gopbroek
Contributor
There have been a lot of threads about the bag drag from Cancun to Cozumel but one aspect that is not covered much is late Cancun arrivals and early Cancun departures. The last ferry to Cozumel is 11PM and the first out to Playa leaves at 05:45. This is problematic for flights into CUN after 8PM or leaving before 9AM. Here is some basic information I have learned and a trip report from recent trips:
Last August I was flying standby after work out of DFW and did not make the late afternoon flight but I got on the next one and did not get into CUN until 9:30 PM. I blew through customs and was on the street 10 minutes later. I then caught the 10PM ADO bus to Playa. I got to the pier at 23:12 and could see the last ferry in mid channel heading for Cozumel. No problem, I figured I grab a cheap room near the pier. Well…….., its not quite that simple. It seems that there are lots of cheap rooms nearby but they get rented out early in the evening. I was lucky to find the last room in a hotel six blocks away for about $90 after an hour of searching. 5 hours later I caught the ferry and made the morning dive.
This got me to thinking of downtown Cancun as an overnight option. The ADO bus to / from the airport to Cancun or Cancun to Playa is only $64MXN per trip (Playa to / from the airport, which is less distance, is $168MXN, you know, the Gringo tax). Hotels in the Cancun downtown area via Hotels.com seem to be very plentiful and cheap. The buses from Cancun into the airport start at 4:30 AM and at 5:00 AM to Playa (scheduled arrival in Playa is 06:20, which connects to the 06:45 ferry). From the airport to Cancun the buses run until Midnight.
The week before last I took the week off to attend my Nieces wedding in eastern Washington but I really did not need to show up until Wednesday evening for a Saturday wedding. I figured to sneak down and get a few days of diving in but my wife (who was heading up earlier) explained my life would be voided if I did not make it there by Wednesday. This meant the 6AM flight out of CUN to make it to Portland by midday. Last February I was in a similar situation and spent the night at the Comfort Inn outside of the airport, because of their free AM shuttle. Turns out it is in an industrial area near the airport entrance and the local Taxi mafia would not let them run into the airport and was forcing folks to take taxi’s at $15US a head. I figure this time I would try out the downtown Cancun option and relax the night prior.
This option worked very well. I took a leisurely trip on late Tuesday afternoon (after diving in the AM) to Playa on the 4PM ferry and caught the ADO bus to Cancun. It took about an hour and a half but it was at the peak traffic time in both Playa and Cancun so earlier or later would probably cut off 10 minutes. Comfortable ride but one point: some of the buses do a brief stop along the road across from a mall about a mile prior to the main terminal, do not get off there, the downtown terminal is a regular modern 10-15 lane bus terminal, there is no mistaking it.
I had looked on the various booking sites for a hotel near the bus terminal and saw several. I picked the Hotel Mayab for $28 USD ($34 with tax and fees) via Hotels.com but all the major booking services were showing the same prices. The hotel was ¼ of the way around the traffic circle in front of the ADO bus terminal, about a 3-5 minute walk in a busy well-lit area. The hotel was basic but very clean with AC and a nice shower area, and had a nice new flat screen TV with a digital Cablemas box so I could watch most channels in English, more than adequate for my needs and it appeared secure. The staff was very gracious, I would stay again in this hotel.
In the area there were many more hotels that did not show up on the hotel sites and they all seemed competitive and clean so I do not think availability is a problem unless there is a festival in the area. The terminal sits in the center of downtown about 2 blocks from the Municipal Palacio and Municipal Square in front of the Palacio (this was a week after Gritto Delores and the decorations were still up). Lots of restaurants in the area and a block and a half behind the hotel I found a nice park full of stalls and vendors, Parque del Artesano. It was a weekday night but it was like the Cozumel Municipal square on the weekend with lots of booths and kids on rental electric cars, I felt safe and secure.
In the morning I woke early and walked over to the terminal at 04:15 and bought a ticket for the 4:30 bus. Nice well-lit departure area with clear signage, a small snack bar has an expresso machine and they sold coffee made by the cup for $30MXN, being cheap I cringed, but it turned out to be excellent coffee and well worth it. The bus was slow, perhaps it was the driver who came to a complete stop prior to each Tope and then creeped over them. The schedule states 35 minutes and we reached terminal 3 (after first stopping at 1 & 2) at 06:12 I cannot complain about being late since we did make terminal 1 at 6AM. I had no problems making the flight since I did not have bags to check but for AA, at least, there is a 1 hour bag cut off for checked bags.
I talked with the AA counter rep and she told me that due to the airport procedures and equipment it really does take 40-45 minutes to move a bag from the counter to the plane. In retrospect, if I had bags to check and a flight time before 06:15 I would use a cab to get to the airport. After 06:15, no problem and next month when the US switches from Daylight to Standard time and Quintana Roo does not, the kickoff flight times will bump forward an hour to match their US connections so checked bag cut off will not be an issue until next spring.
In the future if I get in late and I cannot make the bus to Playa prior to 21:00, I plan to head for Cancun and catch the 05:00 bus in the morning. This should put me into Playa by 06:20, take the 06:45 ferry and go diving on the 8AM boat.
