In part three of the five part series focusing on Huatulco villa rentals vs. Huatulco resort vacations we’re going to take a look at air travel costs as well as airport pick-up and transportation details.

Huatulco Villas

Huatulco has its own International airport (airport code=HUX), so it is a common destination for many of the largest international airlines. All year round you’ll find that the airline Mexicana offers flights into Huatulco - usually with a connection in Mexico City.

There are also several charters that offer direct flights and fly out of the United States and Canada. You can usually buy seats on these charters for cheaper than it would cost you to travel on Mexicana, but the problem is that you’re often forced into only traveling when they fly, which is usually only once a week.

Some of the major airline providers that travel to Huatulco include Continental Airlines and American Airlines. They usually offer connections and are often used for flights out of the biggest cities across the United States including San Francisco, LA, New York, Miami, Altanta, etc.

Huatulco Resorts

The only difference in air travel options for Huatulco resorts is if you’re getting a special packaged deal through your travel agent or tour company. If this is the case, then you are looking at an easy decision: the costs of the flights themselves should be lower than any of the flights available on the market, and if not, then you too will have to look for alternative arrangements with the mainstream airlines.

Either way, whether you’re traveling to a resort or a private villa, you are going to have to explore your options to find the best deal on air travel. When doing research, a few good resources to check include Expedia, Trip Advisor and Orbitz; they all provide information on air travel rates, quotes and reviews. When doing you research make sure you use the code HUX for the Huatulco airport.

Airport pick-up/transport

Huatulco Villas

One of the biggest misconceptions of renting a private villa is that travelers often feel that getting to their villa is more difficult when compared to a large resort. They may perceive this as a stressful process because they are often unfamiliar with the foreign location. They may also not speak the foreign language (Spanish), so trying to communicate with a taxi cab driver can be a very difficult and stressful process.

To avoid these problems and to accommodate for travelers, all villa rentals offer prearranged airport transportation as an available service. Once your villa is booked and you purchase your flights, you simply arrange the pick-up details and when you touch down in Huatulco you will be greeted by a driver with a sign that has your name on it…and there begins your vacation!

The service is extremely beneficial because the local driver will already know where they are going and will quickly take you to your villa. The best part of this service is that you don’t have to worry about catching a shuttle bus, or trying to negotiate rates with a local taxi driver; all the stress of arrival is erased by prearranging for pick-up and transportation back to your beautiful Huatulco villa.

The entire process is very simple: once you clear customs and get your luggage you find your driver and your vacation begins! You can even grab an icy Corona at the airport to take on the drive to your villa, so you can sit back and start enjoying your Huatulco vacation before you even arrive at your villa!

Huatulco Resorts

Resort transportation is extremely appealing for many travelers because you usually travel with a large group of other people who are in the same position as you. This can often ease the stress that some travelers feel when trying to get their luggage and find their shuttle bus or other prearranged mode of pick-up transportation. Almost all of the Huatulco resorts offer airport pickup, so if you are traveling with a charter group, you will likely not be the only one traveling to your hotel.

The pick-up process is pretty similar for resort travel; once you clear customs and get your luggage you will find a person holding a sign with the name of your charter company. Once you meet them, you would usually be directed to a bus that you and all the other travelers will board. After all of the luggage has been loaded, you will proceed to the resorts. One of the downfalls is that the buses often make more than one stop (going from resort to resort) in order to to drop off travelers visiting the different resorts in the bay.

As a result, your estimated time to arrival really depends on the number of travelers on your bus. So traveling to a Huatulco resort may be a little more time consuming, but if you’re in vacation mode you probably won’t care too much about the extra time it takes to drop off other travelers at their resort(s).

Conclusion

When it comes down to air travel, the differences between going with a villa rental or a resort vacation are pretty minimal. For the actual costs of the flights, they will be the same unless you get bit of a deal by going with a combined travel package if you decide to stay at a Huatulco resort. But, it’s also important to consider the costs of the trip as a whole to see if you’re really saving any money on air travel costs by going with a combined travel package.

The pick-up process is pretty similar for both Huatulco villas and Huatulco resorts. With either travel option you will have access to prearranged pick-up and transportation back to your villa or hotel. The only difference here is that with you will probably have to wait a bit longer to arrive at your resort because the bus usually stops at several resorts to accommodate all the travelers. Either way, getting to your villa or hotel is really quite easy and non-stressful, so you can begin to enjoy your Huatulco vacation as soon as your arrive!

Be sure to check out the next post, in which we’ll examine the food and beverage deals at both Huatulco villas and resorts.