Tulum vs Puerto Vallarta: Which One Is Better for a Vacation?
Tulum vs. Puerto Vallarta is not a difficult match, as both are amazing Mexican beach destinations, each with its own unique characteristics and features, offering different kinds of vacations.
So if you are undecided between Tulum and Puerto Vallarta for your next Mexican vacation, in this post, I will share the main differences and highlights of these great Mexican beach cities.
I am sure after this post, you will be able to make up your mind and will have no doubts about which one to choose.
If you don’t know much about these charming towns, be prepared for lots of authentic Mexican allure to make you fall in love the moment you set foot in either of them.
While Puerto Vallarta is rich in history, culture, and laid-back, in Tulum you will find a laid-back beach town feel where the major attraction is the thriving nature with its spectacular cenotes, the Sian Kaan reserve, the turquoise Caribbean sea, and an endless white sand beach.
In both cases, you have picturesque beaches. The ones in Tulum are breathtaking because of their white sands and turquoise waters, and the Puerto Vallarta beaches will leave you stunned with their rugged, rocky beauty and abundant marine life.
Both towns have done a good job of preserving their traditions and culture, but their development is also quite impressive.
Tulum offers extravagant high-end boutique lodging options and a relaxing atmosphere, while Puerto Vallarta has evolved into a resort town with upscale hotels and a lively nightlife scene.
You can already tell Tulum and Puerto Vallarta are equally splendid and worth visiting at least once.
But if, you have to choose only one, for now, read on below to find out more in detail about each one and make the final decision. Let’s start with Tulum.
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Tulum vs Puerto Vallarta — Tulum features and highlights
Located on the famous Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, Tulum is a town filled with trendy boho-chic charm and modern-vintage vibes all around.
What’s more, the natural richness of the place is the perfect match for its stunning beaches and the right complementary touch to the artsy atmosphere.
Tulum is very unique and appealing for a variety of reasons. The Tulum Pueblo is known for its charming yet authentic vibes.
The Caribbean coastline of Tulum is famous for its white-sand beaches. The Mayan archaeological site of Tulum sits atop a cliff, offering stunning views of the ocean that make the well-preserved ruins even more awe-inspiring.
Then there are the mystical cenotes hidden in the lush nature of the region. All of these features and many other things about Tulum are the reason thousands of tourists flock to this fishing town every year.
The laid-back atmosphere and numerous attractions make Tulum one of Mexico’s top destinations.
There are many other things here as well, which means covering everything about this gorgeous town will take a separate post, so we’ll just go with its highlights in this post.
Tulum highlights
✅ The town of Tulum is perfect to visit for a relaxing vacation because of its chill atmosphere, friendly community, charming surroundings, a popular yoga and holistic community, and overall very distinct appeal.
✅ Beaches in Tulum have the famous Caribbean-coastline charm to them.
You will fall in love with the breathtaking views that the combination of white sand and the unending turquoise waters of the Tulum beaches creates.
✅ Tulum is famous for its boutique hotels and adorable high-end lodging options, which make enjoying the white-sand beaches a delightful experience.
✅ Downtown Tulum (Pueblo) is where you will find exciting nightlife, lots of great restaurants and cafes, and lots of shopping experiences (which are also available on the beach side of the town).
✅ The Tulum Archeological Site is quite famous because of how well preserved it is; it’s also surrounded by thriving tropical vegetation, which makes it even more impressive to visit.
✅ Despite being a laid-back town to have a relaxing vacation in, Tulum has lots of things to leave you awestruck. Everything from Maya ruins, Mexican history, and culture to striking beaches, extraordinary cenotes, mangroves, and wildlife is part of the mystical charm that makes Tulum a perfect jewel of the Riviera Maya.
✅ Tulum is an excellent destination for style-conscious travelers looking for both the comfort of high-end, stylish hotels and adventurous things to do.
✅ It’s safe to rent a car in Tulum or Cancun and drive around.
Distances between Tulum and the famous places in its surrounding region
- 53 min (64 km) from Playa del Carmen.
- 1 hr 20 min (102 km) from Valladolid.
- 1 hr 47 min (131 km) from Cancun.
- 2 hr 30 min (148 km) from Isla Mujeres.
- 2 hr (149 km) from Chichen Itza.
- 2 hr 28 min (169 km) from Chiquila (where you get the ferry to Isla Holbox).
The downsides of Tulum compared to Puerto Vallarta
🔴 The pueblo in Tulum is separated by 10 kilometers of distance from the hotel zone.
🔴 Between Tulum and Vallarta, Tulum is definitely the more expensive destination. However, if you decide to visit Tulum on a budget, you can still do that.
