Tulum transportation

Tulum sits about 131 km (81 miles) south of Cancún International Airport (CUN) (the Riviera Maya's main gateway, roughly a 1-hour-45-minute drive down Highway 307. Tulum's own airport, Felipe Carrillo Puerto International (TQO), opened in 2023 about 40 minutes from the hotel zone, but most visitors still fly into Cancún. Either way, a pre-booked private transfer is the easiest way in: your driver meets you inside the terminal, tracks your flight, and takes you straight to your door), no taxi queue, no haggling, and none of the shared stops that come with the ADO bus or colectivo vans.

Arriving from Cancún Airport

From CUN you have options: the ADO bus (inexpensive, but limited departures and a change in Tulum town), an airport taxi (metered by zone and pricey), or a private transfer booked ahead. For night landings, families, or anyone with luggage, a private SUV or van is the most predictable: a fixed price agreed up front and a driver waiting when you land, whether your flight is early or hours late.

Getting around town

Tulum has two hubs: the walkable downtown (Tulum Pueblo) and the beach-and-hotel zone strung along a single coastal road about 4–5 km away. Bikes and taxis cover short hops, but local taxis are unmetered and add up fast. If you're moving between beach clubs, cenotes, dinner, and your villa, hiring a private driver by the hour is usually easier, and often cheaper, than flagging separate taxis all day.

Day trips along the coast

Tulum is the ideal base for the wider Riviera Maya. Favourites include the cenotes (Gran Cenote, Dos Ojos), the Tulum and Cobá ruins, the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve, turtle snorkelling at Akumal, and Playa del Carmen, plus the inland trip to Chichén Itzá. We can set any of these up as a private day trip with a driver who waits while you explore, so you keep your own pace instead of a tour bus's.