This is exactly the kind of post I always hope to find when I Google "travelling to _____ from ______." The kind that I can never find, or if I do, it's outdated from ten years before. So, I'm going to write one. Because even though I won't appear in Google's top pages when people search right now, eventually it'll get there, and this post can help some of you have an easier time getting between Cancun and Playa del Carmen/Tulum. Or at least it can be the next post that appears for people in ten years when they're trying to figure out the same thing I had to figure out today. Ok? Sababa? Vale? Bien? Yalla, let's go...!
Per usual, there are three options to get you between the two places:
Taxi/shuttle for $60-$70
Rent a car (prices vary)
Bus
All will take about two hours of travel, since all are motorized vehicles and the buses don't make multiple stops, the main difference is the price and availability.
The bus you want to use is ADO, the times are on the website. When I was trying to book the ticket, it wouldn't let me buy online for some glitchy reason, so I ended up just going to the airport to get it. Also because they told me there were no spaces available, so really, I went to buy the ticket for the next day. **High season happens around the New Year, so pre-book what you can if you know your plan to avoid too many hassles.** There's a bus station in Cancun's center (Calle Pino, SM23, MZ56, Lt 1 y 2, Centro, 23, 77500 Cancún, Q.R.), where buses leave all day long. There are fewer, but some still available, that leave from every terminal at the airport (same bus hits each terminal). I got my ticket at T2 NOT at the window that ADO has, but from where the bus leaves at a little popup desk. And instead of waiting there three hours to get the bus that was actually going to leave for Tulum, I waited 25 minutes and got the bus to Playa del Carmen. Upon arrival, I got another ticket, waited another half hour, and then was on my way to Tulum. Boom.
The fist ticket was $190MXN, the second was $35MXN. Which ended up being cheaper than the trip from Cancun to Tulum as a straight shot anyways. (In all it's about, with a 19.5:1 exchange rate, $11. Amazing!) The first bus was air conditioned, I had an incredibly comfortable seat, they had the TV playing, and it was a very enjoyable ride. Deluxe. The next bus, was a little less amazing. It was over-crowded, and some people had bikes underneath they hadn't bothered to push all the way back, so not everyone's luggage could fit underneath. It made for a very typical Central American travel setup: people and luggage filling the aisle. Lord help us all in case of a fire! I ended up sitting literally at the front row, on the floor, next to the driver. Another traveler sat on some other traveler's backpack behind me, and the backpacker and some other gal sat next to each other on the stairs facing out the door. At least they were good company! (Felt like Costa Rica 2016 over there!)
Side-note: Most taxi drivers and people at the terminals that aren't associated with ADO, but are associated with other tourism groups/companies, are likely going to try and screw you over. One guy at Terminal 3 where TONS of shuttles and taxis leave from told us that there were no buses leaving that day for Tulum, even though I'd seen on the website there was one. (Doing a little research in situations like this does not mean you are "going against the flow," over-planning, or being too strict in your trip, it means you're being privy to the ways "these countries" work, and have traveled enough to know how to do it more economically.) In the end, there was one. Now, I'm not trying to spread shadows or say they are all out to take your money, but if they can pawn you off to a shuttle that costs $70 instead of you paying $11 to someone else, they will probably try to do it. It's survival, and we can't blame them, but we also don't have to pay that way.
Another little note: on NYE my partner and I took two cabs., and used them to get us to and from the exact places I used the buses today.. One from Cancun (from a house about 5 minutes away from the airport) to Playa del Carmen, which cost us $35USD. Don't pay more than this, unless you're leaving from a further point. The next was from Playa to just outside Tulum, and we paid for this one about $55USD. Costly, far more than the bus, but we had no choice since we weren't leaving Playa till past midnight, and it was NYE. He wanted to charge us $3000MXN ($150USD) at first, but we are smart, and my partner is Israeli, so it was never going to happen. :)
Whenever possible while traveling, ask locals how much a ride from X to Y should cost before you take it, and ALWAYS secure the rate with the taxi driver BEFORE you leave! This will save you so much headache, and so many of your pesos and dollars! Okay? We don't go on holiday or travel to play the dumb white man that has money, and is on a trip, and came to spend it anyways. No! Be smart, travel smart, and then you can travel longer, too, because it'll make your money last! ;)
So that's all!
Make today amazing. Remember it's in your power to do so!
Blessings, Love, Light and Epic Success to all!!
-Allie from Cali <3