The guides everyone reads first
One per place we drive to, written by the team that drives there.
Akumal: the turtles are real, and so are the rules
3 min read
Bávaro is the beach people mean when they say Punta Cana
3 min read
Bayahibe: a village, a national park and the boats to Saona
3 min read
Cabo San Lucas: everything happens within a kilometer of the marina
3 min readEverything we publish
Destination guides and articles, newest first.
Cancun is two cities, and most trips only see one
Cancun is two cities: a 22 km hotel strip and a working Mexican town. Which one to sleep in, which beaches stay calm, and what a real day costs.
Chichen Itza: the whole trip turns on what time you arrive
200 km from Cancun and worth the day, if you get the hour right. Opening times, the heat, the crowds, and what each building actually is.
The corridor: where the resorts are, and where the two good beaches are
The corridor holds most of the resorts, both swimmable beaches and all the golf — and no town at all. What that means day to day.
Costa Mujeres: the newest strip, and the most isolated
Costa Mujeres is the newest resort strip north of Cancun. Calm sea, big hotels, and nothing outside the gate — what that means for your week.
Cozumel is a dive site that happens to have a town on it
Cozumel is a diving island with one town on it. Which side of the island does what, how the cruise days change everything, and how to get there.
The Cozumel ferry: thirty minutes, and three things to get right
The passenger ferry leaves Playa del Carmen from Calle 1. Two companies, similar times, and the car ferry is somewhere else entirely.
International Drive: the compromise address, and a good one
I-Drive is 25 km of hotels between Universal and Disney, with the convention center, the outlets and a trolley that runs all day. Which section to book.
Getting around Isla Mujeres: the cart, the taxi and the last ferry
One road, eight kilometers, and a golf cart everybody rents. What you need to hire one, what taxis cost, and the ferry times that decide the day.
Isla Mujeres: eight kilometers, and one of them is the reason
Eight kilometers of island, twenty minutes from Cancun. Which ferry pier, why Playa Norte is different, and whether to stay the night.
La Romana: a sugar town that ended up with a golf resort attached
La Romana is a sugar city with an airport, a famous resort and a mock Mediterranean village above the Chavón river. What it is really like.
Los Cabos is two towns, and they have nothing in common
Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo and the corridor between them. Which suits which trip, and why most beaches here are not swimmable.
Marina Vallarta: the shortest transfer, and the weakest beach
Marina Vallarta is minutes from the terminal, with a boardwalk, a golf course and the shortest transfer in Banderas Bay. Its beach is the catch.
Merida: the Yucatan without the coast
The capital of Yucatan: colonial streets, henequen mansions, the best food in the peninsula, and the ruins and cenotes nobody lines for.
Miami Beach: one island, three completely different ends
Miami Beach is an island: South Beach, Mid-Beach and North Beach are three different vacations. The Art Deco district, the sand and the parking.
Miami and Miami Beach are two cities, and the bay between them is the point
Miami and Miami Beach are separate cities across a bay. Brickell, Wynwood, Little Havana, the Everglades — and how to get around without a car.
Nuevo Vallarta is not Vallarta, and it is not even the same state
Nuevo Vallarta is north of Puerto Vallarta airport, across the line in Nayarit. Flat beach, big all-inclusives, and the same clock as Vallarta despite the state line.
Orlando: the city is not where the parks are
Walt Disney World is in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, not Orlando. Where to stay, how far things are, and how many park days you actually need.
How to read a Playa del Carmen address
Calles, avenidas, norte and sur. How to read a Playa del Carmen address, which blocks are which, and why the numbering confuses everyone.
Playa del Carmen: the town you can walk, and the resorts you cannot
Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue), the four areas, the Cozumel ferry and what a day costs. Which part of Playa del Carmen actually lets you leave the car behind.
Playa Mujeres: a marina, a golf course and a very short list
Playa Mujeres sits 30 km north of Cancun Airport, between the city and Costa Mujeres. Marina, golf, calm water, and almost nothing else.
