Thinking of booking a hotel in Tulum or wondering if this small Mexican town is worth a visit? Well, you can put your mind at ease! We were in the exact same situation and found it very difficult to find all the answers we wanted. We wrote down as much information as possible when we visited and have brought it all together in one place for you. This post is going to take you through all the necessary Tulum travel tips that you need to know for your next trip!
1. Getting to Know Tulum
Tulum is a small town in Mexico that is located right on the Caribbean coastline. It offers incredible places to eat and drink, stunning white beaches, and of course, the ancient Mayan ruins to explore. The town itself is divided into two areas: downtown Tulum and the beach. The downtown area sells a lot of souvenirs, has great food, and is generally less expensive. The main area in Tulum is the beach. The beach area offers many unique spots for a drink, the white sand and turquoise water beach, and lots of shops offering handmade items and clothing.
2. Best Time to Go – February/March
There are two things you should consider when deciding on the best time to travel to Tulum Mexico – whether it’s going to rain and how much you want to pay (the two go hand-in-hand).
Let us break it down for you…
December & January: great weather, but busy and expensive.
February through April: okay deals, great weather.
May & November: the best deals, but a chance of rain.
June through October: rain, rain, and more rain (especially in September and October).
If price is your concern, we recommend visiting in May or November because you should be able to get some excellent deals, and the rain should be easing up. April is also a great month to consider because it falls just before the rainy season. With even the slightest possibility of rain in the forecast, most people don’t want to go. Because of this, there are usually great deals in April.
If weather is your main concern, we recommend visiting Tulum in February or March. It will be slightly cheaper and less busy than December and January, and the weather will still be great! However, make sure you avoid Spring Break!
Note: We’ve been in January and March – March definitely had the better deals!
3. Traveling in Mexico
Some of the basic Tulum Travel tips that you should know are:
- The primary language spoken is Spanish, but you can get by with only speaking English.
- Bring Mexican pesos; not everywhere will accept USD. We also recommend paying in pesos, as you will always get a better deal that way!
- Dress for the weather – we often found ourselves in spots with very little shade!
- Do NOT drink the tap water! Liam has a pretty strong stomach and only used the water to brush his teeth, and that little bit did a lot of damage!
4. What is the Weather Like?
We have included the table below to show the average temperatures and rainfall in Tulum. One thing to keep in mind is that when it rains, the rain can come all at once – it could rain heavily for one hour, and the rest of the day could be beautiful!
| Month | Temperature | Rainfall |
| January | 29ËšC | 84ËšF | 71mm | 2.80″ |
| February | 30ËšC | 86ËšF | 53mm | 2.01″ |
| March | 31ËšC | 88ËšF | 37mm | 1.46″ |
| April | 33ËšC | 92ËšF | 45mm | 1.77″ |
| May | 33ËšC | 92ËšF | 108mm | 4.25″ |
| June | 33ËšC | 92ËšF | 187mm | 7.36″ |
| July | 33ËšC | 92ËšF | 130mm | 5.12″ |
| August | 33ËšC | 92ËšF | 145mm | 5.71″ |
| September | 32ËšC | 90ËšF | 226mm | 8.90″ |
| October | 31ËšC | 88ËšF | 202mm | 7.95″ |
| November | 30ËšC | 86ËšF | 103mm | 4.06″ |
| December | 28ËšC | 84ËšF | 92mm | 3.62″ |
5. How Long Should You Stay?
We suggest at least spending a few days in Tulum, if not a week or more. It can get expensive, so we recommend staying at an all-inclusive resort nearby and taking day trips into the town or beach area. You could also leave your resort and stay the night in Tulum at one of the unique hotels, or in an Airbnb!
6. How to Get There: Cancun to Tulum
You’re likely going to be flying into Cancun, so there are three main ways that you can get from the airport to your hotel in Tulum:
- Private Transfer – this is what we recommend! Often times you can pre-arrange a transfer with your hotel or airline. It will take about 1.5-2 hours to get to Tulum from Cancun. If you are booking the transfer on your own, we would recommend Canada Transfers. Aside from having an awesome name (we are Canadian), you can also pre-order cold beers for your ride! The pricing for these transfers will range but expect to pay between $200-250 for two people, round trip.
- ADO Public Bus – the price is right! This will take about 2-2.5 hours to get you to Tulum, but it is only $20-25 USD. Look for the ADO signs when you exit the baggage claim at the airport to get your ticket. The lineup can be long, but it seems to move quickly. The buses run approximately every hour.
