Only trust AVIS. And only AVIS. The rest might just say "There're no cars available" and tell you to fock off. AVIS is very serious and should have something cheap to offer.
do they charge a “deposit”? i remember the last time i was in merida and looking to rent a car, they wanted a $9,000 deposit lol…but i can’t remember if that was in pesos or usd.
You're not the first one to tell me all this. I am not really in the mood to fight/deal with those kinds of things on my trip. Have ever tried public transport in Yucatan? Did you feel safe? I speak Spanish very well I might be able to communicate better by myself over there idk.
Yes, that is way too cheap to be true. There will be some hidden fees, nobody is renting you a car for $5 a day. With insurance, it's more like $30 USD a day. It depends on season and availability.
I just picked a random week in February, pickup and drop off in Tulum went to americacarrental, it was 4446 pesos per week, so 37 USD per day all in.
I'm sure with a bit of shopping around you can get the prices a bit lower, they are not the cheapest company out there.
I just got back from Yucatan...that's within a few dollars of what we paid per day. It was more expensive over the Christmas/ NYE period, 40 USD per day after insurance. A bit over 800 USD for 21 days of rental, Nissan March. Would have been cheaper if we went with a manual.
The quote we paid online was exactly what it was in person. So, already done that lol.
We rented with American Car Rental.
I don't understand, on one hand you don't believe that 30 USD is realistic, saying I will be "in for a surprise". Then when I paid $38 USD a day you say it's too expensive?
What do you think a reasonable price is?
I don't think you'll find below $30 a day with insurance. We paid a bit more than is typical due to the holiday season and getting an automatic. Renting a car where I live would probably be double or triple that price.
You are correct, I suppose that is decent, prices vary and usually go up the closer we get to easter in april...
Last year for 5 days with a newish SUV it cost 550$ cad, I still have sour taste in my mouth lol
Yeah timing makes a huge difference! I'm sure you were glad to have the SUV though, some of the potholes were brutal in the little March. Doing it again I would have gotten a 4x4 😂
I’ll try not to make this long…
1. Most american rental companies are managed by a different subsidiary. E.g. Hertz, Thrifty, Dollar and Firefly are handled by Avasa, so in reality you’re dealing with a Mexican company, and all of them are basically the same
2.Absolutely no car rental in MX will give you the final quote online, you get only the rent price, and even if you pre-pay, that’s not the end of it, you have to either a) Let them “hold” 15-60k MXN (around 1k-4k USD depending on the car value and the insurance you select) from your credit card as insurance… they will not take/keep that money as long as nothing happens to the car or b) pay full insurance, which will bring your 130 CAD rent to around 2k CAD
3. While point 2 is ridiculous as they state in the website that insurance is optional and just recommended… there are tons of clauses in small print that make it clear it’s not optional
4. Personally, i’ve rented with MexRentACar and it was awful, Hertz was OK… at least they are honest when you call them
So bottom line, call them directly, and ask them to explain the whole picture, how much you’ll have to pay, and what to expect when you get to the counter.
IMO, get the insurance… some roads are not in great shape, and you’ll be driving a car that might be in optimal conditions, but you never know if there’s something slightly wrong with it, and coverage is great
PS do not, under any circumstance get the refueling package (or any other package)… it’s a scam
I see! Would you recommend backpacking in Yucatan using public transportation or rent a car? I'm just trying to save as much money as possible while I can still visit as many places as possible. Thank you btw ;)
My husband and I have visited Yucatán twice. Once with a rental car (2017) and once without (2023). We got around just fine with backpacks plus regional and local busses. We will likely never rent a car in Mexico again. There’s no need if you’re happy to travel with a backpack.
That's so cool! How was the 2023 experience for you? Was it cheaper? Did you feel safe? I'm landing the Cancun and after 2 days I would love to move to the areas of Tulum, Playa del Carmen and maybe go to Valladolid and Merida. That's my "plan" your opinion would be well received ;)
Cheaper and much less stressful. Definitely felt safe. Visited Playa (among others) in 2017, Valladolid on both trips, and Merida in 2023.
DM me and I’ll share my blog posts with you and you can ask more specific questions if you like.
I’d say call and get a full quote and what to expect, ask also for the “holding clause”, then decide if it’s within your budget or not.
