiting, got into his cab, left the port area, parked, and he went over a map with us and made recommendations, such as Mayan ruins, tequilla factory, etc.

 

All we wanted to do was hit the east side, hit a couple of bars, have lunch, and then a beach for about an hour, which is what we did.

 

Fantastic time, just do your research, know what you want to do, and it is smooth as that.

[CENTEX CRUISER]

Thanks for the reply...Looks like you did exactly what we want to...

 

You book a three hour tour. Total cost is $95. You pay a $50 deposit when you book it.

 

At the end of the tour, you pay what you owe. We booked the 3 hours, wound up taking a total of 4 hours, paid it and tipped our driver Alberto.

 

Very simple to do. When we got off the ship, he was waiting, got into his cab, left the port area, parked, and he went over a map with us and made recommendations, such as Mayan ruins, tequilla factory, etc.

 

All we wanted to do was hit the east side, hit a couple of bars, have lunch, and then a beach for about an hour, which is what we did.

 

Fantastic time, just do your research, know what you want to do, and it is smooth as that.

[Magic City Cruiser]

SLP, could you tell me about Punta Sur. I really want a "flora and fauna" tour! Okay, I'm throwing in the Tequila Factory, too! :p

I'm planning on five hours, with stops being Tequila Factory, Punta Sur and Playa Palancar. I'm just not sure how much time to plan for Punta Sur. I def want some "Beach time" and I figure we can end up at Playa Palancar for lunch and more beach time. However, I'm not sure how Punta Sur is laid out? I'd like to go on the walking tour, take some pics, I'd like to see the crocs, the lighthouse, etc. Tell me what you did, please!