Renting A Car In Tulum: Is It Safe To Rent A Car In Tulum, Mexico?

Renting a car can be an easy thing to do, especially when you are on a trip and you want to have the same comfort as back home. But in Mexico things can be different. You can have troubles with corrupt police, not knowing the rules and what is better to avoid when on the road in Mexico, especially in the Yucatan peninsula, and so on. That’s why if you are wondering whether it’s safe or not to rent a car in Tulum, well the answers can be multiples – that’s why we decided to write this guide about safety and rental cars between Cancun, Tulum and Merida.

You will discover if driving in Mexico is safe and 3 essential things you should know before driving, how it is to drive in Tulum and what you should be conscious of, which are the best car rental companies and which one you should avoid during your travel, and how to choose a safe car rental. 

Still having doubts? No worries – keep on reading and check out the essentials about safe rental cars in Tulum, Mexico!

If you feel like needing an extra help because you want your trip to Tulum flawless – don’t hesitate contacting Kelly and Virginia FREE concierge service! They will be the number one arranging everything you’ll want in Tulum.

Driving in Mexico is not safe. Or better – it is in certain zones at a certain time. Most probably you already checked the “dangerous parts” of Mexico, basically the ones you should avoid to travel to.

The Yucatan peninsula is among the safest places in Mexico, and not only – in the world. So driving in the “dangerous zone” of Mexico can be actually tricky, but here it will not be a problem. If you are in Merida and its surroundings, you will find good roads, gas stations, and you will be sure nothing bad will happen to you. 

We have never driven at night, but we have friends who did it and everything went well. The Yucatan peninsula is a very touristic area, so it’s in Mexico’s interests to keep it safe. The only thing that will maybe be annoying if you will be driving from Tulum to Merida will be the police checking along the road. They will ask you where you are going, quickly check your car from the outside and they can ask you for the documents the rental car will give you. No worries, if everything is ok and you are not transporting something illegal, then it should be fine. 

But let’s find out 3 things you should know before renting and driving a car on Mexican roads! 

As soon as you decide to rent a car, no matter where in Mexico – Cancun, Merida or Tulum – you will have to check, after the price they are proposing per day, the kind of insurance it’s included in the cost. It can be a secondary thing, especially if you are traveling on a budget, but – trust us – it will be one of the most important things to consider when renting a car in Mexico.

Normally in the price rental car companies propose a basic insurance it’s included. Well, the best thing is actually add full coverage insurance if you can. In this way, with maybe 10 usd more per day, you will feel safe and will not have to think about any problems during your trip. Always check to have insurance covering accidents and civil liability. Much better to pay a bit more, than have problems for small accidents or other inconveniences.

Driving between Cancun, Tulum and Merida is actually very safe! As we said above, you don’t have to worry about anything in these areas. Merida is very quiet and nothing much happens, Cancun is a big city and maybe the only one you have to care a bit more is Tulum.

In fact, in Tulum, the police are very corrupt. So you should really avoid drinking and driving, or even worse, consume drugs and then drive. If you are the driver, be sure to be sober and not to carry any suspicious – or illegal – things in the vehicle. In that case if police catch you, they will first menace you to bring you to jail for 24 or 48 hours. If you try to solve the thing in another way, they will ask you for the maximum amount of money.

If you want to know how to get out of this kind of situation, read the paragraph below!  

As we were saying there are a few things to avoid doing while you are on the road in Mexico. If you are the driver or just a passenger, it can be pretty important to know these things because they can save you from unpleasant situations.

Especially when you drive, but even if you walk in Mexico, you can’t drink alcohol on the road. If you do it, you will quickly attract the attention of the authorities. Another thing you should avoid doing when on the road is hailing a cab. Maybe you want to reach the car rental, or your hotel, but in Mexico’s big cities there can be illegal taxi drivers – and you don’t want to live this experience. So it is always better to make the hotel call for a taxi or pick up the official taxis of the airport – if you are in Cancun for example. 

Last but not least, if you are the driver and in the car there are people carrying drugs or illegal stuff – be prepared to have cold blood if the police stop you. If they find out what you carry, you can try avoiding going to prison for 24/48 hours. How? It’s not the most commendable way because you feed corruption, but you can give all the money you have to the police. Even if they ask you for 1000 usd or God knows how much, give what you have on you and pray they will let you go.

Don’t be discouraged from what you just read – if you respect the law as in every Country, you will have no problems in Mexico either. If you rent a car in Tulum and you will use it to move around Tulum city center or Tulum beach, you will have no problems. Police always check at the entrance of the road heading down Tulum beach from the center, at night or at sunset when people are driving back and forth Tulum city and beach. But, if you don’t do anything illegal, you are sober and without drugs, you will have no problems. 

You book a car with a car rental company online, you pay by credit card and now you are ready to pick up your car at the location in Tulum city center. If after a few days in Tulum you plan to visit incredible cenotes and Mayan ruins in the Yucatan peninsula, you will have no problems in doing this.

As we said, this part of Mexico is really safe and you will meet many nice people. Police controls are along the main road connecting Tulum to Merida and right before entering Merida. Police checks are the same in every part of the world – so just follow the rules and you will soon be free to go!

After booking cars in different Tulum’s car rental companies, we discovered BGH Car Rental Tulum and it’s definitely the best we’ve tried since now. From the incredible price to the excellent customer care, from the fact they don’t need to take a deposit from your credit card to the full coverage insurance included in the price, we hope you will be satisfied as we are with their car rental service! 

BGH Car Rental Tulum rents Nissan Versa cars. These cars are between a compact and a station wagon – the perfect size to move in Tulum city as well as on the road in the Yucatan. The cars are brand new and you will find every comfort you can search for! But let’s talk about their way-more-than-good price.

They ask 40 usd/day, which is already way lower than other rental cars prices in Tulum, but the price decreases to 30 usd/day if you rent a car for more than 3 days. Isn’t it incredible? Let’s check out what’s included in the rental price!

The 40 usd/day cost per car include unlimited kilometrage, a full coverage insurance covering accidents and civil liability and the assistance of Virginia that will help you to choose the car, rent it, giving you advices on places to visit – in a nutshell: she will follow you throughout the process of renting a car! 

We needed to rent a car for a day trip in Yucatan, but we wanted to try out a Mexican company because we didn’t have really great experiences with international car rental companies in Tulum. That’s how we got the contact of Virginia, a really kind girl, that helped us out with the renting process.

Their formula is really great, we didn’t have any problems while renting a car with them and we will for sure rent a car again in the future! In addition to the incredibly good price, the full coverage insurance, they will not even need to take a deposit from your credit card: this was a huge plus in our case!

You can contact Virginia on Whatsapp at +529842558049 and check their car availability. Once you book a car, you will be able to pick it up at their location in Tulum city center. 

We hope you enjoyed our guide and that we answered any doubts about safety in Mexico. If you have any other questions, we will be happy to reply to you here below in the comments!