Flights to Mexico: Cancun, Mexico City, and the Beach Towns

Cheapest destinations

Cancun has the most competition of any international destination from the US, with United, American, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit, Frontier, and Aeromexico all flying there, and fares to match. Mexico City and Guadalajara are next. Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, and Cozumel cost more, especially in winter.

When to go

Late April through early June and September through mid-November are the low-fare windows. Christmas through Easter is peak for the beaches; hurricane season peaks in September and October on the Caribbean coast.

Gateways

Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Miami, and Phoenix have the most nonstops. From smaller cities, a connection in Houston or Dallas is usually the cheapest routing.

Which airport for which trip

Cancun (CUN) covers the whole Riviera Maya — Playa del Carmen and Tulum are a drive south, and it is the default for a beach week. Los Cabos (SJD) serves Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo on the Baja peninsula. Puerto Vallarta (PVR) is the Pacific-coast beach gateway. Mexico City (MEX) and Guadalajara (GDL) are the big inland cities, better for culture, business, and connections onward into central Mexico. If your trip is to Tulum specifically, price both Cancun and the newer Tulum airport (TQO), which has thinner but growing service.

• Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Tulum — CUN (or TQO for Tulum)
• Cabo San Lucas, Baja — SJD
• Pacific beaches — PVR
• City breaks, culture, business — MEX or GDL

The all-inclusive can hide the flight math

Many Mexico beach trips are booked as flight-plus-resort packages, which makes it hard to see what the flight alone costs. It is worth pricing the flight separately even if you book the hotel as a package: a nonstop on your dates may be cheaper than the package's assigned flight, and booking the air directly gives you the airline's own change and cancellation rules rather than the tour operator's, which are usually stricter. Watch the fare class too — a basic economy ticket to Cancun with no checked bag is a poor fit for a week at the beach.

Documents

A passport is required for air travel. Call (708) 866-8751 and the agent will compare every carrier, including bag-inclusive fares, for your dates.