Where to stay in Cancún and the Riviera Maya

The Hotel Zone is Cancún's resort strip, an island shaped like a 7 that runs parallel to the mainland, with hotel towers along its beaches, about 23 km from the airport by road. Downtown Cancún, the city itself and seat of the Benito Juárez municipality, lies inland, about 19 km from the airport and about 15 km from the Hotel Zone. Puerto Juárez, a district 2 km north of the centre, has the passenger ferries to Isla Mujeres.

Isla Mujeres is an island about 13 km off the coast. Ultramar ferries reach it from Puerto Juárez and from Playa Tortugas and Playa Caracol in the Hotel Zone, and the car stays on the mainland.

Playa del Carmen, about 55 km south of the airport, is a resort city whose centre revolves around Quinta Avenida, a pedestrian street of shops, clubs and restaurants, with ferries across to Cozumel. Tulum, about 117 km from Cancún airport, is the town near the Maya ruins; Tulum International Airport (TQO), in service since 1 December 2023, lies about 20 km to its south-west.

No parking-meter tariff was found in the 2026 municipal finance laws of Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Tulum or Isla Mujeres, so parking comes down to the hotel or host and to the street rules. Ask before booking whether a space comes with the room, above all on Quinta Avenida, which is pedestrian.

In Cancún the municipal traffic regulation bans parking on pavements, in double file, in front of a driveway, on a red kerb and within 10 m of a corner. Double parking, blocking a driveway or parking where signs forbid it costs 15 to 20 UMA, about MXN 1,760 to 2,346, and the police can send the car to the depot, which charges 0.66 UMA, about MXN 77, a day. Restricted zones open to parking on Sundays and public holidays unless the traffic authority announces otherwise.

The same regulation gives tourists a courtesy card, handed out by rental companies, that turns a minor offence into a warning, up to twice (via GetCar). GetCar's guide Driving in Cancún and the Riviera Maya: Insurance, Rules, Toll Roads and Police Stops covers the insurance, the toll road towards Valladolid and Mérida, and police stops.

Quintana Roo taxes lodging at 5% of the price of the stay, and at 6% for private apartments, houses and villas, whole or in part, since 1 April 2023. The tax covers the room only, not meals, and whoever takes the payment, hotel, host or platform, charges it separately. Mexico's 16% VAT (IVA) applies as well, and a platform selling stays for hosts must show it separately or mark its prices "IVA incluido".

Each of the four municipalities in this guide adds a sanitation levy per night, set in UMA, the reference unit INEGI sets at MXN 117.31 a day for 2026. Cancún charges 72.80% of the UMA per occupied room, about MXN 85 a night, in hotels and in homes and rooms, platform bookings included. Playa del Carmen and Tulum charge 30% of the UMA for a room with one guest, rising to 75% with four, about MXN 35 to 88 a night, and children under 12 do not count as extra guests. Isla Mujeres charges 30% of the UMA per visitor per night, about MXN 35, and day visitors pay it through the ferry operator.

Foreign visitors entering Quintana Roo also pay the Visitax, 2.5 UMA or about MXN 293 in 2026, children included, online at visitax.gob.mx. UK government advice says it can be paid before or during the stay and that proof of payment is checked at the airport on departure.

Hosts renting through a platform must enrol in the state taxpayer register, hold a certificate of state tax obligations for each property and join the state tourism register, which the tourism law makes free, yearly and compulsory for anyone offering tourist services. Cancún also requires platform hosts to join its municipal taxpayer register. No rule requiring a registration number on listings was found.

Compare totals with every layer in: 16% IVA, the state's 5% or 6%, and a nightly levy that depends on the municipality and, in Playa del Carmen and Tulum, on the number of guests. Mexican consumer law requires the total price, taxes and charges included, to be shown, and Quintana Roo's tourism law asks providers to state the total cost.

Pay the Visitax online before the flight home. UK advice puts Mexico's hurricane season from June to November on both coasts, so read the cancellation terms before paying for a stay in those months.

A first beach holiday at a hotel: the Hotel Zone.

City life and a shorter drive to the airport: downtown Cancún.

A stay without the car: Isla Mujeres.

A walkable base on the coast road: Playa del Carmen.

The ruins, the south of the coast and flights through TQO: Tulum.