Playa del Carmen to Cozumel Ferry (2026): Schedule, Prices and Which Boat to Take

⭐ The short answer: The Playa del Carmen to Cozumel ferry leaves from the maritime terminal at the foot of Avenida Juárez and lands at the downtown pier in San Miguel de Cozumel in about 35 to 45 minutes. As of October 2026, adult fares run from $16 one way on Xcaret Xailing and 320 MXN (about $17) on Ultramar, with boats roughly every hour from 8:30 a.m. You do not need to book ahead outside holiday weeks.

The crossing is the way most people reach Cozumel from the mainland. It is a short, frequent, fully enclosed passenger ferry with air-conditioned cabins and an open upper deck, and you buy tickets at company windows in the terminal or online. The choice that matters is which company you ride, because each runs its own timetable and its tickets only work on its own boats.

This guide covers the Cozumel ferry schedule for each operator as of October 2026, what the ferry costs including the fees that are easy to miss, the difference between Ultramar and Xcaret Xailing, where you board in Playa and where you step off in Cozumel, luggage rules, how rough the crossing gets, the car ferry from Calica, and why there is no direct ferry from Cancún. If you are deciding what to do once you land, our best things to do in Cozumel guide covers the whole island.

Each company publishes its own timetable, and departures are not coordinated between them. These are the published departures for October 2026; both operators say schedules are subject to weather and can change without notice.

The first and last ferry

• First boat to Cozumel: 8:30 a.m. on Xcaret and 9:00 a.m. on Ultramar (8:00 a.m. on Winjet, per the independent timetable).
• Last boat to Cozumel: 10:00 p.m. on Xcaret, 9:00 p.m. on Ultramar.
• Last boat back from Cozumel: 8:30 p.m. on Xcaret, 8:00 p.m. on Ultramar and 7:00 p.m. on Winjet.

Two practical points. Timetables shift with the season: an independent guide notes that Ultramar and Winjet alternated departures on odd and even days earlier in 2026, and a November 2025 rider found Winjet had a two-hour gap in the afternoon on a Sunday. And on a day trip, a round-trip ticket locks your return to the same company, which is the main reason locals buy one-way tickets: you can take whichever boat leaves first.

As of October 2026, an adult one-way ticket from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel costs $16 to about $21, depending on the company and class, and a round trip costs $32 to $41. Children pay less, and the youngest ride free.

The fare is not always the whole bill. Three charges cause most of the confusion.

• Cozumel's environmental sanitation charge: Ultramar's fare table lists a "law of environmental sanitation" charge of 24.37 MXN per passenger (about $1.30), marked as required by the municipal authority. It is added to Ultramar tickets, including prebooked ones. Xcaret's prebooked open ticket says all fees and taxes are included; Xcaret's own site does not mention the charge, so expect it may be added at the window.
• Dock tax: we found no separate dock or pier tax (derecho de muelle) on either operator's fare table for the Playa to Cozumel route in 2026. The extra dock fee travellers complain about online is on the Cancún to Isla Mujeres crossing, not this one.
• Visitax: Quintana Roo's state tax for foreign visitors is 285 MXN per person per stay in 2026, according to local reporting on the state budget. It applies to your whole trip to the state, is paid online or at airport kiosks, and is not collected at the ferry.

Pay in pesos where you can. Both terminals take US dollars and cards, but at a worse rate than an ATM, and if a card machine offers to charge you in dollars, choose pesos.

Every passenger ferry to Cozumel leaves from Playa del Carmen's maritime terminal at the beach end of Avenida Juárez and Calle 1 Sur, at the southern end of Fifth Avenue, beside Parque Los Fundadores. Ultramar lists its terminal as Terminal Marítima NAVEGA on Avenida Benito Juárez; Xcaret lists its terminal on Calle 1ra Sur. Each company has its own ticket windows and boarding gate, a short walk apart, so check which company your ticket is for and follow its signs.

• On foot: the pier is at the end of Fifth Avenue, about a block from the ADO bus terminal on Fifth Avenue, so it is walkable from most downtown Playa hotels.
• By car: Ultramar's directions say to follow Highway 307 south toward Tulum to km 72, take the Avenida Benito Juárez exit and park at the end of the avenue, a short walk from the pier. We found no published 2026 parking rate, so budget for paid parking and bring pesos.
• Arrive 30 minutes early. Both companies ask for this, and you need the extra time if you have a prebooked voucher to swap at Ultramar's window or a bag to check.

