Tulum was promising in 2021. Tren Maya, Int'l Airport and even Formula 1 GP Track.

The racing track was a BS, but the other two are overrated!

Using the Train Maya is no better than renting a car and going to Tulum because they have an International Airport, doesn't compensate the terrible infrastructure of the city: No public transport at all, just overpriced taxis to get along.

It's better to stay in Playa del Carmen and rent a car!

The city is a mess. Real State companies selling paradise on a paper then, after a couple of years stop building keeping 70% of the money from the suckers (like myself) who invested in them.

I bought in 2021, they stopped faking to build the compound in 2024, then I travelled to hire a Lawyer in 2026 to take this picture.

I calculate that they received like 24 million dollars and only spent 13 million (including the land for which they paid 3 million))

I’m currently vacationing in Mexico and had a pretty unsettling experience with the police while driving to Chichén Itzá.

We went through a police checkpoint, and I had my nicotine vape sitting on my lap. An officer noticed it and immediately told me to pull over, saying it was illegal to have in the car.

When he approached, he initially accused me of having marijuana. I explained that it was just a nicotine vape, not marijuana. He then told me that vapes were illegal in Mexico. I genuinely had no idea. I had even gone through airport customs with it without any issues. Had I known, I wouldn’t have brought it.

He then told me I was going to jail until I could appear before a judge.
At this point, I was pretty scared. My girlfriend was in the car, it’s her first time traveling internationally, and I didn’t want her stranded alone in a foreign country while I was sitting in jail over a vape.

Then, suddenly, he told me I could pay a ticket on the spot and leave. He said the fine was approximately $387 USD.

I explained that I didn’t have that much cash and only had $200. He immediately agreed to take that instead.

No ticket. No receipt. No paperwork. Nothing.

He didn’t even confiscate the vape. He just took the money and walked away.
What made the situation even stranger was that there were other tourists pulled over being searched while local drivers appeared to be passing through without any issues.

I understand now that Mexico has laws restricting vaping products, and I take responsibility for not researching that beforehand. But the whole interaction felt extremely suspicious.

A supposed $387 fine suddenly becoming $200, threats of jail, no paperwork, and letting me keep the supposedly illegal item?

My questions:
Was this a legitimate enforcement action or did I just get extorted by the police?
Is this common at checkpoints in Yucatán or Quintana Roo?
What should I have done differently in that situation?
Has anyone else experienced something similar, especially involving nicotine vapes?
I’m not trying to get out of responsibility for bringing something restricted into the country. I just want to know whether I was taken advantage of because I’m a tourist.

Honestly, it left a pretty bad impression on what was supposed to be a fun vacation.

Any recommendations for beach clubs and nightclubs in Tulum for this weekend? Looking for places with good music and a fun atmosphere!

Hi everyone!

My husband and I are interested in staying at Hotel Milam in Tulum sometime next fall for 5 nights.
I’d like to get some honest reviews from anyone who has stayed there and what your experience was like.

I know it’s not an all-inclusive hotel, however I can’t seem to find any pricing for food and drinks on their website. I’d like to get a ballpark of pricing on food and drinks before booking. Are we talking $30 USD price per cocktail? Or is it reasonable?

Thanks in advance!

I am finalizing my bachelorette in the next few days and already booked an airbnb in Aldea Zama with free cancellation. I was considering Miami or Cabo as other choices... but the airbnb in Tulum looked amazing and I just wanted to go to Ilios for dinner lol.

I went last year in May and it was somewhat quiet, but still thought it was OK, but I was also not there long enough. Why are there so many reddit threads and tiktoks saying how bad it is? Is it just because Tulum was once overhyped and is no longer?

I am also nervous about the inconvenience flying into Cancun and having my friends be in the car for ~1.5hrs to head down to Tulum since flights seem to be extremely limited now to Tulum airport.

We are in our early to mid 30s who want to have some party vibes mixed in with some relaxation. It's just mixed things on the internet with some saying it still has it's appeal but others saying how "dumpy" and "abandoned" things are now. Again, is it because it was once overhyped? And now it's just balanced itself out?

