You’re all enthusiastic about your trip at one of many Quintana Roo seashores in Mexico, then you definately get to the Cancun Airport and meet with…mayhem. First you take care of a chaotic baggage and customs line, then cross a gauntlet of pushy timeshare salespeople in entrance of supposed “vacationer info” desks, solely to exit the doorways and face 30 individuals making an attempt to get you into one among their firm’s taxis.
However hey, not less than there’s a bar on the market.
The state of Quintana Roo seashores are sometimes pretty, the calm waters are as fairly as a Corona business, and nearly as good as they give the impression of being in your good friend’s trip images that make you drool. Nicely, not less than when the sargassum just isn’t pummeling the Caribbean Coast that’s. The issue is getting there within the first place.
As a journey author who has landed in airports in as many nations as I’d have birthday candles on an precisely lined cake, I’d fee the Cancun Worldwide Airport (CUN) as being about probably the most disagreeable one on this planet for a first-time customer. On prime of all of the hassles simply to get out of it and get in your means, there’s just one street in and one street out from the freeway, with no at present working resorts contained in the airport zone when you’ve got a late arrival or early departure.
Which means that the airport authority and transportation firms have all the ability and management over the way you get out of the place. They’ve a robust incentive to collude on costs to maintain them excessive. You’ve acquired no different alternative however to take care of the charges they set. You often have to attend in your experience as effectively someplace in a parking zone since there’s no handy pick-up space on the curb for anybody.
There’s no Blacklane or related worldwide service in Cancun and for now anyway, it’s a lot simpler to get an Uber experience to the airport than from it. The additional you’re going, the extra it’s going to value you. Getting from Cancun to Tulum by taxi is very expensive because it’s round two hours away with any visitors within the combine.
If you happen to’re staying at a real luxurious resort that takes care of you from begin to end, like Casa de la Playa resort south of Playa del Carmen, then your switch might be included as a part of your keep. Most of them aren’t this beneficiant although, particularly the high-end a la carte chain resorts that invoice you at premium charges for every thing they’ll handle to tack on. It will possibly nonetheless pay to rearrange a switch with them so that you don’t need to take care of the Cancun airport insanity, however it can possible value you $80 to $200 per particular person.
Right here’s get to the varied lovely white sand seashores lined with palm timber, beginning with the highest of the state at Holbox Island and happening to Tulum and the underside of the state previous that time.
Cancun Airport to Holbox Island
Till the Tulum airport is totally purposeful, this partly protected island within the northeast of the Yucatan Peninsula is the one Quintana Roo seaside space you’ll be able to fly to in a aircraft as an alternative of going by land the entire means. Sadly although, the corporate that used to serve this route on a set schedule appears to have modified possession and/or dropped that providing through the pandemic, so you must prepare a constitution flight by a non-public operator. If you wish to go the simple route, you’ll be able to e book a non-public flight to Isla Holbox on Viator for round $1,000 for as much as 5 individuals.
The subsequent-best choice is to rearrange a non-public shuttle in your group from the Cancun airport to Chiquila. From there you’re taking the ferry throughout to the shallow waters of Holbox Island. It’s a couple of two-hour journey a technique.
In concept there may be an ADO bus, however you’d need to get to the downtown Cancun bus station to board it, which is nowhere near the airport.
See our opinions of the perfect luxurious resorts on Holbox Island (scroll down on the web page to these three). Notice too that it is a prime jumping-off level to go see whale sharks in the correct time of 12 months.
Attending to Playa Mujeres
This stretch of coast on the mainland throughout from Isla Mujeres is a purpose-built resort zone that’s meant for one factor solely: staying at a resort you don’t plan to go away. It’s slightly removed from anything and there’s no native life round. You come right here to spend time together with your honey or your loved ones and then you definately return to the airport whenever you’re achieved.
Due to this, most friends get right here on some form of hotel-arranged switch. It’s too far to get to by taxi, particularly contemplating Cancun taxi cartel costs, although the rocky introduction of Uber would assist make this extra palatable should you may handle to get an Uber from the airport.
You could possibly hire a automobile to come back right here, however since few individuals go away these remoted resorts, you wouldn’t use it for a lot else until you’re headed to Holbox or Yucatan state quickly after. If it’s good to arrange a switch your self, we’d advise doing it by the official airport web site or arranging it with an organization like Journey Yucatan Transfers that we wrote about in that earlier weblog submit.
