26.03.2022 | Mexico, Travel

What to do in crazy Tulum?

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Well, Tulum is very touristic, the stories are true. We would definitely skip staying in Cancun or Playa del Carmen. But we would still recommend to stay a few nights in Tulum. Although there are lots of expensive hotels, there is also a really nice city center, incredible healthy restaurants and cafés and fascinating cenotes to explore. Furthermore, there are these museums with an interior design that looks out of this world. Tulum is a special place with special vibes, which you should not miss on your Mexico trip.

These are the three main “zones” in Tulum:

1. Downtown, it’s actually 7km away from the beach and offers affordable hotels. The best way to get to the beach is by renting a bike, since taxis are pretty expensive here (200 MXN for small distances).

2. Hotel Zone, there are extremely expensive hotels located, as well as many restaurants and shops. A lot of the beaches are only accessible if you stay in the hotel or buy a day pass for the beach club. However there are some free entries like Playa Ahau Tulum.

3. Public Beaches: At Playa Paraiso and Playa Maya there is no fee to use these beaches. There are the locals, too. Also Playa Paraiso has a nice palm tree to climb on.

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BEAUTIFUL BEACHES

Well, Tulum has really nice beaches to offer. Whether you go to the local beaches like Playa Paraiso or the free beaches around the hotel zone, one thing you have to know: Sometimes, mostly in the rainy season of the year, the beaches can be covered by a lot of bad smelly algae. However, in the dry season around December / January it is very likely that you find clear white beaches everywhere.

1. Public Beaches Playa Paraiso, Playa Las Palmas, Playa Santa Fe

We highly recommend to visit the public beaches! In contrast to the expensive hotel zone, here you can experience the locals chilling at the beach, beach music and all the relaxed vibes. At Playa Paraiso there is a nice palm tree to sit on. If you come with a rental car, you can leave your car at the roadside.

2. Free Beaches at the Hotel Zone: Entry at Ahau Tulum

There are a lot of beautiful white beaches exclusive for hotel guests or beach club guest, like Papaya Playa. However, there are some places to get to the hotel zone beaches for free, if you don’t stay in one of these expensive beach hotels: Just go to Ahau Tulum, the big wooden sculpture, and walk the path to the beach. From here you can walk miles along the white sandy beaches and clear blue water.

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CENOTES YOU SHOULD VISIT

For us Mexico is all about the incredible and unique cenotes. Cenotes are freshwater pools in the middle of the jungle, spread everywhere around the Maya Riviera. A lot of them still aren’t completely discovered and they say that these sinkholes are all connected underground. There are also cenotes close to the ocean, where fresh water meets salt water in one hole. These cenotes are perfect for diving and snorkeling, because the water is so clear, there is no current and there is plenty to see underwater. The blue tones and the light rays are just incredible underwater. Unfortunately the cenotes gets more expensive every months and they now demand fees for cameras.

1. Freediving discovery course in a cenote with @casasurya

Since cenotes are all about diving and snorkeling, we highly recommend to do a freediving discovery course with the lovely Sabrina at La Casa Surya. You will learn breathing techniques together with yoga exercises on the mat, as well as pool sessions to hold your breath longer. Then you will have your first diving experience in a cenote, all the time watched by the lovely Sabrina. Without any equipment, except a wetsuit (the cenotes are pretty cold), a snorkel and a weight belt, you will be able to dive down safely in these mystical blue waters. Sabrina does a very good job, with her patience you will see progress very fast. One thing I loved about her courses: she takes incredible underwater videos all the time, capturing the beautiful light rays above you.

1 day freediving discovery course (theory, breathing, pool session, cenote) – 160 USD per person
1 day freediving on a rope in a cenote costs around – 80 USD per person

2. Cenote Car Wash

We highly recommend visiting this cenote. It’s a really chilled place with beautiful plants underwater. It’s a nice cenote for divers, since there is a cave further down, as well as for freedivers and snorkelers. However, it’s not allowed anymore to wear fins underwater, because of the possible damage to the plants. This cenote is just a few minutes away from Tulum center, you can grab a colectivo.

