I am going to say: probably yes and here’s why.
People will never forget how you made them feel.
For those who don’t know Tulum used to be a sleepy little beach town. Over the years, as tourism trickled down from Cancun and Playa del Carmen and then during covid, it exploded.
Developers moved in and did everything wrong. Number one, the locals, developers did not want their business and it is well known that they stole land.
watch on tiktok
Property developers poured concrete into the mangroves, they bribed and avoided building codes. Who needs proper infrastructure? Pro tip: if you’re walking in Tulum and find water in the street and it did not rain. It is toilet water, literal shit water.
property scams
Property managers, real estate agents and massive scams. Basic scams such as the use of professional renderings of luxury condos, getting people to pay a deposit and then they disappear with the money forever.
Some people lost a lot of money on ‘honest’ failed projects. And by that I mean, they did not / could not sell enough units to cover the cost to build the building. Most of the time in these cases they would start advertising a second building, selling pre-sale at a second location to cover the cost of the first building.
daily scams
From beach clubs, restaurants, taxi mafia to the police tried to rip off every single visitor at every single transaction, Mexicans included.
Millions and millions of travelers, tourists and Mexicans exploring their own country will never, ever forget feeling taken advantage of, ripped off, robbed and worse.
From blocking access to public beaches or making people pay hundreds of pesos to go on the beach. ALL beaches in Mexico are public, they must have access to the public. It is the law.
real danger
Up until now, this post have been basic. Everyone who has ever heard of or been to Tulum since 2021 knows about all the scams and people trying to take advantage.
The worst is that many travelers and visitors of Tulum are no longer living. From jungle parties to DJs too many people suffered sexually assaulted and un alived. To the dozens of fake shamans that turned up offering to heal … when in reality they were reckless and took advantage of travelers, especially women.
To the drug dealers shooting people in broad daylight from the beach to main street. Rest in peace Jennifer Henzold, Niko Honarbakhsh, Anjali Ryot and so many more.
who is promoting Tulum?
1. investors that purchased rentals that are currently sitting completely empty costing them money.
2. Real estate agents trying to sell more ‘investment’ condos/apartments. When they say the prices are low, you should know that units sold between 2020-2023 were sold for 55-75k depending on a studio, one bedroom with or without a balcony hot tub or soaking tub. Currently (October 2025) those exact studios are online at 140,000 USD.
Tulum Airport
Complete failure.
- The airport is 40 minutes away from Tulum.
- The prices are $200+ vs Cancun International Airport
- Taxis’s try to charge tourists hundreds of dollars to transport them.
Tulum Train
Complete failure.
- Train station is almost 3 miles away from town …
- The logistics are impossible
- Taxi’s try to charge $50+ USD to drive tourists and locals to the station.
