Flights To Playa Del Carmen

…getting here is half the battle…

I know that you all want to save money, and in this article I’m going to show you how to get the cheapest flights to Playa Del Carmen.

Every cent counts.

Especially when things in Playa Del Carmen are so cheap.

Just think, save yourself $5 USD, and you get a micro feast at one of Playa Del Carmen’s great value restaurants.

Save yourself $20 USD and you could spend it on eight cocktails in a Playa Del Carmen beach bar.

But you could be saving hundreds of dollars if you follow my advice.

That money will go a long way in Playa Del Carmen.

I’ve flown to Playa Del Carmen so many times that the customs officials started suggesting me of being a drugs mule.

I was like, “Seriously? Who would smuggle drugs into Mexico?

More importantly, this article is designed to save you time.

Who wants to sit at home and spend endless hours searching for flights to Playa Del Carmen.

Your time is precious!

I’ve compiled all the information so you can – hopefully – find the best deals and discounts easily and quickly.

There Are Many Ways To Save Money

No matter how cheap the flights can get they will never be free.

So cheap flights to Playa Del Carmen doesn’t mean you can fold up your bank notes and use them as paper airplanes instead.

There are also some great Playa Del Carmen discounts on offer.

Remember – you won’t receive any discount on your flight unless you use the discount at the time of reservation.

So search for discounts BEFORE booking.

While reading this article you might also want to consider the various Playa Del Carmen vacation packages that exist.

In many cases it is cheaper to purchase a combined package with your flight, hotel/resort, etc all included.

You may also be able to get one of the great deals if you plan your vacation in advance.

If you are going on a family vacation, this is especially important.

Many of the deals are dependent on number of people traveling, availability, and dates.

A Systematic Approach To The Cheapest Flights To Playa Del Carmen

Remember the kids at school that always had astonishingly neat pencil cases and ridiculously tidy schoolbooks.

The ones that did everything methodically and with precision.

The ones that you used to tease.

But you secretly wished you could keep everything under control like they did.

When booking a flight you have to get into this mindset – or use a person in the travel services industry who has this state of mind.

Specialists who work in the travel industry are usually familiar with the best discount travel options – especially if they are specialists specific to the Riviera Maya.

When you’re checking the different sites and searching for Playa Del Carmen flights, you have to be systematic.

It’s no good thinking “Hmmm, I definitely found a cheaper deal…but which site was I on and what date was it for?

If you’re not careful, you end up going around and around in circles, checking site after site, and forgetting what you were supposed to be doing in the first place.

So write down what you’ve searched for and which dates / flights are the best.

And don’t go on every site; it’s pointless.

I’m about to tell you the best ones.

Know Your Seasons In Playa Del Carmen

Like every travel destination in the world, Playa Del Carmen has particular seasons.

High season is the most expensive.

When you’re looking at flights to Playa Del Carmen be mindful of the following:

  • SPECIAL HIGH SEASON is December 20th – January 3rd. That means everything costs $$$$$.
  • HIGH SEASON is generally November 1st – April 10th or so. Flights are going to cost more because of higher demand.
  • LOW SEASON is mid-April – end of October. So it’s the cheapest time (usually because it gets quite hot here). Nonetheless, there is a short burst of Mexican tourists that come when kids are out of school. That is from mid-July through late August.
  • EUROPEAN TOURIST SEASON is in the beginning of August through the last week of August. Prices rise for European tourists, as this is their peak time in Playa Del Carmen. Why do they come in August? I have no idea!

Why You Should Stick To The Big Travel Websites For Your Flights To Playa Del Carmen

You may have seen some insanely ridiculous offer for a Playa Del Carmen vacation.

Like “two weeks in Playa Del Carmen for $99.

If it sounds to good to be true it probably is.

If it’s like the example above then you’ll probably have to sit through three days of timeshare presentations.

If you’re lucky enough not to be sucked into a timeshare presentation at this price, you’re going to find a crazy amount of exorbitant fees and taxes tacked on to this “$99” price.

If you are a sucker, someone somewhere will find a way to suck your money out of you without giving anything but headaches in return.

All things considered, I’ve consistently found that the big travel websites provide the cheapest deals.

I’m talking about the likes of Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, hotels.com, Priceline, Booking Buddy, Kayak etc.

These sites have a huge amount of bargaining power which helps them get cheaper prices and better deals from the airlines.

Moreover, they are all regulated by travel industry bodies.

In addition, they all have a reputation to maintain.

This forces them to be accountable and means you can get your money back if anything goes wrong.

I’ve Done The Research For You

Because I know that not everyone is the systematic kid from school, I’ve done most of the research for you.

I’ve researched the big-name travel companies and compiled a chart of their best prices and services.

I chose to book a flight from three various dates – seven days, 90 days, and 180 days.

Then I looked at Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Hotwire, Priceline, Booking Buddy, and Kayak.

Finally I looked at flights from the New York, Toronto, and London.

These are three of the most popular origins of people coming to Playa Del Carmen.

However, there are obviously thousands of starting airports.

So this research is intended to show you the best places to start when looking for flights to Playa Del Carmen.

Of course, it cannot be definitive – there are too many places that people come from around the globe!

NOTE: THE INFORMATION BELOW IS FOR COMPARISON PURPOSES ONLY. YOUR RESULTS MAY DIFFER WHEN INSERTING DIFFERENT TRAVEL DATES/SEASONS.

The Results – The Best Places To Find Cheap Flight-Only Deals To Playa Del Carmen

INTERESTING FACTS:

  • In general the cheapest flights were found 90 days before departure.
  • 7 days before departure the prices had shot up.
  • But, oddly enough, booking 180 days in advance offered the most expensive flights.

