Is Tulum Safe? Our Brutally Honest Story + Tulum Safety Tips for 2025

After living in Tulum for 6 months, my answer to the question, ‘Is Tulum Safe?‘ has changed dramatically. Safety in Tulum can honestly never be fully guaranteed, in our experience. What follows are some stories from our personal experience in Tulum and some Tulum safety tips if you are going there. Scroll to the bottom to go straight to the tips.

Tulum can truly be a wild card (as can anywhere in Mexico, but I think Tulum is the worst). I have seen some blog posts saying that Tulum IS safe and most safety tips are related to common sense, but I disagree. A lot of bad things that have happened to us and others in Tulum were truly ONLY a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Like witnessing a shooting while sitting at a patio dinner or being pulled over and robbed for no reason while driving at night, some things are inevitable in Tulum. And these are the things you’ll have to consider before traveling or living there. I do believe it has gotten better as of late, but I would never completely trust it here.

After a SUPER fun 2-week trip to Tulum in 2020, I couldn’t wait to get back in 2021. We love the beach, good food, spirituality, culture, and good house/techno music, which are all things Tulum is well-known for. After getting a few job offers a few months apart, we put down roots in the town we thought we loved. We bought our own scooter, had an apartment, and made friends in town – locals, travelers, and expats alike.

Tulum Safety in 2025

But after the p*ndemic, Tulum changed. In a post-c*vid world where most countries were still closed, crowds began flocking to Tulum (and Quintana Roo/Mexico in general) in massive numbers. Tulum had parties and relaxed regulations when nowhere else could. So the people followed – and fast.

Prices rose, especially on the beach. Corruption rose dramatically, as did theft. While we lived there, there were protests about femicide, a cartel war period where people were encouraged to stay inside for nearly a week, nearly weekly shootings at one point in the main town and beach (one injuring a tourist), and unruly cops who would extort anyone they could.

There was a shooting in October 2021 where TWO tourists died in a crossfire at a popular tourist restaurant that I personally have eaten at many times. It easily could have been me.

I must first note that Tulum has a beautiful culture, history, and people. THE THINGS BELOW DO NOT HAPPEN TO EVERYONE. Many people go to Tulum and have the absolute time of their life. It’s a fantastic destination for many (I recommend a week or less).

What has happened to Tulum could happen anywhere that had such a dramatic rise in tourism in such a short time – coming with huge amounts of money arriving to an area with low wages and underlying potential for corruption.

Many say that how Tulum currently is, is how Playa del Carmen was a number of years ago but has since been calmed down. Tulum is the ‘new hotspot,’ the trendy place to travel, and an influencer haven. Unfortunately, it was just a matter of time before the corruption and crime caught up with the money and glamour arriving into the area.

Photos in this Post

Lastly, I have sprinkled fun Tulum photos throughout this post to show how incredible and amazing this town can be and to keep the mood light throughout some tough stories!

I also lost all my iPhone photos from Tulum so I don’t have much, but I scavenged some DSLR pics from different music events we worked and saved some random stories I posted throughout our months there 🙂

Our Tulum Stories – Tulum Safety/Corruption Incidents that Can Happen

We had a ton of isolated incidents happen to us and friends in Tulum that culminated to one massive terrible night where my boyfriend was beaten and framed by the cops. More on that later.

I have broken down below the different types of incidents that you can expect in Tulum. All of this is from personal experience – not listing nearly pointless data like some other sites do. All of this either happened to us, or friends of ours.

Here is a list of Tulum scams, safety concerns, and issues to watch out for:

Tulum Police Extortion on Scooter/Motos/Cars

It’s great having a scooter in Tulum, or ‘moto’ as they call them here. It’s cheaper to rent or buy your own scooter here, especially if you will be around long term, as taxis are expensive. But, the one bad thing about motos is that corrupt cops target them REGULARLY.

If you are driving around at night (after 11 or 12) in isolated/not busy areas (such as Aldea Zama and La Veleta) and a cop sees you, they will have NO problem pulling you over and deciding just what to take your money for that day. They are all terribly scary and carry huge guns, so there’s no messing with them. Some examples:

“You’re Drunk, Pay a ‘Fine:”

One night, a friend of ours drove another friend home, just around the corner (from Aldea Zama to the town). On the way back, the police pulled him over for no reason. They asked him if he had been drinking. He said no, not for hours (which was true).