The Playa pier is long. A February 2026 rider who uses a wheelchair says Xcaret's crew provided wheelchair assistance down the pier and onto the boat, and an Ultramar rider describes crew lifting a wheelchair user aboard. If you need help, ask at the ticket window. Our best things to do in Playa del Carmen guide covers the area around the terminal if you have time to fill before your boat.

Passenger ferries from Playa del Carmen dock at the downtown pier in San Miguel de Cozumel, which Ultramar calls Terminal Marítima San Miguel and locals call the Muelle Fiscal. It sits on Avenida Rafael E. Melgar, the waterfront road, between Calle 2 Norte and Avenida Benito Juárez, facing the main square. You step off in the middle of town, with restaurants, shops, taxis and scooter rentals all within a few minutes' walk.

This is not one of the cruise piers. Cozumel's three cruise terminals are separate facilities further south along the same coast, and our Cozumel cruise port guide explains how they differ. Punta Langosta, the closest, is about a 5 to 7 minute walk from the ferry pier.

Getting around after you land

• Walk: downtown San Miguel, the waterfront and the main square are right at the pier.
• Taxi: taxis queue near the pier and use fixed zone rates rather than meters. Paradise Beach, one of the west-coast beach clubs, says the ride there takes 10 to 15 minutes and costs about $16 per car for up to four people.
• Tour pickup: several Cozumel tours collect passengers at the ferry terminal. The private jeep and buggy tours by Coco Adventours list pickup from the ferry, and the turtle sanctuary snorkel tour by Cozumel Snorkel Center meets under the giant flagpole about two minutes' walk south of the terminal exit along the waterfront.

If you are flying out of Cozumel instead, the airport is a short drive from town, and our Cozumel airport transfers guide compares the shuttles, taxis and private rides.

Usually it is fine, sometimes it is not. The ferry crosses about 45 minutes of open water in the Cozumel Channel, and on a windy day the boats roll noticeably. The modern ferries are large and stabilised (Xcaret's two boats carry about 650 passengers each and use an active stabilisation system), which helps, but they do not make a choppy sea flat.

Recent riders cover both ends. Most describe a smooth, quick trip. A March 2026 Xcaret rider who boarded around 10:30 a.m. describes rough water with several people being sick on the second level and crew handing out bags, and a March 2026 Ultramar rider simply wrote "get ready to be seasick."

How to make it easier

• Sit low and central. Movement is strongest on the upper deck and at the ends of the boat. The lower cabin near the middle moves least.
• Watch the horizon, or get some air. If you feel queasy, the open deck and a fixed point on the horizon help more than a phone screen.
• Take motion-sickness tablets early. If you are prone to it, take them before you board rather than once the boat is moving.
• Pick your season. The winter cold fronts known as nortes, mostly from November to February, bring a day or two of strong wind and choppy seas.

When the ferry does not run

In strong winds or storms, Mexico's port authority (the Capitanía de Puerto) can close the port to small and then larger vessels, and the ferries stop until it reopens. This happens most often during nortes and during the June to November hurricane season. If you are crossing back to catch a flight, cross the day before rather than on the morning of your departure.

Luggage

• Ultramar: one bag per ticket, up to 25 kg, with combined dimensions (length plus width plus height) of no more than 142 cm. No luggage fee is listed. Pets in the designated area and bicycles travel at no extra cost.
• Xcaret Xailing: a luggage storage section is included in the ticket. Arrive earlier than usual if you are checking bags. There is a pet area on board.
• Keep valuables with you. A December 2025 Ultramar rider reports a wallet stolen from a checked roller bag. Pack passports, cash and electronics in a small bag you keep on your lap.

Round trip, one way or open ticket

Ultramar and Xcaret both sell open tickets, valid for six months on any available sailing of the route you bought, so you do not have to pick a return time in advance. The choice is really between a round trip and two one-ways. A round trip is simpler and on Xcaret it is exactly twice the one-way fare; two one-ways let you take whichever company leaves first on the way back. Ultramar's window tickets are non-refundable.

Buying online vs at the dock

Outside Christmas, New Year, Easter week and Mexican summer holidays, you can buy at the window and board the next sailing. Buying ahead makes sense when you are crossing on a holiday, travelling as a family on a fixed schedule, or want a ticket you can cancel. Xcaret's site and app sell open tickets, and one August 2026 rider found the app ticket easy to scan at both terminals.

Buy only at the company windows inside the terminal or on the operators' own sites. Independent guides advise buying only at the official windows, and a November 2025 rider who accepted a "free breakfast" invitation alongside ferry tickets lost the morning to a long sales visit instead of crossing early.

