Use Exact Change & Hang On Tight: A Guide To Taking the Bus in Cancun

These days, everyone is trying to save a little money, and vacationers are no different.  To economize, and for a taste of adventure, take the city buses while vacationing in Cancun, rather than using taxis.

Cancun’s hotel zone has one major street, Kukulkan Boulevard, which makes using the bus system very easy, even for the most inexperienced traveler.  On this street, you will find all of Cancun’s malls, nightclubs, and the vast majority of it’s hotels and restaurants.  The city buses can get you to everything on Kukulkan Blvd. except the Club Med resort.  Club Med guests must take taxis, or hike over to the Westin Cancun, where the nearest bus stop is located.

Cancun has 2 major bus companies that operate in the hotel zone.  One is AutoCar and they usually have red buses, like the one in the photo above.  The other bus company is Turicun and they usually have white and turquoise buses like the one in the next photo.  (The white buses sometimes have cushioned seats and air-conditioning so, on hot days, look for one of those buses.)

On the front of the buses, regardless of the bus company, you will see several locations listed, as well as a route number.  The route number is usually R-1 or R-2, but there are buses for several other routes that travel through the hotel zone.  If you are not leaving the hotel zone, the route number is not important.  You can hop on any bus and easily get from point A to point B.

There are no set bus schedules but, during the day, buses will pass by every few minutes. R-1 buses run all night, but there are not many on the road, after midnight.  If you don’t want to wait for a bus to come along, a taxi might be your best bet for late-night travel.

When leaving the hotel zone to venture out into downtown Cancun, for example, you will need to pay attention to the route number.  If you plan to go to Walmart or Market 28 (Mercado 28), you will need to take R-2, or R-15,  and if you wish to go to Plaza Las Americas mall, you’ll need the R-27 (There aren’t many of these buses.  In this case, taking another bus into downtown Cancun and then taking a taxi might save you time and hassle.).  If you want to go to Puerto Juarez to catch the ferry over to Isla Mujeres, you will need the R-1, but not all R-1 buses go to Puerto Juarez.  You will have to look for a bus with “Puerto Juarez” plastered across the front window.

Sometimes, from a distance, it may be hard to see the route number so, if you see your destination listed on the front of the bus, just flag it down.  It’s always a good idea to ask the driver if he is going to  your destination before you board the bus and pay the fare.

To use the bus system, simply go out to the street and look for a bus stop.  They can be simple, with the only indicator being a blue sign with a bus on it, or something snazzier like this bus stop at Plaza Kukulkan mall,

Bus stop at Plaza Kukulkan mall

which has space for buses to pull over and a covered shelter for waiting passengers.

Buses do not stop at each bus stop.  You will have to flag them down.  Just throw your arm in the air as if you are hailing a taxi in New York City and the bus will pull over.  (Sometimes buses are off-duty or very full.  In those cases, they will pass right by without stopping.  Don’t sweat it.  There will be another bus in a few minutes.)

A bus driver

When the bus stops, go to the front door and board the bus.  If you aren’t 100% sure that the bus is going to your destination, ask the driver as you board.  Keep it simple though because your driver may not speak much English.  Just say short things like “Cancun Palace?”, or “Plaza La Isla?”, and you’ll be alright.  If the driver nods yes, then get on the bus and pay your fare.

The fare is only 8.5 Pesos (approximately 65¢ USD), per person, for each one-way trip.  (Both bus companies charge the same price.)  You pay the driver directly and he will make change, if necessary.  Try to pay with exact change, as the driver does not always have correct change to give back.  It is best to pay in coins (only Mexican Peso coins are accepted), but you can use small bills, both Pesos and US Dollars.  When paying with Dollars, expect to get short-changed because the driver may not know the exchange rate for that day.  Only use Dollars as a last resort, unless you like getting short-changed.  Also, like anywhere in the world, some drivers will try to rip-off the tourists.  This is not commonplace, but you can totally avoid it by simply paying with exact change…in Pesos.

Be aware that most drivers do not wait for you to find a seat before taking off like a bat out of hell.  It’s quite possible that Cancun’s bus drivers watch the movie Speed as part of their orientation program.  Keep that in mind when boarding a bus and, after paying the driver, immediately find something to hang on to while making your way to a seat.

Even if you tell the driver where you are going when you board the bus, don’t expect him to remember your stop.  Be on the lookout for your stop, during your trip.

To stop the bus, press one of the buzzers found throughout the bus (like the bright yellow one shown in the photo below), on the overhead handrails,

Buzzer for Stopping the Bus

or by the back door of the bus.

Buzzer by Back Door of Bus

Exit through the back door of the bus.

At certain times of day, like when people are traveling to or from work, the buses can be FULL.  Packed-like-sardines full.  During those times, when all seats are full and people are standing in the aisle, follow the normal procedure for getting on the bus, but move to the back of the bus, as far as possible.  To move around people, say “con permiso”, which means “excuse me”, in Spanish.  To ask if a seat is occupied, simply point to the seat and say “esta ocupado?”.  Don’t worry about pronunciation because you will probably get the point across by simply pointing, and aside from that, many people in Cancun speak English.  It’s just polite to try and speak Spanish while visiting Mexico.

Some buses have signs on the windows of the first two rows of seats to indicate that those seats are reserved for passengers that are pregnant or elderly.

“Lugar Para” means “place for”so these seats are reserved for pregnant passengers.

If there are no other seats available, you may sit in these seats.  However, if any elderly or pregnant passengers board the bus, the right thing to do is to offer them your seat.

Often, if a woman is standing (pregnant or not) and a man is sitting, the man will offer his seat to the woman, but that is simply a polite gesture and not a rule of the bus.  Chivalry is not dead.

Signs On Bus

The signs shown above list the rules of the bus:  No smoking, no pets, and no drinking.

If you are on a bus late at night, especially after the nightclubs close, you may see people drinking on the bus.  Avoid those people unless you want to wear their drink, at some point, during the trip.

Other than some crazy drivers that like to go fast and have little use for brakes, the bus system in Cancun is very safe.  The buses are used by tourists and locals alike.

There are no seat belts on the buses so, if you are traveling with small children, the bus may not be the ideal mode of transportation.  For everyone else, it’s a fast, easy, and inexpensive way to navigate Cancun’s hotel zone and downtown Cancun.