Tulum News Today — Local Headlines, Travel & Culture

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.

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.

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.

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

Lead Story

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

Tulum Sargassum Condition

Moderate

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.

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

Sep 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

Sep 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

Sep 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

Sep 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?

Sep 21, 2026

Person in black clothing standing among ancient stone columns and a gold statue in a desert landscape with mountains in the background

Art & Culture

Anyma opens Zamna Tulum's tenth anniversary season on January 4

Sep 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

Three people stand together in front of a green flag and a blue flag with a white star, posing for a formal photograph

Travel

A direct flight from Chile to Tulum, proposed without a date

A direct flight from Chile to Tulum came up in a meeting with Chile's ambassador. No airline flies it, and the town also proposed a promotional deal with Viña del Mar.

Beachgoers and workers gather along the shoreline collecting marine debris and seaweed near palm trees and wooden structures

Environment & Nature

ZOFEMAT collects 32 kilos of marine litter at Playa del Pueblo

While sieving the sand at Playa del Pueblo, the Tulum beach cleanup logged 32 kilos of marine litter on Friday, including 200 grams of microplastic and three syringes.

Ruins of a stone structure with partially collapsed walls and openings, surrounded by grass and palm trees under clear sky

Politics

INAH still guards Tulum's ruins. An Army company keeps the money at the gate

Artisans, paramedics, and food vendors inside the Parque del Jaguar are being photographed for a state register, seven weeks after the gate money moved to an army company.

Couple in white clothing holding hands on a sandy beach with ocean and waves visible behind them

Lifestyle

Wedding planners are selling cenotes instead of shoreline

Tulum weddings have fallen to their lowest demand in a decade. The registry went about two weeks in August without a single ceremony, and one resort has gone from 40 a month to one or two.

La Cocina Maya

Yucatecan and Maya cooking, one dish a week.

All recipes →

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

People remove seaweed from a beach while others work in the background near the waterline

Environment & Nature

Roughly seven container loads of sargassum leave Tulum's beaches every day, holidays included

Crews have hauled 6,500 tons of sargassum in Tulum off four public beaches since January, and the containers have made more than 1,800 trips. The arrivals have not stopped.

September 18, 2026

Armed military personnel in digital camouflage uniforms march in formation down a paved street lined with palm trees

Politics

Tulum's Independence parade jumped from 15 contingents to 25 in a single year

The Tulum Independence Day parade drew 3,200 marchers across 25 contingents, 10 more than last year, and fell on the same day as tonight's Grito with Super Lamas.

September 15, 2026

Airy living room with beige sofa, wooden furniture, and large glass doors opening to a terrace overlooking tropical landscape and ocean

Real Estate

A furnished apartment and an empty one are two different tax bills in Tulum

Rental income tax in Mexico splits foreign owners in two. Residents pay on net income with a 35 percent deduction. Non-residents pay 25 percent of the gross rent, with nothing deducted.

September 15, 2026

Travel

Twelve departures are the entire Newark season at Tulum's airport this winter

Tulum airport flights return to five international cities this winter. Four are Canadian; the Newark route lasts 39 days, and the full schedule adds up to 10 weekly frequencies.

September 14, 2026

A blue and white vessel loaded with yellow sargassum seaweed operates in shallow turquoise water dotted with brown seaweed patches

Environment & Nature

The Navy will operate 1,867 million pesos against sargassum in 2027

The 2027 sargassum budget allocates the Navy 1,866.9 million pesos for ships, a dock, and four buildings in Quintana Roo, and excludes the municipalities from the spending.

September 14, 2026

Two volunteers in white shirts rake and collect seaweed and debris from a beach at sunset, with boats visible on the water behind them

Environment & Nature

Tulum's business council joins the beach cleanups, and the plastic gets a second destination

Environmental groups and the business council behind the Tulum beach cleanup say the recyclables pulled off the sand are headed to a fuel plant. The dates and the money are missing.

September 13, 2026

Hatchling sea turtles crawl across sand toward the ocean

Environment & Nature

One leatherback nest and 29,412 others on the Quintana Roo coast this season

Quintana Roo's sea turtle nesting season reached 29,413 nests by the end of July, most of them green turtles, with a single leatherback nest in the entire state count.

September 12, 2026

Beach bungalows with thatched roofs sit empty on white sand near palm trees and turquoise water

Businesses

Five Tulum hotels turned off the lights, and the coast now waits for October

Tulum hotel occupancy holds near 20 percent on the coastal strip, five properties have paused operations, and the sector is asking banks to restructure credit before winter.

September 12, 2026

Luxury poolside lounge area with cream-colored seating, palm trees, and modern wooden structures surrounding a turquoise swimming pool

Art & Culture

UMusic Hotel and Beach Club Tulum becomes Zamna's official hotel

UMusic Hotel and Beach Club Tulum becomes the official hotel of Zamna before it opens. The partnership promises a year-round calendar and names dates only from December 31 to January 10.

September 12, 2026

Four people in white clothing stand holding maroon books in front of bright pink architectural features and yellow-green palm fronds

Politics

Safer streets and emptier hotels frame Tulum's second government report

The Tulum government report counted 83 percent fewer homicides and new street works. Hotel, housing, and property figures tell a harder story, and both deserve a reading.

September 11, 2026

Three men hold promotional posters and wear branded shirts for a mountain bike race event in front of a sponsor backdrop

Sports

Tulum's first Xibalbá mountain bike race takes 500 riders

The first Tulum mountain bike race under the Xibalbá name puts more than 100,000 pesos into prizes and stops at 500 riders, a ceiling the organizer set for safety.

September 9, 2026

A municipal police vehicle patrols a busy street lined with shops and pedestrians at night

Society

Tourists Say Tulum Police Charged Them 20,000 Pesos for a 3,800 Peso Fine

Tulum police extortion is reported by visitors every day. What the municipal traffic rulebook actually authorizes, what a fine costs, and where to report an officer.

September 8, 2026

Person floating in turquoise water inside a cave with stalactites and limestone formations overhead

Environment & Nature

A court ended the Sac Actun fight without ever deciding who was right

A federal judge dismissed the legal challenge to the Sac Actun road without ruling on the environmental exemption behind it. Elijo por el Clima can still appeal to a collegiate court.

September 8, 2026

A wooden directional sign stands among tropical vegetation near a modern brick building where visitors gather under a covered structure

Travel

The Jaguar Park wall comes down this week, and eight winter routes are promised

Tulum Renace moves from announcement to demolition this week at Parque del Jaguar, while the count of winter air routes still changes depending on which tourism office is speaking.

September 8, 2026

Person's hand feeds cash into a shark-shaped novelty taximeter mounted on a car dashboard, with a restaurant and palm trees visible through the windshield

Society

The state wants a taximeter in every Tulum taxi, and the union wants Shark

Imoveqroo says the 24-zone fare board Tulum's taxi union published is not authorized, and that taximeters in Tulum are the answer. One La Veleta fare rose from 31 pesos to 100 pesos.

September 8, 2026

Thatched-roof beach structures and palm trees sit on white sand with visitors gathered near the buildings under a clear blue sky

Travel

Tulum got its turquoise water back while some of its hotels sat closed

The arrival of sargassum in Tulum has dropped, and Playa Paraíso is clear again, ZOFEMAT says, after crews pulled more than 5,600 tons off the sand, above the total for all of 2025.

September 7, 2026