Trendy Tulum

Ruins of Tulum

What’s up with everyone visiting Tulum? Cheap flights to Cancun + a short two-hour drive + warm weather + tacos = no brainer! Just weeks before our Southwest Companion Pass expired, my boyfriend and I finally made it to Cancun’s hipper, trendier, younger, and more rugged cousin. Several of our friends had already made the trip, so we were itching to see what the hype was all about. How could I not, when spicy margaritas and tacos are two of my favorite things?

How long to stay:

There’s plenty to do for five days to a week, especially if you want a combination of exploring the downtown area, day trips to nearby towns’ ruins and snorkeling, and relaxing by the gorgeous, jungle-y beach. We stayed for just over three days (one of which we were bedridden with food poisoning), but even without that incident, we left wishing we had more time.

Where to stay:

Tulum has two main areas where you can stay—the beach and downtown—which are located about 6 miles (~15 minute, $5 - $10 USD cab ride) from each other.

The beach has a ton of beautiful, boutique hotels where you can stay in treehouses (Azulik), glamp on the sand (Habitas Tulum), dance all day to a live DJ (Be Tulum), and have private beach and pool access. You could spend your entire Tulum trip in the beach area checking out the trendy boutiques and upscale restaurants and bars.

Downtown Tulum is where you’ll find hostels and Airbnbs. It’s way more of a local, city feel, and much easier to walk from place to place, especially at night, than the beach strip. You’ll find street food vendors everywhere and tons of cheaper shops to pop into, unlike by the water. Air conditioning downtown, though, might be hard to come by.

Kin Toh, Hotel Azulik's Bar and Restaurant

Getting there:

Tulum is located ~1.5 – 2 hours from Cancun airport. Your options are to rent a car, hire a private transfer, or take a shared bus.

There are many websites where you can hire your own driver, but it’s fairly pricey. We were quoted $165 round trip for two people from NAST. If you have more people, you can hire a small van for a similar price, which makes it more manageable. For $20 bucks more or so, some companies will even have beer and wine waiting for you upon arrival!

We took the shared ADO bus on the way back from Tulum to the airport. It was a really pleasant ride, with air conditioning (thank goodness), outlets, wifi, and plenty of legroom. Tickets are ~$12 USD one way, and the bus arrived without stops after 1 hour and 40 minutes. The only downside is that the buses only operate every couple hours, so if your timing doesn’t align well, it might not be the best option. We bought tickets the day beforehand at the station, but you can also book from ADO’s website.

Getting around:

The best option for getting from downtown to the beach is via a short cab ride. Cabs are everywhere, and hailing one is simple; just make sure to agree on a price (paid in pesos) with your driver beforehand. Cab drivers aren’t very open to negotiating, but their prices are usually reasonable. As of December 2018, Tulum does not have any ride-sharing apps, like Uber.

What to bring:

• Hand sanitizer: minimize your chances of getting sick! Some places didn’t have working soap dispensers, and it’s good practice to apply it before eating those street tacos that I know you’re dreaming about.

• Sunscreen: the sun is super strong; prevent those wrinkles!

• A hat

• Sunglasses

• Bathing suits: for the beaches and cenotes, of course

• Goggles and a snorkel mask: for checking out the cool underwater formations in the cenotes

• Water shoes: very handy when walking along the slippery and poke-y cenote rocks

• Walking shoes: downtown Tulum’s streets are constantly being torn up. There are potholes, rocks, and construction everywhere, so be careful when you’re walking. The beach strip at night is also treacherous walking territory and doesn’t have any streetlights, so it can help to bring a flashlight or use the one on your phone.

• Cash and a debit card: whether places in Tulum take credit cards is kind of a toss-up. Even some of the more upscale establishments by the beach required cash, so it’s best to have at least $50 – $100 USD on you depending on where you’re going. In downtown Tulum, there’s an ATM at the HSBC and ADO bus station.

• No need for a converter. Mexico’s power outlets are the same as in the U.S.

Cenotes: (pronounced “say-no-tayes”)

If you haven’t visited a cenote, have you really visited Tulum? Cenotes are natural formations that capture rainwater. During Mayan times, they were the only source of fresh water. Today they’re the source of many bloggers’ Instagram pictures. Oh, and amazing for scuba diving, too, since you can see underwater rock formations and even scuba through tunnels in the caverns. Makes me wish I had my scuba license! They all charge some sort of fee, so be sure to bring pesos.

Gran Cenote

• Gran Cenote: one of the two most famous cenotes in Tulum, located a 10-minute cab ride from downtown. If you only have time to visit one, check out this one or Dos Ojos. Gran Cenote is much larger than Calavera and has a nice blend of open air and cavern-covered waters. There’s also a grassy area with hammocks that you can chill at if your Tulum vacation isn’t relaxing enough. It gets crowded so is best to go in the morning or before it closes at 5 PM. Entrance fee is a couple hundred pesos.

• Dos Ojos: perhaps the most famous cenote, Dos Ojos is named “two eyes” because of its two openings in the earth. It’s located 30 minutes outside of Tulum and will cost a couple hundred pesos to get to. There are a bunch of additional cenotes near Dos Ojos, and you can hire tours to take you to all of them. While Dos Ojos looks like a must-visit for scuba divers, it seems pretty similar to Gran Cenote, which was closer.