🔴 Cancun International Airport used to be the closest airport to Tulum, and it’s a two-hour drive away from Tulum. However, now they have built the brand new Tulum International Airport, which will add more and more flights.. So you can’t avoid the 1h 30-minute drive from Cancun to Tulum.
🔴 The all-inclusive type of resort isn’t common here. In fact, there is only one All-inclusive hotel in Tulum. If you are an all-inclusive resorts fun, you can still find great options in the surrounding, though.
Tulum vs Puerto Vallarta — Puerto Vallarta features and highlights
Another fantastic place to visit in Mexico for its authentic charm is Puerto Vallarta which is actually one of the first beach vacation resorts for US travelers and is particularly known for being one of the first official gay-friendly destinations.
Puerto Vallarta, in fact, has a lot of history and culture, which makes the city center a very interesting and vibrant place to hang out and enjoy.
But, unlike Tulum, the beaches are located right in town, and you will enjoy a stroll on the Malecon (beach promenade) while watching the sunset on the beach or walking through local art galleries and shops right across the beach.
You will also find plenty of beachside resorts to enjoy a luxurious stay surrounded by nature, art, and history.
Puerto Vallarta is perfect for a beach vacation, but it also offers a variety of other activities and attractions to make your stay worthwhile.
Just like Tulum, you can explore genuine Mexican culture and tradition, along with arts and thriving nature, here in Puerto Vallarta as well.
There are no Maya or Aztec ruins here, but the more recent history of the country is reflected in the cobblestone roads of the historical center and beautiful colonial courtyards and homes, local food and art.
The pueblo here is brimming with historic buildings and monuments, cobblestone streets, and vibrant nightlife.
The Zona Romantica is a unique area where you will find quaint cafes and restaurants, lovely art galleries, and the famous Los Muertos Beach pier!
Since Puerto Vallarta has no shortage of attractions, you can check out all the things to do in Puerto Vallarta in my other post, while here I am just covering the main highlights to show you the main differences with Tulum.
Puerto Vallarta highlights
✅ Puerto Vallarta is a seaside big city, located on Banderas Bay. We can distinguish different areas in Puerto Vallarta, and in my post on the best areas to stay in Puerto Vallarta, I describe them all in detail.
✅ Hotels are spread along the coast, and you can find boutique hotels and all-inclusive hotel chains.
✅ There is a Marine area with luxury boats, high-end apartments, and hotels, besides world-class restaurants and shops.
✅ There is an abundance of nature, art, history, and culture to discover in Puerto Vallarta. The city offers a variety of tours to explore the surrounding nature with hikes, snorkeling, scuba diving, or cultural city walks, and much more.
✅ The town preserves its traditional charm well, but it also has a luxurious resort-city side to it. There are plenty of upscale hotels and all-inclusive resorts here, and you can find every modern facility in town.
✅ Puerto Vallarta’s landscape is another very pretty aspect of the town. The seaside sunsets of the town are impressive, but there are also plenty of hiking trails and guided tours to explore the scenic Sierra Madre mountain range.
✅ Even though it’s not the Caribbean Sea, Puerto Vallarta’s expansive Pacific coast is just as impressive. Here you will find beautiful white sand bays with lush rolling mountains as a backdrop and a lot of marine life for great snorkeling and diving trips.
✅ Whalewatching is one of the highlights of Puerto Vallarta. It’s not rare to see humpback whales jumping out of the water right from the coast from December through March. However, you can also get closer by joining a boat tour.
✅ Puerto Vallarta has an International Airport right outside town that connects the vibrant Mexican resort destination with all the most important international hubs. That makes an easy transfer to your hotel.
✅ Puerto Vallarta is close to Sayulita, San Pancho, and other pretty towns and spectacular beaches of the Riviera Nayarit.
✅ It’s safe to rent a car in Puerto Vallarta and drive around.
Distances between Puerto Vallarta and the noteworthy places in its surrounding region
- 1 hr 4 min (43 km) from Sayulita.
- 1 h 30 min (68 km) de San Sebastián del Oeste.
- 2 hr (98 km) from Mascota.
- 4 hr 52 min (330 km) de Guadalajara.
Puerto Vallarta’s drawbacks compared to Tulum
🔴 Although Puerto Vallarta has a walkable historical center, it’s still a big city compared to the town of Tulum. Here you can also find big all-inclusive chain resorts and longer distances from one area to another, which is not necessarily a negative aspect, but if you prefer the small-town vibes, Tulum is your place.
🔴 If you are interested in ancient pre-Hispanic Mayan history, you won’t find anything like that on this side of Mexico.
🔴 Tulum is close to many other world-renowned tourist destinations like Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Merida, and Bacalar, among others.
