Hola from Puerto Morelos!
As promised, here’s another update from the desk of InPuertoMorelos.com
This edition, we’ll focus on a few major projects that I didn’t think I’d live long enough to see. They are premiering this month. The Tulum Airport and the Mayan Train. (and there are a couple of more things too)
For at least 25 years, realtors and travel agents have talked about an international airport in Tulum “coming soon”. This month their dream finally comes true as our state, Quintana Roo gets its fourth international airport. (Cancun, Cozumel, & Chetumal are the others) The new airport, officially called “Aeropuerto Internacional Felipe Carrillo Puerto” will be known as Tulum Airport. (IATA: TQO, ICAO: MMTL) It is about 20 km south of Tulum, hence the Felipe Carrillo Puerto name. Google puts the drive to the Tulum hotel zone at about 50 minutes. The taxi fares look quite high, but ADO will service the airport, so you will have that option too. To give you an idea of how far it is, from Casa de los Viajeros to the Tulum airport would be about a 2-hour drive by car.
The airport is constructed and operated by the Mexican army, which is part of the broader strategy of our President’s administration to engage the armed forces in significant infrastructure projects. This trend of militarization extends to other projects, including the takeover of multiple airports, the Tren Maya, and the revival of Mexicana Airlines.
Several airlines have already made plans to fly directly into Tulum Airport, including Air Canada, Aeroméxico, Mexicana, American Airlines, Delta, Spirit and JetBlue. Viva Aerobus is already landing there now. The airport also hosts an Executive Aviation Terminal, (read: private jets) equipped with presumably swanky lounges. There are also plans to build an Air Force base within the airport grounds. The airport is open right now, but only for domestic flights so far. Construction continues on the airport and a station for the train.
The Tren Maya is another giant project that is just getting started. To say this endeavour is “controversial” would be an enormous understatement. Serious concerns have been raised about the environmental impact of the project, its effect on archeological sites, its general safety, the rapid speed of the construction, its soaring cost, and its impact on the people of the peninsula. There were also numerous changes in the plan. Routes were moved around and added seemingly at a whim and even the type of train planned changed several times from hydrogen-powered to electric to diesel.
Our President, López Obrador was unphased and the train project rolled on. Only part of the line is completed so far, but it did have its inaugural run on December 15 from Cancun to Campeche. The train is supposed to be completed early next year and will include stops as far away as Palenque. 1,500 kilometres of track will connect the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo. It will carry passengers but also will haul freight.
Puerto Morelos is part of the route. The station is still under construction about 5 kilometres from the Colonia on the Ruta de Cenotes road. The train will also have a station at the Cancun Airport (you will need to take a free shuttle from the terminals to the train station), so in theory, you will be able to take the train to town after landing in Cancun. Schedules are still being worked out, but chances are the train probably won’t be frequent enough for you, (it runs about every 2 hours) and you will still have to get transport from the Puerto Morelos station to your accommodation.
The train could be used to effortlessly extend your vacation though. Cities like Valladolid, Merida, Campeche and Chetumal are well worth exploring, and the Palenque ruin site is nothing short of spectacular. Fares are still being worked out, but look to be similar to first-class bus fares. You can ride the rails in “premier” class (you get a meal and a bigger seat) or tourist class. Locals with proof of residency in one of the states will pay less than tourists.
Another major project is underway in Cancun. It probably won’t change your life much, but it’s huge for folks who live and work in the hotel zone. It’s a bridge across the Nichupté lagoon which will save drivers lots of time. Right now, there is only one road that meanders through the entire hotel zone. The bridge will allow folks to shortcut and avoid the most congested areas.
The project will require a bridge almost 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) long. The bridge will be three lanes, with one lane reversing depending on which direction has the most traffic demand. They are working on the bridge 24/7 to try to get it done in 2024.
Apparently, there are traffic delays in the Cancun Hotel Zone due to the construction of this bridge. To be honest, we rarely venture into the Hotel Zone. It feels like a foreign country to us. We do go to Cancun at least every month, but that trip is all about Home Depot, Costco, paying some bills and maybe catching a movie.
The good news about construction in Cancun is that the highway construction that had made airport trips a nightmare last season is mostly done. We now have a pretty good, six-lane concrete highway in and out of Cancun. Trips to the airport are no longer a major chore, as long as there is not an accident on the highway. A new bridge is under construction at Kabah/Bonampak, but it is not causing any serious delays.
If you have visited our area in the last few years, you might know that a new major mall is opening close to the airport on the road to Puerto Morelos. It’s called “Grand Outlet” or GO for short. It’s sometimes listed as being in Puerto Morelos, and I guess it is in our “county”, but it is much closer to the airport than it is to us. The mall is located across from Moon Palace, about 20 kilometres north of PM.
The mall is open, but still very much under construction. PM’ers were hoping it would have movie theatres, and they were in the original plans, but they didn’t get built. Instead, there are go-carts, laser tag and (gasp) a real Olympic-sized ice rink. (Apparently, an amateur Puerto Morelos hockey league is already being formed.) Stores will include designers like Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Hugo Boss, Carolina Herrera, BCBGMaxazria, Lacoste, Adidas, and many others. During the second development phase, the complex will also feature a 7,500-seat auditorium, an aquarium, and even a small lake. When finally completed, it will be the biggest mall in Cancun and perhaps, Latin America.
One last piece of infrastructure to mention, and that is our tortured town dock. It was turned into a Salvador Dali art piece in 2020 after two hurricanes, Delta and Gamma gave it a twist. (Read our front-line report on Hurricane Delta here) A few months ago new funding was offered to repair the dock. Hooray! So far our dock remains unchanged and unfixed. Hopefully, the funding will be put to use in 2024.
We hope you enjoyed our look at the big projects in our Town Update Part Two. In the next part, we will focus more on changes within our town.
Happy 2024 to everyone and we hope that we will see you at Casa de los Viajeros next year!
PS If you missed Part 1 of the Town Update, you can find it here.
