Thank you for all of the information. It will be a lot of help.
LeeNY wrote:
wrote:

We will be cruising Thanksgiving week 2006 . This time we have
researched our destination to Calica (Playa Del Carmen) and Cancun. We
know we want to go the Tulum, Xel-ha or Isla Mujeres.

We toured Tulum independently, and we came over from Cozumel. So, to do
it from Playa del Carmen should be a piece of cake. We didn't use a
tour van...we rented a car and drove there on our own. I don't know
where the cruise ship pier is, but coming over on the ferry, the rental
car office was right there...probably 50 steps from where we got on
land. We prebooked the car through National Rental Car...it was a late
model VW in excellent condition, so we had little worries about
mechanical difficulties. Car ran about $35 for the day..

The drive to Tulum couldn't be easier. From where we picked up the car,
we basically drove west (away from the water) until we came to the one
major north-south road. It's pretty obvious. We headed south and then
drove until we hit the entrance to Tulum. On the way, we passed the
entrance to Xel-ha, so that would be an easy trip as well.

Once at Tulum, we paid $2.50 to park and $3.00 each for admission to
the ruins (this was back in 2001). Then, we hired one of the guides
standing around for $20. He was a retired engineer, fluent in English
and very knowledgeable about the ruins. Spent a few hours there and
then drove back to Playa to grab a ferry back to Coz.

All in all, logistically, the day went very smoothly. We allowed a lot
of cushion in our schedule, in the event of some kind of glitch (flat
tire, breakdown, etc.). But everything went as planned. It was a long
day, to do it from Cozumel, but from Playa del Carmen, you're saving a
few hours, right off the bat, not having to deal with the ferry
schedule.

Can't help with Isla de Mujeres. You will have to deal with a ferry to
get there and back, so just allow yourselves plenty of cushion in your
schedule, in case the ferries aren't running on time, etc. You might
consider doing Xel-ha one day, Tulum the next.

Have a great time!

Lee