🔴 Puerto Vallarta doesn’t have the turquoise waters that the Caribbean Sea in Tulum has.
Tulum vs Puerto Vallarta — Weather
The weather in Tulum is warmer and more humid compared to Puerto Vallarta at certain times of the year.
The town’s tropical, balmy weather is accompanied by rainy months. Additionally, although hurricanes are rare, tropical storms are quite common during the hurricane season in Tulum, which spans from June to October.
So the best time to visit is between December and April when the skies are clear and sunny, and there are little to no chances of rain. However, keep in mind that those months will be more crowded and more expensive.
Please ensure you book your hotel in advance.
Additionally, consider reading my guide on the best time to visit Tulum.
Puerto Vallarta has drier weather throughout the year. There is also no hurricane season here because of the bay, which protects it, but tropical storms are not unheard of (though not very common either).
Puerto Vallarta’s rainy season runs between June and October, and the town is really hot and humid during these months.
The high season—which is from December until March—has really great weather, so it’s the best time to visit here, but it’s also crowdier and more expensive, just like Tulum.
Tulum vs Puerto Vallarta — Which one is safer?
Despite thousands of tourists flocking to Tulum and Puerto Vallarta every year, safety can still be a concern in either destination.
Althoguh we can say that they’re both relatively safe, petty theft isn’t unheard of in both these towns, so make sure you keep an eye on your stuff and never leave your belongings unattended.
Use all the common-sense precautions you would take in any other place in the world.
To learn more about safety in Puerto Vallarta and Tulum, you can read my dedicated posts here below:
► Is it safe to travel to Puerto Vallarta?
Tulum vs Puerto Vallarta: airport proximity
As I mentioned earlier, while Puerto Vallarta has an airport located right outside the city, Tulum’s closest airport is Cancun International Airport, situated approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes away.
But worry not, in both cases, I have the perfect airport transfer company for you.
► Cancun – Tulum Private Transportation Round trip – 10$ OFF
👉 Book your round-trip private transport from Cancun to Tulum in advance and save 10$ with this trustworthy company
► Puerto Vallarta Airport to hotel Private Transportation Round trip
What to pack for Tulum and Puerto Vallarta
Packing for Tulum and Puerto Vallarta means balancing two distinct coastal styles — Tulum’s laid-back bohemian vibe and Vallarta’s tropical, city-by-the-sea charm. Both are warm and humid for most of the year, so lightweight, breathable fabrics are key.
Start with linen and cotton pieces, swimsuits, and breezy cover-ups that can take you from beach to brunch. Comfortable sandals or slides, a wide-brimmed hat, and reef-safe sunscreen are must-haves for both destinations. Don’t forget a reusable water bottle and insect repellent — the tropical heat calls for both.
In Tulum, go for that signature boho-chic look: flowy dresses, crochet tops, and neutral-toned sets. If you love refined, beachy fashion, make sure to stop by Wanderlust Tulum Boutique, one of the town’s most beloved shops. The boutique’s pieces — from silk dresses to airy cotton kaftans — perfectly capture Tulum’s free-spirited yet sophisticated style and are ideal for tropical days and elegant nights. You can also shop online from their beautiful website.
In Puerto Vallarta, think colorful and vibrant — sundresses, linen jumpsuits, and tropical prints fit the lively coastal mood. Pack a light cardigan or wrap for breezy evenings by the Malecón and quick-dry activewear for day trips and adventures.
Both places invite relaxed elegance, so keep it simple, versatile, and effortlessly chic.
Tulum vs Puerto Vallarta — Which one is the better choice? Final Thoughts
Both destinations are incredible for a beach vacation in Mexico — it really depends on when you’re visiting and what kind of atmosphere you’re after.
The rustic, bohemian charm of Tulum makes it perfect for travelers seeking a laid-back escape surrounded by nature. It’s home to some of the most picture-perfect beaches in the country, framed by palm trees and turquoise water.
The Yucatán Peninsula, where Tulum sits, hides more than 6,000 cenotes, and many of the most stunning ones are right near town — a magical experience you won’t find in Puerto Vallarta. Plus, the Tulum Ruins are among the most scenic in Mexico, perched on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean.
On the other hand, Puerto Vallarta offers a completely different vibe. Here, the jungle meets the Pacific, creating a playground for adventure lovers — think hiking, snorkeling, diving, and even swimming with dolphins in the wild.
The city also has a vibrant cultural scene, with art galleries, charming cafés, and restaurants centered around its historic downtown and lively Malecón. Everything feels close and walkable, giving it a cozy yet dynamic atmosphere.
The choice is now yours to make, but I am curious to know. Where did you go and how did you like it? Feel free to leave a comment below and share your thoughts
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