Entry fee 200 MXN per person, camera costs extra but they are not that strict with that…

3. Cenote Angelita

This is my favorite cenote, but I would only recommend it for those people who want to freedive or scuba dive. As a snorkeler there is not much to see, since you can only experience the blue light rays in the depth. However, it’s still a less touristic place, mostly diving schools come here. We visited this cenote in our freediving course with Sabrina (La Casa Surya), but you can also book several scuba discovery courses for this cenote, for example with @tulum.breathtaking.

4. Casa Cenote

This cenote is a real insider, it’s still visited only by a few people, so pssssst ;). This cenote is located very close to the ocean, which causes a mix of salt water and fresh water in the cenote and a small current. I love this cenote, because with sunshine the water is completely clear and you can experience these beautiful light rays. It’s not a very deep cenote, however it’s great to practice freediving and you can swim a long roundtrip in this cenote. Also there is a crocodile swimming around, don’t be scared it’s a small one which isn’t dangerous for the people, but keep distance and respect for this animal! We visited this cenote within our 1st day of our freediving course with Sabrina and La Casa Surya.

5. Cenote Calavera

This cenote is really a lot of fun. It’s not recommended for diving or snorkeling, since it’s really dark down there in the cave. But, you can sit on a swing, climb a ladder or jump down through several smaller holes into the cave. It’s really a lot of fun, I promise. If you be here early, you might be the only one, however light hits the hole around midday. There are a lot of bats down there.
When we visited: 250 MXN per person + 200 MXN for a camera)

6. Other Cenotes

There are plenty of other cenotes around Tulum. However, the listed cenotes above are the ones that we really enjoyed since they aren’t packed with people. There are other more famous cenotes which are visited by hundreds of tour busses, rules are strict there and you often have to wear life jackets. If you still want to visit them you should be there as early as possible to avoid the crowds. These are the more crowded cenotes:

• Gran Cenote (no camera, life jackets)
• Dos Ojos (white rocks, no fins, life jackets)
• Blue Cenote
• Nic Te Ha Road
• El Pit

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OTHER THINGS TO DO AROUND TULUM

Tulum is full of art. The museums are known for organically shaped forms and natural materials, as well as plants integrated in the interior. But there is also a big wooden sculpture, actually there were two before, but with all the construction work and building boom, there was only one left when we visited Tulum. There are incredible boutiques, and even if they sell expensive stuff, it’s even nice to just look around at all these fancy designed hats and clothes.

1. Ahau Tulum

Ahau Tulum is located directly at the main road next to the beach in Tulum. It was the only wooden sculpture in Tulum, when we visited in December 2021. A few months ago, there was another one close to the beach pretty similar as the one at the picture. Normally there is a sculpture of a pink rabbit at Conestesia , too, but it was closed due to construction work.

For taking a picture in front of the sculpture or walking through it, you have to pay 120 MXN now.

2. Azulik Uh May Museum

There are two really beautiful museums belonging together: The Azulik Uh May Museum is the bigger one and in my eyes the more beautiful one, but it’s also further away from Tulum center (30 minutes). Directly in the city center, close to Ahau Tulum, there is the smaller museum Sfer IK with only one beautiful room. The interior with all these organic forms and plants is really incredible and unique. Keep in mind to bring a good phone, since it’s not allowed to bring a camera or any gimble…

Entrance fee 20 USD per person, no cameras.

3. Sfer IK Museum

This one-room-musem directly in the center of Tulum is perfect, if you don’t have a rental car or you don’t want to use a local colectivo. It’s the same design then Uh-May. You can walk through dust and light rays, on bridges built with concrete and wood. Keep in mind that there are no cameras allowed, they watch you all the time. You can only use your phone. Unfortunately gimbals are not allowed, too. Next to the museum there is the famous Kin Toh Restaurant with wooden small sitting areas on the rooftop.

