When to get to the airport
Cancun is a holiday airport, which means the peaks are sharper than at a business hub. Everyone leaves on the same days and at the same hours.
Saturdays are the pinch point. Most hotel weeks start and end on a Saturday, so check-in queues, security and the departures hall all peak on the same day. If you fly out on a Saturday morning in December through April, add an extra half hour to whatever you were planning.
Before you leave the hotel
- Check your terminal, not just your flight Airlines move between terminals. The boarding pass is the authority, not the booking confirmation from three months ago.
- Check your bag weight Excess baggage at the counter is expensive and paid on the spot. Hotel scales are usually available at reception.
- Empty the vape from your bag If you brought one in before the ban, or bought one here, it cannot legally leave with you either. See what you can't bring.
- Keep your immigration record You may be asked for it on exit. If you downloaded it on arrival, it is on your phone. If not, this is the moment you wish you had.
- Leave time for the drive Twenty minutes from the Hotel Zone, up to two hours from Tulum. Traffic on the highway is not predictable in high season.
At the airport
Once you are inside, the sequence is short: check-in, security, gate. The variables are the queue at check-in and the walk to the gate, which in T3 and T4 can be long.
- Departure tax is normally included in the ticket price for international flights. If someone asks you to pay it separately at a counter, check your ticket first.
- Duty free is after security. Liquids bought there travel sealed.
- Food and lounges are past security in all terminals. Before security the options are much thinner.
- Last-minute currency exchange at the airport is the worst rate you will get all trip. Spend or change your pesos before you go.
Other guides
Getting to the airport on time
Book the return leg when you book the arrival and the pickup time is calculated from your flight, your terminal and where you're staying. No guessing how early to leave.
From $35 USD one way · up to 8 passengers