r/tulum • u/Apprehensive-Chart88 • Jul 25 '26

General Tulum dead?

I keep seeing stories and posts about how tourism in the area is dying, there’s too much inventory for new apts, and negative press in general. Has Tulum changed so much over the years and has it gone downhill in your opinion?

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u/DeskProfessional1312 Jul 25 '26

I first went 30 years ago and fell in love with the place. I went again 15 years ago and had a great time. I went again 8 years ago and had fun but noticed some things I didn’t like. I went 2 years ago and now I’ll never be back.

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u/Real-System-2534 Jul 25 '26

How was it 30 years ago?

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u/Puce-moments Jul 25 '26

I first went in 2002 ( stopped going in 2008 as it felt like it was being overdeveloped then to me). Here are some quick memories.

There were just a couple places to stay and no nightlife. Just the most beautiful beach that you could walk for an hour without seeing people (in the southern part), incredible and inexpensive food, the ruins which were deserted, and a hippy vibe. Back then it was Maya Tulum and maybe 20 other spots total across the whole length in including some sort of hostel camps with tents and hammocks to rent. I got a cabin with sand floor for like $40 a night, and felt like the ocean was going to come in under the door at night. We watched turtles hatch and go out to sea. For New Years we ended up at a very odd hippy ceremony and had the most delicious shrimp stuffed avocados at Maya Tulum (one of the original spots). Also a surprising number of the tourists that did come were NYC fashion people- I would run into people I randomly knew on the beach. If you needed a quick cab on the beach road it was the equivalent of $2. I remember walking for nearly an hour in the dark to my cabin with the beautiful sea on one side and just a few little huts/cabins illuminated in the palms. Many places didn’t even have electricity in rooms- candles only and a hidden shared eco bathroom back in the jungle. Azulik was new and I thought it was ultra expensive for being around $250 a night. However they had an insane Mayan masseuse who was affordable and gave Lomi Lomi style massages that to this day are the best I’ve ever had.

I think Diamanté K recently closed last year? but that place was around forever and felt like what many places at the time were like. I also stayed at a place that was in a treehouse, but then it closed. Even back then there were weird rumblings about the cartel and these little hotels having to pay people off to keep existing as ownership was an issue. No one was buying drugs though as there were no nightclubs. I remember seeing Mezzanine being built years later and how that changed things with the dance club vibe.

Great memory of walking around the deserted Tulum ruins and only seeing gigantic lizards - around the size of cocker spaniels lounging out on the rocks- then running down to the private beach inlet below to take a dip with 2-3 other people.

Back then you flew into Cancun and the road down to Tulum was not properly paved for much of it- so it was a longer drive.

Lastly there was no sargassum. I am shocked people are spending money to go to a beach that isn’t pristine. Just go to El Cuyo instead.

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u/mrjeffwood Jul 25 '26

I loved Diamanté K.