Playa Del Carmen vía Cancun Airport
Heading to Playa Del Carmen? Cancun Airport is where you’ll be landing.
If you have not been to Mexico before, please take a moment to read through this. In can be very intimidating when arriving in Mexico and being bombarded from all sides by salespeople, porters, taxi drivers etc., and even more so when you are tired after a long flight.
Here are the top 5 things to know about the Cancun Airport.
1. The Cancun airport is comprised of 3 terminals. They are fairly modern, and tourists will land in either terminal 2 or 3.
How to successfully reach your resort.
1. Get off the plane. Follow the herd and go through Immigration.
2. Collect your luggage.
3. Pass Customs.
4. Ignore the salespeople.
5. Get outside the terminal and find your transportation.
2. You will be required to complete a tourist visa which you will receive on the plane. This will be handed in to Immigration once you land, and they will hand back a half of it, which you will need to hand in upon check-in for your return flight. Do not lose this tourist visa as they will charge you about $50US to issue a new one. If you are travelling with a US or Canadian passport, you do not need any additional visas, for other countries please consult your nearest Mexican Embassy. http://embassy-finder.com/mexico_visa
3. Clear Immigration, collect your luggage and pass Customs.
Once you have cleared immigration and collected your luggage, you will have to pass customs.
They will x-ray all your luggage and regardless of whether they decide to search you, you will be required to press “the button”. This button will either flash green or red, and this will determine whether you will be stopped and searched or allowed straight through.
Smoking in Cancun Airport
Although the smoking laws are quite lax in Mexico compared to other countries, you will not be allowed to smoke until you are outside the airport terminal.
4. Hey, my friend! Time Share and Vacation Clubs
Time share is a type of vacation ownership. You can buy weeks of time in a particular property which could be a condo or hotel. Sales presentations are infamous for being high pressure and of long duration.
Mexico is filled with time share salespeople and one of the places that tourists are most approached is in the airport terminals. You will be called over, and they may present themselves as being your holiday representatives, offer to give you “free information” or they may entice you with free or cheap tours. In most cases you are convinced to leave a cash deposit and invited to a “free tour”, a breakfast, or to spend the day at the property in question. Many tourists don’t even realize that they have been roped into a presentation until it is too late.
5. Where’s my ride?
If you have booked an all inclusive vacation, your vacation representatives will be located outside the airport terminal. Once you have collected your luggage, head straight outside the terminal and look for the company name.
Do you need a ride? We offer convenient airport transfers to and from Cancun airport in air-conditioned, reliable vans and they cost less than taxis! We have both shuttle transportation and private transfers. Click here for more information and pricing.
Taxis within the airport zone, are available. However, the taxis from the airport tend to be more expensive than the normal cabs you would get in Mexico. This is due to zoning laws that allow them to up their prices.
Getting the bus is a possibility for the more adventurous and less impatient. The ADO bus has hourly departures from the airport towards Cancun and Playa del Carmen. You will find kiosks in both terminals that will sell you tickets to the corresponding destinations. Please note that unless your hotel is walking distance from the ADO bus station, you will also have to take a taxi to your final destination.
Porters
Although inside the terminal, they allow trolleys, once you get to a certain point, you are forced to leave the trolleys behind. Porters are available to help you with your luggage and can be quite insistent. They will expect a tip of at least $1US or 10 pesos per piece of luggage.
Do you need to know about leaving Mexico? Check out our 5 steps to departure.