Cancun Airport to Playa del Carmen Transfer
The busiest run south from CUN, priced for the whole vehicle rather than per seat.
The drive
Cancun airport to Playa del Carmen
The distance is 34.3 miles and the drive is about 55–70 min. It is Highway 307 the whole way, a divided road with a good surface and few reasons to slow down.
You pass the Puerto Morelos turnoff at roughly the halfway mark, about 15.0 miles in. Several large resorts sit on that stretch either side of the town, so if your hotel address says Puerto Morelos rather than Playa del Carmen, your trip ends earlier than this one does and is priced accordingly.
This trip at a glance
- Distance
- 34.3 miles on Highway 307
- Drive time
- 55–70 min in normal traffic
- Meeting point
- Outside the arrivals exit, with a name sign.
- Flight tracked
- 60 minutes free waiting from landing.
Prices
What a Cancun to Playa del Carmen transfer costs
The total covers the vehicle. A couple and a family of five in the same SUV are quoted the same number, which is the opposite of how a shared shuttle prices the same journey.
Because this run is shorter than the Tulum one, the gap between vehicle classes matters more than the distance does. Pick on luggage and group size.
| Vehicle | Seats | One way | Round trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Sedan | Up to 2 | $250 | $500 |
| Premium SUV | Up to 5 | $275 | $550 |
| Executive SUV | Up to 5 | $315 | $630 |
| Sprinter Executive | Up to 12 | $580 | $1,160 |
| Sprinter Coach | Up to 14 | $580 | $1,160 |
| Executive Coach Bus | Up to 40 | $1,055 | $2,110 |
| Motor Coach | Up to 55 | $1,175 | $2,350 |
Where in Playa
Playacar or Quinta Avenida?
Playa del Carmen splits into two quite different places to stay, and which one you are in decides how the drop-off works.
Playacar is a gated development south of the center with its own controlled entrance. The driver needs the property name to be let through; a street address alone will not do it. Inside, the resorts sit on quiet landscaped roads well back from the highway.
The Quinta Avenida hotels are in the center, on or just off the pedestrianised Fifth Avenue. Here the constraint is the opposite: much of the area is closed to traffic, so the drop-off is at the nearest vehicle access rather than the door, and it is a short walk in.
Tell us which one
- Playacar: gated, needs the property name at the entrance.
- Quinta Avenida: pedestrianised, drop-off at the nearest vehicle access.
- Either way, the property name matters more than the street number.
Hotels
Properties we drive to regularly
Two we run to often enough to know the approach: Grand Riviera Princess, on the Quinta Avenida side, and Royal Hideaway Playacar, inside the gated Playacar development. Both are on completed bookings rather than a list of names.
If your hotel is not one of those, it is almost certainly still on this road. Give us the property name and we will quote it.
On the way
The Puerto Morelos stretch
About 15.0 miles in, roughly halfway, the highway passes the Puerto Morelos turnoff. The town itself sits a couple of minutes east of the road, but the resorts using a Puerto Morelos address are spread along the highway for several miles either side of it.
That spread is why the address on your confirmation matters more than the town name. Two properties both calling themselves Puerto Morelos can be fifteen minutes apart, one of them closer to the airport than the turnoff and the other most of the way to Playa del Carmen.
If your booking says Puerto Morelos, the trip ends before this one does and is quoted as its own shorter route rather than as a stop on the way here. Nothing is added for passing through.
Reading a Riviera Maya address
- A kilometer marker on Highway 307 locates a resort more precisely than the town name does.
- The same town name can cover properties fifteen minutes apart.
- Send the property name and we will match it to the right stretch of road.
Cozumel
The Cozumel ferry pier
The passenger ferry to Cozumel leaves from the pier in the center of Playa del Carmen, at the foot of Calle 1 Sur, a short walk from Quinta Avenida.
If Cozumel is your actual destination, book the transfer to the ferry pier rather than to a hotel. The crossing is on foot and takes passengers only; there is no vehicle service onto the island, so the car's job ends at the pier.
Allow time for the crossing itself when planning a same-day connection, and more on a Sunday when sailings are busier.
Going home
What time to leave Playa for your flight
Start from the airline's check-in cut-off and work backwards, not from the departure time.
Allow the 55–70 min drive, then whatever your airline asks you to be at the terminal for an international departure. Add margin on a Sunday, when the northbound highway carries the weekend traffic as well as the airport traffic.
Add a few minutes at the start if you are in Playacar, where the internal roads and the gate take longer than the map suggests, or in the center, where the vehicle cannot reach the door.
Return pickup
- Pickup point
- The hotel entrance, or the nearest vehicle access in the pedestrian zone.
- Allow for
- 55–70 min of driving on Highway 307.
- Then add
- Whatever your airline asks for an international departure.
Nearby
Other transfers on this coast
The same highway serves every destination below, so a change of hotel is usually a change of price rather than a change of plan.
Booking
What we need, and what is included
The flight number, the terminal, the property name and the bag count. The property name is what gets a driver through the Playacar gate and what identifies a hotel on a pedestrianised street.
Tolls are included in the quoted price. Tips are not included and are at your discretion. Child seats are free if you ask when you book. Cancelling is free up to 24 hours before pickup.
The Cancún hub covers the coast as a whole, and the longer run south is Cancun airport to Tulum.
Frequently Asked Questions
34.3 miles south on Highway 307.
About 55–70 min in normal traffic. The road is a divided highway for the whole distance.
From $275 one way in a Premium SUV for up to five passengers, or from $250 in a Business Sedan for two. The price is for the vehicle. Round trip is twice the one-way price.
Yes. Playacar is gated, so give the property name when you book — that is what the driver needs at the entrance. A street address on its own is not enough.
Much of Fifth Avenue is pedestrianised, so the drop-off is at the nearest point a vehicle can reach and it is a short walk to the door.
Yes. The transfer ends at the ferry pier in the center of Playa del Carmen. The crossing is on foot and there is no vehicle service onto Cozumel.
No, it is a shorter one. Puerto Morelos is about 15.0 miles from the airport, roughly halfway here, and is quoted separately.
Work back from your airline's check-in cut-off: allow about 55–70 min of driving plus whatever the airline asks for an international departure, and a little more on a Sunday.