Buses in Cancun

[snsfriel]

Will be at Villa del Palmar in Feb.-need to know how to get to Royal Mayan by bus to visit friends.

 

[alfie]

I presume that you are at the Villa del Palmar in Punta Sam on Playa Mujeres. Walk across the road, take any big bus that has R-1, R-2, R-28, R-15 and Hotel Zone, usually painted on the front window. It will cost you 8.5 pesos per person. Tell the driver you want to get off at the Captain's Cove stop.( across from the Royal Mayan. Or watch for it yourself. It should take about a half an hour. Getting back is more of a problem because very few buses go to Punta Sam. You may have to take the R-1 back to the Tulum Avenue main bus stop then ask the driver, or bail out and take a taxi from downtown home.

 

[COSTA VIDA]

We just returned from there a couple of weeks ago. There were no big buses running past the VDP in either direction. The only way into town was by taxi, or collectivo (small van buses). You can have the collectivo drop you off at the ADO bus station, and then catch a R1 city bus to the hotel zone.

 

[nana7]

Hope you get this figured out!!!! We want to visit

 

[jschmidt]

Here’s a Google map of downtown Cancun and of the hotel zone that shows the bus routes plus a lot of other stuff. http://cancungooglemaps.com/

I’m not sure where Villa del Palmar is located, but once you get to the Route 1 bus you can go all the way to the Royal Mayan without changing buses. The cost of the bus ride will be 8.5 pesos per person, about 75 cents each. I’m thinking the travel time will be 45 minutes to an hour if you start at the north end of the Route 1 bus line.

When you head back, make sure that the Route 1 bus that you get on is going all the way to the north end of line. Not all of them go that far. The bus use to have a sign on the front window that said Puerto Juarez. Ask the bus driver to make sure you're getting on the right bus.

 

[Phydeaux]

I’m not sure where Villa del Palmar is located.....

And your reply has confirmed it. As pointed out above by Costa Vida, the buses do not travel this far north. Taxi or collectivo are it.

 

[jschmidt]

And your reply has confirmed it. As pointed out above by Costa Vida, the buses do not travel this far north. Taxi or collectivo are it.

Lee (Fido), they can take the taxi to the closest bus stop and save a lot of pesos or they can take the collective to a bus stop or as far as it goes into town and catch the Route 1 bus and on the way back they can reverse the process saving pesos. That’s what we’ve done in the past.

Snsfriel, tell your friends that when they are waiting for a collectivo the taxi drivers will stop and tell them that the taxi is their only option to get into town. Not true! They should check with the resort service desk and get exact directions.

 

[Phydeaux]

Lee (Fido), they can take the taxi to the closest bus stop and save a lot of pesos or they can take the collective to a bus stop or as far as it goes into town and catch the Route 1 bus and on the way back they can reverse the process saving pesos. That’s what we’ve done in the past.

Of course, they could taxi or collectivo to Coba & Chetumal, get out and then hop on a R27, R2 or R1, because of all these will travel down the HZ and past the tri-Royals. They're not limited to the R1.. Also, it's more like a 20 minute trip from Coba/Chetumal, not 45 minutes to an hour.

 

[snsfriel]

Thank-you all for the info-have not been to Cancun in a few years. Guess I will ask a lot of questions with directions in hand. Is there a place to find out about bus routes?

 

[snsfriel]

Did google the maps for Cancun and found the bus station. Any other help or info would be great.

 

[jschmidt]

Thank-you all for the info-have not been to Cancun in a few years. Guess I will ask a lot of questions with directions in hand. Is there a place to find out about bus routes?

The bus routes are shown in the “Cancun Downtown Map” section of the Google map that I attached in #5 above. The bus station is also shown.

 

[jschmidt]

Of course, they could taxi or collectivo to Coba & Chetumal, get out and then hop on a R27, R2 or R1, because of all these will travel down the HZ and past the tri-Royals. They're not limited to the R1.. Also, it's more like a 20 minute trip from Coba/Chetumal, not 45 minutes to an hour.

Lee (Fido), you appear to be a bit confused! This may help.

1. The bus cost 8.5 pesos per person whether you catch it from the end of the route and travel to the other end of the route or get on and off any where in between.

2. The collectivo (van) will cost the same amount as the bus per person or slightly more. The collectivo goes beyond the north end of the bus route and goes to Ave. Tulum as far as the ADO bus station, where it turns around. The collectivo has seats and if it fills up some passengers may sit on the floor.

