How to get to Playa del Carmen from Cancun airport?

The private transfer service, taxis from Cancun airport, the ADO bus, and car rental are just some of the many ways you have to get to Playa del Carmen from Cancun Airport or Cancun itself.

How to get to Playa del Carmen?

Playa del Carmen is not a distant city from Cancun or Cancun airport. In fact, Playa del Carmen is located 55.4 km away from Cancun airport and 68 km from downtown Cancun.

Furthermore, the journey to reach Playa del Carmen is by road. Therefore, we have several options for ground transportation to achieve it. However, not all options are available from Cancun airport.

But don’t worry. In this small space, we will try to explain everything you need to know to go to Playa del Carmen from Cancun or Cancun airport.

How to get to Playa del Carmen from Cancun Airport?

Cancun International Airport will undoubtedly be the first stop of your Caribbean vacation. Of course, this only applies if you are traveling by flight from your city of origin.

So, are there transportation options from Cancun Airport to Playa del Carmen? Yes, there are several options available, including private transfers, private taxis, ADO bus, ADO vans, and car rentals.

The options not available from here are Uber transfer service and Playa Express public transportation.

Private Transportation

The private transfer service is the most reliable, fast, secure, and personalized option you can find at Cancun Airport.

It’s a service that can be booked online before your flight and can be customized with baby seats, beverages, snacks, and even the opportunity to choose the type of vehicle that best suits your needs and budget.

The standardized price for the transfer service is $85 for a one-way trip and $165 for a round trip. This cost is per vehicle, not per passenger. What does that mean? A maximum of 8 people can fit in one vehicle.

So, whether you’re 2 people, 4 people, or all 8, you will pay the same price. On the other hand, this is the cost of the standard transportation service.

Now, as we mentioned, you can choose other types of services such as Luxury, VIP, or premium transfers, but they have different costs.

Why choose this service? That’s a great question, and the answer is simple: Being a service you can book online and completely private, it won’t make you wait even a second upon your arrival at the airport and will take you directly to the door of your hotel in Playa del Carmen.

Taxi

The taxi service is also an excellent transportation option from the airport to Playa del Carmen, but unlike private transfers, this service is not booked online.

In fact, you can find taxi services outside Terminal 1, Terminal 2, Terminal 3, or Terminal 4 at Cancun Airport.

However, you will first need to wait in line to board, and depending on the number of people, it can take between 20 to 40 minutes to board a taxi.

On the other hand, these types of vehicles can only accommodate a maximum of 3 passengers and do not have a “standard fare”. What does that mean? It means they can charge you whatever they consider fair. So, you could end up paying more than the private transfer service or less.

Nevertheless, it remains a viable option if you don’t have a private transportation reservation, and as a life tip, always ask for the cost of the transfer before boarding.

ADO bus

Another way to get to Playa del Carmen that is usually more economical than the two previous ways is the ADO shared transportation service.

This transportation service is very well known in the city of Cancun and consists of a bus equipped with air conditioning and in some cases with television.

This type of transportation can be found in downtown Cancun in the form of a bus and at the Cancun airport. Although it is much more common to find an ADO shuttle van at the airport than the bus itself.

It normally has an average cost of 7.5 USD and leaves every hour from Cancun airport to Playa del Carmen, BUT there are very few night schedules, so if you arrive late at night and want to take this service, you will have to wait until 5 am to be able to board.

Car Rental

Our last form of reservation is through private car rental. As soon as you get off the plane and walk towards the exit of terminal 1,2,3 or 4 (whichever terminal you are in), you will find multiple car rental company booths.

Our advice is that before deciding which one to rent from, first go to their social networks and read the opinions of other customers. This way, you can decide whether or not to rent with one of them.

Normally the costs can range from 25 USD per day, up to 500 USD per day. It all depends on how “equipped” you want the type of vehicle you are going to rent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

These 4 ways are the only ones (for now) to get to Playa del Carmen from Cancun airport. Of course, in the future there could be more like the UBER service which still can’t operate inside the airport or the Mayan train which has to be finished in 2025.

It is worth mentioning that the private transfer service is the only one that can take you to the door of your hotel. Also the cab but don’t forget that if you take it from the airport (without previous reservation) you can pay much more.

Finally, if you don’t mind waiting and comfort, the ADO shuttle service is ideal for you.

Tags: Transportation from Cancun airport to Playa del Carmen, private transfer, transportation options, bus service, cab, cab fares, travel time, advance booking, public transportation safety, transportation companies, bus terminal, ADO, Riviera.