[just like heaven]

My Husband and I have now spent two holiday seasons in Sayulita. In the past we have used Jose Ramos taxi service (highly recommend!). This time, we could not get a hold of Jose and used Amapas taxi. When I called the number listed on Sayulita life, the owner's wife answered. Although my Spanish is not great I was able to leave my name, and the pick up time at the airport and my phone number. No one was there to greet us at the airport, however Amapas was there on another call and took us to Sayulita. The driver, Lupe, said we were paying for roundtrip service and charged $135.00 for the round trip. He gave me his personal cell (he said...) in case we needed him while in Sayulita and said he'd see us in a week for the return trip. In a few days I called Lupe (or at least I thought it was him...turns out he had given me the number of the owner, Rigoberto, who came to pick us up). On Tuesday we were picked up by Rigoberto (who was almost an hour late). I was very specific with him that we wanted to go to the Chicos paradise zip lines. We had been to this zip line before and wanted to return. We also had limited cash due to the ATM problems in Sayulita and knew that Chicos took credit cards. Rigoberto proceeded to take us on a convaluted "tour" throughout Puerto Vallarta, stopping to see his "friends" at every tourist trap and roadside stand between Sayulita and Mismaloya. Finally, after two hours of this, Rigo stops the van at what he claims is Chicos Paradise, despite the workers clearly marked t-shirts "Indio Canopy". At this point Rigo's English suddenly got very bad and he didn't know the way to Chico's paradise. It became very clear we were never going to get where we wanted, all the while, the meter is running. I asked that we go back to Puerto Vallarta immediately. Rigo took us there after some resistance and then back to Sayulita later that night. Although we accomplished none of our plans that day, he charged us $170.00 for the day.

We reminded him that we had paid Lupe for our round trip return to the airport in a few days and he reassured us someone would be there to pick us up. Someone did pick us up on Thursday, but once we got to the airport, the driver demanded payment of $50.00, plus tip. He said that Rigoberto had told us we would have to pay that and promised him that we would. I told him that we had more than paid for the roundtrip already and that I would give him a $20.00 tip but no more (keep in mind I had already tipped Lupe $40.00 on the first day). He became irate, calling Rigo and threatening to call the police. When I called "Lupe"'s cell number and the Amapas numbers, a woman answered both lines and said that there was no Lupe or Rigo at those numbers.

Finally we just walked away from the irate driver and shoved the $20.00 in his hand.

I hope that others can learn from our experience with this service. At every turn we felt manipulated and taken advantage of. We are not allowed to leave negative reviews on Sayulita Life (and maybe not even here...please don't remove this!) which seems counterproductive to the point of the site, but I hope that people will find a good number for Jose Ramos and use him.

[gingilita]

Dear Just Like Heaven/hell....

thank-you for posting this message. Our host too has offered return cab to and from Sayulita and the airport.... $140. in our group there will be people arriving and leaving at different times, so this is not something that would work for us. I believe we could cross over to cabs on the other side of the highway and get a better rate and negotiate prices before we get into the cab. This is perhaps a good way to proceed. Perhaps an information site that has expected prices to pay from point A to point B, would be benifical to gringos....

any takers? maybe there is one already?

[shellynjeff]

The Bus...???? Super Cheap....no negotiating.....

[John S.]

I would agree with shellynjeff to using the Compostella bus. I think it used to be harder as the bus would require you to use the crosswalk or to cross the street in the old days. Now you can catch it or, on return trip, get let off right next to the airport exit (where all the taxi stands are). It is 25 pesos, so it's an incredible savings compared to the official PVR taxis.

I think the taxis outside the airport are a lot cheaper, but I only can compare that based on the cost to go downtown PVR from the airport and back. I was there a few weeks ago and the official airport taxi was pretty high (something like 26-30 US) and I got a taxi from downtown back to the airport from something like 140 Pesos (granted it was New Year's Eve, most of the business was on the beach, so maybe cabbies were scrambling for fares).

There is also that "super bus," the Vallarta bus, which is maybe nicer and I hear stops in Sayulita, but I am guessing it stops at the highway by Sayulita coz I don't think I've ever seen it in the town.

I like the idea of that "information site." If people wanted to contribute information, I could put it as a section on a blog I am setting up (I just set up the domain as "www.bravingthecoast.com").

Let me know.
John

[gingilita]

Hey John... and all, thanks for your input.

The bus sounds like more of an adventure, and who doesn't like adventures.. sometimes the best part of the journey is getting there.

I will check out your blog.....
I do believe there is a bus schedule on sayulitalife as well for those who are intereted.

21 more sleeps..

[val]

Jose Ramos can be reached via marijoseramos@yahoo.com.mx or by this link. http://sayulitalife.com/ramos-taxi

Always on time
Always responsible
Always honest

$130 round trip airport pickup and return trip

[Tanya]

I have tried to contact 3 transportation companies listed on Sayulitalife.com all 3 differant times. Not one has replied. I was able to trackdown Jose email. I emailed on Tuesday now on Friday still no response. We are not arriving until March but there are 6 of us and wanted to get transportation out of the way. Are we excepting to much for a confirmation? We really wanted to support Sayulita's local company's over the cabs at the airport. I could call but am consured of the language barrier. My last email to Jose I wrote in English and then converted to Spanish. Any suggests would be helpfull?

