Cozumel Car Rental Guide - Agencies and Average Rates

Anyone planning to get a Cozumel car rental should expect to pay an average of about $25 to $30 a day for a small four-door car with automatic transmission, $50 to $60 a day for a mid-sized four-door with automatic and about $100 a day for a minivan.

There is an 11 percent tax plus surcharges that will add about one-third more to the base cost of renting.

It is highly recommended that anyone renting a car in Mexico review additional insurance requirements from the rental agency before signing the lease agreement.

Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI) is usually included in the rental price, but sometimes is required as an additional fee.

Loss damage waiver (LDW) or collision damage waiver (CDW) are usually provided by most US based credit cards or a credit card with car rental insurance on it. Check your credit card company for details.

Cozumel car rentals make sense for anyone planning to visit the island for a week or more. It is a different story for anyone visiting by cruise.

A car rental for a long-term stay is good because visitors will find it much easier and more convenient to visit the various beautiful beaches that help make Cozumel famous.

In addtion, vacationers can take a car ferry from the pier at San Miguel in Cozumel to the small port at Calica.

The one-hour crossing costs about $50 for a vehicle and one driver plus $5 for every extra passenger.

Calica provides convenient access to Tulum, Xcaret and especially Playa del Carmen.

Anyone willing to drive a little farther can take the well-maintained highway 307 north to Cancun and get a good feeling for the resorts that lie along the Riviera Maya strip.

A Cozumel cruise visitor seeing the island for the day might also consider renting a car to visit beaches, Mayan ruins and other local attractions. But the ferry crossing is not advisable.

Long-term visitors have a choice of either getting Cancun car rentals at the Cancun International Airport, driving to Calica and taking the ferry to the island; taking a bus or taxi from Cancun to Playa del Carmen, taking the passenger ferry from there to Cozumel and renting a car on the island; or taking a shuttle from Cancun airport to the smaller Cozumel airport.

When renting a car in Cozumel or Cancun, be sure to ask the agency the current legal requirements for auto insurance in Mexico.

Many of the Web sites of car rental agencies based in Mexico have additional information about insurance.