The Tulum Airport is open!

After much waiting and a big change in where the airport was going to built, it is ready! The first flights have already started to arrive in Tulum at the Tulum International Airport Felipe Carillo Puerto. So, what will it be like for tourists now wanting to go to Tulum? How are the transportation times? How much with transfers cost? Let’s take a look at logistics and how things are looking.

Our video introduction to the Tulum Airport

We drove into the airport and walked around to show you what the new airport looks like. The entrance of the Tulum Airport is 25 minutes south of the Tulum downtown. It is another 20 minutes’ drive into the airport. You can see this drive in the video. Along this drive into the airport there are giant stones and trees that are formed into art in the median. There are also monkey bridges to facilitate animals crossing the road. This riming might change a little after everything is ready, currently google maps has the timing about an hour and 25 minutes from the downtown of Tulum, this is incorrect and was affected by construction on the entrance.

What is the Felipe Carrillo Puerto Airport like in Tulum?

Overall, we are very pleased with the look and functionality of this new airport. It has a Tulum vibe but also functional for users of the airport.

Is the Tulum Airport an alternative to flying into Cancun?

Not really unless the flight is a lot cheaper. For one, the transportation time from the Tulum Airport to Playa Del Carmen is about 1 hours and 45 minutes compared to about 50 minutes from Playa Del Carmen to the Cancun International Airport. So, the time to Playa would be an extra as well as transportation costs. But, when looking at currently available flight prices compared between the Cancun Airport and the Tulum Airport, flight prices are higher to Tulum.

One option for travelers coming from outside of Mexico, is check on flights to Mexico City and see about a connecting local airline flight to Tulum. The domestic routes of the Tulum Airport to other Mexican cities are more fairly priced than international arrival flights.

Price of flights to Tulum compared to Cancun

It might be too early to get a true read on prices, but here is what prices are looking like now. We looked at the same time period March 2024 for direct flights to both Tulum Airport and Cancun Airport. Here are the prices for both in comparison.

Tulum and Cancun to Miami

Tulum to Miami RT. $395 USD.
Cancun to Miami RT $215 USD.

It is 46% more expensive to fly between Miami and Tulum compared to flights between Cancun and Miami.

Tulum and Cancun to Mexico City

Tulum to Mexico City $112 USD.
Cancun to Mexico City $83 USD

It is 35% more expensive to fly between Mexico City and Tulum compared to Cancun flights.

How much is the ADO bus to the airport in Tulum?

ADO buses (which is the only public bus option) costs 175 pesos one way between Tulum and the Tulum Airport. The exact amount of time it should take will likely be revised. Google maps has been behind on updates transportation times because the construction. Now that it is all ready, the bus ride should take 45 minutes to the center of Tulum.

There are currently four buses a day from the Tulum Airport to Tulum. The ADO website is also in need of being updated and it might not have the correct information on it. There are also two buses that go from the airport to Tulum and then will continue to Playa Del Carmen.

Tulum Airport Transportation — Here you can see the ADO bus parked at the Tulum Airport.

How far is the Tren Maya Station from the airport?

There are two Trn Maya stations in Tulum. One is near the downtown and the other is at the new airport. The station at the airport is about 1km from the main arrival’s hall. There is a “gravel trail” to the station. We imagine there will be a connecting bus because it is too far to walk especially with luggage.

This will not save too much time compared to the ADO bus because you want to connect to the Tren Maya station and then wait for the train. The Tren Maya does reach high speeds, but the relatively short distance between the stations will still take time to speed up and slow down again. We will update this when the actually Tren Maya starts operating, which is expected by February 2024.