ADO Bus from Merida to Cancun Airport

The ADO bus is a popular bus line in the Yucatan Peninsula. It’s the Greyhound of the Yucatan (or actually more like BoltBus or Megabus since it’s classier and cleaner).

There’s also different levels of ADO buses, in increasing luxury order, including:

• ADO
• ADO GL
• ADO Platino

After a few days in Merida, we had a few days in Cancun (yeah SPRING BREAK!! Just kidding not really, we’re too old for that). Not our first choice of beach locations, but everywhere else had ridiculously inflated peak-season rates.

Since we stayed at the Westin Resort and Spa near Cancun airport, we booked the the more direct route of going to Cancun Airport (10 minute vs 30 minute taxi to the hotel)

Here’s how you take the ADO bus from Merida to Cancun Airport.

1. Go to the ADO Bus website and select your route

The ADO bus picks up from Merida Fiesta Americana and Merida Altabrisa. Fiesta Americana is closer to central Merida.

Pick the closest stop in Merida. For us, it was Merida Fiesta Americana to Cancun Aeroporto.

You can use Chrome for easy translation, but I got annoyed at their buggy website and used their iPhone app instead.

Note: ADO bus operates one bus for both Merida stations. This means they pick up at Fiesta Americana first then Altabrisa. That’s why the prices are the same AND Altabrisa is scheduled 20 minutes after Fiesta Americana times.

Another note: There’s the big 50 seater charter bus or a small 15 seater van. You can see which one the route uses by looking at the “Solo 50/15 Asientos” notation under the price of the ticket.

2. Make a reservation

You can make a reservation in advance to hold your seat and no payment is required upfront, only if you are using the iPhone app.

Our bus from Merida to Cancun was a shuttle van, and we luckily grabbed the last two seats.

You won’t be able to pay for the reservation online or through the app since they only accept Mexican credit cards. Just select “Pago en taquilla” to pay at the ticket office.

3. Go to an ADO bus station

Since you’re making a reservation through the app without payment, make sure you go to a ADO bus station in advance to pay for the reservation.

ADO states that you must pay for it at least 2 hours in advance of the scheduled bus. Credit cards are accepted at the bus station as well as pesos.

4. Take the bus

Arrive before your scheduled departure, and show your boarding pass to the driver to get on. There’s a nearby convienience store by the Fiesta Americana ADO bus station for snacks.

The driver stops at Merida Altabrisa to pick up additional passengers and again halfway in this 4 hour journey for a 10 minute break.

5. Other tips

On the return bus to Merida, we were in a regular 50+ seater charter bus. It was more comfortable, had larger seats, more legroom, and power plugs. If that’s important to you, make sure you look at the seating chart to figure out if your route is a shuttle van or a bus.

The shuttle van was quite cramped and a bit bouncy. ????

Also, the Merida to Cancun Airport route is particularly more expensive than the Merida to Cancun city route. For budget travelers, you may want to consider the latter option.

Safe travels!

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