Playa del Carmen to Cozumel ferry: how it works and what to book

The usual way to reach Cozumel is the passenger ferry from Playa del Carmen on the mainland to San Miguel, the island's only town. The two main operators on the route are Ultramar and Winjet, and both run fast catamarans from the Playa del Carmen waterfront. The crossing takes roughly 30 to 45 minutes depending on the boat and the sea. The Isla Cozumel travel guide covers what the island offers once you are there, and our Mexico page puts the Caribbean coast in context.

Winjet's schedule page for 1 October 2026 showed boats leaving Playa del Carmen from 8:00 to 22:00 and leaving Cozumel from 7:00 to 21:00, about one an hour in each direction, with the note that times can change without notice. Ultramar's departure tables sit on its own site, and its terms ask you to be at the terminal 30 minutes before departure. Treat those times as a snapshot, not a promise, and read the operator's page on the day you travel.

You can usually buy a ticket shortly before you board, but busy mornings, weekends and cruise days can fill the popular sailings. If you are on a tight schedule, buy ahead and arrive early. The boats can be cool inside, so bring a light layer, and keep sea-sickness tablets handy if you are sensitive, since the crossing can be choppy in strong winds.

From Cancún airport, the simplest plan is a coach or transfer to Playa del Carmen and then a walk or short taxi to the pier. Our guide to getting from Cancún airport to Playa del Carmen compares the options and the arrival-day traps, so this page only covers the last stretch. ADO describes its Playa del Carmen terminal as a short walk from Fifth Avenue and the ferry dock, which is why many visitors spend the first night in Centro and take the first boat the next morning.

If you are already in Tulum or Akumal, buses and shared vans run along Highway 307 to Playa del Carmen. Allow extra time in the high season, when traffic and queues build, and aim to reach the pier at least 30 minutes before the boat you want. On a busy morning, leave an hour.

If you arrive late, check the last boat before you decide whether to sleep in Playa del Carmen first. The Playa del Carmen guide shows how to use the town as a stopover, and the Riviera Maya travel guide lists the main stops along the coast.

On the day of checking, 1 October 2026, Ultramar's fare page listed a Premium Plus adult ticket at 320 pesos one way and 640 pesos round trip, and a First Class ticket at 380 pesos one way. Winjet's page showed adult one-way fares of 310 and 335 pesos depending on the departure port and 645 pesos round trip, with a small sanitation fee listed for Playa departures. Cheaper resident plans exist, but they need Quintana Roo identification, so a visitor should expect the tourist fare.

Read the Ultramar fares page and the Winjet site before you buy, since both say prices and departures can change without notice. Buy from the operator's own website or ticket window, and do not buy from touts on the street who claim special rates. Check whether your ticket is one way or return and which operator it is for, because a ticket from one company does not work on another's boats.

Two other costs catch visitors. Cozumel is in Quintana Roo, so foreign tourists owe the state's Visitax; the official portal does not print the amount on its information pages, so read it at payment. And if you snorkel or dive on the reef, the national park charges a daily fee, which the park's official page lists at 225 pesos per person per day, with exemptions for children under 12 and discounts for some residents and students. Ask your operator whether the fee is included in the price or paid on top.

Weather matters on this route. Strong winds, winter fronts and storms can slow or cancel sailings, and the port can close during tropical storms and hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, and the US National Hurricane Center puts the busiest stretch between mid-August and mid-October, so keep plans flexible in those months. Winter fronts can make the crossing choppy even outside the storm season.

Plan dinner on the island around the last boat. On the Winjet schedule seen on 1 October 2026, the last departure from Cozumel was at 21:00, and the last from Playa del Carmen at 22:00. A missed last boat means a night in San Miguel, so know your options before you go, and keep a buffer of at least an hour for queues and a full boat.

If you have a flight home the next day, stay on the mainland the night before, or leave a spare day. Travel insurance that covers weather delays and trip cancellation is useful here; see our travel insurance guide for what to check, and keep your documents handy.

The passenger ferries do not carry cars. Vehicles cross on a separate roll-on, roll-off ferry between Cozumel and the Calica or Punta Venado terminal on the Cancún to Tulum highway, at kilometer 72, not at the Playa del Carmen pier. Two companies run it, Transcaribe and UltraCarga. UltraCarga says reservations must be made at least 24 hours ahead, and Transcaribe asks vehicles to arrive 60 minutes before departure and lists a family car from about 800 pesos one way. Many rental agreements forbid taking cars across, so check your contract before you plan around it.

Most visitors rent a car, scooter or bike in Cozumel, or use taxis. San Miguel is walkable, and taxis have set fares, so ask the price before you ride. For the island loop, a rental car is the safest and easiest choice. Scooters are popular but carry more risk, so check the bike, wear a helmet and avoid wet roads. For ideas on what to do once you arrive, see things to do in Cozumel.

If you are doing Cozumel as a day trip, plan the day backwards from the last boat you are willing to risk. Take an early ferry, reach San Miguel by mid-morning and head straight to a reef trip or a beach club with reef access. Have lunch away from the pier, where prices are usually lower and tables are easier to find, and leave the waterfront for the late afternoon.

Aim to be back at the pier at least 45 minutes before the departure you want, and earlier on weekends and after cruise days, when boats fill and a delayed sailing pushes everyone onto the next one. A relaxed day gives you about five or six hours on the island, enough for one reef trip, lunch and a short walk in town. For more than that, stay a night; the things to do in Cozumel guide shows how a second day fits.

When a day trip is a bad idea: skip it if the forecast shows strong wind, if you want to dive twice, or if you must be at the Cancún airport the same evening. In those cases, sleep on the island or go another day.

The catamarans have indoor seating, air conditioning and an open deck. Windows can be hazy with salt, and the best views are from the deck, where you can watch the coast and the island appear. Seats are usually first come, first served.

On windy days the ride is bouncy, and sea-sick tablets taken before departure help more than ones taken at sea. Sit near the middle of the boat, look at the horizon and avoid reading. Keep valuables in a small bag, and carry a light layer or a rain jacket, because the air on the water is cooler than the town.

The most common mistake is treating the ferry as a flexible bus. It is a timetabled boat, and the last sailing back is the one that matters, so write down the time before you leave the dock in San Miguel. The second is buying a ticket at a price far below the posted fare from someone outside the terminal; the operators sell at their own windows and websites, and a ticket for one company is useless on the other's boat.

The third is booking a rental car on the mainland and expecting to drive it onto the island. It will not go on the passenger boat, and the vehicle terminal is a separate drive south of town. Rent on Cozumel instead. The fourth is packing the day too tightly: a ferry, a reef trip, lunch and a second beach stop leaves no slack if the sea turns rough, so choose one main activity and treat the rest as a bonus.

Finally, do not forget the small fees. A reef park charge, a beach club minimum spend and the Visitax can each be paid separately, and none of them appears in the ferry fare.

A few airlines serve Cozumel's airport, which sits close to town. Routes change by season, so check current schedules and compare the total time with the ferry. For many travelers, flying into Cancún and taking the ferry is still the simplest and most flexible option.

Some day tours reach Cozumel by boat from Playa del Carmen or other coastal towns, and some include a reef stop. If you want to choose between islands before you decide, the Cozumel or Isla Mujeres comparison shows which suits your trip.