They then said, I kid you not, ‘ breathe on me.’ Which, he did. The police then accused him of drinking tequila and being drunk, and asked him to breathe on them again. They threatened to take him into the station for drunk driving unless he paid a totally BS ‘fine’ which happened to be the same amount of money he had in his wallet that they searched for no reason also. He paid and they let him go.

This happens OFTEN and in many ways. The police will accuse you of being drunk with absolutely no test or no reason other than driving in a quiet neighborhood late at night (where no one can see them being corrupt).

“Let Me Search Your Bags for No Reason.”

Tulum does have a lot of cartel action and a lot of people coming to Mexico and using drugs and/or going to clandestine parties in Tulum. The police know this, and they will often pull you over for no reason (in a moto OR car) and search everything you have to see if they can find anything. If they do? A hefty ‘fine.’

We had a friend driving around with some weed (cannabis is decriminalized in Mexico by this point, but the police don’t care). She was pulled over driving at night in Aldea Zama and the police demanded to search her bag. After taking apart each and every compartment, zipper, nook, and cranny, they located a small amount of weed.

They then insisted that it was illegal and that they would take her to the station if she didn’t pay a fine. They said the fine was something like 300 dollars but upon finding $150 in her wallet they took that, left the weed, and drove away.

I also had a friend driving home at night in a car, who was pulled over for no reason and made to allow the cops to search everything in the car. The police found one tiny empty baggie which they presumed to have housed some type of drugs at some point, and all three people in the car were made to pay a fine.

I could give you 2-3 more incidents I know of this happening… most people I know who were in Tulum a while had this happen at least once. But I think you get the point.

Always Wear Your Helmet

We also were extorted once when our spare helmet got stolen off our scooter at the beach at night, and we drove 5 minutes back home to Aldea Zama. An ATV cop saw us, pulled us over, and has us pay 1000 pesos for not wearing a helmet. This is fair enough I guess (even straight after the incident… sigh) but if you have no helmet try and take a taxi.

Robbery and Theft in Tulum

There is plenty of robbery and theft in Tulum. From petty tourist scams like stealing things from the beach, to break-ins and stolen scooters, here are some stories.

Someone Approached Me on a Dark Corner and Tried to Snatch my Phone

This was really scary. My friends were waiting on a shuttle in Aldea Zama and I took a walk around the block searching for anywhere to find some water. Aldea Zama is usually a safe neighborhood (besides cops extortion) so I wasn’t worried.

I turned a darker corner to make a loop back to where my friends were, and a man approached me from behind. In Spanish, he asked me ‘a little question miss, what time is it?’ to which I stepped back and turned on my phone screen to tell him the time.

At this point he reached for my phone, turned the screen towards himself as if to look at it, and then instantly and dramatically increased his grip on my phone and tried pulling it VERY hard from me. Luckily I was already vigilant at the time (stranger danger much?), YANKED it back and out of his hands, yelled, ‘Do NOT steal my phone!’ at him, and began running away toward the lit street as fast as I could.

The last thing I saw before I sprinted away was him putting his hand on his pocket. What was in there, I don’t know. Could have been a knife, gun, or him just trying to scare me. I wasn’t sticking around to find out.

We Had our Scooter Stolen from the Street

When we arrived in Tulum in December, we bought our own scooter for $800 as we knew we would be around for at least 4-5 months and transportation here is super expensive. We hadn’t heard of too much theft at the time, so we didn’t worry when parking our scooter in the middle of town (which we did all the time) for a few hours one night.

After returning from a venue at maybe 1-2am, we walked back to our scooter to find it… gone. Just totally and completely missing. It was not where we parked it, or anywhere else around. We had the keys on us, so someone literally somehow lifted it right off the street near the town square.

We aren’t sure if people use tow trucks or make keys on the spot, but our scooter was lost and we never found it again after that (even after checking the police, all impound lots, and obsessing over all Italika red 125cc scooters for our last 3 months).

Many people have their phones/wallets stolen at festivals by professional pickpockets.

This happened to my boyfriend (phone stolen from his pocket while working) and tons of friends and people at large events like Zamna, Day Zero, Cenote parties, and beach clubs. Professional thieves attend big crowded events and steal phones from everywhere… pockets, purses, bags, you name it.

