You’re all enthusiastic about your trip at one of many Quintana Roo seashores in Mexico, you then get to the Cancun Airport and meet with…mayhem. First you cope with a chaotic baggage and customs line, then move 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 certainly one of their firm’s taxis.
However hey, a minimum of 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 pretty much as good as they give the impression of being in your good friend’s trip images that make you drool. Properly, a minimum of when the sargassum is just not 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 international locations as I might have birthday candles on an precisely lined cake, I’d charge the Cancun Worldwide Airport (CUN) as being about probably the most disagreeable one on the earth for a first-time customer. On high of all of the hassles simply to get out of it and get in your manner, there’s just one highway in and one highway out from the freeway, with no presently working inns contained in the airport zone in case you have 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 powerful incentive to collude on costs to maintain them excessive. You’ve obtained no different selection however to cope with the charges they set. You normally have to attend in your trip as properly someplace in a car parking zone since there’s no handy pick-up space on the curb for anybody.
There’s no Blacklane or comparable worldwide service in Cancun and for now anyway, it’s a lot simpler to get an Uber trip to the airport than from it. The additional you’re going, the extra it’s going to price you. Getting from Cancun to Tulum by taxi is particularly expensive because it’s round two hours away with any visitors within the combine.
Should you’re staying at a real luxurious lodge that takes care of you from begin to end, like Casa de la Playa resort south of Playa del Carmen, then your switch will likely be included as a part of your keep. Most of them should not this beneficiant although, particularly the high-end a la carte chain inns that invoice you at premium charges for all the pieces they’ll handle to tack on. It might nonetheless pay to rearrange a switch with them so that you don’t need to cope with the Cancun airport insanity, however it’ll probably price you $80 to $200 per particular person.
Right here’s easy methods to 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 absolutely useful, 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 manner. 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 it’s important to organize a constitution flight via a personal operator. If you wish to go the straightforward route, you’ll be able to e book a personal flight to Isla Holbox on Viator for round $1,000 for as much as 5 individuals.
The subsequent-best possibility is to rearrange a personal shuttle in your group from the Cancun airport to Chiquila. From there you are taking the ferry throughout to the shallow waters of Holbox Island. It’s a couple of two-hour journey a technique.
In idea 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 critiques of the greatest luxurious inns on Holbox Island (scroll down on the web page to these three). Notice too that this can be a prime jumping-off level to go see whale sharks in the correct time of yr.
Attending to Playa Mujeres
This stretch of coast on the mainland throughout from Isla Mujeres is a purpose-built lodge 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 you then return to the airport if you’re performed.
Due to this, most company 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 in case you may handle to get an Uber from the airport.
You may hire a automotive to come back right here, however since few individuals depart these remoted resorts, you wouldn’t use it for a lot else until you’re headed to Holbox or Yucatan state quickly after. If you’ll want to arrange a switch your self, we’d advise doing it via the official airport web site or arranging it with an organization like Journey Yucatan Transfers that we wrote about in that earlier weblog put up.
Taxi and Ferry to Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres is on the alternative aspect of the Cancun Lodge Zone from the airport, so a taxi to the ferry port will price you multiple to a Cancun lodge. Then it’s important to 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 very best wager is to set all this up together with your lodge through the reserving course of or buy a bundle 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 resembling Puerto Morelos, Maroma Seashore, and many with no title. On the subject of 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 world south of PDC stretching virtually to Tulum (together with Akumal Seashore).
Whilst you may take your possibilities and simply get a taxi upon arrival, it’s an enormous trouble and also you’ll face some predatory pricing if you don’t have a lot negotiating energy. It’s a lot much less tense 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 properly south of Playa del Carmen, resembling 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 seek out the correct service. Final time I used to be there and made the quick journey to the Waldorf Astoria Cancun, which is south of the airport, I used their pickup service which was expensive however wonderful: Iconic Distinctive Experiences.
Cancun to Playa del Carmen
Should you’re headed to Playa del Carmen correct and the lengthy public seaside, this is likely 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 providers for about the identical value that you could e book prematurely and these comply with a extra direct route, getting you there in about an hour. The quickest is a personal taxi or automotive service, after all, which is able to probably be $70 to $100 for the automotive.
There’s additionally an organization known as Cancun Helicopters providing to get you from the CUN airport to a heliport on the Playacar improvement near Royal Hideaway Playacar for a a lot faster possibility.
Don’t neglect that 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 have the ability 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 properly, so you then’ll have the ability to skip Cancun and land two hours south to go straight to your Tulum luxurious lodge on the seaside.
When the controversial Maya Practice is accomplished, that can go to Tulum city as properly and can present a way more nice various to get down the coast, with far much less air pollution emitted as properly. The practice is just not from the Cancun airport although, so that you’ll nonetheless need to get to the terminal from the airport to start out.
For now, you may have choices from $22 (a three-hour bus), $30 (a two-hour shared van), or a personal switch that can in all probability price your group $100 to $300 relying on the automobile measurement and the way many individuals are going. Search all of the Cancun to Tulum transportation choices. Additionally do not forget that Tulum is actually three areas: the Tulum Mayan ruins, the city with that title that’s not on the water, and the seaside space jammed with eating places, costly inns, 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 in case you’re taking a visit to Bacalar Lagoon (the place the turquoise waters should not salt water) or to the secluded, laid-back seaside city of Mahual (the place you’ve obtained a greater likelihood than in most locations to see some sea turtles).
Should you do need to enterprise down this removed from the Cancun airport, the very best wager is to take a taxi to the Cancun bus station after which get a bus from there. Or simply hire a automotive on the airport and settle in for an extended drive down a straight highway with out a lot to see.
Should you’re feeling like an adventurous overlander, you can maintain going and cross the border into Belize to proceed. The crossing is simply south of Chetumal.
We hope you discovered this rundown on easy methods to attain the Quintana Roo seashores from Cancun to be helpful. Have an ideal journey and luxuriate in Mexico!