- Rent a Car – proceed with caution! We have heard too many horror stories about renting cars in Mexico, so we have never opted to drive ourselves. This being said, we have friends who have rented cars and said it was the best decision they made! If you do it right, you can rent a car in Mexico for super cheap for the entire week. Just make sure to read the fine print and understand how the insurance works.
7. How to Get Around Tulum
Another one of our Tulum Travel tips is getting around Tulum – there are three ways.
The first and most obvious option is to walk; however, things can be farther than you think. This does also have a downside – it can be super hot, so you will get tired and sweaty real quick!
The second option is taking a taxi, but during peak times, it can be very busy if you’re traveling by car in the beach zone. Your price for a taxi (depending on where you are going) will average between 100-300 MXN ($5-20USD). It’s important to note that at night, these prices will go up!
Your final option is to rent a bike! Almost everyone in Tulum rides a bike because of the town’s environmental focus. There are all kinds of places throughout Tulum where you can rent a bike. The average price for bike rental is 150 Mexican pesos ($8 USD) for the whole day.
8. Best Places to Shop in Tulum
There are two main areas in Tulum that will meet all your shopping needs: Tulum Downtown and the main beach area. Tulum Downtown is slightly more affordable and has more of your tourist shopping needs. The main beach road has all kinds of cute little shops and unique handmade items, but get ready to spend a pretty penny!
9. Best Places to Drink in Tulum
There are two main places that we think you should most definitely check out in Tulum if you’re looking to have a drink (or five):
In town, Batey is a must-visit! It’s a great little spot located off the main road. All you have to do is look for the bright colored VW Beetle. They offer up some of the tastiest drinks and great food to snack on. During the day, it’s a perfect place for people-watching, and at night, it turns into a fun spot to have a few shots of Mezcal and some of the best Mojitos around!
Papaya Playa Project is located right on the beach and is known for its amazing full-moon parties. If the opportunity arises, try to plan your trip around this party (it happens once a month). Make sure you have a siesta during the day, as the party only gets started around midnight. If you can’t make the full moon party, that’s okay; Papaya Playa Project hosts all kinds of events, so make sure you check out their website and buy your tickets in advance!
10. Where to Party
If you want to party, there are a couple of places worth checking out. We recommend walking along the main road and going to some of the unique bars there. A few popular spots we recommend are:
11. Best Restaurants in Tulum (Downtown Area)
If you are visiting the downtown area in Tulum, we recommend checking out some of these great restaurants:
12. Best Restaurants in Tulum (Beach Area)
The beach area in Tulum is home to more great restaurants and some of the most Instagram-worthy spots. We recommend checking out some of these restaurants in between tanning and photo taking.
13. Best Places to Stay in Tulum
If you are looking for some truly incredible spots to stay in Tulum, look no further. We have compiled a list of some popular hotels for you to check out!
14. Tulum Hotspot: Beach Road
This is the main road that runs parallel to the beach. Here, you’ll find hotels and restaurants on both sides of the road with all kinds of little shops in between. It’s best to start at one end and then walk back along the beach to the other end. If at any point you get tired, there are many places for you to sit back and relax. This road is where you’re going to find the most popular hotels, restaurants, and shops in all of Tulum.
15. Best Spots to Take Instagram Photos
What would a post on Tulum travel tips be if we didn’t include the best spots to get your Instagram shot! Almost everywhere you look in Tulum is an Instagram-worthy location. We’ve dedicated an entire post to all the Instagrammable Spots in Tulum, but have included a few of our favourites below:
- The Tulum Beach
- Matcha Mama
- Follow The Dream sign (at Lolita Lolita Boutique)
- Azulik Tulum
- Tulum Jungle Gym
- Gran Cenote
- Ven a la Luz Statue
Read More
29 Instagrammable Spots in Tulum
16. Paying – Cash or Cards
One of our most important Tulum travel tips is to always have some cash on you! Most places will only accept cash – so make sure that you bring enough pesos or US dollars to buy whatever you’d like. If you do run out, there are some bank machines for you to withdraw cash using one of your cards.
17. Best Place to Get Money
Speaking of withdrawing cash…while there are several bank machines throughout Tulum, be safe. We recommend the Scotiabank in downtown Tulum – it is a known bank and also offers the best exchange rates in town.
18. What to Visit
In addition to all of the cute spots within Tulum, there are so many other exciting places to visit in the surrounding area! We would recommend taking a taxi or packaged tour to these places.
