Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Bambous

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.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
26

Cost of Living Index in Bambous
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Bambous Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Bambous

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$544

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

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

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Bambous $544

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

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Bambous $915

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

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

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 121% more expensive than in Bambous, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$4.34 MUR 202

151.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$38.18 MUR 1,779

13.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.36 MUR 203

170.18%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$2.13 MUR 99.4

78.87%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$1.08 MUR 50.1

18.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.43 MUR 20.24

81.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$2.63 MUR 123

20.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$1.63 MUR 75.8

202.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.16 MUR 53.9

21.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$0.72 MUR 33.72

208.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$1.07 MUR 49.89

32.71%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$2.53 MUR 118

-0.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$5.22 MUR 243

39.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$3.27 MUR 152

135.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$4.16 MUR 194

205.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$2.14 MUR 99.8

29.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$2.69 MUR 125

-49.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$1.44 MUR 67.3

77.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$3.01 MUR 140

-29.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$0.96 MUR 44.61

102.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$0.94 MUR 43.93

101.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$0.73 MUR 34.14

57.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.84 MUR 39.11

40.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$6.29 MUR 293

-31.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$8.40 MUR 391

18.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.64 MUR 76.6

-3.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.40 MUR 112

11.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$4.15 MUR 193

19.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$3.17 MUR 148

5.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$21.38 MUR 996

-74.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$1.37 MUR 64.0

5.11%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$36.9K MUR 1.7M

-44.05%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$31.5K MUR 1.5M

-25.61%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$45.44 MUR 2,117

86.60%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$10.66 MUR 497

119.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$28.69 MUR 1,336

-0.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$6.50 MUR 303

-20.92%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$130 MUR 6,035

59.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$7,619 MUR 354.9K

-48.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$77.0 MUR 3,589

-43.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$73.9 MUR 3,441

-43.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$122 MUR 5,671

-39.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$78.0 MUR 3,633

14.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

6.67

71.66%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bambous: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Bambous

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Bambous

$173 31.8% 32.1% $82

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Bambous

$96 17.6% 52.6% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Bambous

$85 15.6% 38% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Bambous

$158 29% 41.2% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Bambous

$13 * 2.4% 80.7% $54

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Bambous

$20 * 3.7% 60.4% $30

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

Cost Breakdown

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

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇺 Bambous

🕒 Local time

17:58 5:58 PM

02:58 2:58 AM

9 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

15,300

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MUR = 2.15 USD

100 MUR = 1.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MUR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 46.58 MUR (100 MUR = 2.15 USD). 1 EUR = 52.21 MUR (100 MUR = 1.92 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Playa del Carmen
Bambous

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

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

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

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $817 in Bambous 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 $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $130 in Bambous. 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.