• Calavera: this cenote, the name of which means “skull” in Spanish because of one large opening and two smaller ones that look like pits, is cool because it appears so ominous. You can jump or dive into it, then float around and look at the bats in the cavern. You can also take the ladder down, but jumping into the black hole is the best part, so if you’re not into that, you might as well check out a different cenote.

• Car Wash: a sizeable, ground-level natural pool of water surrounded by mangrove trees and lily pads that you can jump or dive into. It’s open to the sky, so you can even bring a floatie and bob around catching some rays.

Gran Cenote, Cenote Calavera, Car Wash Cenote are very close to each other—only a few miles apart and minutes by cab, but it’s difficult to flag one down since they’re located about 10 minutes outside of downtown Tulum. Walking was a tad too far and dangerous along the highway, but biking seemed feasible and the road was flat. You could check out all three for a day trip, although you might be cenote-d out by the end, as we were. They’re also located on the way to the town of Coba, so you could stop by on your way back from checking out Mayan Ruins of Coba.

To do:

• Tulum Ruins: fairly large archaeological complex with Mayan ruins, famous for its gorgeous setting atop a hill on the beach. You can even walk down to a beach inside the complex. Get there early or late, since tour buses of visitors arrive in the later morning and early afternoon. We arrived around 9:45 AM and it wasn’t too crowded yet. The park opens at 8AM and closes at 5 PM. As of December 2018, the entry fee was 70 pesos. Bring extra pesos, since there are lots of little shops at the entrance to the ruins.

• Playa Pescadores: Tulum’s public beach, located at the northern side. You can hire a boat to take you snorkeling, but don’t bring valuables, because TripAdvisor says people have had things stolen. Food poisoning prevented me from going, but if you don’t have a hotel on the beach, Playa Pescadores is a good option!

Taco time:

Antijito La Chiapaneca

• Farm to Table: fresh, healthy, beautiful food on Avenida de Tulum. The brunch avocado toast served on a giant corn chip with a trio of unique sauces and smoothie bowl made with a local, seasonal Mexican fruit, were like eating delicious works of art, and it didn’t break the bank. They have a back garden area and wifi, too. Best meal we ate in Tulum. Mmmm.

Antijito La Chiapaneca

• Antijito La Chiapaneca: you’ll recognize Antijito when you see the flaming, rotating hunk of pork on the corner of the street. Antijito is famous for al pastor, and their menu items range from an insanely low 10 to 15 pesos (~$0.50). My partner and I were starving, I couldn’t make up my mind fast enough, and I didn’t know what many of the things were, so I panicked and ordered everything—but now you don’t have to! Or do, why not? We ended up spending less than $9 on a meal for two with two Coronas. The sope, made of fried corn base topped with a layer of black beans, was an even better version of a taco, which I didn’t realize was possible! I’d recommend ordering a quesadilla so you get to try the flour tortilla along with the typical corn. Try the salbute fried corn tortilla once, but skip the dry empanada.

• Street vendors: there are a ton of street taco and torta vendors on Satelite street in downtown. For street corn and desserts like churros, check out the small roundabout in Parque Dos Aguas next to the basketball courts.

Unfortunately, this list is short because #foodpoisoning, but if I had more time, I’d want to check out Charly’s Vegan Tacos in the beachy part of the city, as well as Hartwood—perhaps Tulum’s most famous, upscale restaurant. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to eat fish tacos and ceviche!

Farm to Table Tulum

Margaritas y mezcal, por favor:

Tulum’s main going out area downtown is located on a single strip, Calle Centauro Sur, though there are also many hotel bars located on the beach strip.

• Pasito Tun Tun: a trendy mezcal bar located on Calle Centauro Sur. Fabulous and reasonably priced cocktails (140 pesos, $7 USD), especially the chili passion fruit, and they have a nice outdoor garden area with seating. Go there on a night with live music, if you can!

• Batey: a poppin' bar with live music known for its creative flavors of mojitos. Also located on Calle Centauro Sur.

• Patito: Tulum has a brewery? Tulum has a brewery! It looks like every other brewery, but it was tasty. They have a selection of around eight beers for 80 pesos ($4 USD) each. It’s located at the end of downtown Tulum’s main strip of bars.

• Kahlua: a large, local bar on Avenida Tulum with some combination of colorful, flashing lights, soccer on TV, and sing-along karaoke. Located off of the main bar street, you won’t find many tourists here. Sit at the bar and ask for a very spicy margarita. For 50 pesos ($2.50 USD), it might be the spiciest, yet most authentic of your life. Our bartender blended an entire jalapeno in each drink, and my lips burned for far long after I left. THAT’S HOT.

Day trips:

• Coba: more ruins, located a 45-minute drive outside of Tulum. You can take a bus or hire a private driver.

• Akumal: a town 30 minutes from Tulum, famous for snorkeling with sea turtles.

Tips:

Standard tip is around 10% for a meal. For alcohol, it’s customary to tip 10 to 20 pesos per drink.

And last but most importantly--DON’T DRINK THE WATER!! Brush your teeth with bottled water, keep your mouth closed when you shower, and ask whether ice has been filtered before consuming it. Now, go eat all the tacos!