One-Way Car Rental in Cancun
Pick the Car Up in Cancun, Leave It Where Your Trip Ends
One-way rentals between our four offices, with the fee published here by route and by vehicle category — not discovered at the counter. From $40 between Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
Cancun · Playa del Carmen · Tulum · Mérida — open every day, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Between Four Offices
Any of them, in either direction
Fee Published Upfront
By route and vehicle category
Unlimited Mileage
A one-way changes nothing here
Settled at the Office
Quoted online, paid on arrival
A one-way car rental simply means you collect the vehicle at one office and return it at another. On this coast it solves a very specific problem: most itineraries run in one direction. You land at Cancun Airport, work your way south through Playa del Carmen and Tulum, and the last thing you want on your final morning is a two-hour drive back north just to hand over a car. The one-way fee is what buys you that morning back.
Every Route, Every Category, in US Dollars
This is the complete table our system quotes from. The fee is the same in either direction, and it is charged once per rental, not per day.
| Route (either direction) | Compact | Midsize | Full size | SUV | Minivan | Express Van |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playa del Carmen ↔ Tulum | $40 | $40 | $40 | $50 | $50 | $50 |
| Cancun ↔ Playa del Carmen | $60 | $60 | $60 | $70 | $70 | $80 |
| Cancun ↔ Tulum | $100 | $100 | $100 | $120 | $120 | $120 |
| Cancun ↔ Mérida | $120 | $130 | $130 | $150 | $160 | $170 |
| Playa del Carmen ↔ Mérida | $120 | $130 | $130 | $150 | $160 | $170 |
| Tulum ↔ Mérida | $120 | $130 | $130 | $150 | $160 | $170 |
Once, not per day
A ten-day rental from Cancun to Tulum carries the same $100 as a three-day one. Longer trips absorb the fee almost to nothing.
Same both ways
Cancun to Mérida costs what Mérida to Cancun costs. There is no penalty for going against the usual tourist flow.
Paid at the office
The fee appears while you configure the booking and is settled with the agent, so it sits beside your online total rather than hidden inside it.
How to Book One
It is one extra checkbox in the search form. Everything after that behaves like a normal rental.
Tick "return to a different location"
In the search form, right under your pickup point. A second location selector appears with every office and every collection point we operate.
Choose where the trip ends
Cancun Airport, downtown Cancun or the Hotel Zone; Playa del Carmen downtown; the Tulum office or the archaeological zone; Mérida airport, downtown or your hotel.
See the fee before you confirm
Once you pick a car we know the category, so the exact one-way fee for your route appears on the booking screen. It is shown separately from the rental total because you settle it with the agent at pickup.
Drive south and hand over the keys
We inspect the car with you at the destination office exactly as we would at the original one, release the deposit, and you carry on. Cancelling is free up to 24 hours before pickup, one-way included.
Is the Fee Worth It? Do the Arithmetic
We would rather you work this out honestly than book a one-way you did not need.
When it clearly pays
You are flying out of a different airport than you flew into, or your last night is in Tulum and your flight leaves from Cancun in the morning. Driving back north to return the car means either an extra night's accommodation or a very early start — and then a shuttle back down. The $100 buys you the morning and removes the whole problem.
When it probably does not
You are based in one town and taking day trips. Returning to where you started costs you nothing, and a round trip is simply the cheaper booking. Plenty of our customers stay in Playa del Carmen, drive to Tulum and back twice, and never need a one-way at all.
The one to think about
Cancun to Mérida and back is about seven hours of driving over two days. If the return leg is a day you would rather spend in Valladolid or at a cenote, the one-way fee is competing with a day of your holiday, not with fuel. That is usually a short conversation.
Drop-Offs Where We Do Not Have an Office
We can also hand the car over, or collect it, at these points. They are arranged case by case rather than booked online, so write to us with your dates and vehicle category.
| Point | From our office in | Fee from |
|---|---|---|
| Puerto Morelos | Cancun | $25 |
| Akumal | Playa del Carmen or Tulum | $25 |
| Akumal | Cancun | $75 |
| Tulum Airport (TQO) | Tulum | $80 |
| Tulum Airport (TQO) | Playa del Carmen | $120 |
| Tulum Airport (TQO) | Cancun | $180 |
| Chetumal | Cancun | $150 |
| Campeche | Cancun | $160 |
Figures are the starting point for a compact car; larger categories cost more, and we confirm the exact amount when we answer. Bacalar, Valladolid and other points are quotable too — just ask.
Flying Out of Tulum Airport
Tulum's airport (TQO) opened the south end of the corridor to direct international flights, and it has quietly become one of the most common reasons people ask us about a one-way: fly into Cancun, drive the coast at your own pace, fly home from Tulum.
The cleanest version is to return the car at our Tulum office — that is a standard one-way, $100 from Cancun for a compact — and cover the short hop to the terminal separately. If you would rather hand the car over at the airport itself, we arrange that as an off-office drop-off, and the figures are in the table above.
Either way, tell us your flight time when you book. We would rather plan around it than improvise on the day.
What a One-Way Does Not Change
The fee is the only difference. Everything else works exactly as it would on a round trip.
Mileage stays unlimited
No per-kilometre charge appears because you are ending somewhere else. Drive the long way round if you want to.
Same coverage, same deposit
Your coverage level and the hold on your credit card depend on the car and the protection you choose, never on where you return it.
Same cancellation terms
Free up to 24 hours before pickup. Changing the return office before you travel is a message, not a penalty.
One-Way Car Rental — Frequently Asked Questions
What people ask before booking a drop-off in another city.
Start in Cancun, Finish Wherever You Like
Pick your dates, your pickup point and your return office, and the whole cost is on the screen before you confirm.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours · Unlimited mileage · Four offices across the peninsula
Midsize
Express Van