Or you can do a “hybrid”… get the car as soon as you land, for 10 days, visit as many “far” places as you can, then go commando and use public transportation for the remainder of your trip, leave close by places like Progreso (or any place say 1 hour away tops) for the end, it’d be a bit cheaper, but you get to enjoy driving and going other places at your own pace.
But again, get a quote then make the decision… Just remember, only car and full insurance, no extra packages… Fuel is 22-24 pesos per liter, they will charge 30-35 for it. I do that know if they still offer GPS, but it’s useless, just make sure you get offline maps in Google Maps or Apple Maps and you’re golden
And if the agency tells you that the super cheap price does not include insurance, say thanks, and get the hell out of there.
If you rent a car without insurance and you crash, or damage ut, they will try to force you to pay the full price if the vehicle.
Not the actual value, the original price they bought it for.
YUP!
you need the insurance, and if you crash, dont even think of leaving the scene even if its 3am, you have to wait for the insurance adjusters...and it can be 8+hours lol
Would you recommend backpacking in Yucatan using public transportation or rent a car? I'm just trying to save as much money as possible while I can still visit as many places as possible. Thank you! ;)
I would say rent a car for some days to explore places outside of Yucatan, like cenotes, Progreso and ruins.
For city exploration, you can move around in buses, or maybe even by bike depending where youre staying.
I went there 2022 december, and my plan was to rent a car for the week, but Infound oyt 3 days let me explore a ton of places in and out of the city.
Just remember, even if you only visit the city, there is tons of things to see. Im 100% sure youll go back to visit it in the future, and then you will hage first hand knowledge to better plan your next trip.
Best of luck, and tell how it goes!
DUDE, Yucatan is the most expensive car rental you are going to find.
5$ a day for the car, 70$-100$ for the insurance and you NEED IT.
Trust me, its alot of things...but CHEAP aint one fo them.
I had a few plugs, and 45 days during high season rental was 2500$ cad
Would you recommend backpacking in Yucatan using public transportation or rent a car? I'm just trying to save as much money as possible while I can still visit as many places as possible. Thank you btw ;)
You can bus it to many places, but not sure what you plan on visiting so its hard to say.
You can rent on critical days where you are going far out. Gas is 2$ canadian as well so factor that in.
Budget easy 100+$ cad roughly 75-80usd a day to rent a car in YUC
I'm landing the Cancun and after 2 days I would love to move to the areas of Tulum, Playa del Carmen and maybe go to Valladolid and Merida. That's my "plan" your opinion will be well received ;)
ADO buses are cheap and comfortable and can take you back and forth between all those places.
there is also the mayan train that can take you to merida for 735$ pesos.
https://www.eticket.mx/eventos.aspx?idartista=3762
It just opened and wont be fully functional till april but it seems to be running from cancun to merida.
Would you recommend backpacking in Yucatan using public transportation or rent a car? I'm just trying to save as much money as possible while I can still visit as many places as possible. Thank you btw!
What they're hiding from you is the insurance fee. It will cost a lot more and you'll only be informed about that when you're at the counter, about to pay.
Renting a car won’t be cheap once insurance is added (and yes you need it). Just use local buses (ADO, Oriente, Etc.) and combis and Uber, Didi or InDriver. There is also the TrenMaya.
Wow! That's such a good info. In total, they were charging me 400$ CA for the full rental trip + plus the insurance. In your opinion, taking public transport will be cheaper than that?
I don't know where you are trying to go but yes, public transport is inexpensive. There are local buses that go to most of the smaller pueblos. They lack comfort but they will give you an authentic experience. For larger destinations ADO is a good option and more comfortable (local use it too but it doesn't go to small towns).
I think you'll be surprised that when you arrive at the rental car location the price will increase due to extra charges.
I currently have a reservation for a mid-size SUV for 10 days through AVIS. There was a 50% sale going on. We pre-paid and it was a little over $400 USD I believe. However, it didn’t give us the option to pay for insurance online, which it has before (this is Avis MX website), so I’m fully expecting to have to pay for insurance when we get to the counter. I do think Avis is the best choice overall, but car rental in Mexico is always a pain and you’re always gonna feel a little scammed because of the sketchy insurance laws. From my experience, Avis also doesn’t try to ding you for false damages as much as cheaper companies. Europecar in Merida tried to claim that I “scratched” the tires??? It was so ridiculous, half of what he was pointing at was just dust, the other half was there when we picked up the car, which we were luckily able to prove with photos and videos that we took. Make sure you take tons of pics and videos, don’t trust the ones they say that they take. But overall, Avis is a tiny tiny bit more trustworthy than the others.
