My experience in Tulum as a digital nomad


Long Story Short

With my girlfriend, we stayed for about two weeks in Tulum, and to be honest, we have been a bit disappointed.

Tulum town is alright. There are lots of restaurants, cafés, and bars in the busy part of the city. There are also nice places to work in more quiet neighborhoods.

The beach is really beautiful. You can either choose to lay on the sand in the public part of the beach or get yourself a sit in a fancy beach club.

However, we felt like there were much better places on the Yucatan Peninsula. Much better and also much cheaper places.

If you are planning to stay in Tulum, I recommend you start by staying a few days and then decide if you wish to stay longer or if you prefer to discover other destinations (such as Mahahual).

How is the Internet Speed in Tulum for remote workers?

In most of the places I have been working from, the internet was working well. The speed was fine, the connection was stable. I could easily do video calls.

I haven’t tried to work from the beach, as I read that the connection was rarely good over there. And to be honest, working from the beach is not really my thing. Unless, I can find a comfortable spot, where I can plug my laptop, have a cup of coffee, and safely leave my stuff while I go for a swim.

On the map below, you will see that while the 4G+ coverage is optimal in town, it is not looking that good on the beach.

Where to stay for Digital Nomads?

Unless you can afford really expensive accommodation, forget about beachfront hotels. You will have to stay in Tulum town.

There are lots of hotels, hostels, and Airbnbs, that are offering decent rooms or apartments. The prices won’t be cheap but should be quite reasonable.

I personally recommend staying at Joy Tulum:

Joy Tulum Hotel

They have comfortable sort of cabanas/tents. The place is quiet. The Internet is working well. And there is even a beautiful swimming pool to cool yourself between two calls.

In this hotel neighborhood, there are really nice places to have lunch or dinner such as Palma Central. Over there, you’ll find a bar, several food trucks, markets with exceptional products (including European cheese), and very cool music.

If you are planning to stay in Tulum for a long term, just check for monthly rentals on Airbnb, a 30-day discount on Booking.com.

Where to work?

Tulum is probably one of the most famous digital nomad destinations. Therefore, there are too many places you want to work from to list them all.

Here are a few of them:

  1. Tulum Digital Jungle
  2. Bucko – Coworking space and Tattoo studio
  3. Hexa Office – Real office for the most serious of digital nomads 🙂
  4. Selina – They are everywhere
  5. WeNomads – Cool office
  6. KiBock – Nice café!
  7. Nest Tulum

I suggest you check on YouTube to know more about where to work in Tulum.

I personally prefer working from hotels’ gardens or staying in my Airbnb apartment.

How dangerous Tulum is for Digital Nomads?

While I was in Tulum, there were about four shootings. One of them happened in the afternoon, and 200 meters from the spot where I was staying on the beach.

There were shootings where tourists have been killed (in clubs mostly), or injured.

I have never felt in danger while I was in Tulum. However, I could feel that I needed to be cautious.

If you are planning to party heavily in Tulum, just try to stay away from troubles.

Where can you go if you did not like Tulum?

I personnaly much preferred working from Mahahual. The beach over there is much more beautiful. I even preferred staying in Playa Del Carmen.

Bacalar or Valladolid could be a good option too. I truly liked the spirit of these two towns.