ADO Alternate Terminal Playa del Carmen — Attraction in Playa del Carmen

It's a very confusing place, even for Mexicans. We'd bought our tickets online, so avoided the insane queue at the counter. But the boarding process was a mess. There's no screens, or workers, to tell you which platform your bus will depart from and the announcements are fuzzy, few and far between, and only in Spanish, so it's impossible to know where to wait. Our bus was 30 mins late and we only knew that because we'd asked 5 different people if they knew what was happening, and one other driver told us it was delayed because of an accident on the highway; there was no announcement to let people know. When the bus finally arrived, it didn't say our destination, only the final destination, so again, very confusing, especially as this a route popular with a lot of foreigners. We speak Spanish so were able to work out that it was, indeed, our bus; but I feel bad for any tourists coming here and not having a clue what's going on! Unnecessarily stressful; all bus stations have screens with departure information as standard, its ridiculous that this one doesnt! The station itself is small and busy, there's bathrooms, and the...

I caught the ferry over from Cozumel and needed to get to the Cancun airport for a flight out early the next morning. The ADO facility was off the beaten path and you would not ever stumble across it unless you were looking for it. That said, the address for the terminal was on the ticket I bought online and it was easy to find. There are no frills at the bus terminal. There is a free restroom in the bus waiting area…but it is very small. Gets the job done, but not the first place you would pick. I had just missed my bus by a few minutes and the lady at the counter was very friendly and just told me to get on the next bus and wrote at the top. The bus driver was not nearly as friendly and had some words saying I had the wrong ticket, but he eventually let me on. My ticket did not have an assigned seat and so I sat on an open row, but apparently there are some seats that are assigned because another man, rudely, told me to move. Just be aware some seats are assigned and some aren’t. Overall, it was a very smooth journey and I would do it again in the future. At only 250 pesos it was way cheaper than...

The terminal is quite large, reasonably clean (except for the seating) and they have an intercom system to announce the bus departures in Spanish and English.

The terminal itself is L shaped with a waiting area in the terminal and in the departure area. You can buy tickets on the spot but don’t wait unless you are going to the CUN airport. During busy season if you have a flight to catch, buy tickets online in advance. This bus station caters to airport passengers. Know that.

They offer service to other stops but it’s really quite trashy. I didn’t feel very good in the terminal about security. There was no security presence whatsoever except the staff. That’s concerning in a mass public transit station.

They sell disgusting hot dogs which will stink up the bus you take them on. Please be considerate and don’t do that no matter how hungry you are! Would be nice if they sold chilaquiles for breakfasts but no, your only choice is gross hot dogs that stink....