We have talked about Tulum, Mexico before on the blog, but now we want to help you plan a trip there. We’ll be talking about how to get there, where to stay, where to eat, and all the things you need to experience while you are there. We found the best time to travel there is in the down season, around September and October. There are typically less people and the weather is still fantastic.
Let’s start with how you get there. Tulum does not have its own airport, so you will need to fly into Cancun International Airport. There are many airlines that fly into Cancun, we flew on United because it is the credit card rewards we use and they have great rates for bags. If you are on a budget or don’t mind no frill airlines like us, Frontier, Viva Airbus, Spirit and AeroMexico are all great options for traveling to Tulum on a budget. Once you land in Cancun you will need to take a shuttle or taxi about an hour and a half to Tulum. This can be stressful if you wait until you land. We suggest you book ahead of time with one of the many reputable shuttle services to schedule a pick-up for when you land. We have used a company called Happy Shuttle Cancun on our trips to Tulum with no issues. Be sure to grab a cerveza for the road at one of the many stands outside (and yes this is totally legal in Mexico).
After figuring out how to get there, you need to figure out where to lay your head at night. We have a couple suggestions when it comes to this. The first is a great little place called Punta Piedra Beach Posada. This cute little hotel has simple rooms that are just a few steps away from the ocean and pool. Punta Piedras upsides are outside of the room however, you get complimentary breakfast that can be served in the restaurant or in the cabana overlooking the ocean. The attached restaurant serves great food all day and will even bring your food and cocktails down to you at the beach. If you leave the hotel there are several great places to walk to, gelato at Origami Gelato in the evening, açaí bowls at Tunich Jungle for lunch, or dinner at Mateo’s while listening to great live music.
Second we would also recommend Amansala Eco Chic Resort. They have three locations in Tulum: Amansala Main, Amansala Pueblo, and Amansala Chica, this is where we hosted our wedding. We suggest you stay at either Amansala Main or Chica, as they are steps from the beach and next door to each other. Staying at either of these two resorts gets you access to their ocean view infinity pool, beach loungers and complimentary breakfast. The restaurant at the main resort has a full service bar, a selection of fresh fruit smoothies and an incredible menu of gourmet healthy food. The rooms at Amansala are beautiful, with cement platform beds and boho decor it can be hard to leave the comfort of your room. Every morning before breakfast Amansala has yoga classes, either on the roof of Chica with views of the ocean and the jungle or in their eco yoga studio at Amansala Main. After your yoga and free breakfast relax on one of their incredible day beds while ordering fresh juice craft cocktails. Outside of the hotel you can walk to many great boutiques, restaurants and the Instagram famous Raw Love Tunnel. A few of our favorite things within walking distance include the restaurant at the El Pez Hotel, where you can get a whole grilled octopus for dinner, Tierney took a pass on that meal. The Tulum Jungle Market that has great quality products and on occasion live music. Posada Margherita is a must if you love french toast, hands down some of the best we have ever had. Lastly, we of course love the atmosphere, scenery and smoothie bowls at Raw Love.
You didn’t travel all the way to Tulum, Mexico just to hangout at your hotel room, at least we hope not. Here are some of the activities we have loved and a couple that we would not suggest you spend time or money on. First are the many cenotes of course. If you’ve looked into traveling to Tulum you have probably heard of or seen them. In person they are just as awesome as they look on social media. The two we recommend are Cenote Casa Tortuga and the Gran Cenote. Both are beautiful natural wonders, but each has unique draws. The Gran Cenote is a self guided experience, you pay the entrance fee and they send you off. The crystal clear waters are the home to a community of turtles that swim around with you. Between the wild life and natural caverns, you will have a wonderful time at the Gran Cenote. One of the major upsides of Cenote Casa Tortuga is that it is far less crowded and it has several cenotes on the property. You start with a small group guided tour with a very knowledgable guide, swimming through all of the caves and caverns. You finish at a large open pool with a cliff on one side and a deck on the other. Here you can swim, cliff jump and layout over looking the water as long as you would like.
The next two activities are not related like the last two. These are the Akumal Monkey Sanctuary and the Ruins of the Mayan City of Tulum. The Akumal Monkey Sanctuary is the home of 50+ species of rescued animals, not just monkeys. The tour guide takes you around the park with stories of how each animal got there. We won’t spoil the stories, but we will give away a few of the animals you get to see. There are zebras, a family of flamingos, deer from India, and of course a lot of monkeys. You get to feed goats, hold a snake, have parrots perched on your arm and the best part, have capuchin monkeys eat sunflower seeds on your head.
The Mayan Ruins are also a great day trip. They take you back in time and show you how incredible this civilization was. There are giant pyramid like towers, a structure right on the cliff side over looking the ocean and much more. As you walk the paths there are placards explaining each structure and it’s purpose. As you learn about this civilization and take in its beauty you can watch iguanas crawling through the ruins sunning themselves on the stone. This place has a magic to it and it is an experience we recommend for anyone traveling to Tulum. Once you have worn yourself out walking through all of the beauty, you can head down to the beach. You take a steep staircase down the cliff to a small secluded beach that the ocean has cut into the cliff side. There are two story tall chunks of rock that have broken away and settled in the sand. Rest here, tanning on the sand, swimming in the ocean and soaking in this one of a kind beach.
A trip to Tulum is not complete without making it into the actual downtown area of Tulum. There are amazing places to eat, grab a drink, and shop. Almost anywhere you stop to eat is going to have fantastic food, but these are a few of our favorites: The Good Burger, Don Cafeto Tulum, and Il Bacaro. The first, The Good Burger, specializes in craft burgers and bowls. Opened by an Australian man that moved to Tulum after falling in love with it. Their food is fresh and cooked to perfection. However, our favorite thing to do here is end the evening with a cocktail over- looking the town from their unique roof patio. The second is Don Cafeto Tulum, an old school and authentic Mexican restaurant. They have large portions and a great atmosphere with seating to take in the great city of Tulum. Lastly, is Il Bacaro, where we had our rehearsal dinner. It is an Italian restaurant with traditional pasta, pizza and dessert. They have a great wine selection and intimate atmosphere. It is the perfect date night spot to end the day on your trip.
We only have one last piece of advice, it is about Sian Khan. Although, it is a beautiful place, we do not recommend taking a tour from Tulum to see it. It is a two hour excursion that gives you the opportunity to see dolphins, sea turtles and go snorkeling. However, the first two are just if you are lucky enough. The major thing that keeps us from advising you to go on a Sian Khan tour is that the drive to the eco reserve is awful. It is three hours in and three hours out on the worst road we have ever been down. In our opinion while on vacation it is not worth bouncing up and down from potholes for 6 hours.
Tulum, Mexico is one of our favorite places of all time. We will continue to travel back there trying new things and expanding our guide of Tulum. This is not an all inclusive resort type of place. It is a place to experience other cultures and get lost in a place of like minded people. People that believe there is more to experience than the town you grew up in, people that never stop moving.
If you have any questions for us about Tulum or anything else, we will try to get back to as quick as we can. We thank you for reading. Never stop exploring and never stop expressing how much you love your partner. And with that, I should say, I love you Tierney. We will be back to posting on Sundays now that we have wifi once again.