Playa Paraiso: make sure you know which one you booked
There is a Playa Paraiso resort area on the Riviera Maya and a Playa Paraiso beach in Tulum. They are 80 km apart and people book the wrong one.
Puerto Aventuras: everything inside one gate
A private marina community 78 km from Cancun Airport. Everything inside one gate — which is the appeal and also the limitation.
Puerto Morelos: the reef is 500 meters away, and that changes everything
A fishing village 20 km from Cancun Airport with the reef 500 m offshore. Why the water is calm, what there is to do, and who it suits.
Puerto Plata is the Atlantic coast, and it does not behave like the Caribbean one
The Atlantic side of the Dominican Republic: amber, a mountain with a cable car, surf at Cabarete and a town with real architecture.
Puerto Vallarta: a town that kept its center
Jungle meeting the Pacific in Banderas Bay. Zona Romántica, the malecón, the beaches you reach only by boat, and whales in winter.
Punta Cana: one airport, thirty kilometers of very different coast
Punta Cana is thirty kilometers of resort coast in the Dominican Republic. Bávaro, Cap Cana, Uvero Alto — which strip suits which trip.
The Riviera Maya is a road, not a resort
The Riviera Maya is not a place, it is a hundred-plus kilometers of Highway 307. Which town suits which trip, and how far each one is from the airport.
San José del Cabo is the half of Los Cabos that was already there
The quiet half of Los Cabos, 10 km from the airport. A colonial town with an art district, an estuary full of birds, and better food.
Santo Domingo: the oldest European city in the Americas, still working
The Zona Colonial, the Malecón and a capital of three million. What to see, where to stay, and how it differs from the beach resorts.
Getting around Tulum without losing the week to taxis
Town, beach road and everything between them. The bike path, what taxis cost, where colectivos stop and why parking on the beach road is a problem.
Tulum: the town and the beach road are two different holidays
Tulum is a town and a beach road with different prices, power supply and atmospheres. Which to sleep in, when to see the ruins, and what a day costs.
The Cancun Hotel Zone, kilometer by kilometer
The Hotel Zone is one 22 km boulevard. Which kilometer does what, which side of the road has calm water, and how to actually get around it.
Saona Island, and where it sits among the best beaches in the Dominican Republic
Saona Island is a protected park off the southeast coast, reached by boat from Bayahibe. Tour prices, the day from Punta Cana, and the best DR beaches.
Best time to visit Tulum: month by month, and when not to go
Best time to visit Tulum: December to April is driest; September and October are the worst. Month-by-month weather, sargassum season and crowds.
How to get from Cancun to Playa del Carmen
Cancun to Playa del Carmen: 55 km, 45–60 min. ADO bus from 216 pesos, airport taxi about US$70–85 per car, or a private transfer to your hotel door.
Getting around the Cancun Hotel Zone: bus, taxi, walking and the airport
Getting around the Cancun Hotel Zone: R-1 and R-2 bus fares, how taxis charge, what you can walk, a km map of Kukulcan Blvd and the airport ride.
How far is Playa del Carmen from Cancun?
Playa del Carmen is 55 km (34 mi) from Cancun Airport, about 45–60 minutes by car, and 68 km from downtown Cancun. Route, ADO bus, taxi and transfer.
The cheapest time to fly to Cancun, and how to compare the fares
The cheapest time to fly to Cancun: January and the June–October low season, midweek days, about 3–8 weeks ahead. Why fares spike, and who flies nonstop.
Where Punta Cana is on the map, and which zone your resort is in
Where Punta Cana is on the map: the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic, 2.5 hours from Santo Domingo. Bavaro, Cap Cana and Uvero Alto, located.
Swim with dolphins in Cancun: where it is still legal, prices and transportation
Where you can still swim with dolphins in Cancun in 2026: Delphinus and Dolphin Discovery sites, prices, hotel transportation and what the 2025 law bans.
