Easy Cancun Airport Transfer – USA Transfers

When traveling to Cancun, Mexico, getting a transfer between the airport and your hotel and vice versa at the end of the trip isn’t as simple as many other travel destinations. Many places that are major tourist destinations have very established transportation networks that tourists can take advantage of. In Cancun, there isn’t this robust transportation network. There aren’t subways or trains. Bus service is available but has limited destinations and can be unsafe in some circumstances. Taxis are prohibited from picking up passengers from the airport (although they are allowed to drop off at the airport). All of this means that arranging a hired transportation service ahead of your arrival is likely the best option. While there are several options for prearranged transportation in Cancun, this post will review my experience booking and using one of the largest services “USA Transfers”.

Booking the Transfer

Website Experience

The experience with USA Transfers begins with the quote and booking process. USA Transfers has a well-built website that makes getting a quote for many of the standard destinations fairly easy. Right on the homepage of their website, USA Transfers provides the ability to enter your hotel and dates of travel. With this information, USA Transfers will generate a quote for you directly from the website.

While several other websites can provide online quotes to save the time involved in calling for a quote, USA Transfers seemed to update their website frequently. In my travels to Cancun, I was staying at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun (click here for the review of this property). This property was fairly new (opening only three weeks before my arrival). Most of the providers who offered online booking did not have this hotel listed as an option for a quote. That’s a few points in USA Transfers favor for staying up on the hotel options in the region.

Pricing

The website generates a quote after selecting your destination and dates. The website displays the maximum number of people per vehicle. In practice, I have found that the price doesn’t increase until there are 8 passengers. For this reason, larger groups will find this more economical. A few examples of quoted prices in October 2021 are:

• Round Trip airport transfer for two people to the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun in Puerto Morelos

• Round Trip airport transfer for two people to the Hyatt Ziva Cancun (in the Hotel Zone)

• One-Way hotel transfer for two people to the Hyatt Ziva Cancun (in the Hotel Zone)

The round trip prices are fairly competitive for Cancun fares. While you can definitely pay less (especially with a small group), it does require a little bit of hassle. You could do things like take a bus into the Hotel Zone and then take a taxi from that point to your hotel. However, taxi fares are not constant, and you will have to haggle with the driver to get the best fare. While each individual should decide what is important to them, my opinion is that this fare is completely reasonable given the service it provides (especially for large groups).

Transportation Options

USA Transfers offers two levels of transportation. The base level of transportation uses a traditional tour or transit van. They have two rows of seats that can seat two adults comfortably. Each bench does have three seat belts. If you are traveling with children, you could fit a child on each bench comfortably. They will allow 7 total people in the base van, but you will likely be a little scrunched. Larger vans are available, but they increase in price after 7 passengers.

The luxury transportation option uses a suburban-style vehicle. While the luxury transportation was nicer and a more comfortable ride, the base level of transportation was good. All the vans we had were clean and appeared well-maintained.

One-Way versus Round Trip

USA Transfers offers two different prices for one-way versus round trip itineraries. Booking two one-way trips are more expensive than booking a single round trip ticket. The vast majority of the time, travelers will need a round trip itinerary, so it doesn’t make much sense to purchase one-ways.

Riding Experience

Departing Cancun Airport

Upon exiting customs and immigration at the Cancun airport, travelers arrive in the entry hall. This hall is filled with vendors and salespeople attempting to sell their tours, transportation services, and activities to tourists. This can be quite overwhelming if you aren’t used to this type of arrival at a foreign airport. While some transportation vendors will hold signs with your name in this entry hall, USA Transfers does not do this.

USA Transfers is located outside the airport door near the ground transportation hub. Exiting the main door from the international arrivals terminal, there will be a large parking area with vans, buses, and cars waiting to provide transportation. The USA Transfers departure hub is located straight ahead. USA Transfers has a large presence at the airport, so they will have several vehicles waiting for passengers. One of my complaints about the USA Transfers experience is the lack of directions provided to find your transportation. The confirmation emails state to exit the customs and immigration hall and find a USA Transfers agent for further direction. During popular travel times, there are so many people and transportation options available that it can be hard to find USA Transfers. I eventually had to ask another company for directions.

After finding the area with the USA Transfers vans, check-in with one of the uniformed agents or drivers in the area. Again this check-in area isn’t very well-identified. However, any of the USA Transfers employees will direct you to the correct individual for check-in. After checking in, one of the drivers will be assigned to your trip, and you will be off without too much of a wait.

In our case, my wife and I got lucky with an upgrade to a luxury transfer vehicle for our departing transfer from the Cancun airport. The trip was very comfortable and quick. Before we knew it, we were at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun and ready to start our vacation.

Returning to Cancun Airport

The van arrived at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun resort right when they said they would arrive on our confirmation email. The driver and driver trainee operating our return trip loaded our luggage for us. The return trip to the Cancun Airport was uneventful which is one of the best things you can say about a car trip. The driver was polite and carried on some conversation with us. However, we were left to have our own conversations most of the time which was nice. The driver knew what terminal to go to at the airport. He provided helpful pointers on where to go to check-in for our airline.

Wrap-Up

The transfer experience with USA Transfers was easy all around. The booking process was intuitive. Their interface was one of the best I saw when searching for transfer options. The excellent experience was continued with the actual transfers to and from the resort. During the entire process, the driver was courteous and most importantly safe. My only complaint during the entire experience was the lack of information about where to find the USA Transfers vehicles when exiting the Cancun International Airport. All in all, I would recommend USA Transfers to anyone looking for Cancun airport transfer services.