Taxi and Ferry to Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres is on the other facet of the Cancun Lodge Zone from the airport, so a taxi to the ferry port will value you a couple of to a Cancun resort. Then you must take the ferry throughout to the island and get one other taxi there until you’re staying close to the ferry dock.
As a result of that is slightly convoluted, the perfect wager is to set all this up together with your resort through the reserving course of or buy a package deal the place transfers are included. Some resorts have their very own water taxi to choose you up on the mainland.
Transportation to Riviera Maya Quintana Roo Seashores
The Riviera Maya is an unlimited space alongside the entire coast of the Mexican Caribbean, encompassing dozens of Quintana Roo seashores equivalent to Puerto Morelos, Maroma Seaside, and lots with no identify. In relation to resorts although, most of them tagged as being within the Riviera Maya are within the stretch of coast between Cancun and Playa del Carmen (together with Puerto Morelos) and the realm south of PDC stretching nearly to Tulum (together with Akumal Seaside).
When you may take your probabilities and simply get a taxi upon arrival, it’s an enormous trouble and also you’ll face some predatory pricing whenever you don’t have a lot negotiating energy. It’s a lot much less worrying to set the switch up forward of time, particularly since among the Riviera Maya resorts are a mile or two from the freeway after you lastly get previous the gate. Those effectively south of Playa del Carmen, equivalent to the brand new Riviera Maya Conrad and Escencia, are going to take you an hour and a half in transit.
Ask the resort you booked with who they use or store round to search out the correct service. Final time I used to be there and made the brief journey to the Waldorf Astoria Cancun, which is south of the airport, I used their pickup service which was expensive however glorious: Iconic Distinctive Experiences.
Cancun to Playa del Carmen
If you happen to’re headed to Playa del Carmen correct and the lengthy public seaside, this is without doubt one of the best routes to navigate. In case your timing is nice, you’ll be able to even take a pleasant ADO bus proper from the Cancun airport terminal to central PDC and be within the coronary heart of the motion in an hour and a half. Fares are round $14.
There are additionally shared van companies for about the identical value you could e book upfront and these observe a extra direct route, getting you there in about an hour. The quickest is a non-public taxi or automobile service, after all, which is able to possible be $70 to $100 for the automobile.
There’s additionally an organization known as Cancun Helicopters providing to get you from the CUN airport to a heliport on the Playacar growth near Royal Hideaway Playacar for a a lot faster choice.
Don’t overlook you could catch a ferry from right here out to Cozumel if you wish to dive or snorkel round some coral reefs.
Cancun to Tulum Transportation
Sometime quickly you’ll be capable to fly on to the city of Tulum from Mexico Metropolis. We assume that ultimately some worldwide airways will fly into this new airport as effectively, so then you definately’ll be capable to skip Cancun and land two hours south to go straight to your Tulum luxurious resort on the seaside.
When the controversial Maya Practice is accomplished, that may go to Tulum city as effectively and can present a way more nice various to get down the coast, with far much less air pollution emitted as effectively. The practice just isn’t from the Cancun airport although, so that you’ll nonetheless need to get to the terminal from the airport to begin.
For now, you may have choices from $22 (a three-hour bus), $30 (a two-hour shared van), or a non-public switch that may in all probability value your group $100 to $300 relying on the car measurement and the way many individuals are going. Search all of the Cancun to Tulum transportation choices. Additionally do not forget that Tulum is de facto three areas: the Tulum Mayan ruins, the city with that identify that’s not on the water, and the seaside space jammed with eating places, costly resorts, and buzzing mills.
Going Past to Mahual, Bacalar, and Belize
Not many vacationers enterprise additional south alongside the Caribbean Sea after touchdown on the Cancun airport. It’s simpler to only fly into Chetumal as an alternative should you’re taking a visit to Bacalar Lagoon (the place the turquoise waters aren’t salt water) or to the secluded, laid-back seaside city of Mahual (the place you’ve acquired a greater probability than in most locations to see some sea turtles).
If you happen to do need to enterprise down this removed from the Cancun airport, the perfect wager is to take a taxi to the Cancun bus station after which get a bus from there. Or simply hire a automobile on the airport and settle in for an extended drive down a straight street with out a lot to see.
If you happen to’re feeling like an adventurous overlander, you may hold going and cross the border into Belize to proceed. The crossing is simply south of Chetumal.
We hope you discovered this rundown on attain the Quintana Roo seashores from Cancun to be helpful. Have an awesome journey and luxuriate in Mexico!