Tulum News Today — Local Headlines, Travel & Culture

Two speakers present on stage under a wooden structure while an audience sits watching during an outdoor event

Lifestyle

Tulum Innovation Fest runs December 9 to 12 at IKAL Arena

Tulum Innovation Fest brings four days of talks, startups, music, and citywide activations to IKAL Arena and the rest of town, from December 9 to 12.

Person wearing skull face makeup and ornate green embroidered clothing with red fabric holds a human skull prop against a dark background

Society

Paseo Tulum hosts Day of the Dead events from October 30

Day of the Dead in Tulum brings five nights of altars, catrinas, and fire dancing to Paseo Tulum, the first street-level move in a campaign to bring visitors back.

Woman speaking at a podium bearing an official seal, with a Mexican flag visible in the background

Politics

Sheinbaum blames the war in Iran and jet fuel prices for Tulum's lost flights

Sheinbaum tied the loss of Tulum flights to jet fuel prices and the war in Iran. Aeroméxico and Volaris had given other reasons, and the airport case returns Thursday.

Wedding party in tropical setting with groom and bride holding bouquets surrounded by guests in casual beige and white attire beneath palm trees and thatched ro

Lead Story

One wedding can leave 65,000 dollars here, and Tulum is going after more

Tulum destination weddings arrive with up to 300 guests and leave as much as 65,000 dollars. What the ayuntamiento backed on October 2, and who in town gets paid.

October 6, 2026

Tulum Sargassum Condition

Moderate

Politics

The last time Tulum drug-tested its police, three officers lost their jobs

A Tulum police drug test caught 100 officers, including the secretary, by surprise. The C3 in Chetumal holds the samples, and a positive result can end a career.

Robot with white face and metallic hands touching a shattered glass surface against a blue digital background

Art & Culture

The truth behind Anyma's visual effects

Oct 3, 2026

Mexicana de Aviación aircraft parked on airport tarmac with passengers and ground personnel nearby

Businesses

Mexicana de Aviación added 18 monthly Tulum flights since January

Oct 3, 2026

Boxer in blue uniform stands inside a boxing ring holding a championship belt

Sports

Tulum boxer Asia Raele wins her division at Golpe de Oro

Oct 3, 2026

Woman in a straw hat sits in a blue woven chair on a rooftop surrounded by fishing nets and a pink building

Lifestyle

Fanny Barry Came to Tulum to Heal and Stayed to Write a Superhero Trilogy

Oct 2, 2026

Crowd of people at an outdoor music festival with illuminated palm trees, a roller coaster structure, and blue stage lights beaming into the night sky

Art & Culture

Sasha and Maceo Plex will play Tulum into 2027 on Zamna's opening night

Oct 2, 2026

Man in blue shirt holds a phone while speaking indoors, with a hallway and blue wall visible behind him

Politics

New neighborhoods, new roads, and no signs to govern them

Oct 2, 2026

Aerial view of a beachfront resort with sandy beach, ocean waves, palm trees, and buildings nestled among dense tropical vegetation extending inland

A Stay at Alaya Tulum, Where Rest Begins Barefoot

Beachfront resort with thatched-roof bungalows surrounded by palm trees, white umbrellas, and wooden furniture on sand under clear blue sky

Ahau Tulum and the Quiet Intelligence of Hospitality

Aerial view of a beachfront resort with a long swimming pool surrounded by palm trees, lounge chairs, and a sandy beach with turquoise water beyond

How the Conrad Tulum Invited Us In and Made Us Never Want to Leave

Modern resort with illuminated courtyard and palm trees at dusk, surrounded by white buildings overlooking flat landscape

Invited by Hilton Tulum, a stay that allowed us to disconnect

A Stay at Alaya Tulum, Where Rest Begins Barefoot

Ahau Tulum and the Quiet Intelligence of Hospitality

How the Conrad Tulum Invited Us In and Made Us Never Want to Leave

Invited by Hilton Tulum, a stay that allowed us to disconnect

A Stay at Alaya Tulum, Where Rest Begins Barefoot

Ahau Tulum and the Quiet Intelligence of Hospitality

How the Conrad Tulum Invited Us In and Made Us Never Want to Leave

Invited by Hilton Tulum, a stay that allowed us to disconnect

A spacious, modern airport terminal interior with polished floors, wooden ceiling elements, support columns, directional signage, and scattered pedestrians walk

Politics

What happened to Tulum airport?

