Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bambous and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Bambous: $544 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

26

Cost of Living Index in Bambous
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Bambous Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Bambous

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$544

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bambous and in Playa del Carmen

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bambous and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $544 in Bambous versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Bambous $544
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $915 in Bambous versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Bambous $915
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,286 in Bambous versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Bambous $1,286
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Bambous costs roughly 55% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bambous 60% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.34 MUR 204

$10.92 MX$205

-60.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.18 MUR 1,799

$43.37 MX$815

-11.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.36 MUR 206

$11.78 MX$221

-62.99%

Cappuccino

$2.13 MUR 101

$3.81 MX$71.6

-44.09%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 MUR 50.7

$1.28 MX$24.10

-15.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.43 MUR 20.47

$0.78 MX$14.71

-44.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.63 MUR 124

$3.17 MX$59.5

-17.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 MUR 76.7

$4.93 MX$92.7

-66.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 MUR 54.5

$1.41 MX$26.43

-17.73%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 MUR 34.10

$2.22 MX$41.66

-67.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 MUR 50.5

$1.42 MX$26.64

-24.65%

Eggs

$2.53 MUR 119

$2.52 MX$47.41

0.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.22 MUR 246

$7.26 MX$137

-28.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.27 MUR 154

$7.70 MX$145

-57.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.16 MUR 196

$12.69 MX$239

-67.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.14 MUR 101

$2.78 MX$52.3

-23.02%

Banana (1kg)

$2.69 MUR 127

$1.37 MX$25.71

96.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 MUR 68.0

$2.55 MX$47.94

-43.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.01 MUR 142

$2.12 MX$39.90

41.98%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 MUR 45.12

$1.94 MX$36.43

-50.52%

Onion (1kg)

$0.94 MUR 44.44

$1.89 MX$35.44

-50.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 MUR 34.53

$1.15 MX$21.55

-36.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 MUR 39.56

$1.18 MX$22.16

-28.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.29 MUR 296

$4.30 MX$80.7

46.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.40 MUR 396

$9.95 MX$187

-15.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 MUR 77.5

$1.58 MX$29.76

3.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 MUR 113

$2.67 MX$50.2

-10.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.15 MUR 195

$4.97 MX$93.4

-16.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.17 MUR 149

$3.33 MX$62.6

-4.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.38 MUR 1,008

$5.36 MX$101

298.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 MUR 64.7

$1.44 MX$27.14

-4.86%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$36.9K MUR 1.7M

$20.7K MX$388.4K

78.72%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$31.5K MUR 1.5M

$23.5K MX$441.0K

34.43%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$45.44 MUR 2,141

$84.8 MX$1,594

-46.41%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$10.66 MUR 502

$23.41 MX$440

-54.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.69 MUR 1,352

$28.66 MX$539

0.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$6.50 MUR 306

$5.14 MX$96.6

26.46%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$130 MUR 6,105

$207 MX$3,882

-37.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,619 MUR 359.0K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

94.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.0 MUR 3,630

$43.35 MX$815

77.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$73.9 MUR 3,480

$41.44 MX$779

78.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 MUR 5,737

$74.2 MX$1,394

64.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.0 MUR 3,675

$89.3 MX$1,677

-12.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

11.45

-41.75%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bambous: October 27, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Bambous

$173 31.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 47.3% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Bambous

$158 29%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 29.2% $46

Eating Out

Bambous

$96 17.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 111% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bambous

$85 15.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 61.4% $52

Getting Around

Bambous

$20 * 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 153% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Bambous

$13 * 2.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 417% $54

Accommodation & Living

Bambous

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $38 in Bambous vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $173 vs $255 per month, with Bambous cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇺 Bambous

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

08:34 8:34 AM

23:34 11:34 PM

9 h behind Bambous

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,300

149,923

💱 Currency

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.9 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MUR – Mauritian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇺 Mauritian Rupee (₨)

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 47.12 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.61 MUR (100 MUR = 1.9 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to MUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bambous Playa del Carmen 16,320 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Bambous
Playa del Carmen

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Bambous vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $544 in Bambous and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Bambous is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $817 in Bambous and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $130 in Bambous versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Bambous – a meal for two runs $38 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $544 in Bambous versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Bambous but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Bambous the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bambous delivers better value at $544 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bambous hard to pass up.