One friend of mine had her phone disappear from the inner zip pocket of her purse. Crowds can be dangerous for phones, wallets, and personal belongings if they are not secure.

Scooter Helmet Theft

Our spare helmet was stolen from under our scooter one day at the beach. Try to lock both or parts of both inside your scooter if you can.

The Stolen Car/Scooter Rental Company/Police Scam

Speaking of having a scooter stolen, there is also a scam I have heard about where RENTAL COMPANIES actually team up with the police and tow companies/impound lots to scam Tulum visitors out of lots of money.

Apparently, cars OR scooters will go missing from Beach Road mainly, or other places. People then confused will, of course, go to the police, who will let them know they committed a ‘parking violation’ and their vehicle is impounded in one of 3 lots around Tulum. They must pay a fine to the transit police AND the impound lot to get the vehicle back, which is split among all other parties.

They can also impound your car or scooter if it is unregistered. Some rental companies will say that your scooter doesn’t need to be registered, BUT IT DOES.

Tulum Safety in Taxis

I personally never had a problem with taxis, even if taking them alone. The only downside of Tulum taxis to me is that they are REALLY expensive, but most of the time they are safer and eliminate the risk of police. I however have recently heard of a few sketchy taxi stories from Tulum:

Taking Taxis Alone in Tulum as a Female

Again, I have never had this problem, but a friend who was in Tulum in June 2021 told me that a girl friend of his was in a taxi alone and was hit in the face. He also said another girl saw her taxi make multiple wrong turns and was afraid she was being abducted. See safety tips below.

Cartel Wars and Shootings in Tulum

There were a few weeks we lived here where there was apparently another cartel taking over the place of an old cartel with police approval. We were advised by news agencies and friends to stay inside for at least a few nights while the transfer took place as there were multiple shootings.

In the same few months we heard of shootings happening nearly on a weekly basis. They were usually just cartel power-struggle-related – dealers or head honchos turning up dead – sometimes in broad daylight. I heard of one instance however where a Swiss tourist was injured in the crossfire of a shooting that happened in the central town.

Witnessing a Shooting While at Dinner

I heard a story of a girl in the “Tulum Girl Gang” Facebook group who was at dinner watching live music (making note that this was obviously a very legal and safe-seeming activity) who witnessed a shooting happen right outside the restaurant. She was fine, but it’s terrifying to be so close to something like that.

ATM Safety in Tulum

I have heard a few accounts of ATM’s having a fake swipe card placed on top of the real ones, and also of people being followed or watched or attempted to be robbed after visiting an ATM. Always be vigilant.

Getting Arrested for No Reason at the Beach

In early 2021, we went to Playa Mirador to support a few friends of ours who were playing a DJ set on the beach, and we had done so for at least 4-5 weeks running, but we hadn’t been before. We knew nothing of any agreements they had made with anyone to play and for how long.

We spent about 3 hours hanging out on the beach in a huge area with maybe only 20-30 people around and other locals lying on the beach. Around 10:30pm, with absolutely no warning, multiple police vehicles and ATVs stormed the site, leading everyone to basically disperse. They immediately handcuffed the dj and began to impound all the dj equipment.

At this point, I was on the opposite side of the beach to my boyfriend, who began to worry and look for me. He yelled out ‘Kimmie!’ a few times until he saw me and we came together in the middle of the beach. But apparently, the police didn’t like that because, before I knew it, they had grabbed his wrists behind his back, handcuffed him, and thrown him to the ground.

This was really troubling because he literally did absolutely nothing at all besides attend the small gathering like anyone else there. The other DJ and his girlfriend, who were selling goods on the beach, were not arrested… no one in attendance was arrested EXCEPT Eliot and the DJ at the time. It made no sense at all and we couldn’t talk any sense into the police by telling them he wasn’t a part of it and was just looking for me, his girlfriend. They didn’t care at all.

They named their bribe price – 3800 pesos each, or about $190. No one had cash, so they hauled Eliot and Adam off in the police pickup, making them lay in the back handcuffed. They took them to the police station, where they had them watch police beat up and kick other prisoners.

Me and some other friends had to leap into action to find a ride to the ATM and back to the police station to get them out. Luckily, this time, they didn’t actually admit them to jail, just beat people up in front of them to shake them up and make sure they paid their bribe. They were let go as soon as we paid the $380.