Two national airlines quit Tulum airport in a single week. Behind the exits sits a 33.2 percent drop in traffic and a military group losing money across its tourism companies.

Commercial aircraft in flight with landing gear down against a clear blue sky

Travel

Airlines blame airport fees, travelers blame Tulum's prices, and the flights keep disappearing

Aeroméxico has already flown its last. Volaris leaves on January 7, and Tulum airport flights are reduced to two Mexican carriers, while Punta Cana picks up the frequencies.

Group of people practicing yoga on mats inside a wooden pavilion with corrugated metal roof in an outdoor tropical setting

Wellness

From Azulik's dome to the Municipal Palace, Tulum Yoga Music Fest ends year one

Seventeen hours of yoga, fire, and gongs at Oasis, then a free closing on the palace esplanade. Tulum Yoga Music Fest ended its first edition, with the tourism office planning the next.

Workers in orange safety vests oversee a demolition site with piles of concrete rubble and excavation equipment among trees

Politics

2.7 billion pesos were spent on that wall in Tulum. Removing it still has no price tag

Crews have started removing the wall at the Tulum ruins entrance, the module with bathrooms and drinking fountains that never worked, to open the corridor promised under Tulum Renace.

La Cocina Maya

Yucatecan and Maya cooking, one dish a week.

All recipes →

Queso Relleno: Edam Hollowed and Stuffed with Pork Picadillo

3 h

Frijol con Puerco: Yucatán's Monday Pot of Black Beans and Pork

3 h 30 min

Poc Chuc: pork grilled over charcoal after a sour orange soak

1 h 15 min

Relleno negro: a turkey leg and two slices of egg-stuffed pork in glossy black recado broth, with pickled red onion and epazote, in a cream ceramic bowl

Relleno Negro: Yucatecan Turkey in Burnt Chilli Broth

3 h 45 min

Three puffed fried corn tortillas topped with shredded turkey, lettuce, tomato, pickled red onion and avocado on a white plate

Salbutes: Yucatecan Puffed Fried Tortillas with Turkey or Chicken

1 h 35 min

Four fried tortillas stuffed with black bean paste, topped with shredded pork, pickled red onion and avocado, on a cobalt rimmed platter

Panuchos: Yucatecan bean-stuffed tortillas, fried and topped

2 h 45 min

Rolled tortillas under a pale green pumpkin seed sauce with a band of red tomato sauce across the middle, on a porcelain plate on marble

Papadzules: tortillas in pumpkin seed sauce with egg

1 h 15 min

A porcelain bowl of clear golden broth with shredded turkey, crisp tortilla strips and floating wheels of lima agria, steam rising

Sopa de Lima, the Yucatán's Sour Lime and Turkey Broth

2 h

Shredded achiote pork glossy in its juices inside an open banana leaf parcel, in a cream ceramic dish on a set table

Cochinita Pibil: achiote pork slow cooked in banana leaf

4 h 30 min

The Tulum Weekender

Tulum, once a week, from people who live here

What actually happened, what got buried, and how the beaches are looking. Free.

Join more than 5,000 readers. One email a week. Leave whenever you want.

Read last week’s edition first

Riviera Maya Residences

Latest Dispatches

Multiple vehicles travel on a two-lane highway lined with tropical vegetation under a partly cloudy sky

Society

Neighbors report repeated crashes where La Veleta meets a highway with no crosswalk

A La Veleta road safety petition filed September 21 asks federal authorities to study the Highway 307 entrance at Avenida Quinta Sur and rule on a traffic light and a protected crossing.

September 29, 2026

Multiple people play volleyball on a sandy beach lined with palm trees and thatched-roof beach clubs under a clear blue sky

Lifestyle

Bills Mafia Will Watch the Patriots Game From a Swim-Up Bar in Tulum

Richie Incognito and Chelsea Lovell host a Buffalo Bills weekend in Tulum at La Zebra, December 3 to 7, ending with a watch party for the Bills at the Patriots game.

September 29, 2026

A person fills a glass with water from a kitchen faucet over a stone sink, with a potted plant and garden visible through the window behind

Society

La Veleta Water Contamination Reports Push Residents to Seek Aquifer Testing in Tulum

Suspected La Veleta water contamination, seen in neighbors' videos of cloudy, foul-smelling water, has a Tulum group asking authorities to sample the aquifer.

September 28, 2026

Person wearing a white hat sits in a pool overlooking a tropical beach with palm trees and ocean

Businesses

The $600 room and the expectation that comes with it

A hotelier explained why Tulum is expensive, and the math holds. The harder question is what a $600 room is supposed to feel like once the guest stops caring about water trucks.

