Cancún, Playa, Tulum, Bacalar Colectivo Guide 2025 + Map

Did you know local colectivos (shared vans) are cheaper than the ADO bus? Travelers landing in Cancún can use them to reach Playa Del Carmen, Tulum, Bacalar, and Chetumal.

I’ve been traveling down Quintana Roo on ADO buses for years and always thought that was the default way to get around. After trying colectivos, though, I much prefer them, and I'll explain why.

Colectivos, as locals call them, are small micro buses that cost about half as much as the popular ADO bus. They are very easy to use, and surprisingly faster than the bigger ADO buses.

I rode the entire Yucatán Peninsula route in one day, so I’ll break down the price, timetable, terminal locations, and share some helpful tips.

Here’s how to travel the Caribbean Mexico like a local — cheaply and efficiently.

Quintana Roo Colectivo Route Map

Cancún → Playa Del Carmen → Tulum → Bacalar → Chetumal

What Is A Colectivo In Mexico?

Colectivos are generally shared mini vans or microbuses that the local population use to get around affordably. The mini vans typically pack around 20 people depending on the vehicle type.

In Quintana Roo, it runs up and down the main highway which is called the 307.

This shared van is also called a combi in some areas in Mexico. Shared taxis can also be colectivos despite only holding four persons per ride as we'll see in the Bacalar to Chetumal route below.

Quintana Roo Colectivo Route Time & Price

Below is the route travel times and a price comparison between the Colectivo and ADO.

Colectivo Van Vs ADO Bus

The biggest advantage of the colectivo is the price — literally 50% cheaper. The total price of the colectivo from Cancún to Chetumal costs 355 MXN Pesos while the ADO bus total price is 708 MXN Pesos. That's a savings of approximately 350 MXN Pesos.

Quintana Roo Colectivo Terminal Locations

How The Colectivo Works

Unless stated otherwise, all the colectivos listed below run daily — seven days a week. Most also run the entire day from 6AM—11PM. The colectivo service has a simple rule for the most part: it leaves as soon as the vehicle gets full.

That could mean anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes. Colectivos with longer routes have a specific schedule like the Tulum to Bacalar/Chetumal route that leaves twice in the morning and twice in the evening.

How To Catch A Colectivo

Local Mexico Colectivo Tips

1. 📍 Find The Terminal: The best way to get a seat on a colectivo is to go at the terminal.
2. 🤔 Know Your Stops: Knowing exactly where you're passing is a good way to avoid missing your stop.
3. 🗺️ Use Your Phone GPS: I use an Offline Map App to make sure I know exactly where I am at the moment.
4. 💵 Know The Price: Most of the colectivo drivers only have coins for change, so have the exact fare.
5. 🚽 Use The Restroom: For longer trips, I highly recommend just paying for the restroom before your trip.

Money Exchange In Cancún

Before we start the colectivo routes, you'll likely be looking for currency exchange like I was. There's no need to go hunting for it in town, ADO bus station in Cancún has a currency exchange shop inside the ADO. It’s located to the right upon exiting the ADO Bus terminal.

The currency exchange office is open from 9AM-8:30PM on weekdays and open for fewer hours on weekends.

Compared to the airport, this office likely has better exchange rate. Just note that you can't have more than 10 x $1.00 USD bills, and they don't accept damaged dollar bills which wasn't the case for me.

Cancún Airport To Cancún

If you're landing at the Cancún Airport, sadly you don't have many budget options to get to the center of Cancún. Your only options are shuttle, taxi, car rental or taking the ADO Bus (cheapest). There are no colectivos from Cancún Airport.

Cancún Airport can be very overwhelming with shuttle and tour vendors pushing their service. For what it's worth, I was quoted 560 MXN Pesos ($30 USD) for shuttle rates to Cancún while the ADO is only 140 MXN Pesos.

The ADO Bus ticket booth (kiosk) is located outside the airport upon exiting regardless of the terminal you land in. You can't miss it. Their schedule can be found on their website. The buses are punctual, so I recommend buying your ticket quickly after exiting as the next bus takes 30-60 minutes to arrive.

In my case, I missed my bus by one minute and had to wait an hour because the bus ticket vendor had to convert my USD to pesos. So instead of leaving on the 1:00PM bus, I left at 2:00PM and arrived at 2:55PM.

