Aldea Zama, Tulum: a short guide for buyers

What Aldea Zama is

Aldea Zama is a neighborhood of Tulum, laid out with its own street grid, and it is the most finished part of Tulum. The streets are paved, with sidewalks on both sides and bike lanes, and the buildings stop at three or four stories behind strips of jungle. The beach is about ten minutes by bike and downtown about five minutes by car. Restaurants, cafés, yoga studios and a gym are within walking distance, and for a full supermarket shop Chedraui is a short drive away on the main highway.

That planning has drawn a genuine mix of residents, which is unusual for Tulum: full time families, part time owners, remote workers and owners who let their homes to visitors, often on the same street.

The developments buyers choose between

Inside Aldea Zama sit named developments, each with its own character and its own price level. Three come up in almost every search.

La Privada is a development of 98 single family lots of around 375 square meters (about 4,000 square feet), with a residents' clubhouse with a pool and a padel court. Many of the neighborhood's larger contemporary villas sit here, and it holds much of the top of Aldea Zama's price range.

Aldea Premium holds both detached villas and boutique condo buildings, so it suits buyers at either end of the range.

Luum Zama is built out as boutique buildings of apartments and penthouses alongside townhouses, which suits a buyer who wants a home they can lock and leave.

Which suits you mostly comes down to how much of the year you will spend here, and whether you want a house with a garden or an apartment in a boutique building.

What it costs

Aldea Zama's price range is unusually wide for one neighborhood. A first condo and a trophy estate sit on the same few streets, which is why buyers at opposite ends of the market often end up looking here at the same time. The current asking prices, the median and every listing are on the area page, where they are kept current. They are asking prices from our own listings, not closed sales.

What to check first

Compare against resales. Aldea Zama carries more resale listings than almost any area we cover. A resale lets you compare a home against something that has already changed hands, rather than against a developer's price list. Look at both before you decide what a fair price is.

Ask for the HOA fee in writing. Buildings and developments with their own pool, gym or clubhouse pay for them through the fee, so ask what it is and what it covers.

Look at the plot next door. Parts of the neighborhood are still being built, so ask what is planned for the land beside you.

Read the rules on short stays. If you plan to let the home, ask the building or development for its written rules before you sign.

Building your own? Aldea Zama is sold mostly as finished homes. If you want to build, look at Selva Zama next door or Region 8, where most of the land we list in Tulum sits.

How the purchase itself works, including the fideicomiso, the bank trust through which foreign buyers hold property near the coast with full ownership rights, is covered in our guide to buying in Tulum.

See every home for sale in Aldea Zama, or book a call with one of our brokers about which part of it fits you.