Mayan Riviera Information

Travel Times ~ from Cancun airport to your resort

The Mayan Riviera is surprisingly long and although many sites will tell you how far it is from your resort to Cancun airport, what does that translate to in driving time?

If you’ve booked a roundtrip shuttle, you tell them what time your flight departs and they’ll tell you what time they’re picking you up. Invariably you’ll have to stop at a few hotels along the way and wait for people who “just have to do ___” so leaving Dreams Puerto Aventuras or other hotels past Playa del Carmen can take upwards of 3 hours.

If you prefer to skip all that and just take a taxi, then it’s up to you to ensure that you get to the airport on time. Bear in mind you need to check in and leave enough time for your bag to get processed and for you to get through Security and get to your gate (after a little Duty Free shopping of course!).

Here are the average driving times (as estimated by Lomas Travel), from your hotel to the airport with normal traffic*:

10 minutes away:
Bel Air Resort  |  Sun Palace  |  The Westin Regina  |  Club Med

12 minutes away:
Great Parnassus Cancun Resort  |  Hilton Cancun Golf & Spa  |  Crown Paradise Club  |  Grand Solaris Cancun  |  Be Live Grand Playa  |  Solymar Beach Resorts  |  Royal Solaris Cancun

15 minutes away:
Moon Palace Nizuc  |  Marriot Casa Magna  |  Gran Melia Cancun  |  Fiesta Americana Condesa  |  Be Live Grand Cancun/Be Live Cancun  |  Omni Cancun  |  Royal Resorts

20 minutes away: 
Fiesta Americana Aqua  |  Barcelo Tucancun  |  Royal Sands  |  Ritz Carlton Cancun  |  Golden Parnassus  |  Le Meridien Cancun  |  Cancun Palace  |  J.W. Marriott

25 minutes away:
Royal Sunset  |  Le Blanc Spa Resort  |  Park Royal Cancun Caribe  |  Gran Caribe Real  |  The Royal Cancun  |  Flamingo Cancun  |  Avalon Resort  |  Beach Palace  |  ME by Melia  |  Park Royal Cancun  |  The Westin Lagunamar
Azul Beach  |  Desire Resort  |  Azul Sensatori  |  Secrets Silversands  |  H10 Ocean Turquesa  |  H10 Ocean Coral  |  Now Sapphire  |  Excellence Riveria  |  Dreams Riviera

30 minutes away:
Be Live Palm Beach  |  Be Live Grand Caribbean  |  Club Internacional  |  Casa Maya  |  Riu Caribe  |  Sunset Lagoon  |  Maya Caribe  |  Dos Playas  |  Imperial Laguna Cancun  |  Presidente Intercontinental Cancun  |  Beach Scape  |  Be Live Grand Viva Beach/Be Live Viva Beach  |  Fiesta America Cancun  |  Riu Palace Las Americas  |  Riu Cancun  |  Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach  |  Dreams Cancun  |  Hyatt Regency Cancun  |  NH Krystal Cancun

35 minutes away:
Be Smart America  |  Imperial Las Perlas  |  Holiday Inn Cancun Arenas  |  Q-Bay  |  Temptation Resort & Spa  |  Ocean Cancun  |  Aquamarina Beach Resort  |  Barcelo Costa Cancun
El Cid Resort  |  Now Jade Resort  |  El Dorado Royale  |  El Dorado Casitas  |  Valentin Imperial Maya Resort  |  Mayan Palace Resort

40 minutes away:
Iberostar Paraiso Mar / Beach / Lindo / Maya / Gran

45 minutes away:
Sea Adventure Resort & Water Park
Catalonia Maroma  |  Secrets Maroma Beach  |  El Dorado Maroma  |  Hacienda Tres Rios  |  Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda  |  H10 Ocean Maya

50 minutes away:
Gran Velas Resort  |  Grand Sunset Princess / Grand Riviera Princess  |  The Royal Haciendas

1 hour away:
Excellence Playa Mujeres
Sandos Caracol

1.25 hours away:
Gran Coco Bay

1.5 hours away:
Real Playa del Carmen  |  The Royal Playa  |  Gran Porto Real  |  Playacar Palace  |  The Reef Playacar  |  Riu Riviera Maya  |  Viva Wyndham Maya  |  Allegro Playacar  |  Royal Hideaway

1.75 hours away:
Riu Playacar  |  Viva Wyndham Azteca  |  Riu Palace Mexico  |  Riu Tequila  |  Riu Yucatan  |  Iberostar Quetzal  |  Iberostar Tucan  |  Sandos Playacar  |  Riu Lupita  |  Flamenco Xcaret  |  Aventura Spa Palace Resort  |  Cove Palace Resort  |  Xpu-Ha Palace  |  Catalonia Royal Tulum

1.75 hours – 2 hours away:
Catalonia Puerto Aventura  |  Dreams Puerto Aventuras  |   Omni Puerto Aventura  |  Barcelo Maya Beach/Maya Coba/Tropical/Colonial/Palace  |  El Dorado Seaside  |  Hidden Beach Resort  |  Palladium Kantehna/Colonial/Riviera/White Sands  |  Gran Sirenis

2 – 2.25 hours away:
Akumal Beach Resort  |  Be Live Grand Riviera Maya  |  Bahia Principe Akumal/Coba/Tulum  |  Dreams Tulum

These are just guides and if you’ve got a good taxi driver, you can cut the time significantly (on our last trip our cab driver took us from Dreams Puerto Aventuras to the airport in 1 hour!). So take it with a grain of salt but remember — if you miss your flight, you’re considered a “no show” and the airline has absolutely no responsibility to put you on the next flight — they may even make you pay to book a new one!

* Bear in mind that construction continues on the Playa del Carmen overpass and delays can be expected until it’s completed (supposedly fall 2011).

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Things to do in the Mayan Riviera ~

It’s not often I return to the same location twice – there are far too many places to see and visit for that!!  But Cancun and the Mayan Riviera seem to be the exception.  I have traveled to this area a few times now and between All Inclusive resorts (3* and 5*) and just renting a home on the ocean and a car to explore the area….I have plenty to share with you about this destination.

You will see more pages under this section of Mayan Riviera that explain different places in more detail (right hand side lists sub pages under Mayan Riviera).  Some things are so fabulous that I repeat them on each visit – snorkeling in Akumal Beach and Yal Ku Lagoon for example!!!  A definite treat and a once in a lifetime event (or more if you are lucky).  At Akumal Beach you will most likely see many large turtles while snorkeling in the bay, plus baracuda’s and plenty of tropical fish.  We were not on a tour and everyday was a delight just off shore from Akumal Beach Resort.

Renting a house with a pool right on the ocean not far from Puerto Morelos was a different kind of holiday.  It was very relaxing having your own pool and not worrying about having a chair available when you got outside!  The groceries we bought mostly at Walmart in Playa del Carmen were very reasonably priced.  We had great meals with seafood, steak and of course chips, salsa & guacamole!