A month in Cancún and the Riviera Maya

No reputable source on monthly rents, deposits or utilities in the area was found, so this guide gives no rent figures. The taxes are known. A private apartment, house or villa carries the 6% Quintana Roo lodging tax on the price of the stay, a hotel 5%, both alongside 16% VAT, and the tax falls due when the stay is paid, deposits and advance payments included. The federal VAT exemption for renting a home does not cover furnished property or lodging.

The municipal levies run every night. Thirty nights in one room in Cancún add about MXN 2,560 at 72.80% of the UMA a night. In Playa del Carmen or Tulum a room for two adds about MXN 1,760, and on Isla Mujeres two visitors pay about MXN 2,110. None of the laws read caps the number of nights or exempts long stays; Isla Mujeres exempts only people who work in the municipality.

Downtown Cancún suits a month of city life, about 19 km from the airport, with the ferry to Isla Mujeres at Puerto Juárez. Playa del Carmen suits a month on foot around Quinta Avenida, about 55 km south of the airport. Isla Mujeres suits a month without a car, reached by passenger ferry.

Tulum suits a month in the south of the coast, with its own airport, TQO, about 20 km away. The Hotel Zone's businesses are aimed at tourists, with resorts, beaches, shops and nightclubs; for a month there, ask what the apartment has for cooking and parking. These choices are editorial.

Visitors from the EU, the UK and the US need no visa. The immigration officer stamps the passport with the days granted, up to the legal maximum of 180, and the days on the stamp, not the maximum, set how long the stay can last. Air arrivals get the migration form (FMM) in digital form, downloadable from the INM portal during the stay, and pay a non-resident fee of MXN 983 in 2026, which the airline collects. Officers may ask for a return ticket, a booking and proof of funds, so keep the booking confirmation for the month at hand.

Tourists may not work in Mexico, paid or unpaid. The Visitax falls due on entering Quintana Roo, not per night or per month, and proof of payment is checked at the airport on departure.

Hosts must be in the state taxpayer register and the state tourism register, and a platform that takes the payment withholds the lodging tax itself. No rule requiring a registration number on listings was found, so ask the host whether the price includes the state tax and the nightly levy.

Airbnb calls a reservation of 28 nights or more a monthly stay. It charges the first month up front and releases it to the host 24 hours after check-in, then charges each later month 10 days in advance, under a long-term cancellation policy that generally requires 30 days' notice of changes.

No parking-meter tariff was found in the municipal finance laws, so a month with a car depends on the parking at the apartment. In Cancún the street rules ban parking on red kerbs, within 10 m of a corner, in double file and in front of driveways, and a car taken to the depot pays 0.66 UMA, about MXN 77, a day. On Isla Mujeres the car stays on the mainland.

Comparing monthly prices without the levies. Thirty nights in Cancún add about MXN 2,560 per room in sanitation levy alone.

Leaving the Visitax to the last day. It is paid online, and proof is checked at the airport on departure.

Reading 180 days as the allowance. The days written on the entry stamp are the limit.

Booking a month between June and November without reading the cancellation terms. UK advice puts the hurricane season in those months.

Working during the stay. Tourists may not work in Mexico, paid or unpaid.