Cancun Airport to Puerto Morelos Transportation Options
Getting from the Cancun Airport to Puerto Morelos is easy to do. If you are flying into Cancun Airport and going to Puerto Morelos, here are the options for transfers and transportation. We have done this trip many times and want to share the best ways to get from the airport.
The Best Way to Get From the Airport to Puerto Morelos
The fastest and best way to get from the Cancun Airport to Puerto Morelos or nearby hotels is a private transfer. These are pre-booked vans waiting for you at the airport. They are like taxis, but give you set prices, bilingual drivers, are more comfortable, and give you a discount for round trips. Most people arrive to the Cancun Airport book these for their transportation in advance. You can do the same below with the reserve now button. This will take you to our recommendation for the best transportation company that will give you great service and prices.
How do the private transfers work?
- First use the link to make a booking. There you will add your flight information and hotel details.
- When you arrive at the airport there will be a person with a sign waiting for you at the exit. They will take you to your van.
- You will take off to your hotel. These are transfers just for you and not shared. If you book a round trip you will have your pickup time all set and you can enjoy your vacation without any other thought to what you need to do for transportation. It is as easy as 1.2.3.
Budget friendly option is a shuttle
If you do not want a private transfer, you might be interested in a more budget friendly option that is a shared shuttle. These are small air conditioned vans that take you right to your hotel or where you are staying. These are shared so sometimes there are other stops before yours. This is however a better option than the bus because it will take you door to door and no need for a taxi.
These shuttles must be booked before you arrive. This is easy by following the link below. This will take you to the official booking website.
Renting a Car from the Cancun Airport for Transportation
If you are planning on doing some exploring while on vacation, renting a car can be a good way to get back and forth from the Cancun Airport. If you are staying at an all inclusive resort, though, many times the car is only parked during your vacation, and this makes it more expensive than a private transfer. Also, it should be noted that most tours pick up guests from the hotels and provide free transportation, hence eliminating the need for a car in most cases.
If you are going to be driving in the Riviera Maya, see our guide here for tips. Below are also some tips for renting a car from the Cancun Airport.
- Not all car rental companies are located on the Cancun Airport property. Some are out along the highway. The main thing to consider is the added time to pick up and drop off the car. This generally adds 20 minutes to the process in both directions.
- There are many cheap prices online for rental cars. The prices do not include insurance and many fees. The normal price for a car rental are about $40-$50 USD per day depending on how long you rent the car and the size.
- Liability insurance is mandatory in Mexico. Yes, some credit cards cover this, but you will need to check to make sure and after print out this information if you want to use it. It is however best to buy it with the rental and have a Mexican insurance company that can respond speedily to any claim.
Public Bus From the Cancun Airport
There is only one public bus service from the Cancun Airport to Puerto Morelos. This is the ADO bus company. These are modern, air conditioned buses that have a schedule for pickups at the airport. The three main destinations for the bus from the Cancun Airport are downtown Cancun, Puerto Morelos (along the highway), and Playa Del Carmen. The Playa Del Carmen bus has a stop along the highway in Puerto Morelos.
The bus is good is you are having someone pick you up at the highway stop or staying in the town of Puerto Morelos which is about 3 kilometers from the beach. Most people however are staying at resorts or rentals in the beach area. This means transferring to a taxi and continuing on to your hotel from the bus stop.
To check bus schedules and prices, see the link here to the ADO bus company.
Why we don’t recommend taxis or Uber
Number one, Uber is not in service in the Riviera Maya or even the entire state. So this is not an option. Uber opened in Cancun for a short while, but it was closed because a dispute with the Taxis and regulations for transportation in the state. If Uber opens service again, and it is fully functional, we will update this information.
Taxis are available at the Cancun Airport for transportation to Puerto Morelos but we don’t recommend them. The first reason is the fact there are not set rates or listed prices at the airport for taxis. There are also no booths where you buy a ticket. This means negotiating a rate for your trip. Often people end up paying more for their trip. Second, there is no discount for round trip service for taxis because you surely will be taking a different taxi back to the airport from Puerto Morelos. Third, taxis are small cars and compared to the private van transfers, you are are more comfortable in the transfers.
Since you will be taking the bus to Playa Del Carmen for the Puerto Morelos stop, see our article with further instructions here.
Further planning for your time in Puerto Morelos
Most of you will be staying at an all inclusive hotel in Puerto Morelos but even then you probably want to go on some tours. Here are some of the most popular tours that you can take.
Tours to Theme Parks/ Eco Parks from Puerto Morelos
It really is hard to describe these parks that offer a full day of adventure. These are adventure parks, some have animals to see, and they all highlight the natural world. Some of these are just outside south of Puerto Morelos and others involve a little transportation. What makes these parks easy places to visit is the fact that they a package and everything is set for a day.
Here are some of the best parks for visitors and what each one is like. Tip: Use the links on our page to book ahead! You can save up to 15% off.
Xcaret Park
Xcaret park is the granddaddy of all the parks. Not only is it the largest, it is one of the first. This park is hard to describe, but does include, shows, animals, swimming in underground rivers, and a walk through Mexican history. One of the highlights is the 2 hour show at the end of the day that should not be missed. This park is for families of all ages, couples and people looking for a great day exploring.
Xel Ha
Xel Ha is all about being outside, swimming and enjoying a beautiful inlet. Here you can swim, float, and enjoy a beautiful park all day long. This park is closer to Tulum, so it is a little farther away but worth the trip from Puerto Morelos! See our video below and if this place looks good to you, then use the reserve now button to book it.