Booking Buddy Was The Cheapest For Booking Flights To Playa Del Carmen

In almost every scenario, Booking Buddy could find the cheapest flights to Cancun International Airport (CUN), the closest usable airport to Playa Del Carmen.

While most of the sites found very similar prices, Booking Buddy was often significantly cheaper.

For example, when booking a flight from NYC to Cancun seven days before departure, Booking Buddy was almost $100 cheaper.

My recommendation would be to first check Booking Buddy before looking at the other sites.

Hotwire Is The Second Best For Flights To Playa Del Carmen

So in second place (drumroll please) is Hotwire.

They could match Booking Buddy for some of the flights and consistently had the second best price.

For many of the scenarios, Travelocity, Expedia, or Priceline, could match Hotwire.

But these other sites let themselves down with the other scenarios.

So my travel Oscars go to Booking Buddy and Hotwire.

A Note For People Traveling From London

According to these flight searches, there are no direct flights from London to Cancun.

However, this is not the case.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both offer direct flights, although they don’t fly every day of the week.

They’re just not on the price comparison sites.

For a similar price as a flight on Booking Buddy you can book a direct flight from London to Cancun on the British Airways or Virgin Atlantic website.

Make sure you click “flexible on dates” so that the direct services always come up.

When Searching For Flights To Playa Del Carmen You Need To Fly To Cancun

Playa Del Carmen has an airport.

But it’s not going to do you much good unless you have a private plane or you’re taking one of Playa Del Carmen’s super cool air taxis.

There are no scheduled flights to Playa Del Carmen.

The closest usable airport to Playa Del Carmen is Cancun International Airport.

For reference the Cancun Airport code is CUN.

If you’ve got your own plane then the Playa Del Carmen airport code is PCM.

However, don’t enter “PCM” when searching for hotels or resorts as this will take you to the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean.

A transfer from Cancun to Playa Del Carmen will take 45-60 minutes.

So in the grand scheme of things it’s not adding much time to your journey.

There are plans for a new international airport in Tulum, which is also 45-60 minutes from Playa Del Carmen.

However, various government officials have been disagreeing about this new airport for the last five years.

And the bureaucracy in Mexico is ridiculously slow.

Remember, Mexico is NOT an advanced country!

Getting From Cancun To Playa Del Carmen

Once you get to the Cancun Airport you’re going to have to get an airport transfer to Playa Del Carmen.

Don’t worry, I’ve written a whole article on this.

You certainly aren’t short of choice.

While you can pre-book an airport transfer, it’s just as easy and the same price to organize it when you land.

Just remember to avoid all the human lice in the arrivals hall.

These guys are seriously annoying.

The most expensive, fastest, and most convenient, is by taxi.

Prices start at $60 for a vehicle that seats 1-3 passengers.

If you are alone, then the best transfer is probably a shared minivan.

These depart every 15-30 minutes and cost $25.

They’re comfortable, fast, and you’ll probably meet some new friends in the minivan.

The cheapest alternative is to take the direct bus from Cancun Airport to Playa Del Carmen.

It’s only ~$10 and is surprisingly comfortable.

However, you may by waiting a long time for it if it’s high season.

In addition, the bus drops you at the bus station on 5th Ave on the south side of town.

Finally, many of the expensive hotels and resorts include a personal airport pick up.

If you’ve got one then – ding ding!

Free airport transfer here we come!

One of these Playa Del Carmen airport transfer options should work for you.

If you want to start the party early, then remember that Mexico doesn’t have very strict laws when it comes to public drinking.

So you can take a bottle of tequila from the duty free shop and start hammering it in the taxi.

Other Useful Playa Del Carmen Deals

Some people may have booked one of the available Playa Del Carmen packages.

Perhaps that might include picking up a rental car at the airport.

Many packages include rental cars, although you should first consider whether you need a rental car for your whole vacation or just a few days.

Playa Del Carmen is mostly a pedestrianized city, so unless you’re traveling around every day, it’s best to just get a rental car for part of your vacation.

I’ve included all the options in my Playa Del Carmen rental cars article.

There are options to pick one up at the Cancun International Airport or just to get one for a few days in Playa Del Carmen.

Anything Else On Flights To Playa Del Carmen

I hope this information helps you save time and money when booking flights to Playa Del Carmen.

If you find an amazing deal then I would love to hear about it.

I like to pass on advice to anyone who is coming to Playa Del Carmen.

Seen as you’ve probably saved $100 by being systematic and booking the best flights to Playa Del Carmen, I’ll finish with what you could spend that money on.

With $100 in Playa Del Carmen you could: Go to Tequila Barrel for the 11am happy hour. (It’s one of the local bars.)

  • You could keep drinking until you fall over, and you’re almost certain to wake up with change in your pocket.
  • Have a day at the incredible Xcaret Theme Park.
  • Go on a Mayan ruins tour that includes both Chichen Itza and Coba ruins.
  • Go on a Playacrawl and then spend all the change on takeaways while in a drunken stupor.
  • Take seven friends to a top Playa Del Carmen restaurant and treat them.
  • Buy far too many cocktails.
  • Go on a jungle tour with an ATV.
  • Or go ziplining through the jungle.
  • Lounge on the beach and keep the $100 in reserve for impressing the hot chick sunbathing across from you.

I’m sure there are many other activities you could also participate in for that price, but I hope that gives you an idea of what’s possible.

See you in Playa Del Carmen soon…

Lots of love,

Rufus

Rufus signature

It’s your turn. Do you have any suggestions or tips about flying here? Please leave them in the comments section below!

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