Tomorrowland in Tulum: what CORE 2023 was and what’s next
CORE Tulum took place on January 14, 2023 at Zamna Tulum and returned in January 2024. Venue, lineup, what came next and Tulum festivals in 2027.
How to recognize a top-rated private transportation company in Cancun
What separates a reliable private transfer company in Cancun from the rest: price, meeting point, flight tracking, cancellation and red flags.
Bahia Principe Punta Cana airport transfer: distance, hotels and booking
Bahia Principe Punta Cana is about 25 km from the airport, 25–40 minutes by road. The six hotels, their old names, and how to book the right transfer.
Xel-Há park map, hours and the drive from Cancun
Xel-Há park map and layout: the inlet, river, lighthouse and cenotes, opening hours, ticket rules and the drive from Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
What to do in Playa del Carmen, sorted by whether you need a taxi
Everything in Playa del Carmen is either a ten-minute walk or a proper excursion. Sorted into those two piles, so you know what fits in an afternoon.
Where to eat in Tulum: seven restaurants and when to use each
Tulum has two dining towns in one. The pueblo does breakfast, tacos and seafood; the beach road does wood-fire dinners that need a reservation and a ride home.
12 travel habits that prevent avoidable problems
Twelve things worth doing before you fly — documents, medicine, batteries, insurance, the arrival address — each one with the authority that says so.
Five Riviera Maya hotels to compare for Christmas and New Year
Holiday week on this coast: what a gala dinner supplement is, which rates include it, and five properties that suit five different groups.
Five practical reasons to book a private transfer from Cancun Airport
When a private transfer is worth the money from Cancun Airport — and the arrivals where a bus or an airport taxi is the better call.
Five Cancun resorts for couples, with the differences that matter
Adults-only policy, meal plan, size and location — the four things that actually separate five Cancun couples resorts, checked against their own sites.
Six things to do in the Cancun Hotel Zone, and where on the strip they are
The Hotel Zone is 22 km of one boulevard. Six things worth doing on it, with the kilometer marker for each, so you stop crossing it twice a day.
Ten archaeological sites in Mexico, chosen for ten different trips
Ten major sites across deserts, highlands, rainforest and the Caribbean — and the honest answer about which of them fit into one vacation.
Cenotes in Mexico: the water, rock, and rules behind the visit
What a cenote actually is, why the water deserves more care than a pool, and how to choose one without guessing. Open, semi-open, cave and vertical.
Airport transfers explained before the arrivals doors open
Train, shared van, airport taxi or a car booked in your name: what each one really is, what it leaves you to solve, and how to compare them honestly.
Ten archaeological sites for understanding ancient Mexico
A pyramid is one part of a city. Ten sites, each answering a different question about how people organized power, water and daily life.
Six Cancun Hotel Zone resorts for six different stays
Six resorts that really are in the Hotel Zone, separated by age policy, meal plan, size and which kilometer of Kukulcan they sit on.
Choose a Playa del Carmen hotel by area before choosing the room
Half the hotels sold as Playa del Carmen are not in it. Four areas, what each one costs you in taxis, and the five checks before you book.
Cancun shopping centers, ranked by the problem they actually solve
La Isla, Kukulcan Plaza, Luxury Avenue, Puerto Cancun, Las Americas and the craft market solve different problems. Which is worth the ride, and which is not.
Choose a Cancun or Riviera Maya park by the day it requires
Almost every park sold from Cancun is not in Cancun. Five that operate, what each day actually demands, and how to read the ticket.
Choose airport transport by the hotel’s exact address
ADO, authorised taxi, rental car or private transfer from Cancun Airport — which one fits depends on your hotel’s exact address, your group and your luggage.
Cancun do’s and don’ts, limited to the ones with consequences
Not a list of manners. The specific Cancun mistakes that cost people a day, a deposit or a flight, and the check that prevents each one.
The Cancun dates you can plan around each year
Which Cancun dates you can actually plan around — federal rest days, whale sharks, hurricane season — and which ones need confirming every year.
