Transport in Playa del Carmen

Getting here

 
Those heading to Playa del Carmen will most likely arrive by plane, which will land either at Cancún International Airport, around 45 minutes’ drive from Playa or at the international airport in Cozumel, also close by to Playa. Playa del Carmen itself has a small airport that is used mainly for short flights, for example to access some of the ancient ruins or Cozumel.

From Cozumel to Playa: You will need to get a taxi from the airport to the dock, el muelle in Spanish, in order to catch one of the ferries, which leave for Playa every hour or so. The ride over takes around half an hour and once on the other side, depending on where your hotel is you can either match another taxi, a bus or walk and have the tricycle (triciclo) guys carry any luggage for you.

From Cancún to Playa: For the ride down to Playa, you have a choice between an airport taxi or a bus. The airport taxis are authorized cars whose service and fees are controlled by a union. They are colored black, white and yellow. It may be a good idea to get together with other travelers heading the same way and splitting the fare. The other option is the bus servicing Playa directly. The bus company operating the service is Riviera and has ticket booths in the airport itself from which you can purchase your tickets.

Moving around Playa del Carmen
Depending on where you are headed, there are different options to choose from. Playa is fairly small and most places are easily reached on foot. Otherwise, just jump into one of the many taxis there. It is really not worth having a car of your own here. Bikes and scooters are also handy forms of transport – you can easily hire these in Playa.

If you’re planning on going further than Playa on a day trip, you can take a bus or you may prefer renting a car.


Our Spanish Language School in Playa del Carmen is ideally situated and students will have no problems at all in getting around town.