Tulum News Today — Local Headlines, Travel & Culture

Beachgoers wade and stand in shallow water and sand along a coastline with seaweed scattered on the beach and gentle waves breaking offshore

Travel

Is the sargassum finally leaving Tulum?

Sargassum in Tulum is thinning on Jaguar Park’s beaches after weeks of buildup. Restaurants operating at 10 to 20 percent capacity are counting on November to reach half capacity.

Multi-story concrete building under construction with metal scaffolding and safety barriers against a clear blue sky

Real Estate

Environmental Groups Call for a Halt to New Tulum Real Estate Development Approvals

Sélvame MX says Tulum real estate development outran its drainage. The group wants new subdivisions stopped to protect the jungle and the Sac Actun and Ox Bel Ha rivers.

Two people collect trash in a burlap sack on a sandy beach lined with palm trees

Environment & Nature

Tulum’s Conservation Week Opens Its Weekend

National Conservation Week in Tulum runs through October 27 with beach cleanups, turtle talks, catamaran rides, and tours of the Jaguar reserve. Most events are free, with limited spaces.

Law enforcement officers investigate outside a building with red-trimmed windows and glass doors, with potted plants nearby

Lead Story

Gunfire Hits Hotel Bacab in Tulum as Attackers Leave a Threat

Shots struck the entrance of Hotel Bacab in Tulum’s La Veleta on Saturday, and a handwritten warning addressed to a man named Rafael was left beside the building.

October 24, 2026

Tulum Sargassum Condition

Clear / Low

Art & Culture

Hanal Pixán, Day of the Dead in Tulum, Opens With Toys for Children’s Souls

Day of the Dead in Tulum runs October 31 to November 2 as Hanal Pixán. What goes on a family altar, where to see it this year, and the etiquette for visitors.

Two workers operate a compacting machine on a wet street lined with palm trees and tropical vegetation

Politics

How Clogged Drains Make Tulum’s Pothole Problem Harder to See

Oct 23, 2026

Woman in white blazer speaking at a podium with a microphone during a travel industry event

Businesses

Tulum Airport Incentives Set at 100 Percent for Three Years

Oct 23, 2026

Businesses

Uber Is Now in Tulum, Competing With the Taxis and Recruiting Them To

Oct 23, 2026

A large pothole filled with water sits in a deteriorated street lined with parked cars and residential buildings

Society

Three taps on a phone could decide which Tulum pothole gets fixed first

Oct 23, 2026

Ancient stone pyramid structure illuminated in orange light at night with stepped platforms and rectangular openings visible in the masonry

Travel

Tulum once opened its ruins after sunset, and the people who saw it remember

Oct 21, 2026

Two people stand on a wooden platform surrounded by hanging vines over a turquoise cenote pool beneath rocky cliffs and forest canopy

Lifestyle

Tulum won another World Travel Award, and it has nothing to do with sand

Oct 20, 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

Man driving a car views a navigation app on his phone mounted on the dashboard while traveling through a street lined with shops and palm trees

Businesses

Uber began operating in Tulum and Playa del Carmen

Uber in Tulum and Playa del Carmen began taking trips on October 20 with free opening rides. What a fare costs after the promotion is the part nobody has published.

Two women in bikinis walk along a sandy beach with palm trees, boats, and other beachgoers visible in the background

Travel

The postcard is back in Tulum this week

Zofemat says sargassum in Tulum has dropped off for days, with 7,300 tons hauled this year and the hotel zone expected to be practically clean by week’s end.

Sea turtle crawling across sand among overturned beach lounge chairs at night along a shoreline

Environment & Nature

Tulum’s 6,000 turtle nests hatch after dark, onto whatever the beach clubs left out

Sea turtle nesting in Tulum has passed 6,000 nests this season. Volunteers want sunbeds and umbrellas off the sand at night, and a municipal rule already sets the hour.

Travel

Mara Lezama announces 21 new winter routes for the Mexican Caribbean

The 21 new winter flights to Cancún and Tulum start between October 25 and January 8. Canada supplies 13 of them, and Tulum airport gets seven, six Canadian and one from Newark.

La Cocina Maya

Yucatecan and Maya cooking, one dish a week.

All recipes →

Chaya con Huevo: Yucatecan Tree Spinach Scrambled with Eggs

35 min

Mucbipollo: the Large Baked Tamal of Hanal Pixán

3 h 40 min

Tikin Xic, Whole Fish Grilled in Banana Leaf with Achiote

1 h 15 min

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

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Riviera Maya Residences

Latest Dispatches

A modern concrete house with open sliding glass doors faces a small pool surrounded by tropical vegetation and wooden decking

Real Estate

Investors bet on a richer Tulum

Airlines are pulling 72 percent of this quarter’s US capacity to Tulum. Investors answer with Tulum luxury tourism, a Faena complex, and a 57-room UMusic hotel opening in December.

October 19, 2026

A person holds an electricity bill from Mexico's state power company in front of a CFE office building with parked cars

Society

A thousand signatures over Tulum power bills went to the president

CFE bills in Tulum doubled in two cycles, Aldea Zama residents say, with charges on empty apartments, 1,000 signatures to the president, and amparos that changed nothing.

