Live seaweed conditions, cleanup updates, forecasts, and practical beach planning across Tulum and the Riviera Maya.
200 linked stories
The federal plan puts boats and 50 kilometers of barriers between the open sea and the shore. What does it change for sargassum in Tulum, where crews have already cleared 2,800 tons this year?
Mexico will spend 2.635 billion pesos over two years to catch sargassum offshore. Tulum is one of five priority corridors, with 10,943 tons already pulled off its sand.
Eleven Quintana Roo beaches carry excessive seaweed, and Tulum's sargassum levels rank among the worst, as hoteliers warn that cleanup now costs three times their electricity bill.
The Sargasso Sea is the only sea on Earth with no coastline, and the golden weed that named it now arrives on Tulum's shore by the ton. Here is the full story, from Columbus to satellite maps.
Sargassum lands on the sand, not in the cenotes. Our new community vote asks where to swim in Tulum when you head inland, and the ranking is yours to build.
Clearing the sand has become one of the largest line items on the coast. Tulum sargassum costs now have hoteliers asking whether some months are worth opening at all.
About 150 volunteers joined navy and municipal teams for a Tulum sargassum cleanup at Playa del Pueblo, hauling out some 50 tons. Zofemat has removed more than 2,800 tons this year.
The response to the Tulum tourism crisis came from the president herself, while the mayor elected to govern the destination stayed out of sight. The absence is the story.
Sargassum removal in Tulum reached about 140 tons in a single day as more than 400 Navy personnel and municipal crews cleared national park beaches after Sheinbaum's visit.
Oceana wants the federal Tulum sargassum plan grounded in science and regulated harvesting, warning that the alga already carries an environmental, economic, and social toll on the coast.
President Sheinbaum says the government may buy more collection vessels and extend marine barriers to keep sargassum off Quintana Roo beaches this season.
The 2026 surge of sargassum in Tulum has revived research into turning the seaweed into bioasphalt, even as a local official pushes to declare an environmental contingency.
Zofemat says it has collected more than 2,800 metric tons of sargassum in Tulum this season, and its director calls the arrivals atypical for the Quintana Roo coast.
Summer was meant to revive tourism in Tulum. Instead, tour operators say they are operating at 10% capacity, squeezed by sargassum and Jaguar Park access fees.
Sargassum in Tulum hit critical levels in 2026, with over 2,600 tonnes cleared and specialists pressing authorities to declare an environmental contingency.
Winter demand is booming while summer occupancy collapses below 30 percent. The case for Tulum as a seasonal destination, examined.
Tulum gets a sargassum concrete plant this Friday. The technology has already paved the Maya Train station, but how much of a record seaweed season it can absorb is an open question.
This Tulum travel guide covers the new airport, the Maya Train, sargassum season, ruins fees and cenote safety so you can plan a smarter trip.
The Tulum sargassum surge is emptying beaches, forcing rate cuts, and pushing small coastal restaurants toward closure as cleanup funding faces scrutiny.
Specialists and officials warn that sargassum in Tulum has reached historic levels, outpacing cleanup crews and reviving calls for a formal environmental emergency declaration.
Record sargassum is burying Tulum's beaches as business owners confront officials over a sanitation fee they say produced no cleanup, while closures spread.