The other dj, however, had to wait and pay about the same amount of money ($400-$500) to get his equipment back and couldn’t get it for a week.

Getting Arrested for No Reason, Cont’d

This beach incident was not isolated. When speaking to other locals, we heard from quite a few of them spending a night in the Tulum jail for no reason. One guy spent the night in jail for trying to talk to police officers after his assistant crashed HIS car.

One was tested for all drunk driving signs (walking in a line, touching his nose, etc), passed them all, and was STILL hauled off to jail. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do.

The Horrific Pinnacle of Our Tulum Experience: My Boyfriend Getting in a Crash, Arrested, Faked Breath Tests, Planted Drugs, AND Robbed

Okay, so this one is a doozy and was extremely traumatic for Eliot and myself also – it took months to recover. I’ll try to keep it short. Basically, we had a Monday off and were watching movies at a friend’s apartment and drinking some beers in the afternoon.

Taking his wallet and my phone because his had no data, Eliot went into town to get some pizza and went to walk through the square. Someone saw him put money back in his wallet and started to try and mug him, so he ran back to the scooter and took off towards home. A car crossed right in front of him and he got in a crash – hitting the car from behind.

The driver of the car got off and started YELLING, so much that some police in the area came over and grabbed Eliot as he tried to walk the scooter off the road. They had him pay money to the driver of the car, hit him in the ribs, hauled him into an ambulance, and breath-tested him. He blew a .07… which is under the legal limit of .08 but still after a few beers. The police were clearly mad that he wasn’t over the limit, wrote down .17 on his paper instead, and yelled ‘DRUNK DRIVER,’ handcuffed him, took his possessions, shoved him in a police car, and towed the scooter.

He was very distraught arriving at the police station/jail, asking why he was being detained and if he could make a call. With his hands above his head, the police bashed him in the face with a baton into a jail cell, hit him again, and locked the door. Eliot was nearly attacked by someone inside the jail too.

After a few hours the police walked up to the door, waved a tiny bag at Eliot that was not his, told him ‘they found drugs in his wallet’ (which obviously were not really there), and walked away again, ignoring his pleas that it was not true. They had created the extortion trifecta – a drunk driver in possession of drugs who crashed into a car.

Getting Eliot Out of Jail

One of the luckiest parts of this whole thing is that one of our friends drove by and saw the police manhandling Eliot and pulled over to see if he could help. He photographed the police cars and came back to tell me – or I wouldn’t have even known.

So when I arrived at the jail they told me I had to pay 7000 pesos (about $350) because Eliot was ‘drunk driving and had drugs on him.’ Massively confused (as I saw him leave the house totally fine) but left with no option, I paid it and finally retrieved a traumatized and dirty Eliot with a HUGE black eye, bruised/broken rubs, and bruises all over his body.

We went to get our things, and the police handed us a poncho jacket that we had in the scooter and said that was all Eliot had on him… but he also had MY phone and his wallet with $200 worth of cash and BOTH of our credit cards! They insisted he had no phone or wallet on him… and despite any anger or pleas they just shrugged it off.

Both our cards, my iPhone 12, and $200 more worth of cash were also vanished without a trace. There are no cameras in the police station or newer cars (apparently, they are making cars with cameras but this was an old one) to even verify we had these items, so clearly, the police took all they could. They even spent money on both cards that night – over $300 worth.

Trying to Fight Back + Getting the Scooter

The scooter was impounded and we felt beaten and broken (Eliot physically and mentally, and me just mentally). Because his breath tests show that Eliot was basically driving a scooter blacked out, the price to retrieve it was VERY high (stage 3 drunk driving or something… total BS).

We got in contact with a friend who knows the police chief and told him this story of injustice. This one when ONE heartwarming part of the story happend – the police chief of Tulum met with me, apologized, and gave me cash to retrieve the scooter from impound. He said he has a family and is trying to change the system from the inside. He said they are installing cameras in more police cars and inside the station… soon. But he also said that he couldn’t find our phone, wallet, or credit cards because there is no evidence of them being there OR stolen as there are no cameras. Great.

