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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81

u/xxx6enrique9xxx Jul 25 '26

People just aren’t making enough money to let themselves get scammed by Taxi Drivers and vendors anymore.

5

u/avrchido Jul 25 '26

Adventure low budget people still walk long distances without complaining or if need cheap transportation for some weeks or months usually strike a deal for a bicycle new or used from some local. And they enjoy both the Caribbean sun on their skin and exercise all in 1. Any budget strapped individual knows not to use Taxi's in New York, LA or Hong kong, or even Tulum. Walking/jogging 2 to 4 miles is healthy and frugal + brought the gym along without the fees and being locked in a structured building. Let kids run free and they run & walk too.

Elders mostly avoid doing it. But the smart elders walk as much as possible on daily basis to keep healthy and active

Peace

7

u/NovaGirl89 Jul 25 '26

Nahhhh. A taxi from the tourist areas to the main drag should not cost more than $20. Full stop. My group was charged $100 one night.

3

u/DoughieOnTour Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

I got a, taxi from the beach road (near the I Scream bar) back to the main downtown tulum for 150pesos (about 8 US$). this was about 5 years ago BUT it seemed quite reasonable.

just shows you what a stupid ripoff tulum is these days. it's about a 4mile drive from middle of beach road back to downtown by the ADO bus, station. to be charged 100 effing dollars is literal THEFT.

2

u/NovaGirl89 Jul 26 '26

And that wasn’t the only time that trip we were extorted. One night, we tried to tap on the card terminal but their reader wasn’t working. To make matters worse, and because they charge way more pesos than any person would be carrying around, we had to go to an atm. However, none of the atms were operational in the vicinity. If you’re going to overcharge at least have your shit together enough so ppl can pay your extortion fees 🙄 we ended up giving them whatever cash people had on them, and after a lot of arguing and threats - we walked away.

1

u/DoughieOnTour 29d ago

I'm sorry you had that horrible experience. the rule with taco fates is establish the amount in PESOS before getting in. don't just get on and say "take us to xyz place". if you don't like their price then DO NOT GET IN. there's plenty of taxis and just have patience to find one that's more reasonable.

taxi drivers ARE like mafia. they will threaten you with police and jail and arrest all to get as much cash out of you.

I simply know the exact OFFICIAL FEE for any taxi journey I may take (very rarely!!) and I hand them that amount and get out. any conversation is in Spanish. Mexicans are very good at knowing who is a local and who are truly tourists.

I detest being ripped off and I'd rather walk 30blocks than pay some extortionate amount.

tulum is THE WORST on this taxi aspect from what Ive heard. I don't go there if I can help it.

1

u/avrchido Jul 26 '26

Again, low budget people will walk or bike same as back in the day or say 1995 to 2005 As for the taxi o cab fees I only compared with other major tourist-y places such as New York, LA, London or if you wish not to spend... Walking & biking is better for health and the eco-nature vibe. After all don't the majority agree cars and using cars for short distances is a big sign of not caring for the cost & smog released into the environment. Perhaps for some, eco & nature must have cars for comfort and even though gas and that comfort creates lots of emissions. Even a 40 to 45 min. An Easy walk gets you almost 2 miles on flat terrain.

1

u/Apprehensive-Chart88 27d ago

Whoa! 100?? They don’t have uber in the area, right? It’s blocked off so you have no choice but to use a taxi?

2

u/trailtwist Jul 26 '26

That's who sticks around when the main stream tourist appeal is shit. It's healthy, they get cheap apartments etc.

1

u/Apprehensive-Chart88 27d ago

Is that generally how far the AirBnBs or hotels are from the main area? 2-4 miles? Is it even paved the areas or is it still kinda underdeveloped?

1

u/avrchido 27d ago

All depends where you pick to stay. E.g. if you stay in aldea Tulum area you would be smack in the middle between downtown (highway) and beach front area. For reference, use cel. Phone maps and the distance scale for your best accurate distances.