I've downloaded a very helpful thread from October 2014 on the ADO buses between Cancun and Merida, but I've been unable to find a current schedule online. Our flight is supposed to arrive at 12:50 pm on January 22nd. We'd like to take a Platino but the only schedule I've been able to find (on Yucatan Today) indicates that there are only two Platino trips, one at 2 pm and the next not until 7 pm. I think it's unrealistic to think we could make it through customs and into the Cancun ADO terminal in time to make the 2 o'clock trip and it's too long to wait (and then too late to arrive in Merida) to take the 7 pm. However, I don't know if the schedule I have is up to date. So here are my questions: Does anyone have a link to a current schedule showing Platino and GL buses (English preferred but I can probably fake it with Spanish)? Next question: if we buy a ticket at the airport ADO kiosk, are we guaranteed a seat on the Merida bus from the central station? If there's a chance we could make the Platino and buy Platino tickets, and then get to the central station too late, could we use the Platino tickets on the GL bus, and/or is there a way to trade them in for GL tickets? Do the ticket vendors speak English? I only have very basic Spanish skills, especially spoken, so to really understand what someone is telling me to do, I need Ingles.
OTOH, as Juliest said in the October '14 thread, "cost is not the main concern", so maybe we'd just be better off to take the regular ADO bus straight from the airport. Does anyone have a link to that schedule?
Fodors has guided me through many trips and I thank you all in advance.
Neph

http://www.travelyucatan.com/cancun_...s_schedule.php

First you need to realize that you are in Mexico and although the ADO buses are very reliable everything around it is more layed back...
At the airport you need to purchase your ticket at the outside kiosk where most of the reps speak basic english. Make sure you take the bus for Cancun and not Playa. You need to go to a main terminal to get a ticket to Merida, wether it is Platinum or GL ,not possible from the airport kiosk.
The buses at the airport leave every hour and sometimes every half hour in peak times, this said. Once at the bus station you need to look up the schedule on the wall and go with that.
If your flight comes in around noon and everything goes well with the the luggage and all you have a good chance of making it to Merida later that day and with the new toll highway , travel time to Merida has been significantly reduced by about one hour. Make sure you have a hotel room waiting for you in Merida, where you need to take a taxi from the bus station to go the the main square area where most people want to go !

Here's a link to ADO. I put in your info so it may still be there for you.
http://www.ado.com.mx/wadod/ConsultaCorrida.tb

Not sure if your tickets from the auropuerto are good from Central Cancun.
Going through customs in Cancun is usually quite speedy unless there's a problem.
Also unless you dead set on riding Platino only you'll have lots more direct buses to take. All the buses are quite nice and very comfortable.
Good luck!

Have you looked into flying? I took a connecting flight which although it was delayed by thunderstorms, still got us to Merida in good time. Fairly inexpensive, too, as I recall.

Thanks to all for helpful replies (I was unable to check back until this morning.)
Rohelio, I had done what I thought was a lot of research and did not realize that we couldn't purchase tickets for the Cancun to Merida bus until we got to the central station, so that info will save us a lot of aggravation.
I'm not dead-set on Platino, but we will have gotten up to start our trip to Mexico at about 2 a.m. (we live an hour and a quarter from the airport and have a 5 a.m. flight), so we'll be pretty tired by then; we also want to have a bathroom on the bus.
One of the blogs I found advised hiring a porter at the airport to get travelers to correct bus and past the timeshare touts. Any comments here on that advice?
I am startled by the statement that we have "a good chance" of making it to Merida the same day. It never occurred to me that we couldn't. We do have reservations at an inn and I've let them know what time our flight arrives, so they should be aware it could be pretty late when we arrive.
I haven't checked out the links you all have provided to bus schedules yet. Will do that and check back in, but thanks again for your help. It's much appreciated.
Neph

Cybor (and others):
I just checked out the bus schedule on your link. Does the type of trip marked "local" mean there are lots of stops? It looks like the "paso" is only 10-15 minutes shorter...
It's reassuring to know that there are so many departures, and that we should be able to get a bus not very long after we arrive at the central station.
If we were to take a taxi from the airport to the central station, approximately what would be a fair price to pay for the ride?

Sambachula - perfect! I printed schedule and added to my trip notes. Muchas gracias.
Neph

You do not want to take an airport taxi, they are very expensive FROM the airport. Either take an ADO bus from the airport to the downtown Cancun ADO station, or take a private transfer like USA Transfer, Canada Transfer, etc. I tried to look up schedules for you on ticketbus.com.mx but their website is a bit temperamental and is down at the moment.

Neph,
Yes, local does mean that the bus will be making stops. That said, local can also mean that the extra stops are at the different terminals at the airport or that the bus will bring you to a few different stations in Merida.
Check out the amount of time that the bus takes to get to your final destination. Many can take more than an hour longer.
I noticed that you have a choice between a 1:30p or a 4:15p. Rather than messing around and spending money to get to downtown Cancun I would shoot for the 1:30. Weirder things have happened. Your plane may arrive early and/or the line at customs might be ok. You could also hang around and have lunch at the airport and take the 4:15 if you get snagged.
Not sure how weak your bladders are but most of the buses do have bathrooms or if you're like me I never have to go because flying dehydrates me.
Do you know what you final address is and which terminal you need to get off at?

