Cancún, Tulum, Isla Mujeres and the cenotes · November to April; hurricane season runs June to November

Packing list for Cancún and the Riviera Maya

Cancún, Tulum, Isla Mujeres and the cenotes between November and April: a rash vest instead of sunscreen in the water, water shoes for the cenote steps, a dry bag for the ferry, repellent for the ruins at dusk, and pesos in small notes for the colectivo.

Open in Waystop

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Checked October 10, 2026.

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What the weather is like

November to April: highs of 82 to 90°F (28 to 32°C), lows around 66 to 72°F (19 to 22°C), and the sea at about 79°F (26°C). July and August reach 93°F (34°C) with the sea at 84°F (29°C). September and October are the wettest months with over 220 mm of rain each, and the hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30.

Leave at home

Ordinary sunscreenCenotes ban it all and the parks swap non-biodegradable bottles at the gate; bring one biodegradable bottle for the beach and a rash vest for the water
A hairdryer and anything else that wants 230 VMexico runs 127 V on the same two flat pins as the US; a type A/B adapter is all a phone needs
Heavy jeans and the second pair of sneakersNothing dries in the humidity, and Tulum and the Hotel Zone dress in linen.

Buy when you land

Biodegradable sunscreen if yours fails the ingredient checkPharmacies and the park entrances sell it; a bottle from home with zinc or titanium oxide and no oxybenzone passes
Big jugs of water and fruit from a supermarketChedraui and Walmart in Playa del Carmen; minibar bottles cost several times as much

Worth knowing

Cenotes ban sunscreen, lotion and repellent of every kind and make you shower first; wear a rash vest and put repellent on after the swim. Xcaret, Xel-Há and most tour boats accept biodegradable sunscreen only and swap anything else at the gate.
Sargassum season runs roughly April to October with the worst of it in June, July and August; November to March the sand is usually clear. The north beach on Isla Mujeres and the cenotes do not get it, so save those for a seaweed day.
Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 and peaks from mid-August to mid-October. Book with free cancellation in those months and keep the airline's app installed. When a storm day comes, ask Waystop's Chat for a rain plan: a second version of the day with indoor stops.

Trips to pack this for

In the app

Never leave the charger in the hotel again.

Waystop keeps a list for each bag and each person. On the morning you change hotels it walks you through a quick pack-up check, and Chat can suggest items to add when you ask what to bring.

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Packing list for Cancún and the Riviera Maya

In the water
- A long-sleeved rash vest (Cenotes ban every sunscreen, including the reef-safe kind, and staff send you through a shower before you get in; the vest is your sun cover in the water, on the boat and on the snorkel trip)
- Biodegradable sunscreen for the beach, with zinc or titanium oxide (Xcaret and Xel-Há only allow sunscreen labeled 100 percent biodegradable; a bottle with oxybenzone or octinoxate is swapped at the gate for a sample and handed back when you leave)
- Water shoes (Cenote entrances are wet limestone steps and ladders, and the sand at the Tulum ruins end of the beach has rock under it)
- A quick-dry towel (Cenotes have no towel service and hotels charge for a pool towel that leaves the property; it dries on the colectivo ride to the next one)

Sun and bugs
- A wide hat with a cord (Chichén Itzá has no shade on the main plaza and the wind across the flat takes a loose hat. You stand in sun above 86°F (30°C) from 10 a.m. until the tour buses leave.)
- Mosquito repellent with DEET or picaridin (The Tulum ruins, Cobá and the jungle cenotes bite from dusk and dengue circulates in the region; put it on after the swim, never before, because the cenotes ban it in the water)
- A light long-sleeved shirt and pants for the ruins late in the day (Cover beats repellent when the mosquitoes come out around five, and the shirt doubles for the air-conditioned bus)
- Electrolyte sachets (The heat at the ruins and a few afternoons of beer add up. Pharmacies sell them, but you will want one on day one.)
- Sunglasses with a strap (Spray on the ferry to Isla Mujeres, and glare off white sand and white limestone all day)

Bags and boats
- A dry bag, 5 to 10 liters (The open deck of the Isla Mujeres ferry and the boat to the reef soak everything; passport, phone and pesos stay dry and the bag floats if it goes over)
- A daypack with a zip, not a beach tote (Colectivos pack tight and the bag sits on your lap; cenotes have lockers but charge for them)
- Pesos in small notes and coins (Colectivos along Highway 307 cost around 50 to 60 pesos between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, paid in cash to the driver, and a 500 note gets a sigh; cenote tickets and taco stands are cash too)
- A reusable bottle to fill from the big jug (Tap water is not for drinking; hotels and cenotes sell small bottles at a premium, and a 5 liter jug from the supermarket fills the bottle all week)

Documents and money
- Passport, with the entry stamp checked (Cancún airport now stamps the passport rather than issuing a paper form; check the number of days written in it before you leave the hall)
- A card with no foreign fees plus a backup (Hotel Zone and Tulum restaurants take cards; cenotes, colectivos and the golf carts on Isla Mujeres mostly do not. Airport ATMs charge heavily, so draw cash from a bank branch in town)
- Travel insurance details offline (Cenote diving and scooter rent are the two things policies tend to exclude; read yours before you book either)
- The hotel address and ferry times, saved offline (Signal on the water and inside the ruins is patchy, and the last ferry back from Isla Mujeres leaves in the evening. Waystop's Documents keeps them available offline.)

From https://waystop.app/packing/cancun-and-riviera-maya

Packing list for Cancún and the Riviera Maya

What the weather is like

Worth knowing

Trips to pack this for

4 days in Cancún and the Riviera Maya

Never leave the charger in the hotel again.