Getting to Tulum This Winter: Tulum or Cancún, and the Train
Nine airlines fly straight into Tulum’s own airport this November. If yours is one of them, land there; if not, land in Cancún, about 120 km up Highway 307, and make the drive part of the day.
By Oliver Weickardt, founder of Villa Experience · Flights checked 1 November 2026 · 15-minute readGetting to Tulum starts with a choice of airport. Caribe Mexicano, the state tourism board, puts it simply: Cancún is the closer airport for Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen, and Tulum’s airport suits Akumal and Tulum itself.
Tulum’s airport, open since December 2023, publishes its own flight schedule month by month, so the routes below come from the airport rather than from announcements. Cancún is still the bigger door: 20.9 million passengers passed through it from January to September 2026.
Cancún to Tulum on one map
Highway 307 runs north to south along the coast and links both airports with every town on the way. The Tren Maya runs inland of it.
- Airport
- Highway 307
- Tren Maya stations, north to south: Cancún Aeropuerto, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Tulum Aeropuerto
- Tren Maya line
- Villa Mariola, Soliman Bay
- Villa Tulumar, Tankah Bay
- Hacienda Paraiso, beach zone
The drive, in the tourism board’s figures
- Cancún airport to Playa del CarmenAbout 45 minutes on Highway 307
- Puerto Morelos to TulumA little over an hour by car
- Tulum’s airport to the center of TulumAbout 40 km by road
- Tulum’s bus terminal to the beachAbout ten minutes
No official source gives a single drive time from Cancún airport to Tulum.
Who flies into Tulum: the November schedule
The Aeropuerto Internacional de Tulum Felipe Carrillo Puerto, code TQO, opened in December 2023. Its operator publishes a schedule for each month; November’s lists 197 arrivals. It warns that flights may change at short notice and asks travelers to check the airlines’ own pages. December’s schedule was not yet published when we checked on 1 November.
| Airline | From | Days in November | Flight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Canada | Toronto | Fri, Sun; Mon from 16 Nov | AC 1854; AC 1364 on Mondays 16, 23 and 30 Nov |
| Air Canada | Montréal | Thu, Sat | AC 1874 |
| WestJet | Calgary | Thu, Sat from 5 Nov | WS 2162 |
| WestJet | Toronto | Thu, Sat from 7 Nov | WS 2026 |
| Air Transat | Québec City | Sun | TS 620 |
| United | Houston | Mon, Thu, Fri, Sun | UA 1600 |
| Delta | Atlanta | Sat 7 and 14 Nov, then daily from 21 Nov | DL 1773 |
| American | Dallas/Fort Worth | Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun, except 22, 26 and 29 Nov | AA 3781 |
| American | Miami | Daily from 19 Nov | AA 3411 |
| Mexicana | Mexico City (AIFA) | Daily | XN 1780; XN 1782 on Sundays |
| Viva | Mexico City (AIFA) | Daily, and a second flight Thu, Sat, Sun | VB 9360 daily; VB 7240 Thu, Sat, Sun |
| Viva | Monterrey | Mon, Fri, Sun | VB 4212 |
| Volaris | Guadalajara | Mon, Fri | Y4 1400 |
From the airport’s schedule for November 2026, read on 1 November; flight numbers as the schedule prints them, with each airline’s code. Mexico City flights use AIFA (Santa Lucía); none flies to Tulum from Mexico City’s AICM in November. The airport publishes one month at a time: for December onward, check its monthly schedule and your airline.
The bigger door
Cancún’s airport handled 1.6 million passengers in September and 20.9 million from January to September 2026, 5.9 percent fewer than a year earlier, by its operator ASUR. The tourism board describes four terminals, 16 km from the hotel zone, and the country’s largest international connection. ASUR publishes no current list of the airlines that fly there, so we do not count them.
New at Cancún this winter, as the airlines state it
- Air TransatFredericton, Wednesdays, 16 December 2026 to 29 April 2027; and a new route from Windsor, Saturdays, 19 December to 25 April
- PorterHalifax, three a week from 18 December; Ottawa from five to ten a week; Hamilton from three to six
- WestJetMore daily flights from Calgary, another weekly Saskatoon flight at the peak, more from Winnipeg, and the Dreamliner on some Cancún flights
- Air CanadaMore winter flights to Cancún from Calgary
- BreezeFrom Richmond, Virginia, in January 2027, by Richmond’s airport
Not a full list: ASUR publishes none, so check your airline.
The train: both airports, no Tulum timetable
The Tren Maya has twelve stations in Quintana Roo, five of them on this stretch of coast: Cancún Aeropuerto, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Tulum Aeropuerto. Its booking site sells tickets to and from each. The operator says the Tulum Aeropuerto station connects with Tulum’s airport; at Cancún, Tren Maya Conecta buses run between the station and the airport.