September 28, 2026

Man with beard and tattoos practicing breathwork or meditation indoors near open windows with tropical vegetation visible outside

Wellness

Yoga Teacher and Breathwork Facilitator in 21 Days, at a Jungle Retreat Near Tulum

A yoga teacher training in Tulum pairs a 200-hour certificate with breathwork facilitation over 21 residential days, taught by five teachers from different lineages.

September 28, 2026

People sit barefoot inside a large wooden dome structure with woven palm frond walls and an open ceiling, watching performers with musical instruments

Wellness

Barefoot in Azulik's Dome, Nearly 100 People Opened a Week of Yoga and Music

Tulum Yoga Music Fest opened with a kirtan for nearly 100 people inside Azulik's dome and will close on Sunday after a week of classes, music, and ceremony across town.

September 27, 2026

A hammock hangs on a covered patio beside a dining table, with tropical plants and palm trees visible in the background under dappled sunlight

Wellness

Souljourn Yoga books its first Mexico retreat in Tulum for 2027

Souljourn Yoga's first trip to Mexico is a Tulum yoga retreat in March 2027, with $200 from every registration going to LADLE, the community center for local kids in town.

September 27, 2026

Commercial aircraft parked at an airport tarmac with ground service vehicles and personnel nearby

Businesses

Aeromexico ends its Tulum flights at the close of September

Aeromexico Tulum flights end on September 30, with none filed through August 2027. What the exit leaves on the domestic board, and what ticket holders can claim.

September 27, 2026

Three people stand behind a kitchen counter with large traditional grinding stones in the foreground, with pink walls and cooking equipment visible in the backg

Gastronomy

The most incredible meal near Tulum is authentic, slow, ancient and delicious

Blue, red, and yellow corn ground on site, confited mushrooms inside a tetela, pinole hot cakes the color of slate. Chan Paal cooks 15 minutes from Tulum, in Macario Gómez.

September 24, 2026

Tropical beach with clear turquoise water, white sand, palm trees, and blue lounge chairs along the shoreline under a partly cloudy sky

Environment & Nature

Turquoise returned to Tulum's beaches in September, after a record 6,500 tons of sargassum

Zofemat has pulled more than 6,500 tons off the coast in 2026, exceeding last year's total. Where the sargassum in Tulum went, and why the crews are still working at first light.

September 23, 2026

Sports

330 women, three sports, and a 4.79 million peso promise arrive in Tulum

Sports tourism in Tulum gets its first test on October 2, when 330 women compete in football, volleyball, and yoga under a 4.79 million peso projection.

September 23, 2026

Aerial view of a cleared settlement with tan-colored buildings and cleared land parcels cut through dense green forest, with a winding river alongside

Real Estate

Sedetus pinned two Tulum developments to a map and told buyers to walk away

Sedetus and Tulum's city government warn against Yaax Taanil Kaah and Zonot Kaahah, two Tulum developments without permits now advertised on Facebook.

September 22, 2026

A white tow truck carries a dark-colored jeep on its flatbed in a parking lot

Society

Towed in Tulum? One disputed bill shows why receipts matter

A driver disputes 5,761 pesos in Tulum tow truck charges from EconoGrúas. Most rates track the state tariff. The 1.92 units of maneuvering are the fight.

September 22, 2026

Three soft tacos filled with seasoned meat and topped with pico de gallo and microgreens, served with black beans, lime, and sauce on a white plate

Gastronomy

Where to eat in Tulum, according to the chef at Motmot

Where to eat in Tulum, by the chef at Motmot: Honorio's cochinita from 6 a.m., Mestixa's Bib Gourmand street food, a sour orange yuzukosho, and Arca's open fire.

September 22, 2026

Five performers in traditional red and white clothing swing from ropes attached to a tall wooden pole against a blue sky with white clouds

Art & Culture

Voladores de Papantla must return to Tulum this yea

Mexico's Culture Ministry will inspect the ceremonial pole before the Voladores de Papantla return to Tulum, six months after thin crowds drove the flyers away.

September 22, 2026

Two people use wheelbarrows to collect seaweed from a beach littered with brown sargassum as waves roll in

Environment & Nature

How long will sargassum last in Tulum this year?

The sargassum season in Tulum is still running after 6,500 tons. Two forecasts put the low point around November, and one warns the break could be short.

September 21, 2026