Mexico: Realistic Costs of a 3-Week Trip to Yucatan Peninsula

Planning a 3-week trip to Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula? You’re probably wondering how much it will actually cost. I’ve done the research, traveled the region firsthand, and crunched the numbers to give you a realistic budget—without the sugarcoating.

Whether you're a backpacker, mid-range traveler, or looking for a more luxurious Mexico vacation, I’ll break down the expenses so you know exactly what to expect.

From the turquoise waters of Tulum and Playa del Carmen to the ancient ruins of Chichén Itzá and Uxmal, the Yucatán Peninsula offers stunning landscapes, vibrant culture, and mouthwatering Mexican food. But how much should you budget for hotels, transportation, food, and activities? The truth is, costs can vary significantly depending on travel style, season, and how savvy you are with deals.

On average, a budget traveler can get by on as little as $40–$60 per day, while a mid-range traveler may spend around $100–$150 daily. If you’re looking for luxury resorts in Cancun or private cenote tours, your budget can easily exceed $250 per day. But don’t worry—I’ll share insider tips on saving money in Mexico, the best value-for-money accommodations, and hidden gems that won’t break the bank.

Let’s dive into the real costs of a 3-week Yucatán adventure—so you can plan smarter, travel better, and get the most out of your trip.

How much does a 3-week trip to the Yucatan Peninsula cost? Expenses Breakdown

In recent months, prices in tourist places in Mexico have skyrocketed and this affects the estimation of the budget. They also vary depending on the time of year, the advance of reservations and multiple factors that we obviously do not control. So you will find prices that we paid and others updated, more in line with the current season.

1. Flights

It is not difficult to find good flight deals to Cancun from Spain. We flew with Iberia, stopping in Mexico City (on the way there) and Miami (on the way back), and paid around  €450 per person for a round trip for the month of October/November. Another good company with interesting prices is Aeromexico, which operates both stopover flights and direct flights from Madrid. The low-cost airlines Wamos and Evelop also have direct flights.   

The second time we travelled we did it with my parents, from Italy. In this case the flight was with Turkish and it cost us about €750.

The good thing is that if you are flexible, it is not unusual to find good deals to Cancun. Allow around €650.  

2. Car rental

We always recommend doing a search on car rental comparison websites . The price of renting an economy or medium-size car for 18 days (a larger car is not necessary) came to around €250. So per person it was only €125   . In addition, there would be optional insurance, which can cost around €5 per day.

Right now it is almost impossible to find these prices, as the Pandemic has caused car rental prices to go up a lot. Right now (summer 2023) renting a car for 18 days (with a 6 month period) costs around €500, double that! So this section goes up to €250. 

⭐ Here we tell you how to rent a car and drive safely in Mexico .

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3. Gasoline

Gasoline in Mexico is not as cheap as in its northern neighbors, but it is not as expensive as in Europe either. When we were there (November 2018), it was on average around 19.50 pesos per liter  (about €0.90/liter). In Mexico, it is not necessary to rent a large car with a big engine.

In total we drove 2,614 km, for which we needed 185 litres of petrol and paid a total of 3,600 pesos (about €165) . The average consumption of our car was therefore approximately  7 litres per 100 km.

Per person, therefore, we estimate an expense of around  €80   .

4. Accommodation

In general, staying in the Riviera Maya area is more expensive than in other parts of Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula. But generally the accommodation is of very good quality and at good prices. We used both Airbnb and hotels booked through booking.com , and on average we paid about €30 per night for a double room. We indulged ourselves in some places, such as Tulum , Cancun or Bacalar , which made the budget increase somewhat, but you can find good places at that price.

If we consider 21 nights at €30 per night, the total accommodation cost for two would be €630, or  €315   per person .

Accommodation has also gone up quite a bit, so we think that calculating an average of €50 per night (spending some days more and some less) is more accurate. In total, the accommodation budget per person is  €525.

5. Food

This is the most personal part and where you can save or increase your budget. The good news is that in Mexico you can eat very cheaply and very well. Although it is clear that, as in the previous point, it depends a lot on what you are looking for: you can treat yourself from time to time, or always go for street food or cheap restaurants.

→ These are the dishes you should try in Mexico

In general, the most touristic areas of the Riviera Maya (Cancun, Playa del Carmen or Tulum), as well as the islands of Holbox and Isla Mujeres , are much more expensive than the rest of the country. For example, we paid an average of 10-15€ per person per meal in these destinations, when normally you can eat for less than 10€. In fact, if you go to markets or walk around other less touristy areas, it is not unusual to eat for 5€ or less , but we prefer to increase the budget a little so there are no surprises.

If we manage to eat one "expensive" meal a day, and the rest of the time we go to cheaper restaurants, taking advantage of breakfast at hotels, etc., we will get an average budget per person of about €20 . Extended to 21 days of travel, it would be a total of  €420   . Obviously, calculate more if you plan to eat twice a day in tourist restaurants :-p

We remind you that in Mexico it is a general rule to tip something like 10-15% in all restaurants.

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6. Miscellaneous expenses

In this section we include tickets to archaeological sites and other attractions, ferries to the islands, some souvenirs, etc. In total we calculate about  €150 per person .   

7. Travel insurance

We always recommend taking out good travel insurance when making a trip abroad of this nature. Ours is Iati , and we recommend it 100%.

The Iati Estrella insurance for 3 weeks would cost just over €100. Although we believe that the Iati Standard , which costs around  €65  and covers up to €300,000 in medical expenses, could be enough. If you are thinking of doing sports and adventure activities, the one that interests you is the Iati Mochilero insurance .

Mexico travel budget summary

In this table you will see the total expenditure per section (updated with 2023 prices):

In the end, for a little more than €2,000 you can take a super 3-week trip to Mexico, on the Yucatan Peninsula .

For us, one of the most complete destinations there is today. Beaches, islands, nature, Mayan ruins, culture, gastronomy, lovely people… And that’s keeping your budget under control but treating yourself from time to time, as we said before, you can do something cheaper… or much more expensive.