Cancun Taxi Tips - how to save money and be safe

In the Cancun Hotel Zone taxis are everywhere. Using the bus is much cheaper and often more fun, but if you need to get somewhere quick then there are a few things that every Cancun tourist should know about the taxis here, to help stretch hard earned vacation funds that little bit further. Also you should be aware of a few safety tips.

Money Saving Tips

Always agree a price before you get in the cab, never once you’ve arrived. Haggle with the driver, he’ll start with his highest price and start from there. If he doesn’t offer a price you like then simply repeat the process with the next driver.

Taxi drivers are about the only people in Cancun who do not expect a tip for their services, his tip will always be factored in to the agreed price. If he performs extra services, like carrying luggage, stopping at the ATM or grocery store en route or making multiple drop offs then you should incolude a tip. But for a regular Point A to Point B trip there’s no need to tip.

Always try and flag a passing taxi from the road, rather than from a taxi stand, outside a restaurant or bar, or those guys that hang around in hotel parking lots for hours on end. You’ll almost always pay less.

Do not confuse dollars with pesos and confirm with the driver if unsure. A scam I’ve heard more than once is a taxi driver says the fare is “40″. The passenger presumes 40 pesos, only to be told on arrival the driver meant $40 USD.

If you are downtown and want to go somewhere else downtown then the correct price is a flat 15 pesos, no haggling. This doesn’t apply to taxis that pick up outside places like restaurants, bars or shopping malls, so walk 50 yards away and again flag a passing cab by.

 Safety Tips

Be wary if someone else is in the cab other than the driver. This is more rare in the Cancun Hotel Zone but more common downtown. Downtown often the driver may pick up other fares traveling the same way, he may also be dropping his wife or kids off somewhere. Use common sense on this one.

Every cab in Cancun has a 4 digit unique number painted on the side of it. It’s difficult to remember to do, but try and remember to look for this before you get in and memorise it until you are safely at your destination.

All Cancun cabs are marked exactly the same, do not accept solicitations from unmarked cabs. Occasionally, you may encounter cabs marked the same but with a different colour scheme, these are likely to be from nearby towns such as Puerto Morelos or Playa Del Carmen.