Free Things To Do in Tulum, Mexico 2024
On the southern stretches of the Maya Riviera, Tulum was a laid-back hippie town with a beautiful shore, some ruins, a few shacks for good quality food, and night-time drinking. Free things to do in Tulum were plentiful.
However, the meteoric rise of Tulum to prominence in the last decade has turned it into a more touristic destination. With so many developments arising in Tulum, costs have also followed.
We love to splurge on certain things but we also love to do things that don’t cost us any money. Tulum is still a beautiful place to discover for backpackers and luxury seekers alike and today we’ll be giving you all the free things to do in Tulum to save you money while traveling.
Adults-Only Boutique Hotel We Stayed in Tulum
Best Things To Do in Tulum, Mexico
Enjoy the Cenotes and Beaches
It might seem like an obvious thing to include in Tulum’s list of the best things to do, but with so many other things in Tulum, it can easily be overlooked. The highlight of Tulum is the cenotes and the beaches.
Tulum has one of the largest underground networks of rivers with plenty of marine life. If you book a trip to Tulum, you’ll want to spend at least one day by the beach and another day to explore the cenotes. The waters of Tulum are nice and warm, but cold enough to be soothing and so it’s hard not to resist diving in.
You can get access to Cenote Arco Maya, one of the only free cenotes in Tulum. You can also take a trip nearby to the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and spend some time at Camino a Punta Allen, Tulum Beach. The area is still not touched too much by tourists and developers so its kept its natural charm intact.
Swimming with sea turtles also comes under our free things to do in Tulum, well, near Tulum. You can travel up to Akumal, a small town nestled between Playa Del Carmen and Tulum and enjoy a day swimming with sea turtles. Access to the beach used to be free but you now have to pay 5USD at the Ecological Center of Akumal to get in. Life jackets are also required beyond 150ft. of the shore.
Recommended Accommodation in Akumal
Laze at Playa Paraiso
The public beach of Tulum, Playa Paraiso, doesn’t require you to pay to enter a beach club as you would do in the southern part of Tulum beach road.
It is a beach area where you can turn up with an umbrella, towel, and relax on the sand without having to spend anything. It is one of the best beaches in Tulum and also one of the best free things to do in Tulum. This gorgeous beach is close to the Tulum Ruins and is excellent for relaxing with its clean and warm waters.
Visit Art Gallery Miniature
The Art Gallery Miniature, displaying a heart-warming array of ceramic sculptures and household items, including dishes and incense holders molded and combined into sculptures of tigers, monkeys, and horses, is another one of the great free things to do in Tulum.
This unusual and beautiful gallery presents artwork and clothes. Some products also feature statues of supernatural beings and characters illustrating folk tales or stories, painted with cartoon-style decorations. Add this visit to your plan when in Tulum for vacation.
Best Things To Do in Tulum: Explore the Coba Ruins
About 40 minutes away by car or bus from Tulum, the Coba ruins attracts many backpackers since they are categorized under the best things to do in Tulum.
This settlement’s design and purpose was very different from other Mayan cities, with various settlements existing in one region. From each settlement, the white roads lead to Nohoch Mul, the principal pyramid.
It only cost us ~3USD to explore the whole of Coba Ruins. You can explore on foot, rent a bicycle or rent a cart driver to drive you around the ruins. We opted to walk but we ended up riding a couple of bicycles back to the entrance to help the staff take the bikes back. Coba Ruins is less crowded and more affordable as compared to the Chichen Itza Ruins.
Discover Mexican wildlife at Sian Ka’an
About an hour from Tulum, Sian Ka’an meaning ‘origin of the sky’, is ideal for a day trip. When leaving Tulum and entering Sian Ka’an, you have to register your name and address. It’s a beautiful ride along the seemingly never-ending road.
There are tropical forests, mangroves, and marshes in the biosphere reserve, along with a wide marine area intersected by a barrier reef, hosting over 300 bird species and many mammals. Exploring the wildlife at Sian Ka’an is one of the best things to do in Tulum and makes for a great change in scenery after spending days at the beach.
These are only some of the free things to do in Tulum. There are plenty more once you get out there and explore as this stunning destination has a lot to offer everyone.
Please review the CDC Guidelines for Mexico before booking your travel.