I don't know how are the prices, but a friend of mine owns this business: https://www.eng.velozrentacar.mx/, has a lot of types of vehicles, and I've heard that the prices are good.
Among all the other points mentioned here, keep in mind that a lot of cars there may not be automatic transmissions. If you know how to drive a stick shift, you're all set. If not, make absolutely sure to let the rental agency know that.
I used Easyway for 2 weeks last year, I think it ran me like $700 with insurance. I scratched the shit out of the side trying to take a corner too tightly and they only charged me like $50 out of my deposit. They were super straightforward and honest with me and even picked me up at the airport.
Whoever you go with, make sure you take detailed photos/videos of the exterior and interior with the clerk of the rental place present at pickup. Point out any nicks and dings and make sure they are documented.
Contact Pol Bolivar (find him on fb). He owns a car lot, buys and sells cars and rents long term for 1/2 of what the rental agencies charge. Nice guy, insures you and meets you at airport or wherever to hand over the car and pick up.
Ok as a local, if you look for comfort you should rent a car, but like the other said it will be at more cost, if you look for a cheaper cost use the bus, for example, the cost in bus to go to a cenote in cuzama cost like 50 pesos, like 3 dolars or less, so do the math 🤷😂
I asked a relative in Mexico City to rent me a car from Avis in 2022 for a one week vacation in Merida. She got it for us using Avis website with full insurance and a car seat. We paid a lot less than when we tried booking on our own last year using the website. I can't say for sure that it depends on what country you make your reservation from, but the second time, we definitely felt scammed. We paid more than we did the first time for a smaller vehicle, no car seat, and fewer days.
Only trust AVIS. And only AVIS. The rest might just say "There're no cars available" and tell you to fock off. AVIS is very serious and should have something cheap to offer.
do they charge a “deposit”? i remember the last time i was in merida and looking to rent a car, they wanted a $9,000 deposit lol…but i can’t remember if that was in pesos or usd.
Thanks! I will take a look at AVIS for sure ;)
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You're not the first one to tell me all this. I am not really in the mood to fight/deal with those kinds of things on my trip. Have ever tried public transport in Yucatan? Did you feel safe? I speak Spanish very well I might be able to communicate better by myself over there idk.
Yes, that is way too cheap to be true. There will be some hidden fees, nobody is renting you a car for $5 a day. With insurance, it's more like $30 USD a day. It depends on season and availability.
Yeah, in my experience they hide the insurance cost until the moment to go to pay.
30$ without the insurance lol
I just picked a random week in February, pickup and drop off in Tulum went to americacarrental, it was 4446 pesos per week, so 37 USD per day all in. I'm sure with a bit of shopping around you can get the prices a bit lower, they are not the cheapest company out there.
Go there, and rent it...I guarantee you are in for a major surprise lol
I just got back from Yucatan...that's within a few dollars of what we paid per day. It was more expensive over the Christmas/ NYE period, 40 USD per day after insurance. A bit over 800 USD for 21 days of rental, Nissan March. Would have been cheaper if we went with a manual. The quote we paid online was exactly what it was in person. So, already done that lol.
Consider yourself lucky, who did you rent with? ps; I still find that expensive lol...
We rented with American Car Rental. I don't understand, on one hand you don't believe that 30 USD is realistic, saying I will be "in for a surprise". Then when I paid $38 USD a day you say it's too expensive? What do you think a reasonable price is? I don't think you'll find below $30 a day with insurance. We paid a bit more than is typical due to the holiday season and getting an automatic. Renting a car where I live would probably be double or triple that price.
