We are going to Cancun in a few weeks and we'll be staying at a remote hotel north of town that is not accessible by bus and, apparently, costs 20-30 USD to travel by taxi to/from Cancun from the hotel. Airport transfers will also cost 100+ USD, so it's obvious that transportation is going to be expensive. We are considering renting a car, but want to make sure that we will have somewhere to park if we decide to venture to downtown Cancun. I can't find any information about parking on the web. Does anyone know of the parking situation in downtown Cancun? OR is there anywhere we can park and hop on a bus to take us downtown? Many thanks!!
Parking is not an issue in downtown Cancun. The rates that you quoted for transportation sound rather atrocious. Perhaps if you told us the name of the hotel we could help you a little more in regards to buses in the area, etc. Downtown taxi’s do not normally charge more than 2 to 3 dollars to take you all over town (negotiate price before jumping in!). Again, with out knowing where you are staying, but, I would recommend that you take the ADO bus from the airport which I think would run you about $7 to Cancun central and then take a taxi to your hotel from there. From there you can decide if you want to rent a car or not.
Yeah you wont have trouble with on street parking in Cancun, most people park their cars wherever they like I too would wonder if it's really necessary though. As mentioned above taxis are very cheap downtown and a return airport transfer should cost no more than $55 such as with Entertainment Plus (link via the banner at the bottom of the page). The bus system is quite extensive too, but you'd probably need some Spanish to negotiate that downtown. Also it's probably worth mentioning that a rental car downtown would be like a red rag to a bull for the Police.
Thanks for your feedback, Steve and LTL. We are staying at La Amada Hotel on Playa Mujeres (near the Excellence resort). The resort quoted 200-300 pesos for taxis from the airport and downtown, but after scouring the tripadvisor reviews, I see that previous guests were charged $50 USD from the airport and $15-20 USD for going to town. I imagine that the taxis don't HAVE to be so expensive, but I believe they take advantage of the tourists staying in a 5-star resort. And it's unusual for us to book a 5-star vacation, but we are celebrating this year and got an amazing deal on this resort. The property is apparently amazing, so we will likely stay there most of the time, however we'd like to get out and about once or twice on our trip. If we can figure out how to be charged fairly by the taxis, we won't need to rent a car. I like the idea of taking the bus from the airport to Cancun center and then a cab. Is that pretty easy to navigate? My spanish has become pretty rusty over the years, but I can communicate the basics. Do you have any suggestions about negotiating with cab drivers? Also, does the bus go all the way to Puerto Juarez? If so, would it make sense to take the bus there and then get a taxi? Thanks for your help!!
There are colectivos that run through that street, where La Amada is. Also a taxi from la Amada to downtown Cancun should cost you no more than 50 pesos, the trick is not taking the taxis right at the resort, walk a way from the resort for about half a block or so, then flag down a taxi. Colectivos are white vans, that will also take you into town. I am not sure how much they cost, or where you would take them on the way back. A private airport transfer for two can be found for as little as $50 round trip.
You can take an ADO bus from the airport to the downtown terminal for $45 pesos per person. If you are arriving at Terminal 3 you can take a free shuttle to Terminal 2. Walk to the left end of Terminal 2 and the bus leaves every 30 minutes. From the bus terminal it should cost you no more than $70 pesos to Playa Mujeres by taxis that are lined up as you leave the terminal. The bus is per person and the taxi is for all that you can cram into it. As for renting a car and parking it, you could park it in Walmart which never closes, or on any of many busy downtown streets, like Tulum or Yaxchilan. I would suggest www.executive.com.mx for renting a car. You can pick one up at the office downtown and save 12% on the tax, compared to picking it up at the airport. For transfers between the airport and your hotel, click on the link for Entertainment Plus at the bottom of this page. They have great service, are reasonably priced and locally owned and operated by good friends of mine.