The scooter took forever to retrieve and repair and was full of headaches. Everything about this situation was horrible. We quit our main job, Eliot moved out of Tulum as he was terrified, and I stayed to continue our other job for 3-4 more weeks to save up to cover the expenses of what happened. It took months to get back on track with our professional life, relationship, work, and physical and mental health. Tulum basically ruined us in more ways than one.

Tulum Safety Tips: 10 Ways to Stay Safe in Tulum

So, you’ve heard ALL of the bad. Now, I want to go back through all the bad things that happened to us and provide a few tips and tricks to stay safe and out of the police/thieves radar.

Although some of the incidents described above had CLEARLY no rhyme or reason or way to argue yourself out of the situation, these Tulum safety tips might help curb the likelihood of them happening. Is Tulum Safe? It will be much safer if you follow these tips.

Try Not to Drive Late at Night.

I know this is a hard one, but all of the incidents with police pulling over and searching my friends and I were because we were driving at night – after 11 or 12 all the way up until 5-6am. They know people are partying and they prey on anyone.

If you can organize to take taxis in groups during these hours, you can avoid getting pulled over. I would say don’t drink and drive, but that should be obvious. The police can and will say you are drunk no matter what, if you are driving late at night, and won’t care if it is actually true or not even if they have a breathalyzer (which is rare).

Find a Taxi Driver You Know and Trust, and Use Them Always.

As there is no Uber or ridesharing in Tulum, you must take taxis… either by hailing them on the street or calling one you know. Many accommodations will give you a few taxi numbers that they know and trust – especially if you are staying far from a main road, taxi stand, or somewhere taxis drive often.

If your accommodation doesn’t provide any taxi numbers, hail them from the street to begin with and see if there are any drivers that seemed really nice or that your group vibed with. Pretty much all taxis in Tulum are happy to give you their WhatsApp number and pick you up the next time. There are tons of amazing and genuine drivers in Tulum, but always some bad apples I suppose.

And/or, Always Take Taxis in Groups.

To completely avoid any potential Tulum taxi safety issues, try to always take taxis in groups of 2 or more. I took taxis solo a lot and never had a problem, but to eliminate any possibility or anything bad happening, staying in groups is a good idea.

Don’t Do Drugs.

I would go as far as to say don’t even do drugs in Tulum because anything to do with drugs, cartels, buying drugs, or interacting with cartels can go badly VERY easily. Know and trust your sources if that’s even possible. It’s none of my business what you do, but just DO IT SAFELY, IF YOU MUST AT ALL.

NEVER carry any drugs or anything that can be conceived as drugs on your person.

Act like you could get pulled over and/or searched at ANY time. Never have anything on you unless you want all the money taken from your wallet (small amounts of substance) or to go to jail and possibly beaten (large amount of substance).

Don’t Carry Too Much Cash on You or Hide Some in Different Places

If you get pulled over, the police will likely find a way to demand all the money in your wallet. If you don’t have much, there’s not much else you can do. Carrying less cash on you -maybe 1000 pesos tops – is a great way to make sure you don’t lose a few hundred dollars in one stupid incident.

Or, create a secret pocket in your bag or use a sock if you must have more – any deterrent is a good idea. Never flash cash around because you don’t know who is watching.

LOCK. UP. YOUR. SCOOTER.

If the scooter you buy or rent does NOT come with a lock (chain or bike lock style), BUY ONE. The last thing you want to be responsible for is losing an expensive scooter OR buying a scooter company a brand new one.

If you need to buy one, look up ‘refaccionaria’ on maps in Tulum and buy one from a scooter repair shop. There are a few in town. Trust me, it’s worth it.

No Helmet? No Scooter.

Always wear a helmet when riding on a scooter. The police will pull you over NO QUESTION if they see you without one. If yours gets stolen or you lose it, take a taxi until you buy a new one.

Lock Both Helmets Inside the Scooter.

Even if 2 helmets don’t fit inside your scooter, lock one inside the seat and lock the strap of the other inside the seat. This can prevent theft of a spare helmet.

Make Sure Your Rental Scooter/Car has a Registration.

If your scooter or car is unregistered, it can be impounded without notice or reason. MAKE SURE your vehicle is registered if you rent one. Most companies will have this, and should show you the registration when you rent it.

We had a bad experience with a new company called Enjoy Tulum renting all unregistered vehicles, which proved tons of extra headaches for us. Avoid them at all costs.

