Upon landing at MMCZ, Cozumel, we were processed through Customs and Immigration like anyone else. Lines are a little bit shorter, though, since I only had two passengers with me. Here's a tip; Cozumel operates 24-7 but most days after 3 PM there are no more flights til the evening. So I plan on landing around 330-4 to avoid the crowd. So when we arrived, we were outnumbered by officials. We were cleared in about 5 minutes, which is what it took us to fill out all the forms.
 |
| Baggage Claim #1; Just us |
|
Here is another tip: if you go to certain websites you will see claims that you MUST FILE ELECTRONICALLY an APIS-type form for travel to Mexico. I called up the website that said this was required, as they also said they provide this service. The quote to do so, was hundreds of dollars. Had it been twenty bucks, I would have paid it. But it wasn't. The quotes fee was so outrageous, I decided to do a little Due Diligence, and I called Cozumel Flight Services and asked them if an electronically submitted manifest was required. They said No, the system had not been implemented yet. To be sure I asked them, in Spanish, if the system was the same as three years ago, when I last flew there, and they sad, Yes. So NO ELECTRONIC FILING TO MEXICO FOR MEXICAN CUSTOMS IS REQUIRED AT THIS TIME. Mexican Customs is advised of your arrival (ADCUS) upon activation of your flight plan. Save your money.
Total landing fees were $27 per passenger (pilot excluded) and $140 for an annual permit for multiple entries into Mexico (originating from the US only).
It took me about an hour to get the requisite 4 stamps to close my flight plan: Operations, Customs, Immigration, and Airport Supervisor (El Jefe), after which it was off to figure out how to slay some huge fish.
But first we had to find a place to stay. Since we were spending all our money on avgas and boats, we opted to go the economy route on our domicile: $9 per person, per nite. And we even got free wifi. Let's hear it for Hotel Edem!
No comments:
Post a Comment