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Arrival instructions

Arriving at Tulum Airport

One terminal, two levels and a short walk. Here is the whole thing in order.

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Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport

Arrival instructions, step by step

A small, modern terminal: arrivals are on the lower level and the walk out is short. You will be in the vehicle 20 to 30 minutes after landing.

  1. Immigration

    Upper level for departures, lower level for arrivals. Immigration at TQO is quick because the terminal handles a fraction of Cancun’s traffic. Have your passport and hotel name ready.

  2. Baggage reclaim and customs

    Collect your bags and press the customs button: green light and you walk through, red light and your bag goes through the scanner. Two minutes either way.

  3. Straight out, no timeshare hall

    This is the big difference with Cancun. TQO has no hall of counters selling “free transport”. You clear customs and you are at the exit.

  4. Find the name board

    Outside the arrivals doors your driver holds an eTransfers name board. Photo and number plate are in MyTrip before you land.

  5. If you are taking the Tren Maya instead

    An electric shuttle links the terminal with the Tulum Airport station. Useful for Merida or Valladolid; for the hotel zone the train does not get you to the door and a transfer does.

  6. Twenty minutes to town

    The airport road is new. Twenty minutes to Tulum town, about forty to the beach hotels along the coastal road, which is the slow part.

Meeting point by terminal

Your confirmation names your terminal. Here’s where we stand at each one.

T1
Main terminal

Outside the arrivals doors, by the eTransfers name board.

3 min walk · Aeroméxico, Viva, Volaris…
All terminals with maps

How to recognise your driver

  • Name and photoSent by WhatsApp the evening before, with the vehicle’s number plate.
  • The eTransfers name boardBlue board, white logo, your name in large letters.
  • Uniform and vehicleNavy polo shirt with the logo. The vehicle model and number plate match your message.
  • Live locationAsk IAN and we’ll send the driver’s live location while you walk out.

What to watch for at Tulum Airport

Taxi cartel pricing in Tulum

Tulum’s local taxi union sets its own fares and they are high, especially from the airport and along the beach road at night. A prepaid transfer avoids the negotiation entirely.

The pirates are outside because they cannot get in

Picking up inside the airport takes each vehicle’s registration — carrying the federal number plates and the SICT permit — current insurance and several other requirements set by the airport administration. Anyone offering you a lift without that is operating outside the perimeter.

The coastal road at night

The Tulum beach road is narrow, unlit and busy with cyclists. It is not the place to be driving a hire car for the first time after a long flight.

Verify photo and number plate

Driver name, photo and number plate are in MyTrip before you land. If they do not match, do not get in; message IAN.

All safety recommendations

What happens if your flight moves

  • We track your flight numberFrom the moment you book. If the flight is retimed, we move the pick-up before you land.
  • The driver waits, at no chargeSixty minutes after landing on international flights, thirty on domestic. Immigration queues never count against you.
  • If you miss the flight altogetherSend us the new flight number. With Premium, changing the date or the time is free up to 12 hours before the original pick-up; with Economy it is your one included change, with 24 hours’ notice. Outside those windows, we move it subject to availability.

Tulum Airport transfer questions

Is Tulum Airport actually in Tulum?
It is 20 km southwest of Tulum town, near Felipe Carrillo Puerto. That is a 20 minute drive to town and about 40 to the beach hotels, against nearly two hours from Cancun.
TQO or TUY? Which code is right?
TQO. TUY is the old naval airstrip. The commercial airport that opened in December 2023 is TQO, and that is the code on your boarding pass.
Which airlines fly here?
Aeroméxico, Viva and Volaris domestically, plus American, Delta, United, JetBlue, Spirit, Air Canada and WestJet from the United States and Canada. Around twenty cities have direct flights.
Can I get to Cancun or Playa del Carmen from here?
Yes. Playa del Carmen is about an hour and Cancun about two. Both are normal routes for us.
Is there a Tren Maya station?
Yes, right next to the terminal, connected by an electric shuttle. It is useful for Merida and Valladolid, less so for your hotel.
Where does my driver wait?
Outside the arrivals doors on the lower level, holding an eTransfers name board. There is one terminal, so there is nothing to get wrong.
All airport questions

Written and kept up to date by our own team at Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport · reviewed 30 September 2026

At the airport

Everything about Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport

The pages our own airport team keeps up to date.

Transfers and rates

Zones, journey times and the full price list per vehicle.
Flight status

Arrivals and departures, and what we do when your flight moves.
Terminals and airlines

Which terminal your airline uses and where we wait.
Safety at the airport

Unlicensed taxis, fake transfer desks and how to tell them apart.
Your return to the airport

What time we pick you up and how the return works.
Questions and answers

What travellers ask us most about this airport.

Can’t find us? Two ways, both instant

Message IAN on WhatsApp

Answers in seconds, English and Spanish. Send us a photo of where you are.
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