What is it like to travel to Tulum, Mexico during the Covid pandemic?
Tulum is one of the only places in the world that you can still travel to during the pandemic without any restrictions. Yup- you don’t need to have proof of a negative RT-PCR test to enter Mexico. There are also no limits on which nationalities can enter... so basically, it's free for all over there.
Does Tulum overall have preventative measures in place for Covid? Yes and no.
Did we feel safe traveling in Tulum? Yes!!! And I’ll tell you why.
Hotels in Tulum are doing their utmost to keep guests safe, with temperature checks, enforced mask-wearing policies, and setting up sanitization stations throughout the property. Hotels are only allowed to run at 60% capacity, to avoid crowding and implement proper physical distancing measures.
Every hotel and Airbnb that we stayed at, we felt safe. Cafe’s, restaurants and stores also enforced Covid-preventative measures, and given the fact that most places you visit are outdoors, we felt really comfortable.
Additionally, most of the tourist activities you will be doing are outside. When we visited Chichen Itza, and the cenote’s Oxman, Calavera, and Gran, they were pretty empty- especially right when they opened at 8 in the morning. We avoided tourists groups, and everyone was being respectful about social distancing.
Now here is our problem with Tulum: the tourists themselves.
While half of them respect Covid preventative measures, the other half don’t. We’re talking about not just walking around with masks on, but going out to nightclubs and behaving like its 2019. The clubs were seriously packed, which is clearly why the virus runs rampant throughout Tulum. It sucks to see this, because not only are they infecting each other, they are infecting the locals who have to work to survive. Super inconsiderate, but there’s no point in getting into that here.
Bottomline: If you avoid the nightclubs and random festivals that Tulum still insists on putting on in the middle of a pandemic, you will be fine. Take all of the same precautions that you would at home when you visit, and don’t forget that just because you are on vacation, doesn't mean covid goes away. We wore our masks, used hand sanitizer, wiped tables down that we sat at ourselves, and socially distanced. We also tested prior to travel, so we knew that we weren’t positive. Our main goal was to keep ourselves and those around us safe, and we are confident we did the best that we could.
All of the locals that we spoke to in Tulum were grateful for tourism, especially during these unprecedented times. Many Mexicans from all over the country come to the Tulum area to find work, and then send money home to their families. Completely taking tourism away would have devastating consequences, and therefore we were extremely grateful for the opportunity to support them.
If you do plan on heading over to Tulum/ Riveria Maya, do your part as a citizen of the world who has the opportunity to travel internationally and take the necessary precautions to keep those around you safe.