Persistent taxi fraud at Cancun airport is raising concerns among tourists

Official taxi drivers at Cancun International Airport (CUN) have once again made headlines for allegedly trying to overcharge tourists. Until when!?

This time, a Venezuelan family was spotted along the highway and caught the attention of passing motorists. It was later reported that taxi drivers demanded such exorbitant prices that they decided to endanger themselves and go into town on foot.

According to local media all taxi drivers available upon arrival tried to charge them $80 when the official rate is about $32.

In April, a Cancun taxi driver was arrested for extortion after charging an international tourist $1,050 to transport it from terminal 4 to 3as confirmed by the Public Prosecution Service.

Although the case went viral on TikTok, with more than 6 million viewers and hundreds of airport users reporting the same crime, the driver was quickly released without charge as authorities forced him to return the money, making it technically “not a crime.” Are you serious, Cancun authorities?

In this particular incident, two airport employees tricked the tourist into believing that he could not stay in Terminal 3 (false) and insisted that he had to take a taxi to the other facility and pay by credit card, thus setting off a shady scheme between officials and drivers came to light. to scam visitors.

Just last week we reported on a series of protests involving Cancun taxi drivers who blocked both entrances to Terminal 2 in an attempt to chase away rideshare platforms like Uber, Cabify and DiDi, which are known to charge fair prices.

“Uber is causing conflict in all countries, so I will be clear: Uber will no longer enter the airport. We want authorities to block the app; otherwise this [demonstrations] is going to continue. People [taxi drivers] are really angrya taxi driver threatened at the time.

Now we can see why they were so keen to get rid of the authority.

According to PorEstois it true that taxi fares have risen steadily in recent years, but taxi drivers have taken it upon themselves to impose illegal increases. While the official minimum price goes from 34 to 37 pesos ($1.72 to 1.87), many drivers prefer to charge $2.53.

Multiply that by a long drive to Playa del Carmen or Tulum and you could end up paying as much as you would for an overnight stay in a nice accommodation in Cancun.

Keep this information on hand to avoid paying too much

So often we arrive at international airports without knowing the exact taxi fares. Here you will find the official rates according to CancunTaxi.com.

Taxis

Of course, taxi rates vary depending on the destination. Here are some official rates:

• Cancun Hotel Zone:
  • One way: MXN$550 (~$32 USD)
  • Return: MXN$1050 (~$61 USD)
• Playa del Carmen:
  • One way: MXN$1050 (~$61 USD)
  • Return: MXN$2000 (~$116 USD)
• Tulum:
  • One way: MXN$2100 (~$122 USD)
  • Return: MXN$4000 (~$233 USD)

Buses

ADO buses offer services from the airport to multiple destinations in the region:

• Cancun center: $130 MXN (~$7.50 USD) per person
• Playa del Carmen: MXN$250 (~$14.50 USD) per person

Last but not least, if you ever need to travel between terminals, remember that there is a free shuttle service that you can use 24/7.