a beach with buildings and a body of water

You don’t need a covid-19 test or proof of vaccination to fly to Mexico, but if you’d like to eat, drink or sleep in one of Mexico’s most popular tourist areas, you will.

At every stage of the pandemic, Mexico was an outlier on global travel restriction maps. When many countries were closed entirely, or requiring multiple tests and long periods of quarantine, Mexico was open, with neither required.

That’s still the case, but a lifestyle change is now in place for travel visitors headed to Quintana Roo, best known as the home to buzzing destinations like Cancun, Tulum and Playa Del Carmen.

All hotels, restaurants, bars and clubs operating at over 50% capacity now require a negative covid-19 PCR test, or covid-19 vaccination proof to enter. Yep, even if Mexico doesn’t require any pre-flight testing, an enjoyable trip to Quintana Roo absolutely will.

Cancun & Quintana Roo Area Require Vaccination Or Negative Tests

Predictably, party scenes in Cancun, Tulum and Playa Del Carmen have lead to serious new waves of infection, which are making it difficult for thousands of people to return to the USA and other points of origin, where a negative test is required before travel.

To curb the spike, Quintana Roo officials now mandate that all hotels, bars, restaurants and clubs which are operating at over 50% capacity (most of them), will require proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test result to enter the premises.

Yep, get used to pulling your phone, or vaccination card out!

a beach with buildings and a body of water

For vaccinated travelers, this is hardly a big deal, but it certainly changes the “holiday” feeling, even if only momentarily. Hotels in the area have been among the best in the world in arranging in hotel covid-19 testing, and easy solutions which can be taken on trips also exist.

The change applies to more than 600 area hotels and attractions, and officials say that most of the spikes are among younger, unvaccinated locals, rather than visitors. Still, no one wants to test positive abroad and delay their return, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the situation, as tourism in the region continues to thrive.

At present, it’s unclear how long the restrictions will last, but we’ll update this article once an end date to vaccination or testing proof in hotels, bars and attractions comes to light.

Gilbert Ott

Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly...

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4 Comments

  1. It would be wonderful if Mexico required that any tourists be vaccinated so things would be safer for everyone.

  2. Where is the problem. I take out my european digital vacination certificate and all is fine. Like we do allways when we enter an hotel in germany.

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