Town Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo Municipality of Puerto Morelos Riviera Maya
Low-key fishing port between Cancún and Playa del Carmen, with a leaning lighthouse, calm beaches and a protected reef a short boat ride out.
From Playa del Carmen: 30 min by car (34 km by road) How to get there ↓
Near here
Plan your visit to Puerto Morelos
Where to stay near Puerto Morelos
Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Puerto Morelos.
Tours to Puerto Morelos
Day trips around Cozumel sometimes stop in Puerto Morelos; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Small-Group Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Snorkeling in Puerto Morelos
★ 4.9 (530) · From US$45
How to get to Puerto Morelos
- From Playa del Carmen: about 30 min by road (~34 km)
- Nearest airport: Cozumel (CZM), 7 min by car to Cozumel
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Popular tours to Puerto Morelos
Tours, prices and ratings from Viator, checked weekly. We may earn a commission if you book.
About Puerto Morelos
Puerto Morelos sits on the Caribbean coast of Quintana Roo, roughly 36 km south of Cancún and 30 km north of Playa del Carmen. The old waterfront village lies about 2 km east of Highway 307, across a strip of mangrove, and is small enough to walk from end to end in a quarter of an hour. Around 19,200 people lived in the town at the 2020 census, a big jump from about 9,200 in 2010, as housing developments grew on the inland side of the highway. Since December 2015 it has been the seat of its own municipality, Quintana Roo's eleventh, which also takes in the inland village of Leona Vicario.
The settlement began in the late 1890s, when a colonisation company cut a track to the coast and workers named the spot Punta Corcho. In the 1920s chicle companies built warehouses here, and for decades the port shipped gum from the inland camps and was the main link between the mainland and Cozumel, including a car ferry. Hurricanes have shaped the place: Beulah in 1967 knocked the old lighthouse off true, and the tilted tower, left standing beside its replacement at the end of Calle Morelos, became the town's emblem. Gilberto (1988) and Wilma (2005) also hit hard.
The main draw is offshore. A stretch of the Mesoamerican Reef runs a few hundred metres from the beach, and it has been a national marine park since 1998. The reef breaks the swell, so the water along the town beach is usually calm and shallow, good for swimming with children. Reaching the reef itself means a guided boat trip from the public pier, with a park wristband and life vest. Back on land, the town square on Calle Morelos fills with an informal market on Saturdays, a small tianguis runs on Wednesday mornings, and the artisan market behind the plaza sells hammocks and textiles. Just outside town are the Yaax Ché botanical garden, the Croco Cun zoo and the road inland known as the Ruta de los Cenotes. A Tren Maya station opened on the edge of town in March 2024.
How to get to Puerto Morelos
Drive from Playa del Carmen: 30 min, 34 km
Puerto Morelos is on Highway 307 between Cancún (about 36 km, 40 minutes by road) and Playa del Carmen (about 30 km). The town centre is about 2 km east of the highway junction. Colectivo vans between Cancún and Playa del Carmen drop passengers at the junction (about M$30 from Cancún, per Wikivoyage); from there a local bus (about M$4) or taxi (M$22–25, agree the fare first) covers the last stretch. Second-class buses will stop on request; first-class buses usually won't. The Tren Maya stops at Puerto Morelos station: about 19 minutes from Cancún Airport and 28 minutes from Playa del Carmen, with a connecting bus into town.
Directions to Puerto Morelos on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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From the nearest cities to Puerto Morelos
- Playa del Carmen · 34 km by road, 30 min
- Cancún · 38 km by road, 40 min
- Valladolid · 170 km by road, 2 h 10 min
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
What to see in Puerto Morelos 3
Sights with their own page, closest to the centre first.
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Croco Cun · Nature reserve · 3 km from the centre
Interactive zoo north of Puerto Morelos that began as a crocodile farm; guided tours meet crocodiles, deer, monkeys and rescued local wildlife. -
Jardín Botánico Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marín · Nature reserve · 3 km from the centre
Puerto Morelos' 65-hectare jungle botanical garden, with labelled trails, a chiclero camp, a small Maya ruin, a lookout tower and spider monkeys. -
Ruta de los Cenotes · Nature reserve · 3 km from the centre
Jungle road from Puerto Morelos toward Leona Vicario lined with some 20 cenotes, from wild sinkholes to adventure parks with zip lines.
Map of Puerto Morelos
Day trips and tours from Puerto Morelos
The closest Pueblos Mágicos and places to visit, with the drive from Puerto Morelos and tours that leave from it.
Times marked ~ are estimated from the distance. Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Before you go: getting to and around Puerto Morelos
- The nearest airport is Cozumel (CZM).
- The best months to go are February, March, April, and May.
- Everything on this page is in or close to the centre: walk, or take a short taxi ride.
- For day trips a rental car gives the most freedom; the tours above leave from Puerto Morelos.
Before you go to Puerto Morelos: hours, prices and tips
- Entry
- Guided reef snorkel trips from the public pier cost about M$600 (US$30) per person, usually including the park wristband; small-group tours listed online run US$38–45 for about 2 hours. Wikivoyage Puerto Morelos (2025); Cancún Trip Insider (2026) · checked Oct 2026
- Best time of day
- November to April brings the clearest water and the least sargassum; morning trips get the calmest sea. Cancún Trip Insider (2026) · checked Oct 2026
- Best season
- Sargassum can wash up on open beaches from May to August. In the week of 19 March (San José) the town holds a traditional verbena fair. Cancún Trip Insider (2026); Wikipedia (es) · checked Oct 2026
- Guide or tour
- Snorkelling on the reef is only allowed with a licensed guide, a park wristband and a life vest; you cannot swim out to the reef on your own. Tours: Viator GetYourGuide Wikivoyage Puerto Morelos (2025) · checked Oct 2026
- Rules
- Inside the marine park: no sunscreen or tanning oil before entering the water, don't touch coral, no spearguns or nets, and stay inside the buoy line. Municipio de Puerto Morelos (2025) · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting Puerto Morelos: what to see and do
The leaning lighthouse, tilted by Hurricane Beulah in 1967, at the end of Calle Morelos
Snorkelling on the Puerto Morelos reef national park by guided boat from the public pier
The calm town beach inside the reef, good for swimming and kayaking
The main square and its Saturday market, plus the Wednesday-morning tianguis
The artisan market for hammocks, textiles and carvings
Day trips to the botanical garden, Croco Cun and the Ruta de los Cenotes
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Puerto Morelos
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Puerto Morelos.
Tours & activities
Day trips around Cozumel sometimes stop in Puerto Morelos; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Rental cars
Pick up a car at CZM (Cozumel): about 7 min by road to Cozumel, then 41 km more to Puerto Morelos, on your own schedule.
Flights
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Cozumel (CZM), about 7 min by road from Cozumel, the base for Puerto Morelos.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Cozumel: download a map of the way to Puerto Morelos before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
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Photos
When to go to Puerto Morelos warm
Puerto Morelos shares the climate of Cozumel, 41 km away. The best months to visit are February, March, April, and May.
See the month-by-month climate of Cozumel
Weather in Puerto Morelos now and the next 7 days
Live forecast from Open-Meteo. Chance of rain is the day's highest.
The closest Pueblo Mágico: Cozumel
Cozumel is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Puerto Morelos, with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Also close to
- Isla Mujeres · Quintana Roo · 45 km away
Near Puerto Morelos
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.