Cancun Airport from landing to the hotel door
Landing at CUN: which terminal is yours, what the arrival really takes, what leaves from each terminal, and how long to allow for the flight home.
A Cancun guide that starts by telling you where you actually are
The Hotel Zone, downtown, Puerto Juarez and Costa Mujeres are all called Cancun. Which one you booked decides almost everything else about the trip.
What to check before a night at Coco Bongo Cancun
A three-hour staged show and then a nightclub. Age rules, dress code, what the ticket includes, and the part everyone forgets: getting home.
Understanding Dia de Reyes during a Cancun visit
6 January in Mexico: what the rosca is, what the figure inside it commits you to, and how a visitor can take part without getting it wrong.
The City Cancun is closed, and nobody has said when it comes back
The biggest club on the strip has been shut since May 2025 with no reopening date. What the operator says, and how Punta Cancun works without it.
Cancun and Playa del Carmen: one base, or two?
They are an hour apart on the same road and they are not the same vacation. When splitting the stay is worth it, and when one base and a day trip wins.
Tulum on a budget, starting with an honest look at the prices
The room is the cheap part of Tulum. Transport, beach clubs and the beach-road premium are what break the budget, and all three are avoidable.
From Cancun Airport to the right Playa del Carmen entrance
The 55 km from CUN to Playa del Carmen, from what to save before the flight to which entrance your hotel actually uses when you get there.
From CUN to Tulum town, beach road, or hotel entrance
118 km from CUN to Tulum. Bus, airport taxi, rental car or private transfer — and why the town and the beach road are two different arrivals.
Mexico overwater bungalows, lagoon rooms, and look-alikes
Most “overwater” rooms in Mexico are beside water, not above it. Which ones actually stand over the sea, which are lagoon villas, and how to check.
New Year’s Eve in Tulum without relying on an old party list
Town, beach road or hotel event — three different nights with three different transport problems. What to confirm before buying admission.
Visiting Mexico’s protected areas without getting it wrong
INAH and CONANP protect different things under different rules. What changes for a visitor, and the restrictions people break without realising.
Why to spend an afternoon in downtown Cancun
Half a million people live in Cancun and almost none of them are in the Hotel Zone. What downtown is good for, and how to spend an afternoon there.
Five things a Cancun Airport transfer must settle in writing
The five things a private transfer confirmation has to settle in writing — route, vehicle, meeting point, delay terms and fare — before you pay for it.
Snorkeling in Punta Cana from hotel pickup to water exit
A snorkelling product can be a real reef stop or fifteen minutes over sand. The questions that tell you which one you are buying.
Cancun tours compared by the complete route, not the brochure
Six kinds of day out from Cancun, sorted by how much of it is road. How to compare quotes honestly and what the duration really means.
Christmas in Cancun with a program confirmed for this year
Hotels change the Christmas program every year. What to get in writing before paying, what is open on 25 December, and why the ride home matters.
Cancun with kids, planned around the age of the child
A toddler, an eight-year-old and a teenager need three different Cancun trips. What each one can actually do, and the two attractions that are gone.
Beach clubs sold as Cancun options but spread across four zones
Half the clubs sold as Cancun are in another city or need a ferry. How to check the zone, read the day-pass terms and find out what the sea is doing.
Ten cheap things to do in Cancun, honestly priced
Free attractions are rarely free once you have got there. Ten genuinely low-cost Cancun plans, grouped so the transport does not cost more than the day.
Ten things to do in Tulum, and how long each one really takes
The ruins, the cenotes, Coba, Sian Kaan, the beach road. What each one takes out of your day and which of them actually earn it.
Cancun Airport transportation choices from terminal to hotel door
Compare ADO, authorized taxi, rental car, private transfer and hotel ride at Cancun Airport by terminal, last mile, luggage and written terms.
