I would like to take a trip out to Tulum, but not with a tour. Where do I go to catch a bus from Cancun (staying at the Barcelo Costa Cancun) to Tulum. How long is the bus ride? How much is it to get into the park and are you allowed to bring in outside food and drinks?
From your hotel take the R-1 bus to downtown Cancun, about a 10 minute ride. After it makes a right onto Av. Tulum you will get off at the 3rd or 4th stop which is just before McDonalds. Work your way to the front of the bus and look for the tall yellow "M" if you are in doubt. The bus station is across the street from this stop. You can go into the terminal and see the destinations and times on the wall above the ticket counters. It's either $54 or $76 PESOS, so like $5 or $7 US. Take the $76 ADO ticket. It's worth the extra $2 for a 1st class ride. There used to be a stop at the Zona Archeologica but I am not sure if there is still a regular stop. Ask the ticket agent. If not take the Tulum bus but tell the driver he will stop and let you out. The ZA is north of town so you will just get off before you get to the city of Tulum. It's not a long walk to the park from the highway. But when you reach the parking lot it is about a mile to the park entrance and a tram is like $20 Mxn. It's about $40 Mxn to enter and about that much more if you bring a video camera. Regular cameras are OK without a fee. I think you can bring in food and water but not booze. If you have a backpack they will search it but not till after you buy your ticket and walk about 100 yards to the entrance. I would ask the ticket agent if the bus stops in front of the ZA to drop off and pick up passengers. I would also ask the driver how to get the bus back to Cancun. It's not unusual to see people flagging down the buses. The driver may or may not pocket your cash. It will be no more to get back to Cancun than it is to get from Cancun to Tulum. I hope this helps a bit.
Only thing I would add is that you might have to change buses in Playa so be prepared. We didn't know this and sat on the bus like a couple of idoits till we almost missed the connection. We flagged down the return bus and it didn't stop at Playa on the way back. Might have been the difference between the express (which stopped) and the local (which didn't) Jamie
