Tulum Maya ruins (Zona Arqueologica)

Get there for opening

This is the one sight everyone comes to Tulum for, and rightly so: a walled Maya city set on a low limestone cliff directly above the turquoise Caribbean, the only major coastal Maya site of its kind. The buildings themselves are modest beside Chichen Itza or Coba — it’s the setting, the sea and the iguanas basking on warm stone, that makes it. Which is exactly why timing matters more than anything here.

Be at the gate for the 8am opening. The site is open, low and almost entirely shadeless, so the early hour is the only cool, comfortable window. It also buys you an hour before the coaches and cruise-excursion groups pour in from Cancun, Playa del Carmen and the cruise ports; by mid-morning the main structures are ringed with people and the heat is punishing. An hour and a half to two hours is plenty on site.

Tickets, cash and the walk in

Budget around 515 pesos in total — roughly £23. That now bundles the INAH archaeological-site ticket together with a national-park fee and the Jaguar Park wristband that controls access through the surrounding land. The crucial practical point: bring it in pesos cash. The booths don’t reliably accept cards or US dollars, and being caught short at the gate after a long taxi ride is a miserable way to start. Rates and the exact split change, so treat the number as a guide.

There’s a walk in from the car park and Jaguar Park entrance to the ruins proper, with a shuttle sometimes offered for a small extra fee. A small cove and beach sit below the cliff and may be open for a quick dip, but it’s often closed and shouldn’t anchor your plans. Take water, a hat and sun cream — there’s nowhere to shelter once you’re inside the walls. Check current hours and the ticket arrangement on the official site before you go.