Considering booking tickets to Tulum in November. Concerned about the safety of traveling from Cancun to Tulum via private shuttle and vacationing in Tulum when the American consulate just issued another updated warning for Mexico. I know tons of people from the US are still going to Mexico despite the warnings but I would like confirmation from others who have been there recently. Any thoughts?

The problems are not in the Tulum area. And they are not about tourists. It's an internal drug cartel issue. Rather than read the overall advisory, pay attention to the places where the issues have been occuring in the news (Mexico is one HUGE country). And it's not around Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Akumal, or Tulum.

Suze - Thank you for your response.

There are lots of posts on this topic (near daily!) over at Trip Advisor on the various destination forums, if you'd like to read more directly from people who have recently traveled in that area.

Pefect! Thanks again.

I would advise against wandering around naked, alone and clutching thousands of pesos at night, but other that that you'll be fine.

We were there in February, and we were never even remotely uncomfortable.

We were in Maroma in March. Our resort sent a driver for us. The highway between Cancun and Tulum is busy (or at least it was a few years back when we rented a car and drove there). If your hotel is sending the shuttle you should be o.k. Tulum ruins are in a beautiful setting. I will say that on our return from Maroma to the airport there was quite a police presence. Not sure why. The only time I have ever been uncomfortable was when stopping for gas (twice - once on the return from Tulum and another trip when we drove to Chichen Itza (sp). Oh yes, once at the airport when we had to get our own transport. We do not speak Spanish so this might be our problem. So you see, we go to Maroma a lot and are not fearful. I agree that the Mexican Riviera is not where I think the real problem is. It is more on the border. Happy travels!

We use Cancun Valet for a private shuttle. They are very reliable. You can go to their website and arrange everyting in advance.

Heading back down to Akumal Monday (yay) and using USA Transfers, they are very reliable and drive safely. Have also rented cars as well.