PRIVATE TOUR: Uncover the Tulum Mayan ruins with a certified guide, followed by free time to snag the perfect souvenirs!
Scroll down for detailed info, inclusions and itinerary.
Book your tour now and if your plans happen to change, you can cancel for free up to 24 hours prior to the tour!
Skip long lines, packed shuttles and crowded ruins. Our private Tulum Express tour give you the VIP treatment with direct access, private guide and more time at the ruins.
Go beyond the basics with an in-depth cultural and historical tour led by experts.mOur local guides offer fascinating insights into Mayan life, religion, architecture and more. Uncover stories that bring the ruins to life and give you a new appreciation for this ancient civilization. You’ll walk away feeling like you’ve uncovered a hidden treasure of Tulum’s history.
This Tulum express tour is perfect for those that want the informative feel for a guided tour, but the flexibility to move that their own pace. Throughout this self-paced guided tour, you will have the opportunity to visit all parts of the site, with stops at the Castillo, the temple of the paintings and several still-existing houses and palaces from Mayan history.
At the end of the visit, some free time will be offered to you to shop for souvenirs.
Your Tulum Express tour will start at your hotel where one of our guides will pick you up in private transportation. We recommend to start early in an effort to beat the crowds that generally surround these areas.
If you are looking to do more activities in one day, you can consult the following private tours:
You can bring personal belongings you require during the tour (phone,
camera, extra set of clothes…). While you are visiting or snorkeling you
can leave the things you don’t need in the van. Our driver will always
be in the van, so keeping your things safe!
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Skip long lines, packed shuttles and crowded ruins. Our private Tulum Express tour give you the VIP treatment with direct access, private guide and more time at the ruins.
Go beyond the basics with an in-depth cultural and historical tour led by experts.mOur local guides offer fascinating insights into Mayan life, religion, architecture and more. Uncover stories that bring the ruins to life and give you a new appreciation for this ancient civilization. You’ll walk away feeling like you’ve uncovered a hidden treasure of Tulum’s history.
This Tulum express tour is perfect for those that want the informative feel for a guided tour, but the flexibility to move that their own pace. Throughout this self-paced guided tour, you will have the opportunity to visit all parts of the site, with stops at the Castillo, the temple of the paintings and several still-existing houses and palaces from Mayan history.
At the end of the visit, some free time will be offered to you to shop for souvenirs.
Your Tulum Express tour will start at your hotel where one of our guides will pick you up in private transportation. We recommend to start early in an effort to beat the crowds that generally surround these areas.
If you are looking to do more activities in one day, you can consult the following private tours:
You can bring personal belongings you require during the tour (phone,
camera, extra set of clothes…). While you are visiting or snorkeling you
can leave the things you don’t need in the van. Our driver will always
be in the van, so keeping your things safe!
You must be logged in to post a review.
You’ll have a dedicated guide and vehicle all to yourselves—no crowds, no waiting, just a smooth and personalized experience.
It typically lasts between 3 to 5 hours, depending on your hotel location and how much time you’d like to spend at each site.
Yes, round-trip transportation is included from Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Aventuras, Akumal and Tulum. We’ll pick you up right from your hotel, resort, or Airbnb for a stress-free start to your day.
Please note: we don’t offer pick up from Cancun Playa Mujeres hotels unless your group has 6 or more adults.
Yes, you’re welcome to choose your preferred pick-up time when booking.
That said, we recommend an early morning start to help you beat the crowds, skip the traffic, and enjoy cooler temperatures—it really makes a difference!
We take a shuttle from the parking lot to the main ruins entrance, so you won’t need to walk far to get to the site.
The guided visit lasts about 45 minutes and we go at a comfortable pace, with breaks if needed.
Just a heads-up—there aren’t many spots to sit. If you have any limitations with walking or taking steps, keep in mind that a few are required to get in and out of the site and to reach the cliff area.
No, unfortunately, we cannot. The beach located within the Tulum ruins has been closed since 2020 and remains inaccessible to visitors.
Additionally, this tour does not include any stops at the Tulum beach area, the hotel zone, or Tulum town center.
Clothing & Footwear: We recommend wearing comfortable shoes for exploring the ruins—tennis shoes are ideal. Light, breathable clothing is also suggested due to the warm weather.
Reusable Water Bottle: Please note that plastic water bottles are not allowed inside the Tulum Ruins. If you'd like to bring water with you, make sure to bring a reusable water bottle. We'll have water available in the van for you to fill or refill before the visit.
You can safely leave your belongings in the van—our driver stays with it the entire time while you're out enjoying the activities.
You can cancel free of charge or reschedule (subject to availability) up to 24 hours before your tour.
We’re a small team and often fully booked 1–2 weeks in advance, so we recommend booking early to secure your spot.
Bonus: if you book at least 2 months in advance (60 days), you’ll qualify for our early bird discount*!
