One Rental, the Whole Coast: Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum
Four offices along Highway 307 and the road to Mérida, so you can pick the car up where you land and leave it where your trip ends. Unlimited mileage on every rental, because the whole point is to drive.
Offices in Cancun · Playa del Carmen · Tulum · Mérida — open every day, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Four Local Offices
Cancun, Playa, Tulum, Mérida
One-Way Available
Pick up here, drop off there
Unlimited Mileage
Every rental, every category
Free CUN Shuttle
About 10 minutes from the terminal
The Riviera Maya is essentially one long road. Highway 307 runs south from Cancun through Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen and Akumal down to Tulum, and almost everything worth seeing sits within a few kilometres of it or on a side road heading inland. That geography is why a car rental in the Riviera Maya changes the trip so much: the coast is genuinely easy to drive, and the difference between seeing your resort's beach and seeing the whole coast is a set of keys.
Where You Can Pick Up and Drop Off
Four offices, all open every day from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM, with more than one collection point in most cities.
Cancun
Our largest fleet and the starting point for most trips. Collection at Cancun Airport through our free shuttle, at the downtown office, or in the Hotel Zone if you are already settled into a resort.
Cancun Airport · Downtown office · Hotel Zone
Car rental in Cancun →Playa del Carmen
Downtown, walking distance from Quinta Avenida and the Cozumel ferry terminal. The practical base if you are staying mid-coast and want to reach both Cancun and Tulum in under an hour.
Playa del Carmen downtown office
Car rental in Playa del Carmen →Tulum
In town, plus collection near the archaeological zone. Tulum is where a car stops being convenient and starts being necessary: the beach road, the cenotes and Cobá are all spread out.
Tulum office · Archaeological zone
Car rental in Tulum →Mérida
Inland, in Yucatán state. Technically outside the Riviera Maya, but it is the other end of the classic two-week loop, and we handle the drive in either direction.
Mérida Airport · Downtown office · Hotel pickup
Car rental in Mérida →How Far Everything Actually Is
Approximate driving times on Highway 307 in normal traffic. Shorter than most people expect.
| Route | Distance | Driving time |
|---|---|---|
| Cancun Airport → Puerto Morelos | ~25 km | ~25 min |
| Cancun Airport → Playa del Carmen | ~55 km | ~45 min |
| Playa del Carmen → Akumal | ~40 km | ~35 min |
| Playa del Carmen → Tulum | ~60 km | ~50 min |
| Cancun Airport → Tulum | ~120 km | ~1 h 30 |
| Tulum → Cobá | ~47 km | ~45 min |
| Cancun → Mérida (toll road) | ~300 km | ~3 h 30 |
Highway 307 is a divided, well-maintained road for most of the corridor, and the traffic that does exist is concentrated around Playa del Carmen. Add time in high season and around the Tulum beach road, where a single lane does a lot of work.
One-Way Rentals Between Our Offices
Fly into Cancun, drive down the coast, fly out of Tulum or Mérida. Choose "return to a different location" in the search form and pick the office where your trip ends.
| Route (either direction) | One-way fee |
|---|---|
| Playa del Carmen ↔ Tulum | $40 – $50 |
| Cancun ↔ Playa del Carmen | $60 – $80 |
| Cancun ↔ Tulum | $100 – $120 |
| Cancun ↔ Mérida | $120 – $170 |
| Playa del Carmen ↔ Mérida | $120 – $170 |
| Tulum ↔ Mérida | $120 – $170 |
The range is the vehicle category
A compact sits at the bottom of each range and a passenger van at the top. Your exact fee appears while you configure the booking, once we know the car and both offices.
Paid at the office, not online
The one-way fee is quoted upfront but settled with the agent, so it sits outside your online total rather than hiding inside it. You will see the figure before you confirm.
Need a hand-over somewhere we do not have an office — Puerto Morelos, Akumal or Tulum Airport, for instance? Ask us and we will quote it for your dates.
What the Car Is Really For
The places that are awkward or expensive to reach any other way.
Cenotes off the 307
Dos Ojos, Gran Cenote, the string of them along the Tulum–Cobá road. Tours arrive in waves at midday; with a car you get there at opening and have the water to yourself for an hour.
Cobá and Chichén Itzá
Cobá is about 45 minutes inland from Tulum. Chichén Itzá is a longer haul on the toll road, and worth leaving early for — the site is far more pleasant before the bus groups land.
Bacalar
About two hours south of Tulum, and the reason a lot of our longer rentals exist. The lagoon is not a day trip you want to do by bus.
Puerto Morelos and Akumal
Both sit a few minutes off the highway between Cancun and Playa, and both are easy to skip entirely if you are relying on colectivos. The reef and the turtles are right there.
The ferries
Cozumel leaves from Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres from Puerto Juárez in Cancun. Leave the car in the port parking, walk on, and pick your own return crossing.
Dinner in another town
The underrated one. Tulum for the evening from Playa, or downtown Cancun instead of the Hotel Zone, costs you fuel instead of two taxi fares.
Driving Highway 307, Honestly
It is an easy road. Two lanes each way for most of the corridor, well signposted, and full of rental cars doing exactly what you are doing. Most first-time visitors relax within the first twenty minutes.
Topes. Mexican speed bumps, and they are serious. They appear at town entrances, near schools and sometimes with no warning at all. Hitting one at speed is the single most common way tourists damage a rental car here.
Military checkpoints. Routine on the 307. You slow down, they look, they wave you through. They are courteous and it takes seconds.
Fuel. Stations are attended, not self-service. Check the pump reads zero before they start, pay attention to the amount, and keep small bills for the attendant. Cash is smoother than card at most stations.
After dark. The corridor itself is fine. Long rural stretches inland are the ones to avoid at night — unlit, and the occasional animal on the road.
We brief every renter on all of this at pickup, and our support line is bilingual, so you are not decoding a road sign alone.
Which Car for the Coast
Every category includes air conditioning and unlimited mileage, which on a corridor this long matters more than it sounds.
Compact & Midsize
Two people, two suitcases, and the easiest thing to park in Playa del Carmen or on the Tulum beach road, where space is tight and expensive. The default for couples.
Compact car rental →SUV
The extra ground clearance earns its keep on the unpaved last stretch to a cenote, and five to seven seats cover most families. The most common choice for the full Cancun-to-Tulum loop.
SUV rental →Minivans & Vans
For groups travelling together the whole way. One vehicle on the 307 is far easier to keep together than two, and usually cheaper than both cars plus the second one-way fee.
See the full fleet →Riviera Maya Car Rental — Frequently Asked Questions
What people ask before committing to driving the coast.
Take the Whole Coast, Not Just the Hotel
Pick your dates and your two offices, and see the full price before you commit to anything. Cancelling is free up to 24 hours before pickup.
Four offices · Unlimited mileage · Free Cancun Airport shuttle
Full size