Entry fee 10 USD per person. Kin Toh Restaurant (minimum value 50 USD, opens at 5:30pm)

4. Follow that dream sign

Well, this sign must be one of the most famous signs around the world. The best way to explore Tulum is to rent a bike at you hotel, airbnb or bike rental station. With your bike you drive along the main road next to the beach until you reach the Boutique Lolita & Lolita. Directly in front of the boutique there is this sign. The letters are on both sides ;).
It’s free to take a picture there.

5. Mayan Tulum Ruins at the beachfront

We skipped these Mayan ruins located directly at the beach front of Tulum, since we visited more remote Mayan ruins like Calakmul (6 hours from Tulum) later on. But if you only plan to visit Tulum, we highly recommend to visit these ruins. The scenery directly next to the turquoise ocean is really unique. However, be there either as early as possible or in the midday heat, otherwise you will be surrounded by lots of people.

Entrance fee 80 MXN per person

6. Get inspired in the fancy stores

Around the hotel zone there are some really fancy clothing stores. Although the prices are high here, it’s really nice to walk from one store to the other and to get inspired by the unique design.

7. Do a one- or two-day trip to the National Park Sian Ka’an

We highly highly recommend going here! For us it was the most beautiful place around Tulum! Either you drive from Tulum to Sian Ka’an National Park / Punta Allen with a rental car, which takes you 2.5 – 3 hours, or you book a tour with one of the tour agencies in Tulum.

Since 1987 the Reserva de la Biósfera is under protection of the Unesco. You will find tropical jungle, palm trees, endless wild beaches, mangrove sump and a 110km long coral reef here. If you are lucky you can spot sea cows, jaguar, turtles and crocodiles. From the North of Tulum you have to drive 60km on the Camino Boca Paila trail until you reach the tip Punta Allen. It’s a small headland, framed by the ocean on one side and the Laguna Campechén on the other. We did the trip with the smallest rental car, a Nissan March, however a 2×4 might be more comfortable. The gravel road through the National Park is extremely bumpy, it’s exhausting and you have to be careful to not touch down with one side of your car.

What to do?

• long beautiful car ride under palm trees
• Sian Ka’an Reef Snorkel & Mayan Canal, searching for dolphins, turtles, seacows, birds
• sunset at the laguna

Where to stay?

• Cielo y Celva, Punta Allen (incredible comfortable tents directly at the ocean and a good restaurant)

At the National Park entrance building, we payed 180 MXN for two people and a car.

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WHERE TO EAT GOOD FOOD?

Tulum has so many good places for healthy and organic food! These are our favorites, but there are more for sure!

1. Raw Love

This café / restaurant is really famous, there is one café directly in the city towards the ADO bus station and one at Ahau Tulum, the wooden sculpture. The smoothie bowls and the avocado bread tasted incredibly good there!

2. Matcha Mama

This one is famous too, there are several Matcha Mama places, but this one is located at the hotel zone. They sell all kind of smoothie bowls and juices.

3. Eat at Liefs

We really loved this one, since it’s vegan and organic. This food truck is directly located at the main road from Tulum center to the beach.

4. La Cordobesita (vegan street food)

There are plenty of street food trucks and stands in Tulum center opening in the afternoon or evening. La Cordobesita is a vegan food stall selling really good tacos!

5. Burrito Amor

There is also a nice place for Burritos in Tulum center! They have all kinds of Burritos, vegan ones too. And the interior is really nice there!

6. Food Truck Festival at Palma Central !!

Oh, we recommend this place a lot!!! It’s a real insider tip, Sabrina our diving teacher told us. All days, except Wednesdays, many food trucks surround one big sitting and dancing area. If you are lucky and get one of the many tables, you can buy food from all the different trucks at this market. The Asian Food is sooo good there! The atmosphere is really nice, the prices aren’t that high and you can even dance salsa her!

7. Laylo Tulum Vegan Lounge

It’s another good vegan restaurant in Tulum centre offering healthy bowls!

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GOOD BEACH CLUBS / BEACH BARS?

If you want to relax in a beach club, there are plenty around the hotel zone. Most of them demand a minimum meal / drink value of 30-50 USD depending on the fame of the place, only then you can use their outdoor pools and sitting areas. At Coco Tulum you can just sit in the restaurant without any minimum meal fee. The beach there is really nice, too!

