My Tulum Favorites
Date of Trip: February 2021
After a month in a city it was time to head South for some beach. I had heard a lot about Tulum over the past few years as a “go-to” destination in Mexico and with the stunning pictures I saw, I was excited to see for myself. With that, I had heard a lot about it being overrated, but as with everywhere, it is important to keep an open mind.
Well, do I think it is overrated?
No…but I think to truly enjoy your time there, you need to have the right expectations of what it is going to be like
TL;DR: In terms of “Instagram vs. Reality”…the “Instagram” really is there, but you have to deal with the “Reality” first.
Traffic, crowds, and prices are the main three I think of that might not be expected visiting Tulum.
The gorgeous views of beaches, cenotes, and ruins are there…but there is likely a crowd of people too unless you go early—getting to places at opening is your best chance of avoiding these crowds and truly enjoying the site for what it is meant to be.
I ended up walking or biking most of the time because traffic can be terrible—I think of it similar to LA, the city was not designed for as many people as it ended up occupying, so the road system is not built for that level of traffic. I did not experience extreme traffic too often, but there are horror stories where it takes an hour or more to go the 2-3 miles into town.
Being from California and accustomed to those prices, the prices in Tulum were still either on par with California cities or a little cheaper, but if you’re expecting cheap Mexico prices, Tulum is not the place to go. It is also common for prices to be hiked for tourists, but I look at it as the city, and country in general, depends on tourism and you’re contributing to that.
Also, be sure to always carry enough cash as a lot of places are cash only.
Anyways, enough rant and now to the good stuff—my favorites of Tulum!
Accommodation: I stayed in town—in short, if you are going for a quicker trip, I would recommend forking over the money to stay on the beach (just because it can be a trek to get to the beach otherwise), but if you are staying for longer and want to save some money, town is the way to go.
I stayed close to downtown in an AirBnb, but La Veleta is another great neighborhood too (if you’re biking, the road from the downtown end of town is better than the one from La Veleta).
Transport: I mostly would bike or walk during the day and take a taxi after dark. Taxi pricing can be wide ranging so it is always best to ask and verify the price before getting in (I think the most I spent was about $250 pesos (~$12-13USD) for a return trip from beach to town). There are also colectivos (shared vans) going up and down the main highway. I usually ended up spending the extra money for a taxi because the colectivos were always packed, but is a good budget option.
Favorite Cenotes
In my time in Mexico, I visited about 7 cenotes and this was my all time favorite—which I was not expecting at all since it is the most popular and I usually don’t end up liking the most popular more than others. The key was to get here early, at opening, and avoid the crowds of people having photoshoots throughout the cenote. I liked how it was big with two main sections to explore and was perfect for snorkeling—a lot of fish and turtles to swim along with. With having open and closed sections you really get every type of cenote wrapped up in one here. By the time I was leaving (around 11am) it was getting crowded so I was glad I got to experience this one early before the Instagram influencers arrived.
Price—when I went it was $300 pesos (~$15USD), cash only. More expensive than most, but I found it worth the price
Close to the Gran Cenote, I came here another day and I liked how different it was from others I had been to. Not as much for snorkeling, but had one big hole and two smaller you can jump into (kind of looks like a skull which is calavera in Spanish). Despite arriving near opening, it was pretty crowded when I came which affected the experience some. It can be hit or miss, but having little people really does make for a better experience because otherwise it can feel like you’re at a public pool rather than a beautiful cave. I did like this cenote also had lounge chairs and a small bar for drinks and snacks so you can turn it into a half day or so excursion if you wished.
Price—When I went it was $200 pesos (~$10USD)…another kicker is when you go in and are settled and they see you have a GoPro they will charge you another $200 pesos just to use your own GoPro. Keep that in mind if it is really worth it or not to you. As annoying as this was, I can’t hate the hustle too much.
Favorite Beaches
Playa Santa Fe—at the north end of the main beach road in the national park is the strip of public beaches and my favorite was the one at the very North near the Tulum Ruins. Less crowded and makes for a good day to hit the ruins in the morning then walk to Playa Santa Fe for the day.
For snorkeling, Playa Pescadores has plenty of stands to take a boat tour to the Great Mayan Reef for snorkeling. It is the second largest reed after the Great Barrier Reef and was so fun to swim with the turtles and rays.
If not staying at a hotel on the beach, the hotel zone (South end of the main beach road) has many beach clubs to spend the day (more on this below). Although pricey, it can be worth it once in a while to splurge and experience an uncrowded, free of seaweed beach (the seaweed can get terrible in Tulum, but usually the nicer hotels and beach clubs will clear it out unlike the public beaches). Usually the minimum spend is between $50-100USD, but after food and drinks over the span of a few hours, it is not hard to hit that minimum.
Favorite Restaurants—Beach
Beach club-Gitano Beach Club
Hands down my favorite for a few reasons—one was the service was amazing which typically can be on the slower side (by an American’s standards). I reserved a lounge chair on the beach and the servers were very attentive throughout my day there. The best part was they had an almost a private beach. It is located on a cove so there is not really access from the main road and had a different view than most others. There is also a regular restaurant if you do not want the full beach club day pass experience.
For a more affordable, on the beach road option, I couldn’t recommend Mateo’s enough. I came a couple times including to watch the Super Bowl and the food and drinks are great for better prices than surrounding restaurants. They also have a sunset deck with a 2 for 1 happy hour that overlooks the jungle on one end and the beach road on the other.
Favorite Restaurants— Town
In general, I did not have one bad meal in Tulum—the food is amazing. But, these are the places I returned to and ate at multiple times so they stood out amongst the others
Burrito Amor—fish burrito with a Tulum lager was my happy place whenever coming here
Batey Mojito and Guarapo Bar—live music every night and are known for their shrimp tacos and mojitos
Ki’ bok Coffee— perfect cafe to come and get work done alone with great breakfast and coffee
Kay Nah— for a nicer dinner, Kay Nah had great cocktails and I craved their shrimp pasta
Babel Cafe—when Ki’Bok was crowded, I came here to Babel which is another great cafe to work at with hearty breakfasts
Overall, I enjoyed my time in Tulum by appreciating what is in front of me and tuning out as best as possible the “influencer” lifestyle around. It can feel like an LA-type scene at times (which if that is what you like, then Tulum is a great place to visit), but even if that is not your scene as it is not mine, there is still plenty to enjoy and I would recommend coming sooner rather than later if it is on your bucket list. There is a lot of development underway with more resorts, an airport, and train access making Tulum more accessible, so the crowds and costs are here to stay.
Would I visit again?
Yes and no. I think it would be a great place for a milestone birthday, an anniversary, or some other big occasion, but those are probably the only reasons I’d return. I tend to be a “I’ve done it, checked off my list” person, but I would choose Tulum over Cancun or Puerto Vallarta for one of these occasions as it is easy to get to and has plenty to offer for every type of person.