Tulum is a formerly sleepy beach town that has rapidly morphed into the next bohemian “it” destination. I adore this town and if you haven’t been I would suggest going, and fast! Why do I love Tulum? The ocean here is simply amazing, think warm blue Caribbean waves kissing fairy dust sand.
I'm also an avid lover of all things food! The influence that the sea, the tropics, and the local Mayan culture have on the cuisine is divine. Passion fruit mojitos made with raw sugar can, fresh ceviche and grilled fish seaoned to perfection! I'm not sure what's better then that!
The town of Tulum is about a 20 minute bike ride or a 8 minute taxi trip from the beach. You can either stay along the beach or in town. Here are a few pros/cons to staying in town verses staying on the beach.
Pros:
Staying in town:
Live more like a local.
More affordable food and accommodation.
Middle ground to cenotes and beach.
Staying on the beach:
World class dining.
Short walk to the beach.
Cons:
Staying in town:
$5 taxi to the beach.
Staying on the beach:
More expensive.
Not many Airbnbs, mostly hotels.
A few well loved hotels along the beach are:
A few loved Airbnbs in the town of Tulum are:
Tulum is an excellent anchor location with countless day trips just hours away by car or bus. It’s pretty straight-forward either riding the ADO bus, or renting a car. Renting a car definitely gets you to your destination faster as well as gives you more freedom to explore nearby cenotes and other adventuring.
If you want to explore beyond Tulum I would highly urge you to visit ruins. The closest ruins are the Tulum Ruins about 15 minutes from town along the beach. After visiting you will understand why the Mayans wanted to reside here. This site was one of the last known ruins built by the Maya before the civilizstion collapsed.
Heading out of town, Coba (1.5 hr) or Chichen Itza (2hr) are both quite spectacular ruins. Coba are the only ruins in the area I know of that you can still climb to the top of. Heights make me pretty nervous, but I bit my tongue and did the climb and my am I glad I endured. The view over the jungle is outstanding!
On top of Coba in my custom TM choker!
If you want to see both a charming colonial town and dive into a lush jungle cenote, then Valladolid is somewhere you'll have to stop. If you rent a car and drive to Coba it’s about another 30 minutes farther to Valladolid and if you venture to Chichen Iza you should see signs as you pass by the city on your way to Chichen Iza.
Cenote in Valladolid.
These days the Tulum beach can get a little crowded so we explored the nearby Sian Ka'an Biosphere to get a beach all to ourselves. We entered by driving out the beach road past all of the hotels, around 40 minutes from town. Once the road turns to dirt you're in the biosphere! The jungle presses in closely around you, with the ocean on one side and a brackish lagoon on the other. I wouldn’t recommend exploring the lagoons by yourself as there are crocodiles. But you can pay for a local guide to give you a boat tour of the biosphere which I hear is gorgeous! We opted in to spending the day at the gorgeously empty beach and finding fallen coconuts to gorge ourselves on well into the afternoon.
All in all Tulum is a lovely town with relaxing beachside feels, delecious food and ever increasing nightlife that is worth visitng. So check you passport, pack your bag and buy your ticket because Mexico is calling.
With love and grace,
~Tree