Overtourism in Tulum

And is Holbox next?

Hello! 

Following the post about overtourism, let’s talk about Tulum. The beach town near Cancún has a population of around 46,000, but gets close to 2 million visitors per year. A new airport recently opened with direct flights from the U.S., so that will likely increase. (Before, you had to fly to Cancún and drive or take the bus.) 

Tulum was once a sleepy town that drew backpackers, artists, and people who wanted to learn Spanish while living the good life on the beach. At least that’s what I’ve heard. I never visited then. Now, it’s high-end hotels on the beach, rows of “bohemian” stores that all sell the exact same dresses for around $200, restaurants with cocktail prices to rival any major American city, and gourmet menus. There’s a lot of Italian food and a lot of sushi. It’s beautiful, but feels like Disneyland for adults. The town is more low-key (still very touristy, but in a kitsch way), but it’s difficult to get between the town and beach without a car.  

On the one hand, it’s hard to blame a place for wanting more tourism. Tourism is money. If Americans are allowed to build up beach towns in Florida, why aren’t Mexicans allowed to build up Tulum? The problem is when overtourism benefits few, hurts many. In Tulum, locals are facing eviction as developers kick them out to make room for more high-end hotels and rental properties. The poverty rate in Tulum increased from 32% in 2015 to 62% in 2020, the highest increase in all of Mexico. Clearly, locals are not benefiting from tourism. 

There’s also a very controversial train line opening, basically built for tourists to go from Cancún and Tulum to Maya archaeological sites in the jungle. Many indigenous leaders are against the project, scientists have warned it will cause serious environmental damage, and nearly 3,000 households have been displaced. I encourage you to read more about it if you’re considering traveling on the train. 

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In March, while waiting for our Italy visas and without a home in the U.S., we booked cheap flights to Cancún on a whim. We’d never been to the area and wanted to know what all the Tulum hype was about. Plus, it was cold in Chicago. We stayed in the town part of Tulum and biked or took taxis to the beach a couple of times. I’m not going to lie and say it was a bad trip. The beaches are beautiful, the beach clubs are nice, and we had some good food. But I didn’t love Tulum and felt like part of the problem much of the time.

While I don’t get the Tulum frenzy, I do get the desire to visit the Yucatán. The Maya ruins are incredible and the cenotes and parks are gorgeous. Next time I would stay in Akumal or another smaller city. (Merida also looks lovely, but a bit farther away.) 

If you visit the area, I recommend renting a car so you can get out of Tulum and visit Chichen Itza (very impressive even on a hot, crowded day), the colonial city of Valladolid, and lots of cenotes.

Cenotes are freshwater sinkholes formed when limestone collapses. Some are hundreds of feet deep, with caves and stalagmites you can swim through. I wish I had an underwater camera to show you how deep and cool (and kind of creepy) they are! If you want to see more nature, like the Sian Ka’an Biosphere, book with a company like Mexico Kan that adds lessons on conservation and overtourism to their tours. 

(And if you do go to Tulum, don’t be like the hundreds of tourists behaving badly, acting like a vacation in Mexico is the time to do drugs and get wasted and argue with police.)

Isla Holbox - the next Tulum? 

We left Tulum for Holbox on the recommendation of a friend. Instantly, we loved it. You can take a bus from Tulum or Cancún to Chiquilá. From there, you take a ferry to the island. There are no cars on Holbox, just golf carts for taxis. It’s small and you can get around by bike or on foot. 

Holbox is much, much more chill than Tulum. It’s mostly a walk around barefoot, casual beach bar, tacos and fresh fish (which was weirdly hard to find in Tulum?) kind of place. There’s more emphasis on conservation (strict rules on trash, etc.) and it seems to draw a different type of tourist.

There is a worry that it could become the “next Tulum,” evident in the few trendy hotels and restaurants that have sprung up in recent years. That said, people here seemed happier about tourism. One restaurant owner told us that it’s been better since covid, because now people come year-round instead of in just one season. Another said without tourism, he wouldn’t be able to operate. It was busy, but not overwhelming, and there seemed to be almost as many Mexican tourists as Americans and Europeans. Another restaurant owner said because the island is a little more difficult to reach, he’s not worried about huge influxes of people. I have no idea what will happen, but I hope people who are from and live in Holbox and other places around the Yucatán can benefit from tourism, not be hurt by it. 

If you go: 

• You can swim with whale sharks! It wasn’t the season when we were there but after doing this in the Maldives I would definitely recommend it. 

• Take a boat tour. There are a few islands around Holbox you can only reach by boat, like the Isla de Los Pájaros. You might even get lucky and see dolphins. 

• Punto Cocos has bioluminescence. No guarantee you’ll see it, but worth trying. You can take a kayak tour or walk to the water on your own. There are also some affordable beach clubs on Punta Cocos. This is a super shallow beach, so it would be good for kids, too. 

• Walk to Punta Mosquito, part of the Yum Balam Nature Reserve, where you can see flamingos. More on how to do this here. Bring sunscreen and lots of water.  

• There are tons of great dining options. We liked La Puerta Azul Beach Bar (fish tacos and cocktails), Bar Zomay for sunset drinks, Marisqueria La Bamba Jarocha for excellent seafood soup, and Raises Slow Food for grilled fish. But you’ll see plenty of fish spots and I’m sure many of them are good. 

Have you been to Holbox? Tulum? What are your thoughts? Next time:  off season travel to Martinique. 

Thanks for reading!

–Rebecca 💛