Cancun is a tourist city on the Yucatan Peninsula in the Quintana Roo State. It sprawls across the Caribbean coastline of Mexico, boasting some of the most jaw-dropping scenery. Waves break magnificently near the beach, the color of the sea is almost emerald, and you can have a swim near Mayan ruins and ancient freshwater sinkholes.
Cancun is a safe city where you can get around easily. Still, you need to exercise increased caution, like staying out of non-central and non-touristic areas (that are mostly in the Hotel Zone) and taking an Uber to your lodgings at night.
Additionally, for those who want to explore the city and its surroundings during the day as cheaply as possible, the municipality and the Autobuses de Orienté (ADO) offer an excellent public transportation system. For those who are looking forward to breaking the bank in this beautiful spot, there are luxurious boat tour options.
So, Cancun is quite easy to get around, but we’re still going to guide you step-by-step, so you know exactly what to expect, transportation-wise.
Air Transport in Cancun: Cancun International Airport
The Cancun International Airport is Mexico’s second most crowded airport (the first is the Mexico City Airport) with four terminals that welcomed more than thirty million passengers in 2022, over nineteen million of which are international. The trends show that passenger traffic is not likely to decrease in the near future.
But, if you’re afraid that you’re going to find yourself in chaos upon landing, with kids running around and luggage wheels trampling over your feet, let us put your worries to rest. The airport is quite big and modern, and its 62 gates in total can easily accommodate all the incoming and outgoing passengers.
Once you’re through the gate, you can just rent a car with the help of the airport’s official services. If you don’t rent a car, you can get to your hotel with a taxi, bus, or a hotel transfer. Please note that Uber and other transportation applications can’t pick up passengers from the airport.
- Airport taxis: In Mexico, taxis usually don’t have meters, so that’s also the case in Cancun. However, they have fixed rates based on your route, and the official Cancun Airport taxis will charge you $45 for taking you to the Hotel Zone. If you make a taxi reservation before your flight with a discount code you get after purchasing your plane ticket, you will pay as little as$24.85.
- ADO buses: There are three different ADO bus routes from the airport: Cancun Downtown (1 hour and 5 minutes ride at $6.80), Playa del Carmen (1 hour and 50 minutes ride at $13.50), and Tulum Downtown (3 hours and 5 minutes ride at $18.80). These routes usually sell out each day, so the airport officials recommend that you pre-purchase your tickets. Make sure you get on the right bus and note that this shuttle bus will take you to the Cancun Downtown, not the Hotel Zone. To get to the Hotel Zone, you’ll either need to take a taxi or an Uber from Cancun Downtown. Still, this is the cheapest option to get to your hotel.
- Cancun Airport Hotel Transportation: The Cancun International Airport has its own hotel transportation services, which is the quickest, most convenient, and most comfortable way for you to reach the Hotel Zone. Similar to taxi reservations, you need to book your transportation after purchasing your plane tickets, before your flight. That way, you’ll get a discount coupon code, too! There are two types of hotel transportation rides in Cancun: shared and private. The former means you share your ride with strangers and it’s cheaper. Depending on the vehicle and its capacity, the price might get as low as $39 per individual. If you want a private ride for yourself or your family, however, make sure you get a discount coupon because these rides cost more than $240.
Public Transportation in Cancun
Now that we have accompanied you safely to your hotel room, where you’ve left your luggage and put on your most gorgeous vacation clothes, let’s wander around Cancun using different public transportation options.
The Cancun Bus System
Our experience in Cancun and many online comments from websites such as TripAdvisor are in agreement: the most convenient and cheapest way to get around in Cancun is by the city’s impressive bus system. It costs 8.5 pesos for a ticket, equalling less than one an American dollar. The three main bus routes in the city (R-1, R-2, and R-27) have a stop at the Hotel Zone, namely at Boulevard Kukulcán, and they take you to almost all the places that are worth visiting.
Cancun covers a lot of land, but the tourist hotspot is condensed in the area between the Hotel Zone and Avenida Tulum, which is at Cancun Downtown. The R-1 route covers the area between Boulevard Kukulcán and Avenida Tulum, which is about ten miles. In these ten miles, there are countless clubs, restaurants, beaches (like Playa Langosta, Playa Chacmool, Playa Tortugas, and Playa Forum), and even Mayan ruins such as El Rey.
The R-2 route is for those who want to go shopping in Cancun. It has stops in front of Walmart and the marketplace (mercado). For East Asian cuisine enthusiasts, one of the R-2’s stops is the city’s only Hong Kong restaurant, which is also the favorite of many bus drivers, because they particularly announce this stop by yelling out “Hong Kong restaurant!”
The R-1 and R-2 routes operate 24/7 and they arrive at their stops quite frequently during the holiday season.
The R-27 route doesn’t work during the nights, but if you crave that shopping mall experience, it’ll take you to Plaza del Americans, Cancun’s biggest shopping mall that has something to offer for everyone.