• Coco Limited/Coco Tulum
• Habitas Tulum
• Papaya Playa
• Maxanab Beach Club
• Mia Tulum Beach Club (wooden onion)
• Hotelito Azul

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WHERE TO STAY IN TULUM?

There are so many beautiful hotels, especially at the hotel zone directly at the beach. However, most of them are not in our price range, with the touristic boom they sometimes ask for totally excessive prices for one night, like 500-1000 USD. Especially in the high season prices are crazy here. Keep in mind that prices explode around Christmas and New Years Eve! There are still some really nice affordable places we can recommend at the beach and in the centre. The cheapest way is to rent an airbnb in the center of Tulum.

1. Cinco Tulum

This place is a nice way to stay in a tent close to nature directly at the beach. It’s only a few meters from your tent to the ocean, there is a beach bar and a small restaurant and the beach is really nice and not crowded at all. It’s one of my favorite beaches here in Tulum! The ocean is so turquoise here and the sunsets, wow.

2. Zenses Wellness & Yoga Resort

This one is a cheaper but still very beautiful hotel in Tulum centre. They have a small pool and really beautiful and modern designed little villas! Depending on the dates you can get a room for 50 USD. They also rent bikes and have yoga classes! We stayed there a few nights.

3. Layla Tulum

Okay, this is really a fancy one. No, it’s not Marrakesh ;). Highlight of this hotel is definitely the roof top pool area with alle the orient patterns and arches. Two floors lower there is beautiful patio.

4. Airbnb in the city

The cheapest way to stay in Tulum is renting an airbnb in the center for a few days. Keep in mind to only get an airbnb not too far away from the main road in Tulum, we were told not to go further than 3 blocks from the main street, since there is some criminality due to drugs in the background. Although restaurants are nice in Tulum, it’s good for the wallet to have a kitchen in an airbnb. When it comes to food these food stalls are a lot cheaper than dining in fancy restaurants.

5. Delek Tulum and Papaya Playa (expensive ones)

Well these ones are for the people who want to spend a really special exclusive night. We only got a look at these places, since they would definitely break our budget. However, the architecture of Papaya Playa for example is really special though!

6. Other famous hotels

Here are some other famous (and expensive) hotels you can book for an honeymoon or so: Be Tulum, Alea Tulum, Mayhayana Tulum, Nomade Tulum, Hotel Bardo, Akuun Tulum.

How to get around?

In Tulum centre and to get from the center to the beach it’s best to rent a bike or a scooter. Mostly these roads are packed with cars and it takes very long to get from one end to the other. Also parking lots are very expensive too, like 200 MXN for 2 hours. Taxis are pretty expensive here, one way 200 MXN. If you want to visit places around Tulum, like the museum Uh-May, Sian Ka’an, Bacalar, cenotes that are a little further away, it’s best to rent a car. We rented the smallest car with Enterprise in the city center and explored all the Riviera Maya with this car. However, it’s also possible to see these places by booking day tours or using the local colectivos.

Best time to visit? What about the algaes?

December to April – dry season
These are the best months to visit especially the Yucatan Peninsula, since there is less seagrass in the water. Keep in mind that March and April are spring break season.
May and June – in between
It’s quiter then. But still good!
June to November – Hurricane season
These are the month where strong storms and rain hit the country. In the peak months September and October sometimes places has to be evacuated.

Is it save?

Yes, absolutely! We researched a lot before booking the flights. Since there were several really bad shootings in the touristic areas, the military started to patrol through Tulum in the whole area from the town to the beaches. Therefore corrupt police get viewed by independent military members and since these patrols started, nothing bad happened anymore for tourists. However, there is a lot of criminality, happening in the street blocks further away from the beaches, but mostly amongst locals. The main problem is, that a lot of tourists in Tulum want to consume drugs, therefore drug cartels fight against each other to get the exclusive leadership over the regions. If you want to feel save, stay away from drugs, don’t go out in the middle of the night and stay at the main streets.