A Playa del Carmen guide for somebody who has not been before
Downtown, Playacar, Mayakoba and the southern corridor are all sold as Playa del Carmen. Which to choose, what things cost, and how to move around.
Tulum beaches chosen by the access that is open today
Tulum’s coast runs through a national park, public accesses and the hotel road. Which beach is open today, and where to check the sargassum.
Uber in Cancun: where it works, and where it does not
Uber operates in Cancun city, but not at Cancun Airport: federal rules allow only permitted taxis and buses to and from the terminals. What to use instead.
Visit Chichen Itza from Cancun as a full road day
Two hundred kilometers each way, no shade, and the crowds arrive at eleven. What to settle before you book the tour, and what to protect at the end of it.
Visit Xenses from Cancun with the road journey included
Xenses is a half day, and it is 10 km past Playa del Carmen. From a Cancun hotel that still consumes most of a day. What to know first.
What to do in Cozumel, and which half of the island to do it on
The reef is on the west side and the surf is on the east. What to do in Cozumel depending on how you arrived and how long you have.
La Isla Cancun, and the one thing to know before going
An open-air center on the lagoon at km 12.5, open 11:00 to 22:00. The aquarium, the cinema and the canals — and why the time of day matters here.
Three days in Playa del Carmen, hour by hour
A day for the town, a day for Cozumel, a day for one thing south. Written as an actual schedule, with the times that matter.
Why take a Cancun catamaran trip, and when to choose the ferry
A catamaran day is a fixed schedule, several hours at sea and limited island time. When it is the right call, and when to take the ferry instead.
Playa del Carmen in December is two different months
December is the best weather of the year here and the most crowded fortnight. What changes, what closes on the 25th, and which half of the month to pick.
What we tell our own families
Short, practical, tested at the airport and on the road.
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01
How to get from Cancun to Playa del Carmen
Cancun to Playa del Carmen: 55 km, 45–60 min. ADO bus from 216 pesos, airport taxi about US$70–85 per car, or a private transfer to your hotel door.
5 min read -
02
Getting around the Cancun Hotel Zone: bus, taxi, walking and the airport
Getting around the Cancun Hotel Zone: R-1 and R-2 bus fares, how taxis charge, what you can walk, a km map of Kukulcan Blvd and the airport ride.
6 min read -
03
How far is Playa del Carmen from Cancun?
Playa del Carmen is 55 km (34 mi) from Cancun Airport, about 45–60 minutes by car, and 68 km from downtown Cancun. Route, ADO bus, taxi and transfer.
4 min read
Tested by the team
Cenotes, beach clubs, parks and views. We went, we paid, we tell you.
Saona Island, and where it sits among the best beaches in the Dominican Republic
Saona Island is a protected park off the southeast coast, reached by boat from Bayahibe. Tour prices, the day from Punta Cana, and the best DR beaches.
Swim with dolphins in Cancun: where it is still legal, prices and transportation
Where you can still swim with dolphins in Cancun in 2026: Delphinus and Dolphin Discovery sites, prices, hotel transportation and what the 2025 law bans.
Xel-Há park map, hours and the drive from Cancun
Xel-Há park map and layout: the inlet, river, lighthouse and cenotes, opening hours, ticket rules and the drive from Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
Where to eat in Tulum: seven restaurants and when to use each
Tulum has two dining towns in one. The pueblo does breakfast, tacos and seafood; the beach road does wood-fire dinners that need a reservation and a ride home.
Plan by month
The year in four seasons, with what each one is good for.
Dry, 27 to 30 °C, busiest beaches and the best sea
Night releases on Hotel Zone beaches; sargassum on some east coasts
Small-boat swims off Isla Mujeres and Holbox
Short afternoon storms, lowest prices, emptiest cenotes
One email a week from Cancun
What is in season, which beaches are clear this week and one thing we would book. No offers, no spam.
Unsubscribe in one click. We never share your email.Read the guide, then let us handle the ride.
Fixed-price airport transfers and tours with hotel pickup, same team, one WhatsApp thread.