Chichen Itza
Declared one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, it’s hard to go to Mexico and not visit Chichen Itza. It’s one of the largest Mayan cities and well worth the 2-hour trip from downtown Tulum. We would recommend looking into doing a day trip/tour (we took one from our hotel that also included a meal in a local village and swimming in a cenote).
Gran Cenote
If you don’t know what a cenote is or have never seen one before, make sure you put this on your list of places to visit! Gran Cenote is just a short 10-15 minute drive from downtown Tulum. Don’t forget your bathing suit so you can go for a swim in the cenote!
Coba Ruins
Looking to do a little bit of historical exploring? We would definitely recommend the Coba Ruins! This is the last of the Mayan ruins that you can actually climb. When you arrive, we recommend the bicycle taxi to the ruins, as it is quite a long walk. Plus, the taxi will wait for you and take you back! The Coba Ruins are about a 45-minute car ride from downtown Tulum and can easily be explored by yourself without a guide!
Xcaret
If you are looking to escape Tulum for the day, you will not regret going to Xcaret Park. This is one of nine Xcaret Parks & Tours, but if you can only visit one, this is it! This park offers a little bit of everything for the thrill seeker and those more reserved. The park is about a 50-minute drive from downtown Tulum.
Tulum Ruins
Located in the archeological area of Tulum, the ruins are only a 10-15 minute car ride from downtown Tulum.
We would recommend going as soon as they open – it gets really busy, really fast! There is also little to no shade, so it’s best to go before the sun gets too hot!
Once you arrive, there is a walk (500m or 1640 ft.) from the parking lot/entrance to the ticket booth. They also have a train/wagon you can take for a small fee!
Read More
Can You Climb Chichen Itza? 15 Things You Must Know
Coba Ruins Mexico | 13 Things You Need to Know
19. How to Get to the Tulum Ruins
The ruins are located in the Tulum archaeological area, which is 2.7 miles (4.5 km) from downtown Tulum. It’s extremely easy to get there as there are plenty of signs showing you where to go! The easiest and safest way to get there is by car, as it only takes 10 minutes to get to the entrance. If you are feeling energetic, it is a 15-minute bike ride or an hour-long walk from the town of Tulum.Â
20. What You Need To Know About The Tulum Ruins
Some of the main things you need to know about the Tulum Ruins are:
- Admission Fee: 95 MXN pesos ($6-7 USD)
- Open Hours: 7 days a week from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
- A guide costs 600 MXN pesos ($35 USD)
- Take the train/wagon to the entrance – it only costs 20 MXN pesos ($1 USD)
- There is very little shade, so make sure you put on your sunscreen and wear a hat!
- Brings lots of water, as it can also get extremely hot.
21. Safety in Tulum
Of all the Tulum travel tips, safety is most important, so our advice is to keep your eyes open. You are 100% safe walking around Tulum, but your belongings might not be. Like most places, pickpocketing and theft happens in Tulum. Make sure you keep an eye on your bag and pockets! As long as you use common sense, you will be safe.
22. What to Bring to Tulum
We recommend that you don’t leave home without the following items:
- Eco-Friendly Sunscreen – if you want to go swimming in a cenote, they won’t allow you to wear regular sunscreen.
- Bug Spray – the bugs can get really bad at times, and who enjoys getting bit by bugs?!
- Sunglasses – do not underestimate how intense the sun is in Mexico!
- Beach Towel – not all resorts will offer or allow you to take your towel outside of the resort.
- Hand Sanitizer – not everywhere offers a place for you to wash your hands.
- Aloe Vera – just in case you do get sunburnt like Liam did!
23. What to Wear in Tulum
This is one of the most laidback towns in Mexico, and it is always hot – packing lightweight and breezy outfits is key.
Women
- Flips flops
- Cute (but comfortable) sandals
- Bathing suits
- Dresses
- Tank tops
- Shorts
- Hats
- Sunglasses
- Beach coverups
Men
- Flip flops
- Baseball hat
- Sunglasses
- Cotton and/or dry-fit shirts
- Swim trunks
- Short-sleeve dress shirts
- Fun/bright shirts
Our Tulum Travel Tips:
To summarize some of the most important Tulum travel tips, here are the key things to remember:
- Always carry cash, try to spend Mexican pesos.
- Prepare for the heat – wear your sunscreen and bring a hat.
- Keep an eye on your belongings – Tulum is safe, but watch for pickpocketing.
- Have fun and relax!
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