October 19, 2026

Large sign reading "TULUM" with text referencing an international airport below it, set against a forested backdrop with grass in the foreground

Politics

Tulum pays the image bill for an airport in another municipality

A Tulum airport name change is on the table after councilman Eugenio Barbachano said the terminal in Felipe Carrillo Puerto should stop carrying the destination’s name.

October 17, 2026

Man in white shirt holds a smartphone while speaking indoors in front of wooden doors

Politics

Tulum is sinking while the state does nothing

Councilman Eugenio Barbachano says he wants no candidacy in 2027, only an opposition bloc that treats the Tulum tourism crisis as the emergency the state government still will not name.

October 17, 2026

A conservator wearing black gloves and glasses carefully cleans an ancient ceramic bowl decorated with orange and black geometric patterns and animal motifs

Art & Culture

Tulum’s Museum Just Received a Jar Older Than the Walled City Itself

Seven Mesoamerican cultures that never settled this coast are entering the Tulum museum at Parque del Jaguar, and 47 of the 53 new pieces will anchor a hall that does not exist yet.

October 15, 2026

Two workers in blue hats and dark uniforms stand beside a yellow dump truck unloading brown seaweed onto a pile, with palm trees visible in the background

Travel

A new sargassum landing puts Tulum’s coast back under red

The sargassum in Tulum returned this week, three weeks after the water cleared, and Quintana Roo’s record 2026 haul has already passed 138,000 tons.

October 14, 2026

A dimly lit street lined with trees shows sparse streetlights illuminating a mostly dark roadway at night

Politics

Why Tulum’s streets are going dark

Tulum’s 2026 revenue law books 36,395,275 pesos from a street lighting charge, about 22 percent more than in 2025, while repairs still arrive one neighbor’s complaint at a time.

October 14, 2026

Group of people wearing skull face makeup and traditional embroidered clothing hold marigold flowers and candles during a nighttime procession

Art & Culture

The differences between Day of the Dead and Halloween

Day of the Dead vs. Halloween is not a costume question. One night keeps the dead away; the other feeds them, and on this coast, the Maya version has its own name.

October 13, 2026

Red sedan with damage to its driver's side sits on a road with other vehicles nearby and a road sign visible overhead

Society

La Veleta waits for a crosswalk as federal road money falls

Federal road upkeep funding is set to fall by nearly half in 2027, and the requests Tulum has pending on Highway 307 are contingent on a budget that deputies have not yet voted on.

October 13, 2026

American Airlines aircraft parked at a gate with ground crew and equipment nearby at an airport terminal

Businesses

American Airlines ends its Miami to Tulum route

American Airlines Tulum flights lose Miami on January 5, 2027, leaving one daily Dallas jet with 78 seats as the airport’s operator projects US service nearly doubling.

October 13, 2026

Athlete wearing blue and black competition attire stands in an indoor arena holding two medals around her neck

Sports

Tulum blue belt Amira Neme targets the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds

Amira Neme returned to Tulum jiu-jitsu in May 2025 with one class a week. Six AJP golds later, she is training for the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds in Las Vegas.

October 12, 2026

Two people wearing red helmets ride a red scooter down a narrow street beneath a colorful overhead canopy of paper flags

Art & Culture

Red against Caribbean blue, the campaign that photographs Tulum as one single world

The Faena Tulum campaign runs from the open beach light to the dark of a cenote, through the town's streets. Rafa Olarra, Pol Rodríguez, and the full list of credits.

October 11, 2026

A bilingual welcome sign for Parque del Jaguar stands at the entrance to a paved road lined with palm trees and tropical vegetation under clear blue sky

Politics

Who should sell Tulum, the army or the travel industry?

AMATUR blames the Tulum airport military management for the airline exodus and wants a private sector council. The operator answers with 1,064 projected winter flights.

October 11, 2026

Man in maroon polo shirt holds up a Morena party registration document while seated in an office with toy cars displayed on shelves behind him

Politics

Jorge Portilla registers with Morena for Tulum’s 2027 municipal race

Jorge Portilla Mánica ran against Morena in 2024. He registered with it on October 10, and the Tulum 2027 election now turns on a list the party publishes by December 31.

October 11, 2026

Illuminated Starbucks storefront with stone and wood facade surrounded by palm trees and tropical vegetation at dusk

Businesses

Starbucks closes its Tulum hotel zone store after 11 years

Starbucks in Tulum is down to a single store after the Boca Paila branch closed with no notice. The chain’s September closure plan for North America does not cover Mexico.

October 11, 2026

Resort pools and beachfront with white umbrellas overlook turquoise ocean water and sandy beach lined with palm trees

Travel

Hilton converts Waldorf Astoria and Conrad Tulum to all inclusive

Hilton has made Conrad Tulum all-inclusive and has done the same at Waldorf Astoria Riviera Maya, which will register only guests 18 and older from January 10. What the new rates cover.

October 8, 2026