When To Visit Tulum

When is the best time to visit Tulum? I get this question all the time and thought I’d answer it here to help folks that are thinking it but are too shy to ask … 🙂

Our preference when traveling in general is to avoid high season and it holds true for time spent in Tulum. We like to visit places when there are fewer people there, it’s a little cheaper and more mellow. So, personally, my favorite time in Tulum is September/October.

Spring can actually be a little chilly (if you want some beach time). We took my 89 year old grandfather in February and he was disappointed it wasn’t warmer.

While spring is chilly, summer is really hot (and rainy which makes it humid) – not my fave.

It is still pretty warm in September/October but you have some nice breezes cooling things down a bit. You do run the risk of the tail end of rainy season encroaching on your vacation but we’ve had pretty good luck so far.

If you are in Tulum in September/October and are lucky, you might get to see the sea turtles hatch along the beach. That is a pretty cool experience but you have to be at just the right place at just the right time so it’s hard to catch it. Even still, I think it is cool to walk along the beach and see all of the nests protected by fencing to give the little guys a better chance of making it. (It’s a treacherous task making it to the ocean and even while in the nest, they need all the help they can get to keep predators away.)

If you do like to be around more of the hustle of high season, or need to take vacation when the kids have a break from school, Christmas – New Years is the way to go. I say that for three reasons. #1) the weather is nice and #2) for most of us, getting away from the cold of winter and escaping to somewhere tropical in the winter months is a-okay and #3) you avoid spring break in Mexico. I will say though, Tulum has certainly been discovered and so if you plan a trip in High Season… expect to have to battle the crowds a bit.

My brother-in-law kindly reminded me last week that I am a fuddy-duddy for my age so maybe it is just me and my fuddy-duddy-ness that appreciates the peace and quiet of off-season Tulum. 🙂

The other thing I quite like about off-season travel is the savings. You can definitely find better deals on airfare during the low season but you’ll save a heap on the hotels. Or, if you’re thinking about renting a condo, you can often negotiate an even better deal which is fantastic. (Check out my favorites here!)

So, moral of the story is… any day in Tulum is a day in paradise so you really can’t go wrong.

But… my strong suggestion is to visit Tulum in the fall.