Don’t Walk Alone at Night in Uncrowded or Dimly Lit Areas.

Unfortunately, this one is especially for the ladies (although men should do it too). Police and criminals in Tulum (and everywhere – this is a common sense one) are more likely to lurk where there aren’t many people around. Unfortunately this means also in popular and affluent residential areas Aldea Zama and La Veleta.

Avoid Illegal or ‘Secret’ Events.

If you are at a secret party or illegal event, police could get wind of it and come in and arrest literally whoever they feel like. Even being present at an illegal gathering can be considered by them as an arrestable offense. This is more of a risk at the bigger cenote parties and villa parties, but police can really consider anything that hasn’t paid them off as illegal. Events like Day Zero Tulum or Zamna Tulum will have police protection.

Although our friends’ tiny beach dj set wasn’t exactly an ‘illegal event’ as they asked permission from the legal food truck they used power from, the police could have (and must have) construed it that way. It sucks, but cost us another $200 in bribes and some bloody wrists.

Take photos of/videotape anything police do to you or others.

The Tulum police chief told me that they couldn’t pursue looking for our phone or wallet that the police stole (or the guy who took 7000 pesos in bribes masked as a ‘fine’ which was also corrupt) because there was no evidence of us having these items in the first place.

If we had CREATED some evidence of having these items on us, MAYBE it would have convinced someone to take a closer look (Honestly, probably not, but more evidence is always better than less). Even with the names of the officers and a photo of the police car we were unable to get any information on the charges on our cards or missing wallet and phone. Also, if they are on video, the police may be less likely to steal things from you.

Stay on the Beach Road Somewhere Central and Populated.

A lot of these issues can also be solved by not having to travel so much between the town, Aldea Zama, La Veleta, and the beach road. If you stay on beach road, it will be much safer to travel between venues/restaurants/your hotel. I haven’t heard of anyone getting extorted on the beach road because it is constantly really busy.

Be Vigilant at the ATM – Always

Always grab the ATM card slot before you insert your card to make sure it can’t wiggle out. Get your cash, put it right back in your wallet, and leave inconspicuously. Never wave your cash around in public. Check around the ATM to make sure no one is watching or loitering. I most highly recommend getting your cash out at the supermarket, Chedraui, which is always crowded.

I never had any issues visiting any ATM’s – I mostly used HSBC, the ATM’s inside Chedraui, and BBVI once or twice.

Know Some Spanish

This is not necessary by any means, but can only help in ensuring your safety in Tulum. Most people in hospitality speak english, but not all, and hardly any police speak much English.

Know Your Rights If Getting Extorted

The police get away with pulling people over and extorting them all the time because they scare the heck out of people who don’t know their rights. I didn’t know mine and just gave them money every time.

I spoke with someone who said that if police threaten to take you to the station for no reason, that you should go to the station and speak to someone higher up and ask them to write you an actual ticket – which will end up being baseless and they will have to let you go.

I don’t know the truth to this as I was surely too terrified to go to the station, ever. But this is something to think about and research if you would like to. It’s the only way I have heard to get out of extortions.

HAVE TRAVEL INSURANCE!

This should go without saying after this whole post, but I need to say it. Make SURE to have travel insurance AND to insure your belongings like electronics and phone. Clearly robberies can happen and injuries too, and it is important to be covered.

I was able to claim back money for both of our phones that were stolen in Tulum and a bit of cash too from one personal property insurance policy we have. We have also used Heymondo travel insurance for over a year and a half now, and they are absolutely amazing. Couldn’t recommend them enough. Here’s our article on them if you are interested.

Join Tulum Facebook Groups and Follow News Pages

It’s always good to stay up-to-date on current affairs in Tulum. I recommend Facebook Groups ‘Tulum Girl Gang‘ and ‘Mujeres Tulum‘ for girls, with many posts about safety. I also recommend ‘Tulum Al Minuto‘ as a news page – they are quite liberal and brutally honest (occasionally graphic).

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I will be adding more Tulum safety tips as I think of them, and I’m sure you can think of your own from all thr stories. I’m not saying don’t go – I’m saying BE CAREFUL. I know we won’t be back to Mexico for a long, long time. Drop any questions in the comment box below or to my instagram page and I will try and get back to you soon.