The 3 Best Audio Tours on the Riviera Maya

1.Tulum Mayan Ruins GPS Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 20 reviews · 1 hour (approx.) · from $9Our pick

Use the Action Tour Guide app to walk Tulum’s cliff-top ruins at your own pace. GPS-triggered audio, maps, photos, and text lead you from Casa Cenote to El Castillo, the Temple of Frescoes, and the Temple of the Descending God. Bring headphones, download over Wi-Fi, and buy your entry ticket separately.

“The idea of this app was good in theory. In reality, it has too many bugs. The site itself is nice but the app is terrible to guide you through the site. I would walk and the app would sometimes kick in to tell me about the ruins. Most of the time, it would fail to provide me any details or guidance. Don't waste your money. When you get to Tulum they offer guides tours and tickets included for $10USD.”

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2.Self-Guided Audio Tour – Tulum: The Return Home

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 8 reviews · 1 hour (approx.)

Use the SOUNDWALKRS app to explore Tulum’s archaeological zone for about an hour. Offline chapters and maps guide you between ancient ruins and the beach, with actor-led storytelling instead of a live guide. Bring your own phone, headphones, and entrance ticket.

“The best part about this tour is that it started on our time. There was no rush to meeting up with a group tour with a guide. The price was extremely reasonable too. The downfalls were that the information was sparse, and although they have a clever idea with using actors to act out different characters, there wasn’t a lot of substance or history. Each stop on the tour had a very brief audio that left a lot to be desired. The idea was great, but it can use some tweaking to include more historical and archaeological information.”

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3.Tulum Legends: A Self-Guided Audio Tour of the Ancient Mayan City

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 3 reviews · 40 minutes to 1 hour (approx.) · from $6Best value

Follow a self-guided English audio walk from Librería Educal Tulum past the Casa del Cenote, El Castillo, Temple of the Frescoes, and Great Platform. VoiceMap provides offline audio, maps, and geodata for about 40 minutes to one hour. Entrance fees, transport, phone, and headphones are not included.

“We wound up hiring a private guide and did not use the audio however, I had listened to a sample of it when I downloaded it, and it was quite good when we returned to our hotel I thought we might listen to portions of it, but as it turned out, it said that we were 105 km from the starting point”

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