Where to stay in Tulum

The working heart of Tulum, built on a simple grid either side of Avenida Tulum. This is where you'll find the ADO bus station, banks, pharmacies, supermarkets and the cheapest places to eat, from taco stands to bakeries. Evenings are lively along the main avenue and the parallel side streets.

Hostels and good-value hotels cluster here. The beach is a few kilometres east, which most people cover by bike or taxi, and colectivos to Playa del Carmen and the cenotes stop on the highway. Residential districts such as Tumben Kah, on the north-west edge, are quieter and a little further from the action.

A fast-growing neighbourhood south-west of the centre, filled with low-rise apartment blocks, small hotels, cafés and co-working spaces. It suits travellers staying a week or more who want a kitchen and a pool without paying beach-road prices.

Some streets are still unpaved and building work is common, so check the exact location if noise matters. Town is generally a short ride or a longer walk away, and the beach needs a bike or taxi.

A planned development between town and the coast, with landscaped streets, condo buildings, restaurants and boutique hotels. It sits roughly between the two halves of Tulum, which makes it a popular compromise: the beach road and the town centre are both a short bike or taxi ride away.

It's quieter and more polished than the centre, with fewer cheap eats on the doorstep.

The Carretera Tulum–Boca Paila follows the shore south from the ruins, lined with cabañas, eco-hotels, beach clubs and restaurants set in the jungle on one side and on the sand on the other. The northern end, nearer the archaeological site and the national park, is generally simpler; the southern stretch is where most of the high-end boutique hotels are.

Traffic on the narrow road can be slow in high season, and prices for food and drink are well above town. Further south, the road continues into the Sian Ka'an reserve.