I think you are right to be skeptical of the $10~20 a day rental car. We’ve rented cars in Mexico on previous trips for that price and, in addition to being crap rides, they came with all kinds of restrictions in regards to the miles, the speed you can drive, etc. Once they made us buy extra insurance at an exorbitant price.

On this particular trip we rented our car through Hertz. At Cancun Airport they have a franchise location, not a corporate one, so they weren’t nearly as efficient or high-quality as you’d expect to find at an airport in the U.S.A. or Western Europe. But they were certainly good enough.

Once we got our car, the most difficult part was finding our way to the Chiquila Ferry Port — that’s why we posted our detailed driving directions between the airport and Holbox. There were no other unexpected costs. Things often aren’t well sign posted (off of the main roads) in Mexico but other than that there were no hassles. In general, we’ve found the Yucatan to be a pretty good place to explore by rental car.

Hope that helps,

~ SCS

Can you speak to your experience renting a car? Were there unexpected costs? Did you use a company in the airport? We’ve seen a lot of discouraging posts about renting in Cancun. Are you able to share the company you used? We’ve seen per day costs of $10-$20, but are skeptical.

Thanks!

Yep, the fees companies charge to take you to Holbox are exorbitant. You are much better going on your own. We took a wrong turn and ended up in an area that felt a little sketchy. But we never felt like we were in any imminent danger. And we specifically published our Cancun-Holbox driving directions to help people avoid our missteps. If you follow that you should be fine. But if you are worried you can drive via downtown Cancun, though that hour is about an hour longer and is probably easier to get lost on.

As for bars and restaurants, none are outstanding. We liked the very local Slow Food restaurant on the beach south of the main town.

Have fun. And let us know how your trip goes.

~ SCS

I didn’t try this, but I do know that the water is VERY shallow — as in, you can walk in it shallow — for quite a ways out from Holbox. So I suspect there’s no much fishing off shore. But I suppose it couldn’t hurt to try.

SCS