New Direct Flights from Canada to Cancún and Tulum for Winter 2026-27, and How to Plan Your Photos

In October 2026 the governor of Quintana Roo, Mara Lezama, announced the airline routes that will connect Cancún and Tulum with Canada, the United States, Europe and the rest of Mexico this winter. For Canadian travellers the list is good news: more cities with a direct flight, including several that have never had one. Here are the Canadian routes, and how to turn the trip into photographs you will keep.

New Routes to Cancún

Announced by the Quintana Roo government in October 2026 for the winter season:

They add to the many routes Canadian airlines already fly to Cancún every winter. Schedules can change, so confirm dates and frequencies with the airline before you book.

Routes to Tulum

Tulum's international airport, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, gets these Canadian routes for the winter season:

The announcement did not name the airline for the Quebec City and Calgary routes; check with Air Canada, Air Transat and WestJet for the current schedule.

Time Zones: No Jet Lag from Ontario and Quebec

Quintana Roo keeps the same time all year, UTC-5, with no daylight saving. In winter that is exactly Eastern Standard Time, so Toronto, Windsor, Montreal and Quebec City are on the same clock as Cancún and Tulum. Halifax and Fredericton are one hour ahead of Cancún, and Calgary and Edmonton two hours behind. When Canada moves its clocks forward on March 14, 2027, Ontario and Quebec go one hour ahead of Cancún until November.

For photographs this matters more than it sounds: children from Ontario and Quebec are on their normal bedtime, which makes a sunset session easy. Families from Alberta often prefer a morning session in the first days, while their bodies still think it is two hours earlier.

Cancún or Tulum Airport?

Fly into Cancún if you are staying in the Cancún Hotel Zone, Costa Mujeres, Playa Mujeres, Puerto Morelos or the northern Riviera Maya, including Mayakoba. Tulum's airport makes sense for Tulum itself and the southern Riviera Maya. Our guide to Cancún versus Tulum airport (in Spanish) compares the transfer times, and our entry requirements guide covers what Canadians need at arrival.

Planning Your Photo Session

Book the session for your second or third day, once everyone has rested from the trip and before the last-day packing. In December and January the sun sets between about 6:05 and 6:30 pm in Cancún, so we start around 5 pm; in March, around 5:50 pm.

Winter is also the best season for photographs on this coast: dry, clear and, in most years, before the sargassum season builds. Our guides to Cancún in December and to March Break family photos go month by month.

Collections and Prices

Prices are in US dollars. Most Canadian cards add a foreign transaction fee, so a no-fee card saves a little on every payment of the trip.

Prices include editing and delivery in a private 4K gallery, usually within one to three business days.