For full details, check out our booking policy page.
Dalc –
Excellent Tour and Guide! Ruins site is small but our guide Alex brought up the whole culture and history alive for us in 2 hours. 5 stars for us here!
Owen –
Had a great time with our tour guide Arturo! He was a really nice guy and very knowledgeable about the Mayan ruins. Having him with us made the experience much better. Would definitely use the company for an excursion again!!
Megan –
Dulce did a great job and was very knowledgeable taking us around Tulúm! We had an incredible time!
Bowerstravels –
Our family (2 adults, 1 teen) thoroughly enjoyed our private tour of the Tulum Mayan ruins. Our guide, Alex, provided a great overview of the Mayan culture on our drive from the resort to Tulum. We arrived at the site in the morning and before it got too crowded. Alex explained the importance of the city and the Mayans. We loved it. Afterwards we stopped at the shops just outside the entrance and picked up a few things. Prices were better than in the Cancun Airport. We left our resort around 7:30 (stayed at Hilton Tulum) and were back by lunch. Perfect amount of time!
Kate –
We had a private tour of the tulum ruins. Arturo was amazing- we had a member of the family that couldn’t walk very far and he went out of his way to be accommodating and make everything easy for us. Highly recommend!
Foodbaby8 –
Amazing start to our week in Mexico. Wanting to see the sights, but short on time this express Tulum tour was just what we needed, picked up at 6.30 and back round the hotel pool for 11.30. Our guide Claire was really knowledgeable and friendly and took us round Tulum explaining exactly what we were looking at and how the Maya lived in Tulum. Claire happily answered all our questions (even the daft ones. Our boys aged 10 and 14 also enjoyed the tour and asked a lot of questions, Claire took lots of photos for me on my phone too, it’s rare to get photos of all 4 of us together so that was a great bonus. As we left there was huge queues to get in so we avoided the crowds and the heat of the day by doing this tour.
William –
Manuel and Josue were fantastic to have a private tour with. Manuel was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable of both the site and general Tulum area. Would recommend him to anyone wanting a shorter stint at the archeological area close to Tulum for a stress free experience. Thank you Manuel and Josue!
Mikayla –
This was an overall great experience. We did the Tulum Express tour so that we could see the ruins but not eat up an entire day, and this tour fit that goal perfectly. Our guide, Juan, met us at our hotel bright and early with our driver and van. The drive was smooth, the tour was informative, and the ruins were spectacular. Juan made sure we kept ahead of the crowds and showed us all of the great picture spots. I would highly recommended this tour company and Juan for a great experience in the Riviera Maya!
Araisk06 –
Cannot say enough good things. Rodrigo is a very safe driver. There were four adults in our party. The van is spacious, cold drinks are offered. Very smooth ride from our hotel lobby and back.
Our guide Clare is a gem. She is a wealth of knowledge and pointed out a few fun items you’d miss for sure on your own. We never felt rushed. Enough time was allotted to tour the site, take pictures and see the immediate surroundings.
There is no other proper way to tour Tulum. Worth every cent!
z7346 –
Chris was a great tour guide! Him and pascual picked us up at our hotel in playa del carmen on time! It was about a 45 min drive which conversation was great. Once we arrived we chris knew everything on how to avoid lines and always keeping us safe and avoiding crowds. Very safe and following covid safety from pick up to drop off. It was just me and my wife so granted there werent alot of people but its noce to know that safety was a priority. The tour itself was great and very informative. We wanted a half day tour to get back to other things throughout the day but it was very informative and chris gave us time to ourselves to explore the ruins. Overall a great experience if you are short for time or dont want to spend all day at the ruins. They also offer packages which we did not partake but next time we definitely will choose absolute adventures. Thank you for a wonderful tour!
Esther –
This was the perfect solution for us! We wanted to see Tulum, but we didn’t want more than a half-day tour, and we didn’t want to be forced into shopping situations. We got an in-depth personal tour with our guide who went with us all the way around the ruins. We came away with a great understanding of the life and story of the ancient Mayans. Plus, we were home by late morning and had the rest of the day to do other things!
cchart54 –
Great trip with Claire…getting there early was the way..little crowds and fantastic views. Tulum is a remarkable place and Claire made it even more interesting..highly recommended!
karen –
A great way to visit Tulum when bringing along three teens. We arrived right as Tulum was opening so we had virtually no other tourists (maybe 2-3 other small groups there at the same time) plus the added benefit of it being cooler at 8am. When we were leaving at 10am the crowds were building up. Manuel was our tour guide and he was very friendly and knowledgeable. He even helped us find some good tequila and mezcal to purchase. Very good English and great personality. An added bonus was that he knew quite a lot about the plants and trees and since our son is very interested in horticulture, this was a big plus. Thanks for a great experience!