If you’re lucky, some of these buses have air-conditioning and free wi-fi features, so it’ll be a comfortable trip.
Note that the R-1, R-2, and R-27 buses only accept Mexican currency.
Additionally, there are ADO routes to nearby places that you might want to pay a visit to, including Tulum, Playa del Carmen, and the ancient Mayan town of Chichen Itza. However, you need to buy tickets for these 24 hours prior to the ride, and depending on the location you want to visit, it’ll cost $6 to $18.
Colectivos
When in Cancun, you’ll see white minivans waiting around corners, and no, these are not the same vehicles as we see in Hollywood espionage movies where a CIA team surveys an asset. These are colectivos that carry passengers from the Avenido Tulum in Cancun Downtown (they make a stop at the Isla Mujeres ferry stop located on the Hotel Zone) all the way to Tulum – another Caribbean coastal city to the south of Cancun.
These minivans don’t have any pre-designated stops – rather, they stop wherever they see a passenger raise their arm or wherever a passenger on board asks them to stop. You can take a colectivo to visit many attractions in and between Cancun and Tulum, including Playa del Carmen, the Tulum Mayan site, Yal-Ku, Cenote Azul, and Parque Xcaret.
These vehicles accept Mexican currency only, and their fares change depending on the location you want to visit. The fee ranges between 12 and 50 Mexican pesos.
Ferry and Boat Tours
The ferry in Cancun departs from three different locations: Puerto Juarez, Playa Tortugas (the ferry stop at the Hotel Zone), and Playa Caracol. In a surprise twist, all these ferries arrive at one single location: Isla Mujeres.
Isla Mujeres is a tranquil and dazzlingly beautiful island off the coast of the Hotel Zone, located at the meeting point of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. There’s a possibility that you’ll see lots of weddings there because they are quite popular on the north side of the island. Fortunately, that’s not all this island has to offer.
The island is surrounded by coral reefs which you can explore in proximity by snorkeling or scuba diving. There’s also an underwater sculpture museum designed to save coral reefs.
Should you wish to embark upon an adventure among coral reefs (or observe a wedding on the Caribbean just for the fun of it – there might be free drinks, too!), you can easily get a ticket via Ultramar. No matter which ferry stop you board from, the round-trip prices are the same: 540 pesos (about $31 as of September 2023) for adults and 400 pesos (about $23) for children.
There are also many boat tours that take you to Isla Mujeres and offer snorkeling and scuba-diving. Some tours will even take you shark watching at the Gulf of Mexico.
Most of these boat tours take off around the Hotel Zone, so if you want to join one, you can learn about it from the hotel staff.
Taxis and Rideshare Applications
Taxis are everywhere in the Hotel Zone and Downtown Cancun, so you won’t have any trouble returning safely to your hotel from a club or restaurant no matter what time it is.
These taxis usually charge depending on where you are. In central Cancun, Cancun Downtown, the taxi fares are quite reasonable for short distances, costing between 50 and 70 Mexican pesos ($3-$5). But in the Hotel Zone, expect to be charged about 200 to 400 pesos (roughly $11.5 to $23). A trip from the Hotel Zone to Cancun Downtown is likely to cost 400 pesos or more.
There’s also Uber in Cancun, presenting a slightly more affordable option, but Uber isn’t as widely available as taxis.
On a final note, non-central areas are less safe, especially during the night, so we don’t recommend that you stray too far.
Is Cancun a Walkable City?
The answer to this question depends on what you want to do. If you have the spirit of an adventurer and want to explore, your feet by themselves won’t be much help because places like Cancun Downtown, Playa Caracol, or Isla Mujeres are difficult or impossible to visit by walking.
That said, you’re likely to stay at the Hotel Zone, and if you want to have a static vacation with lots of drinking, eating, sunbathing, or swimming,, the Hotel Zone has everything you need: clubs, restaurants, many wonderful beaches, calm waves, and shopping malls. Additionally, it’s the safest area in Cancun, both for families and solo travelers.
Key Takeaways
Decide how you want to get to your hotel from the airport before purchasing your plane ticket. If you want a comfortable ride to your lodging, you’ll need to pre-arrange a hotel transportation vehicle or taxi to enjoy a discount. A more affordable option is taking the ADO bus, but you’ll need to pre-order a ticket for that, as well.
Once you’re at the hotel and want to get around Cancun, you have many options such as the public bus system, minivans called colectivos, taxis, and Uber – though they’re not as widely available. The public bus system covers all the tourist attractions in Cancun Downtown and the Hotel Zone, and it’s the cheapest option.
If you want to explore the coral reefs in Isla Mujeres or catch a wedding and try your luck with free cocktails, take a ferry.
Lastly, if you want to just hang around a beach and visit clubs and restaurants, you can just walk around the Hotel Zone.