What it does not publish. The Tren Maya gives no timetable, frequency or fare for Cancún Aeropuerto to Tulum or Tulum Aeropuerto on its website; the times sit behind the booking site’s search form. Check the day’s trains there before you build an arrival around one.
Cancún to Playa del Carmen
Running again since 15 August 2026. The operator’s release of that day gives four trips a day: from Cancún at 06:45 and 10:30, back from Playa del Carmen at 07:47 and 12:00, about 49 minutes each way and calling at Puerto Morelos.
Its Conecta buses also run from the stations to the hotel zones and the shopping plazas.
Luggage and tickets
- Up to three pieces of luggage, 50 kg in all, plus one cabin bag of up to 10 kg
- Tickets on the website, the app, WhatsApp, by phone, at ticket offices and machines
- A date change by email at least 48 hours ahead; refunds only when the service is at fault
At the station
Every station on the coast is outside the town center, with local transport at the exit, says the tourism board; Tulum has two, Tulum and Tulum Aeropuerto.
Infants under three travel on a parent’s lap and must be on the booking. One pet of up to 10 kg per passenger, in a closed carrier, with a health certificate.
Highway 307, and the drive
Federal Highway 307 runs the length of the coast and links both airports with every Riviera Maya destination; the tourism board’s figures for each stretch are beside the map above. Buses from Cancún airport reach Playa del Carmen and Tulum, leaving every half hour for Playa del Carmen’s Quinta Avenida terminal. ADO’s Tulum terminal, on the main avenue in the center and open around the clock, sells tickets to Cancún airport; times and fares are on ADO’s site.
For door-to-door times we use our own listings: about an hour and a half from Cancún airport to Villa Mariola on Soliman Bay, about an hour and three-quarters to Villa Tulumar on Tankah Bay, and about two hours to Hacienda Paraiso in the beach zone.
Once you are here, read getting around Tulum for the taxis, bikes and golf carts.
What to have ready
Visitax
Quintana Roo’s visitor fee is mandatory for every foreign tourist, children included, whichever way you leave. The state tax office takes it at visitax.gob.mx or through the companies it authorizes, and the receipt can be looked up by passport number for at least a year.
The tourism board says it is paid once per person and set each year; its travel-information page gives the current amount.
Entry
- A valid passport
- In Cancún, the officer stamps your passport with your exit date instead of handing you a paper form; the digital FMM can be downloaded for 60 days after entry
- Proof of funds and an onward ticket may be asked for
Visitors from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, most EU countries, Australia and Japan need no visa, by the tourism board’s list; confirm your case with Mexico’s foreign ministry before you travel.
The week before
- Your flight, with the airline: the airport’s schedule warns that times can change
- The train, on the Tren Maya booking site
- The bus, on ADO’s site
Tell us your flight and an advisor will say whether to land in Tulum or Cancún for your house.
Three zones, the ruins and Sian Ka’an
The tourism board divides Tulum into three: the archaeological zone, the town and the hotel zone along the beach. Tulum was an important Maya port city, built on a cliff above the Caribbean, and south along the coast the landscape gives way to the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. Some of the Riviera Maya’s best-known cenotes, Dos Ojos, Gran Cenote and Calavera among them, are around Tulum, and the tourism board suggests a rental car for the cenotes, Cobá and Sian Ka’an.
For the rest of the week, read our Tulum travel guide and what to book in Riviera Maya and Tulum.
Three houses, and which airport for each
All three are on the beach, from Soliman Bay north of the town to the beach zone by the ruins. The drive times are from our own listings.
Villa Mariola
Five bedrooms for up to ten guests on Soliman Bay, with a beachfront pool among tall palms, a separate jacuzzi, hammocks on the private beach and rooftop terraces over the bay and its reef. The house is solar-powered and has an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven.
Our listing gives both airports: Tulum’s 52 km away, about 55 minutes; Cancún’s 111 km, about an hour and a half. Tulum town is about 20 minutes.
Villa Tulumar
Six bedrooms for up to eighteen guests on the shore of Tankah Bay, where guests move between the infinity pool, the beach, the rooftop terrace and the shaded palapa dining area.
Our listing puts Cancún airport about an hour and 45 minutes away, Tulum town about 15 minutes, the archaeological zone about 10 and the cenotes of the Tankah area about five.
Hacienda Paraiso
Six bedrooms for sixteen in Tulum’s beach zone, within walking distance of the Maya ruins and ten steps from the sea, with a small heated pool on the second-floor terrace and a large rooftop terrace.
From our listing: the ruins 500 meters on foot, Tulum town 5 km, Sian Ka’an a ten-minute drive, Tulum airport 45 km and Cancún airport 130 km, about two hours.