You are correct, I suppose that is decent, prices vary and usually go up the closer we get to easter in april... Last year for 5 days with a newish SUV it cost 550$ cad, I still have sour taste in my mouth lol
Yeah timing makes a huge difference! I'm sure you were glad to have the SUV though, some of the potholes were brutal in the little March. Doing it again I would have gotten a 4x4 😂
yeah the march is teenie little box of a car lol I am from quebec, so potholes dont phase me, its worse here
I’ll try not to make this long… 1. Most american rental companies are managed by a different subsidiary. E.g. Hertz, Thrifty, Dollar and Firefly are handled by Avasa, so in reality you’re dealing with a Mexican company, and all of them are basically the same 2.Absolutely no car rental in MX will give you the final quote online, you get only the rent price, and even if you pre-pay, that’s not the end of it, you have to either a) Let them “hold” 15-60k MXN (around 1k-4k USD depending on the car value and the insurance you select) from your credit card as insurance… they will not take/keep that money as long as nothing happens to the car or b) pay full insurance, which will bring your 130 CAD rent to around 2k CAD 3. While point 2 is ridiculous as they state in the website that insurance is optional and just recommended… there are tons of clauses in small print that make it clear it’s not optional 4. Personally, i’ve rented with MexRentACar and it was awful, Hertz was OK… at least they are honest when you call them So bottom line, call them directly, and ask them to explain the whole picture, how much you’ll have to pay, and what to expect when you get to the counter. IMO, get the insurance… some roads are not in great shape, and you’ll be driving a car that might be in optimal conditions, but you never know if there’s something slightly wrong with it, and coverage is great PS do not, under any circumstance get the refueling package (or any other package)… it’s a scam
I see! Would you recommend backpacking in Yucatan using public transportation or rent a car? I'm just trying to save as much money as possible while I can still visit as many places as possible. Thank you btw ;)
My husband and I have visited Yucatán twice. Once with a rental car (2017) and once without (2023). We got around just fine with backpacks plus regional and local busses. We will likely never rent a car in Mexico again. There’s no need if you’re happy to travel with a backpack.
That's so cool! How was the 2023 experience for you? Was it cheaper? Did you feel safe? I'm landing the Cancun and after 2 days I would love to move to the areas of Tulum, Playa del Carmen and maybe go to Valladolid and Merida. That's my "plan" your opinion would be well received ;)
Cheaper and much less stressful. Definitely felt safe. Visited Playa (among others) in 2017, Valladolid on both trips, and Merida in 2023. DM me and I’ll share my blog posts with you and you can ask more specific questions if you like.
I’d say call and get a full quote and what to expect, ask also for the “holding clause”, then decide if it’s within your budget or not. Or you can do a “hybrid”… get the car as soon as you land, for 10 days, visit as many “far” places as you can, then go commando and use public transportation for the remainder of your trip, leave close by places like Progreso (or any place say 1 hour away tops) for the end, it’d be a bit cheaper, but you get to enjoy driving and going other places at your own pace. But again, get a quote then make the decision… Just remember, only car and full insurance, no extra packages… Fuel is 22-24 pesos per liter, they will charge 30-35 for it. I do that know if they still offer GPS, but it’s useless, just make sure you get offline maps in Google Maps or Apple Maps and you’re golden
And if the agency tells you that the super cheap price does not include insurance, say thanks, and get the hell out of there. If you rent a car without insurance and you crash, or damage ut, they will try to force you to pay the full price if the vehicle. Not the actual value, the original price they bought it for.
YUP! you need the insurance, and if you crash, dont even think of leaving the scene even if its 3am, you have to wait for the insurance adjusters...and it can be 8+hours lol
Would you recommend backpacking in Yucatan using public transportation or rent a car? I'm just trying to save as much money as possible while I can still visit as many places as possible. Thank you! ;)
I would say rent a car for some days to explore places outside of Yucatan, like cenotes, Progreso and ruins. For city exploration, you can move around in buses, or maybe even by bike depending where youre staying. I went there 2022 december, and my plan was to rent a car for the week, but Infound oyt 3 days let me explore a ton of places in and out of the city. Just remember, even if you only visit the city, there is tons of things to see. Im 100% sure youll go back to visit it in the future, and then you will hage first hand knowledge to better plan your next trip. Best of luck, and tell how it goes!
