Taxis - Shore Excursions

[bearcreek]

We are scheduled for the Spirit 2/13/05 to the Mexican Riviera. Lots of people have said to negotiate the fare before getting into the taxi but my question is (as strange as it may be) do you pay "up front" or at the end of the day? Thanks..

[Flip2cruise]

We are scheduled for the Spirit 2/13/05 to the Mexican Riviera. Lots of people have said to negotiate the fare before getting into the taxi but my question is (as strange as it may be) do you pay "up front" or at the end of the day? Thanks..

 

I would suggest you negotiate a price, bring a tablet and write down all the places you want to go, put the agreed upon fare on the paper. After its confirmed.

You pay at the end of the day. Do you plan to have him leave you at a beach for an extended period of time? Or do you plan to do a tour where you remain with the taxi? Its just a good idea to have it down to cut down musunderstandings.

 

Many arent this anal :) but it can minimize headaches at the end of the tour if the driver has a memory laspe.

 

With all that said many of the drivers will have a standard route that they take people on, if you are fine with that trip, just write out the fare on a piece of paper so he can ok it.

 

It also a good idea to go over to the port of call board and get the name of a reliable taxi/tour driver, that has been used my multiple cruise critic members. That way you will insure a wonderful tour.

[crazycanuk]

Hi There,

Yes, you negotiate the price before getting in, and make sure they really know where you want to go.

My husband and I did the Mexican Riveria last October. We were told on the cruise ship to only take the white taxi's. There are yellow and white ones outside the pier area, about a 2 minute walk away. Well, our "white" taxi charged 4 of us $24.00 U.S. to go to a Tequila factory tour. It cost us 10 peso to get back, which was in a yellow and white taxi.

Hope this helps a bit.

Crazycanuk

[karen2cruz]

Ditto on the above. I would even have the driver initial the written info. Mexican Riviera isn't as bad as Barbados. Even after doing all the above, we have had friends whose taxi drivers yelled at them as they walked away that it wasn't the right amount!

 

If you research where you want to go ahead, you can also research the typical fares. Then you have a base to negotiate from. We have even pre-negotiated with the independent tour operator we are using (ie dive shop) to pay the taxifare for us. We tell the driver up front that they will be paid that way. No hassles.