Welcome to Part 2 of our series on staying in Tulum!
In this post, I'm going to discuss how to get to Tulum and your place of lodging, especially if you're flying into Cancún Airport (CUN).
Now that you know where you’re staying, you need to get there! Unless you already live in southern Mexico (or you’re doing a van life thing and are already in the vicinity), you’re probably going to need to fly into Cancún. Cozumel has an international airport as well, but for all intents and purposes, Cancún has the bigger airport with 3 terminals, one which operates predominantly for non-US flights and another which operates predominantly for US ones. I’ve been to the Cancún airport twice, both times flying United directly out of Newark, and it’s about 4 to 4-and-a-half hours in the air. Pretty manageable! There are direct flights from multiple US airports, and many European cities also have their own direct routes. The Cancun airport has 3 terminals as it's the largest airport in the Yucatán.
Mexican immigration involves filling out a form asking about your flight information and where you’re going to be staying, and most of the time (at least in my experiences flying with United), they hand out these forms on the plane itself. If not, I definitely recommend filling out the form ASAP, preferably before you get in line, that way you’re not taking up too much time for the immigration officials. As with most of these forms, as long as you write down the name of the place where you'll be staying there will be no issues.
Now, once you get your luggage, you’ll be ushered outside the terminal where you’ll be swarmed by people offering taxis and ride services (no Uber, Cabify, or Lyft in the area!). Here is where I tell you that you should already have figured out where you’re staying and how to get there, if only because it will absolutely save you money, headaches, and hassle. There are three main transportation options to Tulum: taxi/ride service, rental car, or bus.
Personally, as a woman, I found that the taxi option was the easiest. I highly recommend booking in advance. Even most Airbnbs have some point of reference for reserving a taxi since you will need to provide your destination on the website, and this way you can bypass all the hassle and heckling at the exit and just go straight to where your driver or company will be meeting you after your flight. I had to wait for my brother and sister to arrive at another terminal, and the company I used even had assistance over WhatsApp so I had a better idea of where to meet the company and driver and it really saved me a headache, especially if you’re a group of people. I used eTransfers and highly recommend them. I even helped my dad book the same service back to the airport when we left. They picked us up right at our complex and when our plans changed, they were very accommodating.
If you’re planning on visiting a lot of places and have a full schedule, you can rent a car. I haven’t personally done this option since it’s usually the most expensive, but there are services for all major international rental companies that can easily provide your services. I wouldn’t recommend a car if you’re staying in the Zona Hotelera as space is at a premium and there are pedestrians and cyclists everywhere so traffic is slow.
Finally, the cheapest option is by bus. There are buses that run from the airport to Tulum and back at a very affordable price and that pick up and drop off right at the street that will take you to Aldea Zamá and the Zona Hotelera. My brother said it was very easy to use and the bus was very clean and smooth and not a typical Mexican bus experience (if you’ve ever ridden a bus in Mexico you know what I mean). This option is preferable if you’re traveling as a group and at least one of you speaks Spanish or you’re a man, but honestly, from what my brother said, it’s still pretty safe. You can book bus tickets in advance at BusBud
Stay tuned for our next entry, where I discuss food options!
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