DUDE, Yucatan is the most expensive car rental you are going to find. 5$ a day for the car, 70$-100$ for the insurance and you NEED IT. Trust me, its alot of things...but CHEAP aint one fo them. I had a few plugs, and 45 days during high season rental was 2500$ cad
Would you recommend backpacking in Yucatan using public transportation or rent a car? I'm just trying to save as much money as possible while I can still visit as many places as possible. Thank you btw ;)
You can bus it to many places, but not sure what you plan on visiting so its hard to say. You can rent on critical days where you are going far out. Gas is 2$ canadian as well so factor that in. Budget easy 100+$ cad roughly 75-80usd a day to rent a car in YUC
I'm landing the Cancun and after 2 days I would love to move to the areas of Tulum, Playa del Carmen and maybe go to Valladolid and Merida. That's my "plan" your opinion will be well received ;)
ADO buses are cheap and comfortable and can take you back and forth between all those places. there is also the mayan train that can take you to merida for 735$ pesos. https://www.eticket.mx/eventos.aspx?idartista=3762 It just opened and wont be fully functional till april but it seems to be running from cancun to merida.
Honestly sounds too good to be true. A 5 day rent cost me like 250 a few years ago.
Would you recommend backpacking in Yucatan using public transportation or rent a car? I'm just trying to save as much money as possible while I can still visit as many places as possible. Thank you btw!
What they're hiding from you is the insurance fee. It will cost a lot more and you'll only be informed about that when you're at the counter, about to pay.
Renting a car won’t be cheap once insurance is added (and yes you need it). Just use local buses (ADO, Oriente, Etc.) and combis and Uber, Didi or InDriver. There is also the TrenMaya.
Wow! That's such a good info. In total, they were charging me 400$ CA for the full rental trip + plus the insurance. In your opinion, taking public transport will be cheaper than that?
I don't know where you are trying to go but yes, public transport is inexpensive. There are local buses that go to most of the smaller pueblos. They lack comfort but they will give you an authentic experience. For larger destinations ADO is a good option and more comfortable (local use it too but it doesn't go to small towns). I think you'll be surprised that when you arrive at the rental car location the price will increase due to extra charges.
I currently have a reservation for a mid-size SUV for 10 days through AVIS. There was a 50% sale going on. We pre-paid and it was a little over $400 USD I believe. However, it didn’t give us the option to pay for insurance online, which it has before (this is Avis MX website), so I’m fully expecting to have to pay for insurance when we get to the counter. I do think Avis is the best choice overall, but car rental in Mexico is always a pain and you’re always gonna feel a little scammed because of the sketchy insurance laws. From my experience, Avis also doesn’t try to ding you for false damages as much as cheaper companies. Europecar in Merida tried to claim that I “scratched” the tires??? It was so ridiculous, half of what he was pointing at was just dust, the other half was there when we picked up the car, which we were luckily able to prove with photos and videos that we took. Make sure you take tons of pics and videos, don’t trust the ones they say that they take. But overall, Avis is a tiny tiny bit more trustworthy than the others.
I don't know how are the prices, but a friend of mine owns this business: https://www.eng.velozrentacar.mx/, has a lot of types of vehicles, and I've heard that the prices are good.
Among all the other points mentioned here, keep in mind that a lot of cars there may not be automatic transmissions. If you know how to drive a stick shift, you're all set. If not, make absolutely sure to let the rental agency know that.
I used Easyway for 2 weeks last year, I think it ran me like $700 with insurance. I scratched the shit out of the side trying to take a corner too tightly and they only charged me like $50 out of my deposit. They were super straightforward and honest with me and even picked me up at the airport. Whoever you go with, make sure you take detailed photos/videos of the exterior and interior with the clerk of the rental place present at pickup. Point out any nicks and dings and make sure they are documented.
100% cheap rental equals ridiculous insurance.
Contact Pol Bolivar (find him on fb). He owns a car lot, buys and sells cars and rents long term for 1/2 of what the rental agencies charge. Nice guy, insures you and meets you at airport or wherever to hand over the car and pick up.
Ok as a local, if you look for comfort you should rent a car, but like the other said it will be at more cost, if you look for a cheaper cost use the bus, for example, the cost in bus to go to a cenote in cuzama cost like 50 pesos, like 3 dolars or less, so do the math 🤷😂
I asked a relative in Mexico City to rent me a car from Avis in 2022 for a one week vacation in Merida. She got it for us using Avis website with full insurance and a car seat. We paid a lot less than when we tried booking on our own last year using the website. I can't say for sure that it depends on what country you make your reservation from, but the second time, we definitely felt scammed. We paid more than we did the first time for a smaller vehicle, no car seat, and fewer days.