How to take the Tren Maya from the Cancun Airport to Tulum
The Riviera Maya is more connected than ever and now has the Tren Maya as the latest piece of infrastructure. So how is the connection from the Cancun Airport to Tulum on the Tren Maya? Here is a full guide on how to take the train and how it compares to the other forms of transportation from the airport.
Should you buy your tickets in advance for the train?
In general, we recommend you wait until you arrive to buy your tickets. We say this for several reasons. First, you don’t know if your flight might be delayed. Second, you also do not know how long it is going to take to go through immigration and customs. Tickets for the Tren Maya are only for the time you purchase them for. It would be a shame to have to buy a second ticket for your train trip. This route is also not used as much, so tickets are usually readily available.
We only recommend buying your tickets in advance if you have plenty of time to get from the Cancun Airport to the Tren Maya station. So how do you know if you have enough time? You can check the most recent schedules for the train on the official website of the Tren Maya here. A good rule is to allow 45 minutes to 1 hour to get out of the airport. This includes picking up your bags. The shuttle buses take about 15 minutes to get to the Tren Maya Station. So, if you are landing an hour and a half or more before the scheduled train, you could buy your tickets in advance.
Note: The Tren Maya website only allows tickets to be available for purchase for a few months in advance. If it says “No results found” this just means they have not opened up ticket sales. They do this because the train is new, and schedules might change in the future.
What is the current schedule for the Tren Maya between Cancun Airport and Tulum?
Departing from the Cancun Airport Tren Maya Station the first train is at 9:00am, then 11:46, and the last train is at 3:33pm. These are the only train times as of now. In the future there is the possibility of more trains. This route is not super busy, and tickets are usually available.
How much are the tickets to Tulum?
There are two classes of service on the Tren Maya. Premier is the first class and tourist is the second class. For the 1 hour and 43 minutes from Cancun Airport to Tulum, you really don’t need premier class. You only get about 2 inches of seat and a few less people in the train car. Premier tickets cost 719.50 pesos and a tourist class ticket costs 449.50 pesos. There are other fares for the Tren Maya, but pretty much all foreigners are going to pay for the International Tourist fare, even those with temporary and permanent visas to live in Mexico.
There are the additional costs of the shuttle bus from the Cancun Airport of 35 pesos and the shuttle bus to downtown Tulum of 55 peeos. So, these are additional costs you need to calculate into this trip.
How to get to the Tren Maya Station from the Cancun Airport
There are Tren Maya shuttle buses that go to the terminals to the Cancun Airport Tren Maya Station. This is a charge of 35 pesos. The buses are scheduled to pass by and pick up passengers before departing trains. It takes about 15 minutes to get to the train station from the airport.
The Tren Maya Station is not in the Cancun Airport, it is next to it, but you need to drive around the airport and over to the station, hence it does take about 15 minutes.
There are some signs at the airport for the Tren Maya, but you might need to ask for directions. Also, be alert that some taxi drivers will try to offer you a ride by saying there is no shuttle bus coming. Taxi drivers overcharge for this ride.
At the Cancun Airport Tren Maya Station
When you arrive by the shuttle bus to the station, it is a short walk to the platforms where there is a booth to buy tickets. You will need to show ID. You can buy the round trip or just the one way. Pesos and credit cards are accepted for the purchases. Young children ages 0-2 are free but much be on adult’s lap or otherwise pay for a ticket.
After you get your ticket, passengers are allowed on the platform shortly before the scheduled train. Tickets have a train car and seat assigned to them. There are luggage racks at the end fo the train cars and overhead storage for smaller bags along the seats.
Onboard the Tren Maya
Once you are situated, you will have about a 1 hour and 43-minute trip to Tulum. Some of the services onboard are a cafe car where you can get coffee, drinks and beer plus snacks and light food. At your seat you will have a charger, both USB and a plug. The plugs are the same as the United States and Canada. There are bathrooms onboard as well, regular and family size with changing tables.
There are only two stops before Tulum, Puerto Morelos and Playa Del Carmen. Your views are mainly going to be trees or construction. You don’t see too much from the train.
Arriving at the Tulum Tren Maya Station
Once you arrive at the Tulum station you will descend into the station from the platform. At the exit of the station there will be shuttle buses. these take you to the Tulum ruins area or the ADO Bus Station in downtown Tulum. Sometimes one bus does the two stops if there are not a lot of people or there are two buses, one for each destination. The cost is 55 pesos for the bus. It takes about 8 minutes to get to the ADO Bus Station.
There are taxis at the train station if you prefer to take a taxi straight to your hotel. There are also taxis outside of the ADO Bus Station.
How does the Tren Maya compare to take the ADO bus to Tulum?
The total price of the Tren Maya from the Cancun Airport costs either 837.50 pesos or 557 pesos (this includes the two shuttle buses and is the two clases). The total time from getting the shuttle bus to the Tren Maya Cancun Airport Station to the ADO Bus Station in the center of Tulum is just over 2 1/2 hours.
The ADO bus from the Cancun Airport takes 2 hours and 55 minutes from the Cancun Airport to Tulum with a stop in Playa Del Carmen. The cost is 430 pesos.
Our recommendation for taking the Tren Maya or the ADO bus to Tulum
The Tren Maya is about 25 minutes faster than the ADO bus and is more comfortable. There are however less scheduled trains, so it will depend on what time you arrive at the Cancun Airport and how long you have to wait to take the train to determine if it is worth it. As far as costs go, the bus is about 120 pesos cheaper (which is about $6USD). See the ADO website here for the current schedules between the Cancun Airport and Tulum.
Or you can take a private transfer to Tulum
If the idea of finding buses, changing transportation, and moving luggage around is not ideal for you, you might want to consider a private transfer from the Cancun Airport. The private transfers are just for you and whoever is traveling with you plus they take you directly to your accommodation in Tulum. This will cut over an hour of travel time for you.
This is the best company to go with and one our readers have enjoyed for years. When you reserve online, you will have a van and driver waiting for you at the Cancun Airport. The price includes a bilingual driver, all taxes and fees and are insured. The price is for the entire van and not per person. A van with up to 8 people costs $165 USD from the Cancun Airport to Tulum. A round-trip costs $320 USD. You save $10 USD if you book a round trip with this transfer company. Click the Reserve Now button to go to the official transfer companies’ website.
We hope this guide has made it easy for you to take a decision and navigate traveling from the Cancun Airport to Tulum. if you have any questions, feel free to ask them below in the comment section.
About The Author
Regarding the three departures, the last being 3:30?
Based on your experience, when do the majority of flights from US land in Cancun?
Flights arriving after, say 2:15 would have to wait another day
We know that the Tren Maya is not the most practical since there are logistical issues with getting to and from the stations and limited service. It can be fun to take once and works better for long trips. The train to Playa Del Carmen from the Cancun Airport is actually much longer time that taking the ADO. That is why we like to include the comparisons with the other transportation so people can make a decision.
Flights from Europe tend to get into Cancun in the morning and in the afternoon arrive flights from the USA and Canada.
Thank you for looking at our article.