Beautiful beaches, reliable infrastructure, and a community of digital nomads — read on to discover why Tulum may be the perfect destination for remote workers.
1. Easy to get to
Tulum is located about 90-minutes away (by car, bus, or shared shuttle service) from Cancún International Airport. Flights to Cancún are easy to get, with direct service from most major American cities.
2. It’s safe
Mexico is going through a crime wave right now, and even typical tourist hot spots like Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta have had incidents occur over the last few months and in recent weeks.
But the Yucatán Peninsula, including Tulum, Merida, and Cancún have largely been insulated from this wave of crime and violence.
Having traveled to Mexico many, many, many times, I have never once felt unsafe in the country. That said, there is nowhere that I’ve felt more safe in Mexico than in Tulum.
3. Easy to get by on English
If remote workers needed to know the language of every country they traveled to, for many, their world would be quite small. While I encourage anyone traveling abroad to a country that speaks another language to learn basic greetings and words, it’s always nice to know if you can get by on your native tongue.
In Tulum, speaking only English isn’t an issue, with taxi drivers, hotels, and restaurants all accommodating Americans and English-speaking travelers from all over the world.
4. Reliable WiFi (unless you’re right on the beach)
I spent a week working remotely from Tulum and had no connectivity issues, except while I was sunbathing on the beach itself (and it probably was better to take a full-on break at that point).
The closer to “town” you get (which is about 2 miles west from the beach), the better the WiFi gets. To ensure you’ll have service while you work, I would recommend staying closer to central Tulum and taking a taxi to the beach, which costs about $5 per trip.
5. Simply stunning beaches
Turquoise water, soft, white sand, and warm tropical sunshine help make Tulum’s beaches some of the best in the world.
While there, be sure to get a massage on the beach, where you can listen to the waves crash while your worries float away — and cheap-ish by American standards (~$40 for 60-minutes).
6. Community of remote workers/digital nomads/freelancers
Tulum is almost synonymous with digital nomads and remote workers. If you go to a coffee shop in Tulum in the morning or afternoon, you’ll see laptops and iPhones galore, with people typing away, (presumably) working.
If you want to get away from the beach or need to be in an office, Tulum even has a dedicated coworking space, Coworking Karma Tulum.
7. Cenotes
One of the main attractions of staying in Tulum is visiting some of the nearby cenotes.
“Cenotes are natural swimming holes formed by the collapse of porous limestone bedrock, which has revealed a secret subterranean world of groundwater pools,” according to Lonely Planet.
“Most cave cenotes have fresh water that has been meticulously filtered by the earth, making them so clear and pure that you can see straight through to small fish frolicking in the plant life below.”
A number of cenotes surround Tulum, including Gran Cenote and Cenote Dos Ojas. You can snorkel, dive, or just check out the beautiful scenery away from the warm, Mexican sun.
8. Ruins (with a view)
I’ve saved the best for last — the famous Tulum Ruins.
Tulum’s history goes back to at least the late in the thirteenth century, during what is known as the Mayan post-classic period. Tulum was built with a wall surrounding it, and while the reasons are still largely unknown (and may have been lost with the decline of the Mayan world), it’s thought that priests and nobility were hosted within these walls.
For the best experience, you should arrive shortly after opening before the crowds come. Once you experience the ruins themselves, be sure to head to the beach for a swim in the crystal-clear blue water, surrounded by history.
Josh Trips 