There is no passenger ferry from Cancún to Cozumel. The ferries from Cancún's Hotel Zone and Puerto Juárez go to Isla Mujeres, a different island to the north. To reach Cozumel from Cancún you travel down the coast to Playa del Carmen first, then take the ferry.

• ADO bus: buses run from Cancún's airport and downtown bus station to Playa del Carmen. From the airport, expect roughly 1 hour to 1 hour 50 minutes and around $11 to $16. The Fifth Avenue bus terminal is about a block from the ferry pier.
• Private or shared transfer: about 50 to 60 minutes from Cancún airport to Playa. Ask to be dropped at the ferry terminal rather than a hotel. Our Cancún airport to Playa del Carmen guide compares the options.
• Fly: Cozumel has its own international airport, so if you find a flight that suits you, you skip the bus and the ferry entirely.

Between the ride to Playa, the walk to the pier, the 30 minutes you should allow before departure and the crossing itself, a day trip to Cozumel from Cancún is possible but long. If you want more than a few hours on the island, stay at least one night in Playa del Carmen or Cozumel.

Yes, but not from the Playa del Carmen pier, which is for foot passengers only. Vehicles cross on a slower cargo ferry from Punta Venado, also called Calica, a port a few kilometres south of Playa del Carmen off Highway 307. Ultramar's cargo division (Ultra Carga) runs the route; Transcaribe has run it in the past, but we could not confirm its 2026 service.

• Price: a family car, SUV or pickup up to 5.50 m costs 950 MXN one way without a reservation or 1,450 MXN with one, including the driver. Extra passengers are 120 MXN each, and a motorcycle with rider is 400 MXN.
• Reservations and wait: without a reservation, Ultra Carga says to arrive at least three hours before departure, with space subject to availability. Reservations are offered for compact vehicles only.
• Crossing time: slower than the passenger ferry; independent guides put it at about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.

For a short stay, it is usually cheaper and much easier to cross on the passenger ferry and rent a car, jeep or scooter in San Miguel. Check your rental agreement before shipping a hire car, since many mainland rental companies do not allow it.

Most people taking the ferry from Playa have one day on the island, so these are the tours that fit a ferry day: they collect you at the ferry terminal, meet within walking distance of it, or are a short taxi ride from the downtown pier. The private jeep and buggy tours by Coco Adventours list ferry pickup, the turtle sanctuary snorkel tour meets two minutes from the terminal exit, and the Isla Pasión jet boat leaves from a downtown pier. All nine are rated at least 4.5 out of 5 and have reviews from the past five weeks. Time the start for at least an hour after your boat docks, and finish with enough margin for the last ferry back. For deeper comparisons, see our guides to Cozumel snorkeling, Cozumel scuba diving and the Cozumel beach club day passes.

• Take an early boat. Xcaret's 8:30 a.m. departure from Playa puts you in San Miguel by about 9:15 a.m., with a full day ahead.
• Plan backwards from the last ferry. Aim for the second-to-last boat back (7:30 p.m. on Xcaret, 6:00 p.m. on Ultramar) so a delay does not strand you.
• Buy one-way tickets if your plans are loose. You can then return on whichever company leaves first.
• Carry pesos. Island taxis, snacks on board and some beach club extras are cheaper in pesos.
• Bring a dry change of clothes. Xcaret sends anyone wet or sandy to the outside seats for the trip home.
• Check the weather the night before in norte season (roughly November to February), when crossings are rougher and occasionally suspended.

Ferry schedules and fares change often, and many pages about this crossing repeat figures from years ago. For this guide we took schedules and fares from the operators' own published sources on October 14, 2026: Xcaret's Cozumel ferry page for Xcaret Xailing, Ultramar's online timetable and fare table for the Playa del Carmen to Cozumel route, and Ultra Carga's timetable and tariff for the Calica car ferry. Where we could not reach an operator's own channel (Winjet), we used the most recent dated independent guide we could find and say so. Peso prices are converted at the October 14, 2026 rate of 18.36 MXN to the US dollar.

The two ferry tickets in our comparison were checked for status, price, rating and review recency on the same day; both had reviews within the past month. Rider experiences on this page (rough crossings, wheelchair help, voucher queues, a theft from checked luggage) come from reviews of those two tickets posted between October 2025 and August 2026.

The nine tours were chosen because they fit a ferry day trip: ferry-terminal pickup or a meeting point close to the downtown pier. Every one is active, rated at least 4.5 out of 5 with at least 100 reviews, and has reviews from the past five weeks.