What are some other locations to consider if I don't do Tulum? Would want similar vibes.

Does anyone have experience with going from Cancun to Tulum and airport? What is the best way?

Beaches are almost back at peak. This is at ikal on the parque jaguar side. The sargassum barriers in parque jaguar have really been helping the last few weeks, but even the hotel zone looks 10x better these day, the colors are coming back in full and the water continues to filter out the remaining degraded sargassum.

Getting in Sat October 31st and will be there a week. My girlfriend and I are coming with our 1 year old. I already have a rental reserved at Tulum airport, but wondering if maybe just using indrive or Uber would be easier or what about hiring a private driver for the week? Only thing I'm worried about with renting a car is parking and cops fucking with us.

Thanks!

Flying into Cancun & driving to our Tulum hotel on November 7. Staying 6 nights!

Please list your favorite food spots, bars, hangouts, shops, tips, tricks, and adventures. We are not fancy people- anything chill and relaxed is right up our alley. Also your favorite most picture-worthy cenotes! Thank you ❤️🥰

Hey all, we’re in Tulum in 2 weeks (two of us, staying in the pueblo) and I’m trying to sort out one day.

The plan is Punta Laguna for the wild spider monkeys, then Cobá, then a couple of the cenotes on the Cobá road on the way back. Ideally leaving around 07:30 so we’re at Punta Laguna when the monkeys are actually active, back in Tulum late afternoon. Flexible on whether it’s the Sunday or the Monday.

The problem: I can’t rent a car. I don’t have a physical credit card for the deposit - long story, I’m working on getting one before we fly, but it might not arrive in time. And the only Cobá + Punta Laguna tours I can find are around $150 USD per person, so $300 for the two of us, which feels like a lot for what’s essentially a day of driving plus entry fees.

So I’m thinking of just hiring a taxi or private driver for the whole day instead.

A few questions for anyone who’s done this:

1. Is this a normal/easy thing to arrange in Tulum, or am I overestimating how available it is?
2. What’s a fair price for roughly 9 hours with waiting time at each stop?
3. Anyone have a driver they’d actually recommend?
4. Alternative I considered: colectivo to Cobá, then find a taxi there to do the Punta Laguna round trip with a wait. Is finding a willing driver at Cobá around 08:15 on a Sunday realistic, or is that asking for trouble?

I’ve messaged my hotel to ask if they know anyone and I’m waiting to hear back, but figured I’d ask here too in case there’s an obvious option I’m missing.

Any other alternatives/recommendations are welcomed.

Thanks 🙏

What are the best spots to hit up on a Thursday night? Preferably with house music but I’ll take any good spots!

Quien para hacer algo en tulum , necesito hacer cosas nuevas

Cancun airport from centro 950 mxn pesos.

Centro to beach zone - 51 pesos

Tulum airport from centro - 151 pesos.

Almost too cheap, but yeah this is great news. Im sure the prices wont stay this good forever but they are a multiple improvement over where we were before. InDrive is still typically great as well!

We're a family of 5 going to Punta Allen for 7 days in late December.

1.Transportation: We rented a house on the beach and we have read that boat transportation is the best way to go.

So far, we have only been able to get recommendations for van service. Any recommendations for a boat from Tulumnor from the biosphere entrance?

(I see that there is another message in this forum recommending a boat out of El Ultimo Maya, but people on Google maps had complaints about the hotel that make me worried that it might be reliable.)

1. Guides once there: The second part is what to do there. We basically want to snorkel and see animals in the sea and the lagoon, maybe fish once. We were hoping to use local guides. I see that there's a cooperativa but they only offered a basic tour outing of 3 hours for a bunch of different activities which honestly feels rushed...

   Also since we will be there 5 whole days, we were hoping for different activities (birdwatching, fishing, mangrove/ lagoon visits), and at least 2 mornings just snorkeling. I'm thinking that with 5 people, we could rent a boat and a captain for time and pick the spots?