Some people have a hard time deciding between Xcaret and Xel Ha parks. We wrote an article comparing them so you can decide.
Xplor
Xplor park is the adrenaline junkies fun park. There are some of the best zip lines in Mexico, underground rivers to swim in and much more! This park is great for couples, families with teens or older children and people that want an active day. See our video below for more details about this place to see if it is what you want and then use the reserve now button to purchase.
Xenses
This is a half day park and good for families with younger children. Xenses is like a science museum that is interactive, but just with the fun stuff! See our video here about what it is like and then book below if this looks good to you. This is the only half day park, so if you want to get back to your resort, this might be a nice quicker place to visit.
Xenotes
Xenotes Park is for the nature lover that wants to see real nature and have some fun. This park is the closest to Puerto Morelos. You get to visit several private cenotes that are designed for visitors. This park is organized in small groups and you go through the park visiting different cenotes. Some you swim in and others you have a zip line, slide or rappel.
Tours you can take to see Mayan ruins
The most popular tours from Puerto Morelos are the ones to Chichen Itza. This is usually the first Mayan ruins that people want to visit. Once people visit that site, there are a lot of other ones in the area to see. Here are some recommended tours to take from Puerto Morelos to visit each of the big tour sites.
Tours from Puerto Morelos to Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza is the most popular of all the Mayan ruins in the area. Tours here last about 9-10 hours due to travel time. See our article about the best Chichen Itza tours to take from the Riviera Maya.
Tours to Tulum
Tulum is about 1 hours and 20 minutes south of Puerto Morelos. Tulum ruins are very accessible (meaning close). The view of the ocean and the cliffs is spectacular. The site itself is small. Often tours to Tulum will add another stop to fill out a tour. Read the details of what is included and excluded from each of the tours offered.
For an affordable tour to Tulum that also has a cenote stop, this tour might be for you. If you would like a little longer tour to Tulum that includes a cenote and swimming in a reef, this tour might be for you. For those that want more time at the Tulum ruins and just a visit to the beach there, you might like this tour.
Visiting Coba ruins by tour from Puerto Morelos
Coba is a little different because the site is located in the jungle. You have the opportunity to ride bikes between the temples and explore. The ruins are inland from Tulum and about an 2 hours and from Puerto Morelos. Here are some tours to look if you want a tour here.
If you have young kids and want to give them some culture. but also some fun, you can do this half day Xel Ha and Coba Tour. A fun way to see the ruins and learn a bit more about the Mayan communities of today is the allTOURnative tour. You can read more about this Coba tour here and see our video. For nature lovers, this tour from will take you to Coba and a lagoon nearby where you can see nature and possibly even monkeys.
Tours to Ek Balam Mayan ruins
Ek Balam ruins less visited because it gets outshined by how big Chichen Itza is and how beautiful the beach is at Tulum. These ruins can be nice to visit for two main reasons. You can climb the main temple and there is a nearby cenote to visit. Often tours visit another place to make for a full tour day.
One nice tour to take from Playa Del Carmen area is the Ek Balam and Cenote Maya tour. This tour will show you the ruins with good guides and then explore on of the largest cenotes in the Yucatan. You will try local food and can experience some of the fun activities of the cenote.
If you want a longer tour to take in some of the marvels of the Yucatan, this tour might hit a lot of the spots you have on your list including Ek Balam. It is more expensive, but you do get to go to some of the less visited spots that are hard to get to without a tour.
Get in the water with a snorkel tour
The reef in Puerto Morelos
Located right off the coast of Puerto Morelos you can find the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Explore the breathtaking underwater world of the Caribbean Sea at the second largest coral reef on earth. These snorkeling tours are popular because it is very accessible to most of the Riviera Maya and a year round activity. You can also sometimes see sea turtles here.
We have snorkeled this reef and enjoyed it. It is not too far off the coast and not in very deep water. Most areas range from 5-15 feet deep.
Here are two tours that you can do in Puerto Morelos to go snorkeling.
- Tour one will take you to two spots in the Puerto Morelos National Reef Park. Transportation from your hotel is included, plus a meal and drinks.
- Tour 2 is a little less expensive but will still offer two spots for snorkeling and hotel transportation.
Thank you for reading our guide on how to get from the Cancun Airport to Puerto Morelos. Let us know if you have any comments or questions below.
About The Author
We have been thinking of staying in Puerto Morelos at one of the resorts but don’t know what it is like compared to Cancun. What are the main differences? Please advise.
Hello Mary
If you are going to stay at a resort, you might only leave for a tour or two, so it depends more on the resort property. The beach is better in the Hotel Zone of Cancun. There are less hotels in Puerto Morelos for the most part. If you are going to take some tours, you are a little closer to things in Puerto Morelos but other than that, there is not much difference.
Cancun is party town.Puerto Moreles is much more Mexican and totally laid back.There are lots of decent places to eat.
This is a good description of the two places. Puerto Morelos has grown steadily in the past half decade but still remains small and charming.
Very good info. We arrive on Tuesday and hope that not too much is closed for the orange traffic light. What things might we expect?
Hello Frances
Hotels have lower occupancy rates and so do theme parks like Xcaret. In general, you wont notice too much different. The bars are closed but some will just serve food and have table service. Things will be spaces out more but people can still enjoy their trips.
Some of the hotels are very spread out and good not to take a bus there because you will need to take a taxi with all your luggage.