The distance between the cities Cancún and Tijuana in Mexico is 3320 kilometers. This is if in a straight line, and if by car, then the shortest distance — almost 4400 kilometers. The cities are located not just on different coasts, but at different ends of Mexico. Now we will tell you about different ways to get from Cancúna to Tijuana.
By plane
Flight from Kanun to Tijuana — not only the fastest, but also one of the cheapest ways to get to your destination. Cheap— if you buy tickets in advance and not at the last minute. Of course, if your plans include visiting the entire country, you have the right to choose a car. But you will travel for 5 days, and fly — only 5 hours.
Direct flights from Cancúna to Tijuana are operated by all three major Mexican carriers — Aeromexico, Volaris and Viva Aerobus, but Aeromexico may fly irregularly. Anyway, there is one direct flight to Tijuana from Cancúna every day. Time in the air — about 5 o'clock.
If you decide to fly with a transfer, the choice of daily flights will be huge, but the travel time will increase due to the transfer. For the price you won't gain anything. Volaris and Viva Aerobus — low-cost airlines, and their direct flights are cheaper than flights with transfers. Selecting airports for transfer — Guadalajara, Monterrey and a few more, but most connecting flights fly through the capital Mexico City. It doesn’t matter at all which airport you choose for your transfer.
It is best to buy tickets directly on airline websites using a bank card, including a foreign one. It's fast and absolutely safe.
Select the departure airport and arrival airport, departure date and return date (if required). The site will show all flight options available from this airline, both direct and with transfers. If required, please add luggage as the cheapest fares do not include luggage. In most cases, the full ticket price will be indicated in Mexican Pesos ($ = MXN), the currency of your card does not matter. Payment confirmation and an electronic ticket will be sent to you by email within a few minutes.
Please note: when purchasing a ticket on the Viva Aerobus website, the indicated price does not include the airport tax (TUA). You need to add it by checking the corresponding checkbox, otherwise you will have to pay for it at the airport.
More one option for selecting tickets — on aggregator sites. Most often we use three such sites and their local versions:
In fact, there are a lot of such sites, and the choice is only yours. We do not buy tickets on such sites, but only select the most practical and inexpensive options. First, on the aggregator website, select the desired flight based on time and price, and then go to the website of the airline that operates the selected flight and buy it directly from it.
When flying to Tijuana, we strongly recommend that you have return ticket. It should be purchased separately from the ticket there. First buy a ticket to Tijuana, and then — back from Tijuana. It is possible to return a ticket without penalty within 24 hours after purchase, therefore it is better to make a purchase on the airline’s website rather than from agents.
If you are an inexperienced traveler, we do not recommend combining flights from different airlines. In addition, in this case you will have to reload your luggage yourself at the connecting airport. Take all one-way flight segments from one airline. You have the right to buy a return ticket with another airline.
Which flight to buy, direct or with a transfer? Direct flights are more convenient and faster, but are not always available. If you are afraid that when boarding a flight to Tijuana, the migration service will arrange a check in Cancun, then in addition to this, they will also check flights to Tijuana and from other airports. On flight Cancun — Tijuana immigration check may still be in Cancun, and on the Cancun flight — Mexico City — Tijuana is already in Mexico City. From this point of view, flights with transfers do not have any advantages over direct ones.
Automobile
You are unlikely to be able to rent a car in Cancun in order to return it in Tijuana. But if you bought a car, get ready for a long journey. But you will see all of Mexico! From a safety point of view, driving across the country is much more dangerous than flying. Migration checks can be frequent, but usually, after checking the documents (passport + FMM form), there are no complaints against the traveler. Police checks will be even more frequent at state borders, and if you don't know Spanish, you'll have to talk to the police on your fingers. If you have not violated anything, you have nothing to fear, and even more so, do not react to the extortion of the police.
The approximate route is indicated on the map. There are toll road sections on it, and this cannot be avoided. But along the entire route the road quality is good. Use your navigator to see how far away the nearest gas station is: in some areas there are several kilometers between gas stations.
By bus
Bus routes from Cancun to Tijuana are also possible, with one transfer in Puebla or Mexico City. For example, a bus takes 26 hours to Puebla, and from Puebla to Tijuana — another 34 hours. The buses are quite comfortable, equipped with air conditioning, a toilet, and the distance between the seats is not at all tight. Luggage is kept safe and secure in a separate compartment. The bus will make a few stops along the way, where you can buy food.
In general, bus travel in Mexico is quite cheap and quite safe. If buses are robbed, then this is a rare exception. There will be police and immigration checks along the way, so take this calmly. Keep track of your belongings in the salon.
You will have to select a schedule and find out ticket prices on the websites of bus companies. There is no single website to find out the combinations of all buses along the route. You will have to buy two separate tickets, connecting them in time and leaving about three hours for transfers. You are allowed to buy tickets on the websites of bus carriers, but not all websites accept cards from foreign banks. For this reason, it is also possible to buy tickets at the ticket offices of bus terminals, with a card or in cash. The ticket price always includes transportation of 1 suitcase.
Main bus routes from Cancun to Tijuana:
Cancun— Puebla (company terminal ADO), Puebla (company terminal ACN) — Tijuana. Distance between terminals in Puebla — about 700 meters, it is better to take a taxi.
OR
Cancun— Ciudad de México (TAPO terminal of ADOcompany), Ciudad de México (North terminal, company Autobuses Elite or others) — Tijuana. In addition, it is better to travel between terminals in Mexico City by taxi.
Overall, traveling to Tijuana by bus — I’m not a big fan of it, because spending several days on a bus is tiring. But it's inexpensive.