300c.com

Cancun Transportation

Charter flights from Europe and South America, and direct scheduled flights from dozens of cities in Mexico and North and Central America, land at the airport , 15km south of the centre. Colectivos take you to any part of town for a fixed price (US$7.50 per person to downtown, US$9.50 to the hotel zone) - buy your ticket from the desk by the exit. Taxis cost considerably more. Arriving by bus, you’ll pull in at the city’s main bus station , in the heart of downtown, just by a roundabout at the major junction of avenidas Tulum and Uxmal.

Av Tulum , Cancún’s main street, is lined with the bulk of the city’s shops, banks, restaurants and travel agencies, as well as many of the hotels - up side streets, but in view. The state tourist office is a couple of blocks from the bus station at Av Tulum 26 (daily 9am-9pm; tel 9/884-8073) and the friendly bilingual staff will help with even the smallest enquiries. They also dish out free maps and leaflets and copies of the ubiquitous promotional listings magazines , the glossiest of which is Cancún Tips - all information you can pick up at just about every travel agency and hotel reception. There are several other tourist information kiosks on Tulum and in the zona hotelera ; some are genuine, but if you’re asked if you want “tourist information” as you pass, it’s almost certain you’re being selected for a timeshare sales pitch. Many hotels arrange trips to the chief Maya ruins - most commonly Chichén Itzá, Tulum and Cobá. Check with the receptionist about the latest offers.

Downtown you’ll be able to walk just about anywhere, but you need some sort of transport to get around the zona hotelera , which stretches for more than 20km. Buses marked “Tulum-Hoteles, Ruta 1” run along Av Tulum every few minutes. There’s a fixed fare of US$0.50. Alternatively, taxis are plentiful and can be hailed almost anywhere - the trip between downtown and the zona costs around US$5-8. A car affords you more scope and makes day-trips as far as the ruins at Cobá perfectly feasible.

Moving On from Cancun

If you’re heading west by car to Valladolid, Chichén Itzá and Mérida, you have a choice between the old road ( viejo ) or the new highway, running a few kilometres north of the old road for most of its length. Drive north on Av Tulum then turn left to join López Portillo: after a few kilometres you will have the choice of which road to join. You pay in advance, at the booths on the highway, for the sections you intend to travel along. The trip all the way to Mérida costs US$25.

First and second-class buses go from the same well-organized terminal on the corner of avenidas Tulum and Uxmal. Destinations include Mérida, first-class (4 daily; 4hr) and second-class (hourly round-the-clock; 5hr); Campeche, on the deluxe ADO GL service (daily 3pm; 9hr) and second-class (daily at midnight; 10hr); Chetumal on first-class (daily at 4.30pm; 5hr) and second-class (hourly 5am-12.45pm; 6hr); Mexico City on first-class (2 daily at 10am and 1pm; 18hr) and second-class (4 daily; 20hr); Playa del Carmen on first-class (6 daily; 1hr) and second-class (every 30min; 1hr); Tizimín (6 daily; 4hr); Tulum on first-class (5 daily; 2hr) and second-class (5 daily; 2hr); Valladolid (hourly; 3hr).

International flights leave regularly from Cancún; from downtown and the zona hotelera a taxi to the airport costs about US$10.

Ferry to Isla Mujeres

The passenger ferry for Isla Mujeres officially leaves from Puerto Juárez every thirty minutes between 6am and 8pm with both fast (15min; US$3.50) and slow (45min; US$1.80) services. However, in reality they simply leave when full, often at the same time. To get to the ferry terminal, catch a bus (“Ruta 13”) heading north from the stop on Av Tulum, opposite the bus station (20min), or take a taxi from Tulum (around US$3.50).

The car ferry (US$13 for car, plus US$2 for each passenger) leaves from Punta Sam, a few kilometres north of Puerto Juárez. There are five departures daily between 8am and 8.15pm, returning from Isla Mujeres between 6.30am and 7.15pm. However, it isn’t really worth taking a car over to the island, which is small enough to cycle around and has plenty of bicycles and mopeds for rent