TULUM Travel Guide - CENOTES, BEACHES, CLUBS
How to get to Tulum
You have to fly into Cancun and take either a bus or private transfer to Tulum which is about 1.5 hours without traffic. We took a private transfer which we pre-booked online, they picked us up at airport and was an easy transfer. It was 100 USD one way. Here is company we used, I recommend: Cancun Airport Transportation.
Where to Stay
We stayed in an airbnb in Aldea Zama, it was about $140.00 USD a night but was a 2B2B. Here are the pros and cons of the area:
Pros:
You can rent bikes and go to town(10 mins) or beach strip(10 mins) easily during the day because taxis are rip offs.
The wifi is very good and its very new area
You can walk to town and there’s lot of fair priced, amazing restaurants
You will get nicer AirBnB in this area that have stronger toilets, wifi, pools, etc.
Cons
Theres nothing fun going around in area so you have to walk to stuff
There is a-lot of construction because they are building the area up
Taxis at night to the town are anywhere from 350-600 pesos
We are not huge beach people, so this was perfect for us because we could explore all of Tulum. We would NEVER stay on the beach strip because the prices are insane and the beach is not that spectacular compared to other tropical destinations. If we come again we would stay in La Veleta, it is known as the expat part of the town and has a-lot of hip bars, restaurants, and hotels around with still being able to taxi to the strip at night.
What to Do(During the Day)
One of the reasons I was so excited about Tulum was because there seemed to be so many activities to do besides the beach! Here are some activities we did:
Mayan Ruins and Cenote Tour
Now you can do this on your own, but we didn’t want to haggle with taxis and find our way to everything so we booked a tour which picked us up at 10:30 am and dropped us off at 4:40 pm. It was a great way to see the Mayan Ruins and Cenotes. The tour partners with Cenote’s so they took us to an above ground one and cave one. The best part was that they were completely empty! I highly recommend the tour, its a good price, not rushed, and they don’t force you to buy anything. I booked the tour on Viator , it was only $25.00 a person. There is a $15.00 fee for ruins which everyone has to pay anyways.
I have been practicing hot yoga for 5 years so I definitely wanted to do this. I knew it involved sitting in a sauna and going through a ritual with a group, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so challenging and cleansing. We did this at Holistika which is a hotel that has all kinds of wellness workshops and yoga. We also went to their vegan restaurant after, Terra - which was awesome! We paid $60.00 each for the experience and I’m so happy we took a day to do this. We were exhausted so don't plan any partying after!
Beach Club
Now you probably want to spend at least one day at a beach club. We got to see alot as we weren’t staying at any. We did our beach day at Ahau/Raw Beach club it was very vibey with great food. Some of the most popular are Ziggys and Selina but we thought La Zebra and Taboo and Papaya Playa were more worth it.
North Beach
You should def check out Playa Pairdiso. Its a free beach with lots of restaurants that are good quality and cheaper than strip. We went to Pink Lobster which was great seafood and drinks at fraction of cost on strip
SFER IK
This is the museum at Azulik and its really cool space that I recommend! Beautiful light
What to do(at Night)
We like electronic music and there is great talent and clubs in Tulum paired with amazing places to go to Dinner
Sunday - La Pizzine and La Mistika
Thursday - Casa Banana for Dinner, Casa Jaguar for Jungle Party(20)
Friday - Eat anywhere else, Gitano Dinner Reservation and stay for Party
Saturday - Papaya Playa. I wouldn't recommend dinner there because its very windy in their cove.
Dining and Going Out Recs
Breakfast
La Pebeta
Papaya Playa
Matcha Mama
Safari
Raw Love
Fit-a-licious
Liefs
Lunch
Burrito Amor
Antojitos La Chiapaneca
Bonita Tulum's Burger Bar
Dinner
La Pizzine
Restaurant Tierra
The Pink Lobster Tulum
El Rincon Del Jaguar
Casa Banana
La Zebra Hotel Tulum
Bars
Mistico Garden La veleta
Batey Mojito and Guarapo Bar
Naná Rooftop Bar
Gitano
Casa Jaguar
Papaya Playa
Thats it for now!