That one hour wasted is critical if you want to arrive Bacalar and Chetumal because the last colectivo leaves from Tulum at 6:00PM. The schedule for each terminal will be listed in their respective section.

The ADO Airport bus spends 20 minutes circulating around all the terminals (1 through 4). Depending on where you are it might leave immediately or take longer picking up other passengers.

Cancún To Playa Del Carmen Colectivo

The Playa Express van takes around 19 passengers and has room for large suitcases at the back but be sure to declare it before you enter to speed up the process.

Playa Express Terminal is located right in front of the ADO Bus Terminal in Cancún.

It's important to know that the line to catch the colectivo will likely be very long. Mines lasted about 30 minutes and the bus left Playa Del Carmen at 3:33PM and arrived at 4:48PM which is approximately 1 hour.

As a bonus, the Playa Express vans include power through USB-A and USB-C ports beside the chairs. If you grab a solo chair you can get the port to yourself.

Also, worth noting is that these colectivos can also stop at locations you choose. I witnessed a passenger get out in the outskirts of Cancún likely to his job site. It also stopped in Puerto Morelos and Playa Coban. The driver will shout out the potential stops, so it’s best if you should out where you want to stop to secure your stop.

Playa Del Carmen To Tulum Colectivo

You exit the station and immediately to your right there’s a bridge. You cross it and turn right heading towards the McDonald’s. Going down the street, the right-hand side has a green arc that you enter and take the colectivo that leaves as soon as it’s full.

Vans Foraneas is located two blocks away from the Playa Express terminal you get dropped at in Playa Del Carmen. Just head over to the McDonald's nearby and you'll see a small building with an aquamarine door entrance labeled "Terminal Única De Vans Foraneas En Playa Del Carmen."

The colectivo left almost as soon as I arrived at the Playa Del Carmen Terminal at 4:55PM and then arrived Tulum at 5:56PM which is approximately 1 hour.

This van stopped at Chemuyil on the way down to Tulum. One caveat about this colectivo is that it’s not high quality like Playa Express. The van is a little run down, but it does have AC. The smell of the large Mexican men might be a bit of an issue if you have a delicate nose. Just a heads up. Not gonna lie, the smell got to me, but I can’t complain since I was savings of 50% of the ADO price tag taking these colectivos.

Tulum To Bacalar Colectivo

There is a very strict schedule for the Tulum to Bacalar run which is 9AM, 2PM, 4:30PM and 6PM. I got lucky and caught the last one miraculously. Don’t be like me. Well you’re not since you’re reading this blog.

The Shuttle Bus Terminal is just a garage beside the artisanal shops. I got dropped off around two blocks away, so I had to walk for a bit. Tell the driver you are stopping at the terminal for "Servicio Foraneo" that has vans to Bacalar/Chetumal.

Since it's a 3-hour Trip roughly, I suggest paying for the bathroom at 10 pesos and buying some snacks at the Oxxo located in front of the terminal. The driver was kind enough to wait for me. The shuttle was half filled leaving, so that might have had an influence in his decision.

This Tulum to Bacalar van left at 6:15PM and arrived at Felipe Carrillo Puerto (town half-way to destination) at 7:30PM. The final destination of Bacalar arrived at 9:15PM.

Bacalar To Chetumal Colectivo

The Bacalar to Chetumal Colectivo Terminal is located where the old ADO bus station was. It's literally just a bunch of taxis parked together. The destination point at Chetumal is at the Plaza Las Americas.

My Bacalar Guide includes detailed information on how to get to Belize if you are going down south towards Guatemala. There's also a ferry service from Chetumal to San Pedro & Caye Caulker which are islands in Belize.

Final Thoughts

After using ADO most of my life and assuming it was the best way to get around, I swallowed my words and became a big fan of colectivos. They are easy to use, cheaper by 50% and even faster than the big coach buses.

While you can't buy tickets online, the service is still top-notch. The only reason I would see the need to travel with ADO is if you need to travel at night without any interruptions. I do still use ADO when I have an early flight in the morning.

Whatever your priority is, I highly recommend using the colectivo especially with all the information laid out here ready for you to use it like a local would.

About Author

Everything written on this blog is based on first-hand experience or knowledge as a local living in Belize. No fluff, just honest information.