From our listings
| House | Tulum airport (TQO) | Cancún airport (CUN) | Tulum town | Nearest Tren Maya station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Villa Mariola | 52 km, ~55 min | 111 km, ~1 h 30 | 14 km, ~20 min | Tulum, 9.1 km |
| Villa Tulumar | — | ~1 h 45 | ~15 min | Tulum, 7.2 km |
| Hacienda Paraiso | 45 km | 130 km, ~2 h | 5 km, ~5 min | Tulum, 5.2 km |
Drive times and road distances are from our own listings; “—” means the listing does not give it. The station distance is a straight line from each house’s pin, not a road distance. At the far end of the beach road, in Sian Ka’an, Villa Destiny’s listing gives Tulum airport about an hour and Cancún airport about two.
Before you fly
Which airlines fly to Tulum this winter?
In November 2026, the airport’s own schedule lists nine airlines from eleven cities: Air Canada from Toronto (Friday and Sunday, and Mondays from 16 November) and Montréal (Thursday, Saturday); WestJet from Calgary and Toronto (Thursday, Saturday); Air Transat from Québec City (Sunday); United from Houston; Delta from Atlanta on Saturdays, then daily from 21 November; American from Dallas/Fort Worth and, daily from 19 November, Miami; Mexicana and Viva from Mexico City’s AIFA; Viva from Monterrey; and Volaris from Guadalajara. The airport publishes one month at a time, so check December onward with your airline.
Should you fly into Tulum or Cancún?
If your city flies direct to Tulum, land in Tulum: the state tourism board puts its airport about 40 km by road from the center of Tulum. If it does not, land in Cancún, which handled 20.9 million passengers from January to September 2026. The tourism board’s rule is that Cancún suits Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen, and Tulum’s airport suits Akumal and Tulum itself; the two airports sit at opposite ends of the same coast, joined by Highway 307.
What is the airport code for Tulum?
TQO. The full name is Aeropuerto Internacional de Tulum Felipe Carrillo Puerto, and it opened in December 2023.
How far is Tulum airport from the town and the beach?
About 40 km by road from the center of Tulum, on Highway 307 and the airport access road, by the state tourism board. The coast is about ten minutes from the bus terminal in the center, and the tourism board lists private transfers to the town and the coast, buses to the Tulum terminal, and car rental for the cenotes, Cobá and Sian Ka’an.
Does the Tren Maya run from Cancún airport to Tulum?
It has stations at Cancún Aeropuerto, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Tulum Aeropuerto, and its booking site sells tickets to and from both airport stations. At Cancún, Tren Maya Conecta buses run between the station and the airport. The Cancún to Playa del Carmen run came back on 15 August 2026; the operator’s release gives trains at 06:45 and 10:30 from Cancún and about 49 minutes on the way. For Tulum, the operator publishes no timetable on its website, so check the day’s trains on the booking site before you plan around one. Each passenger may bring up to three pieces of luggage, 50 kg in all.
How long is the drive from Cancún airport to Tulum?
No official source gives a single figure. The state tourism board gives the pieces: Cancún airport to Playa del Carmen about 45 minutes on Highway 307, and Puerto Morelos to Tulum a little over an hour. The two airports sit at opposite ends of the same coast, joined by that highway. Our own listings put Cancún airport about an hour and a half from Villa Mariola on Soliman Bay, about an hour and three-quarters from Villa Tulumar on Tankah Bay and about two hours from Hacienda Paraiso in the beach zone.
Do visitors pay Visitax, and what do you need to enter?
Quintana Roo’s Visitax is mandatory for every foreign tourist, children included, and is paid at visitax.gob.mx or through companies authorized by the state tax office; the state tourism board’s travel-information page gives the current amount. You need a valid passport. In Cancún the officer stamps your exit date instead of handing you a paper FMM, which you can download for 60 days after entry.
Sources
Aeropuerto Internacional de Tulum: the November 2026 flight schedule and the airline list, checked 1 Nov 2026
ASUR: Cancún airport passenger traffic, September 2026 release, checked 1 Nov 2026
Tren Maya: stations, questions, and the release of 15 August 2026, checked 1 Nov 2026
Caribe Mexicano, the Quintana Roo tourism board: travel information, Tulum, Riviera Maya and Playa del Carmen, checked 1 Nov 2026
Visitax, the Quintana Roo tax office (SATQ), checked 1 Nov 2026
ADO: the Tulum bus terminal, checked 1 Nov 2026
Air Transat, Porter, as published by Ottawa airport, WestJet, Air Canada and Richmond International Airport: their own winter releases, checked 28 Oct 2026
OpenStreetMap contributors: the map data and the pins
Photos
Caribe Mexicano, the Quintana Roo tourism board, from its own gallery. House photos: Villa Experience. The airport, train, Playa del Carmen and mangrove photos are cropped.
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