Cancun Vacation Guide: Things to Do, Getting Around and Fees

Your Visitax receipt is a QR code, and Tren Maya sells train tickets in its app. Set up a HelloRoam Cancun eSIM before you fly and both stay within reach, with mobile data from the moment you land. Our support team answers 24/7 if it won't connect.

Passport cards don't cover flights, and foreign visitors pay the Visitax

As of October 2026, Mexico's immigration institute (INM) says a U.S. passport card works only at land crossings and in the border zone. It can't be used for international flights, so fly to Cancun on a passport book. INM's published conditions for the FMM, Mexico's visitor permit, cap a stay at 180 days on one entry, with no permission to work.

Get your Mexico eSIM before you flyInstall it at home, turn it on when you land. From $3.37.See Mexico plans

The Visitax is a separate state charge. Quintana Roo's tax office, SATQ, says every foreign tourist who visits the state must pay it, and there's no lower rate for children or babies. The portal lists it at 293 pesos per person.

• Pay on the official Visitax portal or through a company SATQ authorizes.
• You can download the QR receipt again for at least a year after you leave.

Entry rules can change, so check INM and the State Department's Mexico page again before you fly.

Your base decides how you reach the beach, the ferries and the train

Ultramar and INAH both give their Hotel Zone addresses as kilometer markers on Kukulcán Boulevard, which makes the strip easy to map.

Staying off the strip changes which pier and which line you use.

Before you pick a base, read the State Department's Mexico advisory. The current version, checked on October 2, 2026, rates Mexico at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, due to terrorism, crime and kidnapping, and says some areas carry more risk. Its summary also lists rules for U.S. government staff that it strongly advises U.S. citizens to follow, including no travel between cities after dark and taking taxis only from regulated stands or apps such as Uber or Cabify. Read its Quintana Roo section before you book.

Our guide to Cancun safety for U.S. travelers covers what that means for resorts, transfers and nights out.

ADO shuttles, taxis and Tren Maya serve Cancun's airport

Cancun International Airport (CUN) is run by ASUR. Its ground transport page lists ADO shuttles into the city from Terminals 2, 3 and 4, taxis at Terminals 2 and 3, and Hertz car rental in front of Terminal 2.

Tren Maya, the passenger railway across Mexico's southeast, has a Cancún Aeropuerto station. When it restarted trains to Playa del Carmen on August 15, 2026, the operator also launched Tren Maya Conecta, a connecting service from its stations to the airport, the hotel zones and shopping centers.

Two Maya sites and a museum sit on the Hotel Zone boulevard

You don't need a day trip to see Maya history. INAH, Mexico's archaeology institute, runs a museum and two Maya sites on Kukulcán Boulevard, and its pages list these hours and foreign visitor prices:

INAH's Museo Maya page lists free entry for children under 13 and adults over 60. The museum is closed on Mondays, so make that your beach day.

For the beach itself, the state tourism board picks out Playa Marlin, a Hotel Zone beach it calls hidden behind the shopping centers and resorts.

Day trips from Cancun run on ferry and train timetables

Ultramar's directions for Cozumel say buses leave Cancun's bus station for Playa del Carmen every half hour, and the ferry terminal is on Avenida Benito Juárez.

Tulum is the tightest of these trips. Train 301 leaves Cancún Aeropuerto, listed as Estación Cancún in the Tren Maya timetable, and reaches Tulum Aeropuerto station 2 hours and 40 minutes before INAH's last entry to the ruins, before you count the ride from the station. Train 302 back to Cancún runs into the evening, so weigh it against the advisory's after-dark guidance.

Tren Maya's station map also lists a separate Tulum station, so check where your train stops when you book. INAH says its Tulum ticket for foreign visitors already includes the third-party charges for CONANP and Grupo Mundo Maya.

Playa del Carmen works best as a morning trip by train, since Tren Maya's route restart announcement puts the last train back at noon. Its timetable page didn't list this route when we checked, so confirm the times before you go.

Chichén Itzá is in Yucatán state, so foreign visitors buy two tickets: INAH's general ticket and a Yucatán state fee. INAH's Chichén Itzá page says the state fee is sold at the site's ticket office.

Tren Maya's station map places Chichén Itzá between Cancún Aeropuerto and Mérida. The timetable shows end-to-end trips only, so confirm your train stops there when you book.

Visitax, ferry and Maya site fees are published in advance

Add these to any package quote you compare.

Peso prices are as listed on October 2, 2026. Dollar amounts use Banco de México's FIX rate for October 1, 2026, of 18.3688 pesos per dollar, rounded.

Take two adults and two children over 1 year old and under 1.20 meters (about 3 feet 11 inches). The Visitax comes to 1,172 pesos, since there's no child rate. A round trip to Isla Mujeres adds 2,040 pesos at the adult and child fares. A museum visit adds 420 pesos for the adults, with the kids free under INAH's under-13 rule. That's 3,632 pesos, about $198, before flights, hotel, food and the Isla Mujeres sanitation charge. For the airfare, see how to book cheap flights to Mexico by route, airline and season.

Many U.S. phone plans already include Mexico

Verizon says unlimited data, talk and text in Mexico come with all its Unlimited plans and other select plans, and TravelPass costs $6 a day there on other plans. AT&T says all its unlimited plans work in Mexico without roaming charges, with a note that 2G off-net data speeds may apply.

A travel eSIM still earns its place when your plan has no Mexico use, when you'd pay by the day, or when you want a separate line just for data. Apple says Dual SIM on an iPhone XS, XR or later lets you add a local data plan when you travel, alongside the number you use at home. On Android or an older iPhone, check whether your phone supports eSIM before you buy.

Our plans for Mexico run on Telcel and on AT&T's network in Mexico. Chichén Itzá sits in Yucatán, outside Quintana Roo, and the HelloRoam plan for Cancun still works there because it's the same plan that gives you mobile data across Mexico. The plan's days start only when your phone first connects to a network in Mexico, so you can install the eSIM before you fly and switch it on at CUN.

Firm dates matter for December ferry and train tickets

A December trip falls outside the official Atlantic hurricane season, which NOAA's National Hurricane Center closes on November 30. The center notes that tropical cyclones still sometimes form after that date. Our guide to Cancun's weather and crowds by month covers rain, sea temperature and the busiest weeks.

Ultramar tickets are valid for six months from purchase, on any day and time of the route you bought. They're non-refundable, so buy once your dates are firm.

Besides the website and app, you can book Tren Maya by WhatsApp or phone, at ticket offices or from machines. Its ticket FAQ allows one date or time change per ticket, requested by email at least 48 hours ahead, on the same route and passenger. Refunds apply only when the problem is on Tren Maya's side, such as a canceled train or a delay of more than 4 hours.