TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums Cancun - Isla Mujeres - Mexico Car rentals in CUN

I'm not really wanting to drive in Mexico, but did check the rental car prices for CUN third week of May on Expedia. It's an interesting thing to try. The first nine are $0? There's a compact for $4 "Due at pick-up". "No surprises!" How exactly does this work? I assume there must be some massive extra fees somewhere. Expedia is pushing their rental car protection at $11 a day. I've heard you should expect to pay at least $14 a day for extra liability. Anyone done a rental lately?

Yes! Insurance is the big expense. A few companies include Insurance in the rate. America Car Rental is one of them. Another hidden cost is damage. Carefully inspect and photograph every bit of the vehicle with an employee in the picture. Some companies offer glass and tire insurance too. Prices vary wildly. Good thing you are very smart to do some shopping. Print your agreement in case they "lose" your reservation.


There is no special problem about driving in Mexico.

You didn't say in which area near Cancun you will be driving. Depending on where you are there are little differences. Cancun is just like any big city in the US. But the streets are laid out in diagonals and there are quite a few more "glorietas" (circles) than square Playa del Carmen. Vehicles in the circle have the right of way.

Street is Calle and hopefully you can decode "Avenida".

Of course signage is in Spanish and the speed limits and distance is in metric. A Kilometer is 0.6 miles. (1/2 +10% of original)

Alto means Stop or yield. That white arrow under the stop sign indicates One Way.



This one is No Parking. In addition to writing a ticket they take a license plate from your car.




Speed Bump. (Very important)


28c is 82f.

The rate of exchange for pesos to dollars is about 18. That is pretty much 0.6 again! Obtain your pesos from an ATM attached to a BANK. Not a free range ATM out on the street, in a bar or store.

We usually rent a car while in Cancun. Taking pictures is a great idea because they will try to charge you several hundred dollars for existing damage. I always take the extra insurance! If someone steals the car and drives it off a cliff I want to be able to walk away. It does cost more but that's OK with me. We stayed at Fiesta Americana which is all inclusive and overall a beautiful resort, but also like to drive to other places just to look around. We were there for 4 days and I think the car cost around $250 US. When you consider the extremely high cost of a cab it is much cheaper to rent. We met some friends at Puerto Adventuras for dinner one night (about 60 miles south of Cancun) and chose to take a cab. I knew I would be drinking (a lot) and didn't want to drive. The cab fare was $100 each way. A lot of dough, but more peace of mind.
Anyway, driving in Mexico is not a bad experience, just lots of traffic. Have fun!!

Last year I had a reservation with Hertz, it was a low promotional rate. When I got there they told me that my reservation had been canceled. However I could access to my reservation on the hertz app. They told me that it could be a problem of IT between the Hertz Corp and the Mexican Hertz franchise. However they did not honor my reservation. I took a taxi to my hotel and I ended up renting from a local company. Never again Hertz, at least in Mexico. The local company is Veico Car Rental

Caveat Emptor, the Cancun police know the rental car license plates. I know of at least 3 incidents where rentals were pulled over and bribed and or threatened for minor or no violations. Stick with taxis, buses, and hotel shuttles.

Private vehicles have black lettering on the licence plates, rentals have red and taxis are green. Not a big secret. Now you know too.

You don't have to be afraid of the police. We have not been stopped without reason. Never pay the bribe.

Well we had to pay the bribe or follow the officer to jail! She said we made an illegal turn on the boulevard, trust me, there were no signs. We gave her 80$ cash, we were leaving in the AM. and did not know how long we would need to be at the jail. One becomes careful in a foreign country especially if you are not aware of your rights.Corrupt!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif" alt="" />

We live in Playa for 5 months a year. We know our rights and how the scam works. Don't give your lunch money to the bully.

Never pay the bribe. Have somebody video! It will turn into a warning.

That is only true if no property damage or alcohol is involved.

For anyone looking to rent from a reputable firm there are many to choose from. Our favorites are ISIS, Avant, America, and GoCarrito. Just compare prices at that time, they all include all the insurance you need in the price except tire and glass, and road service. They also all deliver and pick up at CUN or at your hotel. Avant is located in Cancun area, while the others are based in Playa (and Cozumel for ISIS). We also get the added insurance for peace of mind in the event of damage to others even though we have some CDW coverage with our cc. Definitely get liability ins...
We're just getting title to our new place and look forward to living there too...