Are you looking for tips & tricks to make the most of an upcoming Tulum trip? My wife & I recently flew back from TQO after a relaxing beach weekend in Tulum, and I have plenty of thoughts about our experience.
This former hippie haven has grown exponentially (some would say for the worse), but you can still expect to find tranquil beaches and the boho-chic vibe that Tulum is famous for.
It’s important to understand that Tulum has changed a lot in the past few years. New development exploded in 2021 as digital nomads & pent-up tourists flocked to the area after the pandemic. Tulum International Airport (TQO) opened in December 2023 so visitors weren’t forced to make the 1.5-hour drive from Cancun International Airport (CUN). New Tren Maya stations (one at the airport and another in north Tulum) established a railway connection to the rest of the Yucatan Peninsula in 2024.
Tulum Pueblo & Zona Hotelera are two completely different worlds
The first thing I do when planning an upcoming trip is search “best neighborhood to stay in _____”. When you visit Tulum, that decision comes down to whether you want to stay in town or on the beach.
In town, you have 3 major options:
- Centro: Budget-friendly lodging near reasonably priced food & buzzy nightlife. Budget-conscious travelers, rejoice.
- La Veleta: A still-developing neighborhood with a burgeoning community.
- Aldea Zama: Situated between Centro and the beach, this maze of newer developments offers an upscale vibe away from noisy nightlife.
If waking up to a sunrise on the beach is more your speed, focus your search on the expansive Zona Hotelera between Playa Santa Fe and La Guadalupana.
We were only in town for 3 days and wanted to maximize our beach time, so we scoured 5 miles worth of Zona Hotelera for a hotel in our price range. Dune Boutique Hotel fit the bill for us: they had a great staff and an intimate property that was walking distance to the large beach clubs so we wouldn’t have to worry about expensive taxis.
Taxis are expensive, but there are alternative transportation options
While taxis are plentiful around Tulum, everyone warned me that they are not metered and can charge extortionate rates (especially if you are trying to get back to your hotel from Zona Hotelera late at night).
Here are a few tips to keep transportation costs low when visiting Tulum:
- Getting to Tulum from the airport: Private airport transfer companies offering rides in big vans don’t offer much savings either, but they are good for large parties willing to split the cost of a $100+ USD one-way ride. For smaller groups, book a seat on an ADO coach bus for ~$12/person instead of paying $60+ USD for a taxi from TQO airport to central Tulum. The buses run from late morning to early evening which should accommodate most international arrivals, and you can either book them online or at the airport kiosk.
- If you are arriving at TQO, look for buses between Tulum Felipe Carrillo Puerto Airport and Tulum ADO Terminal Autobuses
- If you are arriving at CUN, look for buses between Cancun Airport (Terminals 2, 3, or 4) and Tulum ADO Terminal Autobuses
- Consider renting a car/scooter: Driving in Tulum is relatively simple, and daily rental rates should be well below $100/day. If you are staying in a remote area or plan on visiting multiple waypoints, a rental vehicle may be the most economical choice.
- Rides around town: Two rideshare apps worth downloading are InDrive (bidding-based pricing system) & Eiby (fixed pricing model). Both apps offer more competitive rates than taxis, but it’s worth noting that their drivers won’t pick you up from restricted areas (like the airport) or areas with a heavy taxi presence.
Expect sargassum on the beaches from March until October
Sargassum, a reddish-brown seaweed commonly found in the Caribbean, can pose problems for beach-goers when it washes ashore.
We were told that sargassum season typically stretches from April to October in Tulum, but it was already in full effect when we arrived at our beachfront hotel in early March. It’s not a deal-breaker for me, but it might be if you are expecting a pristine beach experience.
Our hotel staff rushed to shovel the newly deposited seaweed into neat piles every morning the maximize the amount of usable sand in front of the property, but you could see a yard-wide band of decomposing sargassum up & down the entire coastline.
While nobody will stop you from jumping into the sargassum-filled waves, constantly being brushed by floating seaweed isn’t the most pleasant feeling in the world.
Not all cenotes are created equal
When my wife said that she wanted to visit a cenote in Tulum, I didn’t give it much though and just picked the closest one to us. After all, aren’t they all just swimming holes?
It turns out there are hundreds of cenotes in or around Tulum ranging from small watering holes to massive underground dive sites. While there are many well-known cenotes like Sac Actun and Gran Cenote, you likely won’t have to go far to find one near you.
We were staying in the main strip of Zona Hotelera, so the first cenote we saw was Tuuch Cenote in Hotel Shibari. The photos looked amazing, but I balked at the entrance fee of $3600 MXN for 2 lounge chairs & cocktails. It might have been worth it if we wanted to lounge here all day, but our goal was to get in & out within 2 hours.
We continued strolling down the main road for a few more minutes until we came upon Kapen Ha Restaurant promising a cenote happy hour. This was a great budget-friendly option: we were able to take a dip in the cenote while ordering drinks & food (without paying an entrance fee).
I also received multiple recommendations for Taak Bi Ha or Dos Ojos. Both of those options offer a subterranean experience that would feel wildly different than open cenotes like Tuuch & Kapen-Ha, but alas not having a vehicle meant that we would have meant an expensive round trip taxi fare.
Tulum nightlife options aren’t hard to find
This one feels like a no-brainer considering Tulum’s reputation as a party city, but I spent too long trying to figure out our nightlife options on our first day in Tulum before I found this helpful website: https://www.tulum.party/.
It’s not fancy, but it features times & locations of planned club events that will help you plan out an itinerary full of music. Thanks to this, we were able to enjoy our final sunset dancing away on a rooftop within walking distance of our hotel.
Summary
Our long weekend in Tulum was a last-minute getaway that we planned 2 days before we arrived, but we had a blast figuring it out day by day. Hopefully this list of things I wish I knew before arriving in Tulum helps you plan the trip of your dreams!