[VanFam]

I've heard of delayed from Ramos, although I always get a quick reply. Spam filters? In any case, I'm a few doors down and there is always someone in the office, so if you message me your email I can walk it over right now.

[Cielo Girl]

We too, are big fans of Jose Ramos.
On time, reliable, always very pleasant, clean cars, air con when you need it and above all, safe drivers.
We had one too many death defying rides with PV taxi drivers- never again!!
If you pay for a round trip the savings don't amount to much.
The bus is a good option too but can be difficult if you have lots of luggage, small children, cranky families who had to get up at 4 am to make it to the airport (!), or would like to stop at Mega.

When you make a reservation, keep it simple:
Family name, airline & flight number, date & time and destination and ask them to confirm by email.
I always get an answer back if I ask for one.

Happy Travels!
Karen.

[Sayulita newbie]

First, thank you for your feedback. I am sure it was very helpful to anyone who has not used Jose Ramos Transportation.

Never had trouble contacting Jose Ramos by email, the gal in the office, but that was last year. I did have to re-email her once or twice to get a response, but I did get one eventually.

I agree with Val: his drivers are "Always on time, Always responsible, Always honest."

We had 3 gals with suitcases and we didn't want to lug them around so we did not take the bus. That might be a consideration as to whether you want to take the bus ~ how much luggage will you have?

Jose Ramos' driver was waiting for us with a sign, helped get our luggage from the carousel, and took all out to the SUV (air conditioned). I asked for beer when I made my reservation, and he had a COLD six-pack in the front seat; we didn't want to stop off at Mega to shop, too excited to get to the beach and El Costeno, who has the largest Margaritas, and to put our feet in the sand.

The driver was early to pick us up on return trip because of the traffic. One nice thing about Jose Ramos, you pay the whole amount on the RETURN TRIP; tip driver only when you get to Sayulita. He was pleasant and on time, both times. We each tipped him $20 US because he was WORTH IT. They have families to feed.

[shellynjeff]

Im still going to say, and I travel there with my, once was 5 and 7 yr old, who are now, 12 and 14 yr olds, walk across the bridge, get a marlin burrito and a cold 6 pack and jump on the bus It says SAYULITA....its really a no brainer...and it actually is a way of embracing the place, slowing down, accepting the funk of it all, which is really a great thing...and save yourselves 125 bucks...You wanna support a local....go give that cash to the school or something.....I love an easy breezy cab as much as the next guy...but you will eventually be doing laps around sayulita buying fresh food anyhow...might as well start walking. Cheers! Oh, and I've done both with groups of many sizes, it's actually my once hard working, retired in-laws, and parents that will not do the cab....that's a lot of beer $ You Can Do it!!!!! Try it out!

[Tanya]

Shelly, have you had any issues with luggage on the bus? We ussally travel with carry on bags only but this year are bringing school supplies for a kinder school in LaPenia. So will have larger luggage. There are also six of us. If I don't connect with a company from Sayulita maybe we will get one cab for luggage and the rest take the bus. Beer money is alway important.

[Dynamic Duo]

Whether I recommend the bus depends on the situation. For those with long travel days and more than just carry on I recommend a transportation service. It can be such a relief to just crawl in the back of a Suburban and chill with a cold beer upon arrival. Using a transportation service does support a local, you would be surprised by the modest living conditions of the drivers, they work hard to earn an honest peso and support their families.
If you travel light, and your travel day is short enough that your sense of adventure is still intact upon arrival, then the bus is a wonderful alternative at significant savings, but it's not for everyone.
Different strokes for different folks.

[Sayulita newbie]

Dynamic Duo: I couldn't have said it better myself. As for me, gotta love that cold cerveza.

[brntrout]

I've been trying to contact Ramos for about a month and haven't received a response back. Is this normal? I arrive on March 3rd. Sounds like Amapas does not provide acceptable service. How about the others listed on Sayulita Life?

[Sayulita newbie]

Gosh, I am really sorry to hear that about Jose Ramos Transportation. There is construction going on and maybe that's the reason? Keep trying, and try on another computer, just in case it's not going through for some reason.

[VanFam]

Mystery solved -- I walked over to Jose Ramos' office and spoke with Carmen today. She's having seriously computer problems, has been for some time and seemed exasperated about when it would be fixed. Best to phone her. brntrout (or anyone else) if calling is an issue, feel free to send me your deets and I'll walk them over to her and send you back a confirmation (we leave March 1).

[Sayulita newbie]

BRNTROUT,

I would definitely take VanFam up on his generous offer and let him be the go-between between you and Jose Ramos who, as I suspected, is having computer problems, which all too often happens in Sayulita. Bad for business.

[val]

Carmen and Jose are our neighbors and friends. If you are having difficulty getting hold of her during the time they are having problems, email me and I will walk over and make arrangements for you. We live here so it is no problem.

[brntrout]

Thank you all for your help!