Payment Failures and One Cashier Stall Entry to the Tulum Ruins

Long lines formed Thursday at the main entrance to the Tulum ruins as a single cashier collected electric cart fares and the payment system malfunctioned, according to local tour guides.

The Jaguar Park ticket booth at the entry checkpoint stayed closed, guides told local reporters. One window remained open, staffed by one person, and crowds built up at the access point as visitors waited to pay for the ride to the archaeological zone.

Every visitor to the ruins passes through that gate, and tourism service providers say more are arriving after months of work to attract them. A bottleneck at the entrance slows the entire site, and the winter high season has not yet started.

One open window for the Jaguar Park electric carts

The electric carts link the park entrance with the archaeological zone. Visitors who choose the ride pay at the access point, and under rates announced in July, the fare is 20 pesos per person for both Mexican and international visitors.

On Thursday, guides said that the payment point became the choke point. With the main booth closed, one employee handled the line alone, and payment system failures further slowed each sale.

Neither the number of visitors affected nor the length of the wait has been reported.

A single inspector at the bag check

Paying for the cart was only the first stop. Visitors also undergo an inspection of their bags and belongings, and, according to service providers, that check was handled by one person as well.

Together, the two checkpoints held up entry for domestic and international tourists alike.

Tulum ruins traffic picks up after months of promotion

Workers in the tourism sector described the problem as a mismatch between capacity and demand. For months, they said, the goal was to increase arrivals at the archaeological zone. Now that visitor flow is growing, they argue, the site needs sufficient staff and reliable systems to keep wait times short.

The growth they describe comes three months after a change in park access. Since July 20, Mexican nationals have been able to enter Jaguar Park free of charge under a federal measure aimed at domestic tourism, while paying 80 pesos for the archaeological zone Monday through Saturday and nothing on Sundays. International visitors pay 100 pesos for the park and 165 pesos for the archaeological zone, according to the rates published at the time.

Demand was already high before that change. In early 2025, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) reported that the Tulum Archaeological Zone received more than 3,000 visitors a day, ranking it the third most visited pre-Hispanic site in Mexico.

Several operators share one entrance

Jaguar Park charges multiple fees and has more than one administrator at the same gate. The archaeological zone is run by INAH, while the park and Tulum National Park carry separate charges. In August 2025, INAH said the archaeological zone tickets sold at the Jaguar Park access booth were sold by Grupo Mundo Maya and had been purchased in advance from the institute, and that direct sales at the archaeological zone's own booth continued as normal.

Local reports on Thursday did not say which operator staffs the cart window or the bag inspection.

Guides want more booths, more inspectors, and a working payment system

Service providers called for reinforcing both the ticket windows and the inspection points, and for guaranteeing that the payment system works, so that tourists can reach one of the destination's main attractions without long delays. They also asked for better overall organization of the access area.

No official explanation has been given for the closure of the main booth, the payment failures, or any steps planned to fix them.

Until park authorities say what broke down on Thursday, guides heading into the Day of the Dead weekend have no way to know whether a second window will be open when their groups arrive.

Have you waited in line at the Tulum ruins entrance recently, and how long did it take you to get through? Join the conversation and share your perspective with us on Instagram and Facebook at @thetulumtimes.