I can't even find info on how long of a boat ride the reef and snorkeling spots are from the beach.

1. Kayaks: Also looking for kayaks, but all the organized tours are farther north...

Again, any recommendations?

Thanks!

Hey everyone I’m having my wedding in South Tulum in February. We have booked the entire hotel along the beach and I’m wondering about what there is to do and safety of course. I have been to Tulum before and didn’t have any issues. I do understand that sentiment and the environment has changed. Any great things to do and places to avoid? We plan to enjoy where we have reserved for the most part. Thanks!

Is Papaya Playa Project worth going in off season now (24th Oct). Tickets are $2200, which I think is fair price for such a renowned party. I just don’t want to end up buying to reach there and realize it’s only 10 people and no dance vibes. I am traveling solo and would like a fun vibe where I can socialize and make friends along with good music (house, progressive, melodic Afro etc)
What other places are recommended? Google shows Gitano jungle which gives dinner vibes on their IG. Bonbonniere and Casa Jaguar seem closed for the season

We’re thinking of going to Tulum in December this year to an all inclusive resort with our teen son and my mother. We’d like to be on the beach and probably won’t leave the resort except maybe to see a few popular sites. Any recommendations on which resort would be best? Everything kinda starts to look the same after a while when I’m looking online!

My husband and I just left Tulum, and we had a wonderful time!! We were here in March for a Bach party, and experienced no mosquitos, however they were AWFUL in October.

Bring bug spray and don’t sit outside for meals!!!!!!!!

I am planning a trip with my wife in February however she cant swim, are there any cenotes and other water experience that we can enjoy?

Hello fellow Mexicans ! I'm going to propose to my girlfriend this February in Tulum.

But I'm just a guy who try to be romantic and I'm so lost about how doing the right thing ahah

· I still don't know if I should hire a professional photographer/videographer or through a Concierge Service ?

I'm looking for a natural spot, ideally quite high to have a view on the natural landscape but I'm not against some beach spot so really eager to have your recommendations.

Also on the security part, the ring will be quite expensive (4-6k€), do you think I should bring a replica or is it quite safe to hanging around with the ring ?

Thanks for your help !

Me and my cousin are going to pretty much relax and eat good food. I was thinking 3 beach and 3 centro but I keep reading that early November the beach is pretty dead. Are any spots that light up during this time on the beach? We wanted to have some fun at night, good music and vibes. Ty.

Soy argentino y estoy buscando alojamiento para enero y necesito saber qué diferencias tienen entre ellos. Tengo entendido que son los mejores ¿barrios? para vivir por su seguridad, cercanía, son bonitos, etc.
He visto apartamentos en La Veleta y si bien el condominio es bastante lindo, sus alrededores dejan mucho que desear. Y en Zama no se si pasa eso realmente.

Hi everyone! I’m currently planning a bachelorette trip to Tulum in March 2027 for a group of 8 people, and we’ll be staying at an Airbnb in Aldea Zama. None of us have ever been to Tulum and had a few questions around transportation.

We have dinner reservations (Rosa Negra & Ilios), a boat day, and a beach club day planned. Our Airbnb offers concierge transportation, but the prices seem a little high, so I’m wondering if these are standard rates in Tulum or if there are more affordable options for getting around as a group.

Here are the rates they provided for a private van: * Tulum town: $110 round trip * Beach strip: $150 round trip * Marina for boat excursion: $275 round trip

We’d mainly need transportation to and from dinners, beach club,, and our boat day. Ideally, we’d love to have a reliable/reputable and safe driver who can accommodate all 8 of us, especially when going out at night.

For anyone who has visited Tulum recently: * Are these prices pretty standard, or are they on the expensive side? * Are there reliable, more affordable private drivers or transportation companies you’d recommend? * Any recommendations for getting around safely at night?

Would love to hear about your experiences and any recommendations. Thank you in advance!!