3. The taxi will take you where you want to go. In this case the taxi will ask for a minimum of $10 U.S. to get you to downtown Cancun, and then the taxi driver will try to get another $10 to $15 U.S. to get you to the hotel zone. The total trip will cost in the range of $20 to $25 U.S. one way.

The most economical way to get from the Villa del Palmar to the Royal Mayan would be to take a collectivo to its “turn-around” point on Ave. Tulum and then catch the Route 1 bus the rest of the way. It’s an interesting trip! Try it the next time you’re in the area. Good luck!

Snsfriel, I suggested that your friends talk with the desk because the people that work at the resort probably live in town and most of them will take public transportation to work and they will know the cheapest way to travel.

 

[Phydeaux]

Lee (Fido), you appear to be a bit confused! This may help.

1. The bus cost 8.5 pesos per person whether you catch it from the end of the route and travel to the other end of the route or get on and off any where in between.

2. The collectivo (van) will cost the same amount as the bus per person or slightly more. The collectivo goes beyond the north end of the bus route and goes to Ave. Tulum as far as the ADO bus station, where it turns around. The collectivo has seats and if it fills up some passengers may sit on the floor.

3. The taxi will take you where you want to go. In this case the taxi will ask for a minimum of $10 U.S. to get you to downtown Cancun, and then the taxi driver will try to get another $10 to $15 U.S. to get you to the hotel zone. The total trip will cost in the range of $20 to $25 U.S. one way.

The most economical way to get from the Villa del Palmar to the Royal Mayan would be to take a collectivo to its “turn-around” point on Ave. Tulum and then catch the Route 1 bus the rest of the way. It’s an interesting trip! Try it the next time you’re in the area. Good luck!

Snsfriel, I suggested that your friends talk with the desk because the people that work at the resort probably live in town and most of them will take public transportation to work and they will know the cheapest way to travel.

No, I'm not the one that's confused here schmidt. First, I know where the VDM is. That helps, for starters.

1. I never commented on the transit cost of buses, and already know what they are. Thanks.
2. As already pointed out, the collectivo runs up & beyond the VDM. Why are you concerned with it traveling to the bus station or downtown?
3. Why in the world would you suggest to take the taxi to downtown? Why would someone want to go out of their way coming or going to/from the VDM? If traveling from the VDM to tri Royals, and saving pesos is the mission, you would take collectivo from outside the VDM to the roundabout of Tulum & Chetumal, hop on any R27, R3 or R1, and take it to the tri Royals. Why would you go downtown??

Did you learn where the VDM is?

 

[jschmidt]

Lee (Fido) you are missing one important thing the collectivo has a given route just like the bus! I believe the southern end of this collective route is at the bus station where it turns around and heads back. I don’t know where the north end of the collectivo route is and as you know a taxi does not have an assigned route.

 

[Phydeaux]

Have you ever ridden a collectivo? They're silmilar to a trolley, hop on, hop off. They aren't like city buses.

 

[itchyfeet]

We were at VDP last week. There is a shuttle from the resort into Cancun. There is a fee and they advise making your reservation the day before. We didn't use it because we rented a car. If I remember correctly, the last shuttle came back early evening. Perhaps you could e-mail them and get the schedule. By the way, we loved the resort. It is defintely the "crown jewel" for VDP. Wish we lived closer!

 

[jschmidt]

Have you ever ridden a collectivo? They're silmilar to a trolley, hop on, hop off. They aren't like city buses.

I haven’t ridden the collectivo that often. My best estimate would be 15 or 20 times. Most of the rides were to and from Puerto Juarez, Gran Puerto Ultramar, Punta Sam and Playa del Carmen. The rides to and from Puerto Juarez, Gran Puerto Ultramar and Punta Sam are all the same collectivo route you just get on/off at a different place. Since the new Cancun hotel zone ferry ports for Isla Mujeres were built, we take the bus to them and catch the ferry. Hope this helps.

 

[LannyPC]

Can anyone recommend the best way to get from Chetumal/Costa Maya to the Cancun Airport?

 

[dioxide45]

That is going to be a long drive. Looking at the ADO Bus website, it looks like a five and a half hour trip one way. I would think ADO Bus would be your best bet, at $416 peso one way per person. Perhaps a car rental is an option?

 

[Phydeaux]

Can anyone recommend the best way to get from Chetumal/Costa Maya to the Cancun Airport?

I would fly that distance.

 

[LannyPC]

I would fly that distance.

I was looking at that option but, according to Wikipedia, the only passenger flights out of Chetumal Airport is on Interjet which only flies to Mexico City and costs about $125 USD per person one-way.