Canadian family says it paid $300 to make a flight

Foreign tourists driving to Tulum's airport describe police extortion at roadside checkpoints, where officers allege violations and press them for cash, according to complaints that have spread across social media in recent weeks.

The accounts arrive at a sensitive moment for a town that depends on visitor confidence. The road to Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport is the last stretch many travelers see before leaving, and stories of being pressured for money there spread quickly among the foreign residents and repeat visitors who follow Tulum closely online.

A family says it paid 300 dollars to catch a flight

One of the most widely shared complaints came from a Canadian family who said they were stopped while driving to return a rental car before their flight home. By their account, the driver had changed lanes to let a tour bus merge when an officer pulled them over and told them they had committed a violation.

The officer said he would remove the vehicle's license plate and that they would have to recover it at a police command post, the family wrote. With less than two hours before their flight and a two-year-old child in the car, they said the officer asked them to empty their pockets, show their wallets, and open some of their luggage while warning them about the consequences of refusing.

The family said they handed over about 300 Canadian dollars to avoid missing the flight. During the drive, they reported seeing roughly ten patrol units stopping other drivers, which they took as a sign the practice was not isolated.

A second account and a familiar checkpoint

A separate visitor described being stopped for allegedly driving the wrong way and said the officer offered two choices, arrest or cash. The post drew responses from residents and other foreigners living in the Riviera Maya, several of whom said they had heard similar stories.

The checkpoint area south of the airport is familiar to drivers who follow Tulum travel forums. Posts on sites such as Tripadvisor describe near-identical stops, including travelers rushing to return rental cars before early flights who say officers cited speeding they did not commit and asked for payment in dollars.

Which police force is involved remains unconfirmed

The people who posted did not say whether the units belonged to municipal or state police. Much of the citizen commentary in recent months has pointed to operations on highways, tourist access roads, and areas near the airport, but no authority has confirmed which corporation, if any, is responsible for the stops described. The Tulum Times could not independently verify the individual accounts.

Tulum police extortion reports test the destination's safety pledges

Reports of Tulum police extortion are not new, and they carry weight because they reach travelers at the exact point of departure. For a destination still working to rebuild visitor confidence after a difficult stretch for its tourism economy, complaints framed around the airport route are harder to dismiss than isolated incidents downtown.

Operators in the tourism sector have said publicly that such complaints damage how safe the destination feels, regardless of how many trips end without incident.

The tourist pass built to prevent roadside bribes

Quintana Roo already runs a program meant to reduce exactly this kind of encounter. The Tourist Mobility Pass, issued free through the state's Guest Assist platform at guestassist.mx, links a visitor's rental contract to a QR code that officers can scan at checkpoints. The state rolled it out in 2024 and expanded it across Quintana Roo in 2025.

The pass entitles tourists to as many as two courtesy tickets for minor infractions and, according to the program's guidance, means officers should not hold a driver's passport or license over small violations. It does not shield anyone from genuine fines for serious offenses such as drunk driving. Authorities have also promoted toll-free numbers and the Guest Assist app for reporting bribe attempts.

Prior removals and the state's zero-tolerance promise

State officials have acted on similar complaints before. In August 2025, according to Riviera Maya News, two officers from the Tulum traffic department were removed and placed under investigation after a tourist reported being asked for a 2,500-peso bribe to avoid having a vehicle impounded. Governor Mara Lezama, citing her zero-tolerance policy on her La Voz del Pueblo program, said anyone who commits corruption must leave the administration and be held accountable.

Weeks later, in October 2025, regional outlets reported that authorities had opened a further investigation after foreign drivers described on-the-spot payments near the coast, with the state again pledging zero tolerance.

No official response yet to the latest complaints

As of now, no authority has issued a public position on the specific accounts shared by the Canadian family and the other visitor. Residents and business owners continue to call for any abuse to be investigated and punished. Whether the latest complaints lead to named officers, a case file, and a public update, as earlier ones did, is the test the destination now faces at its own front door.

Have you been stopped at a checkpoint on the way to Tulum's airport, and how did you handle it? Join the conversation and share your perspective with us on Instagram and Facebook at @thetulumtimes.