One piece of info I could use help with: does anyone know what the standard taxi rate is supposed to be from downtown Cancun to the airport, preferably in Pesos?
Last August I was flying standby after work out of DFW and did not make the late afternoon flight but I got on the next one and did not get into CUN until 9:30 PM. I blew through customs and was on the street 10 minutes later. I then caught the 10PM ADO bus to Playa. I got to the pier at 23:12 and could see the last ferry in mid channel heading for Cozumel. No problem, I figured I grab a cheap room near the pier. Well…….., its not quite that simple. It seems that there are lots of cheap rooms nearby but they get rented out early in the evening. I was lucky to find the last room in a hotel six blocks away for about $90 after an hour of searching. 5 hours later I caught the ferry and made the morning dive.
This got me to thinking of downtown Cancun as an overnight option. The ADO bus to / from the airport to Cancun or Cancun to Playa is only $64MXN per trip (Playa to / from the airport, which is less distance, is $168MXN, you know, the Gringo tax). Hotels in the Cancun downtown area via Hotels.com seem to be very plentiful and cheap. The buses from Cancun into the airport start at 4:30 AM and at 5:00 AM to Playa (scheduled arrival in Playa is 06:20, which connects to the 06:45 ferry). From the airport to Cancun the buses run until Midnight.
The week before last I took the week off to attend my Nieces wedding in eastern Washington but I really did not need to show up until Wednesday evening for a Saturday wedding. I figured to sneak down and get a few days of diving in but my wife (who was heading up earlier) explained my life would be voided if I did not make it there by Wednesday. This meant the 6AM flight out of CUN to make it to Portland by midday. Last February I was in a similar situation and spent the night at the Comfort Inn outside of the airport, because of their free AM shuttle. Turns out it is in an industrial area near the airport entrance and the local Taxi mafia would not let them run into the airport and was forcing folks to take taxi’s at $15US a head. I figure this time I would try out the downtown Cancun option and relax the night prior.
This option worked very well. I took a leisurely trip on late Tuesday afternoon (after diving in the AM) to Playa on the 4PM ferry and caught the ADO bus to Cancun. It took about an hour and a half but it was at the peak traffic time in both Playa and Cancun so earlier or later would probably cut off 10 minutes. Comfortable ride but one point: some of the buses do a brief stop along the road across from a mall about a mile prior to the main terminal, do not get off there, the downtown terminal is a regular modern 10-15 lane bus terminal, there is no mistaking it.
I had looked on the various booking sites for a hotel near the bus terminal and saw several. I picked the Hotel Mayab for $28 USD ($34 with tax and fees) via Hotels.com but all the major booking services were showing the same prices. The hotel was ¼ of the way around the traffic circle in front of the ADO bus terminal, about a 3-5 minute walk in a busy well-lit area. The hotel was basic but very clean with AC and a nice shower area, and had a nice new flat screen TV with a digital Cablemas box so I could watch most channels in English, more than adequate for my needs and it appeared secure. The staff was very gracious, I would stay again in this hotel.
In the area there were many more hotels that did not show up on the hotel sites and they all seemed competitive and clean so I do not think availability is a problem unless there is a festival in the area. The terminal sits in the center of downtown about 2 blocks from the Municipal Palacio and Municipal Square in front of the Palacio (this was a week after Gritto Delores and the decorations were still up). Lots of restaurants in the area and a block and a half behind the hotel I found a nice park full of stalls and vendors, Parque del Artesano. It was a weekday night but it was like the Cozumel Municipal square on the weekend with lots of booths and kids on rental electric cars, I felt safe and secure.
In the morning I woke early and walked over to the terminal at 04:15 and bought a ticket for the 4:30 bus. Nice well-lit departure area with clear signage, a small snack bar has an expresso machine and they sold coffee made by the cup for $30MXN, being cheap I cringed, but it turned out to be excellent coffee and well worth it. The bus was slow, perhaps it was the driver who came to a complete stop prior to each Tope and then creeped over them. The schedule states 35 minutes and we reached terminal 3 (after first stopping at 1 & 2) at 06:12 I cannot complain about being late since we did make terminal 1 at 6AM. I had no problems making the flight since I did not have bags to check but for AA, at least, there is a 1 hour bag cut off for checked bags.
I talked with the AA counter rep and she told me that due to the airport procedures and equipment it really does take 40-45 minutes to move a bag from the counter to the plane. In retrospect, if I had bags to check and a flight time before 06:15 I would use a cab to get to the airport. After 06:15, no problem and next month when the US switches from Daylight to Standard time and Quintana Roo does not, the kickoff flight times will bump forward an hour to match their US connections so checked bag cut off will not be an issue until next spring.
In the future if I get in late and I cannot make the bus to Playa prior to 21:00, I plan to head for Cancun and catch the 05:00 bus in the morning. This should put me into Playa by 06:20, take the 06:45 ferry and go diving on the 8AM boat.
One piece of info I could use help with: does anyone know what the standard taxi rate is supposed to be from downtown Cancun to the airport, preferably in Pesos?
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