¡Viva Mexico! The Yucatan Peninsula in the east of Mexico has colorful cities, beautiful beaches, refreshing cenotes, and many mysterious ruins. Our personal Pro-tip; explore the Yucatan Peninsula on your own by driving a rental car.
Pick up your rental car in for example Cancun (where most planes land anyway) to start your road trip through the Yucatan Peninsula. In our opinion, a rental car is the best way to travel through Mexico. It gives you the freedom to explore Mexico at your own pace, and that for just 20-25 US dollars per day including insurance for a small car like the one below.
Book a rental car in Cancun, Mexico
Booking a rental car takes a lot of time. You choose the pick-up and drop-off location, class of the car, insurance, additional options such as the number of drivers, and then you search for the best price of course…
If you are already dread booking a rental car due to the dozens of options and different providers, I can immediately reassure you. Me too… That's why I always book the rental car on rentalcars.com. Here you can easily compare all providers, cars, and prices.
All terms and conditions are clearly indicated. And you can often cancel or change your booking for free up to 48 hours in advance. Besides, they have customer service in multiple languages in case there are questions or problems along the way or during your booking process. Perfecto!
The size of the rental car
You don't need an SUV for your rental car in Cancun / Mexico unless you plan on going off the main roads. There, the roads are not paved and you definitely need a 4×4. The main roads are also not quite what you would wish for (bumps and potholes!), but with caution, it is not a problem with a normal-sized car.
We want to make our fellow Freebirds aware that if you choose a small to medium car, you get a very simple car. That often means no central door locking, none or minimal car alarm, sometimes no rear shelf, or little space in the trunk. It is of course a cheaper choice, but unfortunately also more prone to burglary…
Rental car insurance and options
When renting a car, your own car insurance is not valid! It may be that if you pay with your credit card you automatically have car insurance, so be sure to read the terms and conditions of your own credit card. And otherwise, you can easily choose Collision Damage Coverage with theft protection and Zero Deductible at rentalcars.com. This insurance is not compulsory, but we strongly recommend it. This way you can enjoy your road trip through Yucatan Peninsula without any worries.
A fair fuel policy is a full-to-full policy, the car comes with a full tank of fuel when you pick it up and you must refill it completely before returning it. The same to the same fuel policy is also considered fair and means you return the car at the same fuel level as to how you got it. Otherwise, you have to pay a fee which will be more expensive than fill up the car before your drop-off.
All other options such as extra driver and child seat can also easily be added in the last step on rentalcars.com
Our last tip is to book in time. Especially at popular destinations like Cancun, the cheaper options sell out faster and prices rise as the date gets closer. We recommend booking at least 2 weeks in advance.
Pick up your rental car
And then it is time to pick up the rental car in Cancun. Look carefully at which location you need to be, often there is one location at the airport and one in the city center. This is also the case for a rental car in Cancun.
During your online reservation, you may have booked everything (see the previous heading), but yet there will always be an attempt to offer you extra insurance or more options so that you are double insured. Which means you will pay more than needed. This is a sales gimmick and has nothing to do with being smart and cautious. The full insurance from rentalcars.com covers everything!
When you thank the seller (at the physical office) for their extra offer/sales gimmick, they will show you your rental car. Together with an employee, you will inspect the car for damage and the fuel level will be noted. Record a video of the car in which you film and appoint the damage and the user traces. If the car check is not provided by the rental company, do this anyway with the employee. Be aware of scratches and dents before driving away with your rental.
And one important detail before you drive away… your valid American and Canadian driver's licenses are recognized in Mexico. You should always carry this with you when you are driving.
Also, read our additional tips on booking a rental car in any part of the globe.
Driving in Mexico
And then you can finally hit the road with your rental car from Cancun! We have experienced that driving in Mexico requires some prior knowledge and experience. So we are happy to share the following tips:
>> The highways between the cities are pretty straightforward (literally) and in general, there is not lots of traffic. It is a road through the jungle, with on both sides of the road very dense forestation. Don't be surprised if you see (dead) snakes on the road or signs that warn about crossing jaguars.
>> It is much busier to drive within the cities themselves. The Mexican traffic is quite chaotic and wild. Often no direction is given and it is not always clear who has priority. In addition, the entry and exit strips on the highways can be very short. Thus you need some driving experience, or you will develop them in a short amount of time ;).
>> In some parts of the Yucatan Peninsula, the roads are pretty bad and filled with potholes that you have to avoid to protect your tires. The states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo are full of annoying topes of all shapes and sizes. They look like small launch platforms (from GTA, lol) that you have to cross at a snail's pace. And they are not always clearly indicated (sometimes they are the same color as the road and are not indicated with a sign).
Great deals for pretty nice rental cars at Rentalcars.com!
>> Parking is very easy in Mexico. Except at an intersection or in a curve, you can park your car almost anywhere unless you see a sign with an E with a line through it or in places with a yellow line on the sidewalk. Except in Playa del Carmen, you can park for free everywhere. Be sure to pay for your parking ticket in Playa del Carmen, otherwise, you will get a wheel clamp!
>> Although you are very free in your rental car, it is Mexico. That is why we drive with the doors locked and we make sure that our luggage is out of sight at all times. Don't take anything out of the trunk when you get to your destination. And if you arrive at a new and unfamiliar location, make sure to arrive before dark. This is Mexico, my friend…
>> There are almost no gas stations outside the cities. Make sure you have a full tank when you are going to drive a long distance. Refueling at a gas station is done for you and sometimes they wash your car windows too. Then it is customary to give a small tip. Make sure you do not pay double, we have heard about a scam at some gas stations. They let you first pay with a credit card, tell you that it did not work, and charge you again, but in cash. In Mexico, cash is always king, especially for scammers.
Besides a rental car, there are other options for traveling through Mexico. Read our other tips on traveling through Mexico.
