Monthly car rental in Playa del Carmen
This is where we are based. Tell us the address and roughly when — most of the time we can be there the same day.
- Free delivery
- Insurance included
- No credit card required
- Unlimited mileage
Short answer
In Playa del Carmen we deliver the car to your address, anywhere from Centro to Playacar to the developments along Avenida CTM. A Mazda 3 is 10,000 MXN per month, a Nissan X-Trail 15,000 MXN, both with insurance, unlimited mileage and free delivery. Playa del Carmen is our home base, so delivery is usually same-day.
See both cars
Mazda 3
10,000 MXN per month
The sensible one
Nissan X-Trail T32
15,000 MXN per month
Seven seats for family and luggage
Prices in Mexican pesos (MXN). Insurance and unlimited mileage are included.
Do you actually need a car in Playa del Carmen?
Inside the tourist strip, no — Quinta Avenida is walkable and there are taxis everywhere. But Playa is a town people live in for months, not days, and that changes the maths. Chedraui and Costco are a long walk with shopping bags. The good beaches are south, at Xpu-Há and Paamul. Your friends are in Tulum. The airport run costs 1,200–1,800 pesos each way by taxi, and Playa taxis have no meters and a reputation to match. One month of taxis for a couple who go out regularly lands in the same range as a month of our Mazda — except the car is also available at 6am when you decide to drive to Bacalar.
- Playa taxis are unmetered and the tourist price is roughly triple the local one
- Costco, Chedraui Selecto and Home Depot are all on the highway side of town
- The best beaches (Xpu-Há, Paamul, Akumal) are 20–40 minutes south with no useful bus
- Colectivos run to Tulum and Cancún, but not to cenotes and not after dark
- Cancún airport is 55 km away — that is a 45-minute drive or an expensive taxi
Getting around Playa by car
- The one-way grid in Centro is genuinely confusing for the first day. Avenidas run north–south, Calles east–west, and both alternate direction.
- Street parking in Centro is scarce between 6pm and 11pm. Paid lots near Quinta Avenida run about 30–40 pesos an hour.
- Avenida CTM and Avenida 30 are the fast ways across town; Quinta Avenida is pedestrian and closed to cars.
- Highway 307 out of town has topes and frequent lane closures — leave a margin when heading to the airport.
Where you can drive from Playa del Carmen
| From Playa del Carmen | Distance | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Cancún airport (CUN) | 55 km | 0:50 |
| Cancún city centre | 68 km | 1:10 |
| Puerto Aventuras | 22 km | 0:25 |
| Tulum | 63 km | 1:05 |
| Cobá ruins | 108 km | 1:45 |
| Valladolid | 145 km | 2:05 |
| Chichén Itzá | 183 km | 2:30 |
| Chiquilá (ferry to Holbox) | 122 km | 2:05 |
| Bacalar lagoon | 277 km | 4:00 |
| Mérida | 289 km | 3:50 |
Questions and answers
Do I really need a car in Playa del Carmen?
For a week in a hotel on Quinta Avenida, no. For a month or more, almost certainly yes. Supermarkets, Costco and Home Depot are all on the highway side of town, the good beaches are 20–40 minutes south, and Playa taxis are unmetered with a tourist rate roughly triple the local one. For a couple going out regularly, a month of taxis costs about what a month of our Mazda costs — and the car is also there at 6am when you decide to drive to Bacalar.
Do you deliver the car to Cancún airport?
Yes, free of charge, to any terminal at Cancún International (CUN). Send us your flight number and we track it, so a delayed landing is not a problem. We meet you in the arrivals hall with the keys — no shuttle bus to an off-airport lot, no counter queue, and no upsell. We collect the car the same way when you fly out.
Can I rent a car in Mexico without a credit card?
With us, yes. This is one of the most common obstacles in Mexico: international agencies require a credit card in the driver's name and place a hold of 15,000–35,000 pesos on it, and local ones often ask for a Mexican guarantor (aval) instead. We take a straightforward refundable deposit — cash, transfer or card — with no credit check and no guarantor.
Is it safe to drive in the Riviera Maya?
Driving the tourist corridor is straightforward and most long-stay residents do it daily. The genuine hazards are mundane: topes (speed bumps) that are tall, frequent and often unpainted; unlit stretches of Highway 307 at night; and cyclists and scooters without lights. The standard local advice is to avoid long intercity drives after dark — not for crime, but because animals, unlit vehicles and unmarked topes are much harder to see.
What do I do if the police stop me?
Stay calm and polite, stay in the car, and hand over your licence and the car's papers, which live in the glovebox. Routine checkpoints on Highway 307 are common and usually end in thirty seconds. If an officer suggests paying on the spot, you are entitled to ask for a written ticket (infracción) instead — asking for it, politely, resolves most of these situations. Call us and we will talk to them in Spanish if needed.
Can I drive to Chichén Itzá, Bacalar or Mérida?
Yes, all included. From Playa del Carmen it is about 183 km and 2.5 hours to Chichén Itzá, and 289 km and just under 4 hours to Mérida on the toll road — tolls are paid in cash, run several hundred pesos each way, and are your cost. Bacalar is 277 km and a solid 4 hours: Highway 307 south of Tulum is single-lane, runs through villages and is full of topes, so allow more time than the distance suggests and set off early enough not to finish in the dark. Both cars handle these trips comfortably; the only planning needed is fuel, since Pemex stations thin out inland.
How far in advance should I book?
We have two cars, so availability is the real constraint rather than the price. High season here runs December to April, when both cars are usually spoken for weeks ahead. Message us as early as you can — if we are full for your dates we will say so straight away rather than string you along.
All four towns
Playa del Carmen
This is where we are based. Tell us the address and roughly when — most of the time we can be there the same day.
Cancún
Land at CUN, walk out, and the car is there. No shuttle bus, no counter, no 40-minute upsell about insurance you already have.
Tulum
Tulum is the place where the extra 5,000 pesos for the SUV most often pays for itself. Half the good stuff is down a dirt road.
Puerto Aventuras
A gated marina community 20 minutes south of Playa. Lovely to live in, and close to useless without a car.
Ask us anything
Tell us your dates and which car you want. We answer in English, Spanish and Russian.