Xplor Park from Cancun

Xplor is not in Cancun: it sits on Highway 307 about 75 km (47 miles) south of the Hotel Zone, near Playa del Carmen. That is an easy day trip, but a long one. Here is how to get there and how the day really runs.

Option 1: a day trip with hotel pickup

The Cancun day trip from $195 is how most visitors from Cancun do it. A coach collects you from your hotel lobby or the nearest point on its route, usually between about 6:30 and 7:30 AM, and admission bracelets are handed out on the bus so you walk straight into the park at opening. One reviewer’s day: picked up at 6:30 AM, in the park by 9:15 AM, there until closing at 5 PM, back at the hotel at 6:15 PM. It carries a 4.4/5 rating from 699 reviews. If your accommodation is not a hotel, enter the full address at booking and confirm the pickup point in writing the day before.

Option 2: drive or take the bus

By rental car it is 60 to 75 minutes down Highway 307 from the Hotel Zone and about 50 minutes from Cancun airport, and parking at Xplor is free. By public transport, take an ADO bus from downtown Cancun to Playa del Carmen (about an hour), then a taxi for the last 10 to 15 minutes. With either, buy the admission ticket from $163, or an official ticket with transport added. Taxis all the way from Cancun cost far more than a tour.

Option 3: Xplor Fuego from Cancun

The Xplor Fuego tour from $175 collects you in the afternoon, arrives for the 5:30 PM opening, serves dinner and returns you around midnight. It is a good way to keep your morning free for the beach and to avoid the midday heat, at the cost of a late night and fewer ziplines.

Planning tips from Cancun

Book a Monday to Saturday, since Xplor is closed on Sundays. Pack the night before: water shoes, swimsuit, towel and dry clothes, mineral sunscreen (full list in what to bring). Cruise passengers docking in Cozumel or Costa Maya should know that these tours are designed around hotel pickups; several unhappy reviews come from cruise guests who missed connections.