IMPORTANT : note that the ADO bus lines MAKE VERY FEW STOPS ! This includes the popular first class red buses (similar to Greyhound) seen all over Yucatan peninsula. They are most often on time and try to stick to their schedules. This said, the second class buses like ORIENT and MAYAB do make frequent stops and are no way near as comfortable and efficient and have no toilets ... obviously not for you. These buses are local and are mostly used by Mexicans, they also use the same bus station as the red first class, the GL and the Platinum.
I have never seen second class buses at the airport arrival section, only the first class buses are permitted to access the airport arrival section at their designated area in the parking lot, one bus goes to Cancun and the other goes to Playa del Carmen, there is no other option. As you exit the airport, stick to your right and walk in a straight line until you see the ADO kiosk which is manned by a single person. Of course, if this seems impractical, you always have the option of taking a taxi which is the quickest means at your disposal.

Cybor, the schedule I was looking at listed almost every bus as "local" and they all took about the same amount of time (a little over 4 hours) to Merida. Yes, I do know the street address of the hotel and the owner advised me to get off at Fiesta Americana and take a taxi to the hotel, which he said would take about 10 minutes. He's very close to Sta. Lucia Parque.
Jamie99, thanks for trying to look up the private transfer schedule. It's an option I hadn't been aware of. Would we have to book ahead of time? and what constitutes VERY expensive?? Is that just compared to the very cheap bus fare to the central terminal, or New York City very expensive?
Based on my readings, it seems that any ADO bus would be ok for us. My S.O. is a middle-age man and those of you who are also (or live with) a middle-age man, know what that means. There has to be a restroom on the bus or I'll be with a very unhappy person.
I think I'll follow Rohelio's directions to ADO kiosk and just trust to luck that we'll be able to either get a direct bus from the airport to Merida or else, a bus to the central terminal and get on the next ADO bus to Merida from there.
Thank you to all who have offered info and advice.
Neph

All the buses I showed you in the link are direct with the exception of making a few very close stops at the other airport terminals and the drop off points in Merida. Some are 3.5 hrs and some are 4.
They all should have bathrooms. Ask at the Kiosk is your worried.

You mentioned time share touts at the airport. I've seen reports of people being hassled by them. However, I've landed at two different terminals and have never even been aware of them. (We are usually intent on looking for the guys from the car rental waiting outside to take us to the office to get the car though.) Leads me to think about just who is complaining.

Samba,
I've also never been bothered by the touts. They're there but most are pretty benign.

Samba and Cybor
The last time I was in Mexico, we also flew into Cancun and noticed, but were not bothered by, the timeshare guys. In a lot of the research I've done for this trip, however, people mention them. I have no problem just ignoring them and we actually thought the salesmen on Avenida Quinta in PDC were humorous when they tried to hustle us, offering goods "practically free!" So I'm not concerned at all about them. Only concern is getting to Merida as hassle-free as possible.
thanks again.
Neph

You mentioned wanting to get off at Fiesta Americana. Please keep in mind that you cannot get off the bus until you reach the station. There are 2 stations in Merida, one in center town (most popular) and the other at the north end of town, which is near the Fiesta. The Santa Lucia parque area is without a doubt one of the best areas in town. I hope you get to spend a week end in town as this is when they close off the streets near the main park so that the restaurants move their tables and chairs directly in the streets. We will be there again this year for several days as we just love this city...you cam also rent bikes on Sunday mornings as they clise off the main boulevard called Posada de Montejo. Check out the internet site called Yucatan Living, it´s all about Merida

Rohelio,
The Merida bus has more than 2 stops once in Merida;
Merida CAME, Yuc.
Merida Fiesta Americana, Yuc.
Merida Aeropuerto Merida, Yuc.
Merida Terminal Unica, Yuc.
Merida Altabrisa, Yuc.
The OP will be taking the bus to Fiesta Americana.The stop is a 2 minute walk from F Americana and less than a 5 minute taxi ride to St Lucia.

Also the Bicaruta on Sundays also goes past the Plaza Grande all the way to La Emirita Parque.

Rohelio and Cybor: yes, we're spending a full week in Merida and looking forward to street life of the city.
I never thought about renting bikes - we ride on the railtrails here in NH and so this would be a great activity for us while we're there. What is the "Bicaruta"? Is that an organized bicycling event, or just that the streets are cleared of motorized vehicles and bikes are encouraged??
Or maybe it has nothing to do at all with bikes?? It does remind me, however, of my first trip to Spain when I hadn't quite registered the Andalucian lack of the letter "s" and substitution of a "th" sound. I was trying to chat with some young boys on bicycles, rearing back onto their back tires, who didn't speak English and they kept saying "caballeros beethees" and finally someone told me they meant they were bicycle cowboys.
I have looked at Yucatan Living several times but you've reminded me to check it again, now that we're leaving in 9 days (!!!)
Thanks to you both for all advice and info.
Neph

You are right on all counts cyborg... thanks for adding to the post.