Tulum travel diary

It's now been my second visit to Tulum and again time passed too fast in this lovely little place. Since I live in Puebla, it's perfect to head over even just for a long weekend escape. For those of you thinking about traveling to Tulum or simply daydreaming a bit, I'd be happy to share my personal impressions and tips with you.

Where to stay

During my stays, I both tried airb'n'b and a hotel. While the airb'n'b apartment was situated in the little town of Tulum, the hotel was located directly on the beach. So for location reasons, my recommendation definitely is a hotel along boca paila road, which runs directly nearby the beach and right through the jungle. Here you'll find all different kinds of hotels: yoga retreats, boutique or design hotels as well as more simple accommodations just a stone's throw away from the sea. Last time, I stayed at Papaya Playa Project, a beautiful, easy-going destination right on the beach. Here, you'll find simplicity, a mix of nature and urban spirit, and interesting people from across the world.

Moving around

After arriving at Cancun airport, you have the choice to rent a car, take a taxi or a hotel shuttle to get to your destination. A car can be very helpful if you want to visit different places like the many pyramids nearby, cenotes or simply for flexibility's sake.

If you decide to stay in your beach hotel (like I did for the three days), you'll hardly need a car (as I know now). It's time consuming to just even get the car, then you have to ride all the way down to Tulum. If you want to move around boca paila, rent a bike or catch a taxi. Also, parking along the road can be a bit stressful as there is not much space around.

If you go for a car, watch out for the gas station staff when refueling, especially near Cancun airport, as they might trick you when passing money to them. They will say you didn't give enough money, asking for more. Also, I would recommend to stick to the speed limit as police might stop you asking for immediate payment when driving the distance Cancun-Tulum and vice versa.

Eating out

There are lots of wonderful restaurants in Tulum. At boca paila road you will find one after the other, with lovely outdoor seatings and kitchens to watch the cooks do their work. You will also find places directly by the sea. During my stays, I had dinner or lunch at Casa Banana (Argentinian), El Tabano (Mexican), Papaya Playa (Mexican with international twist) and Posada Margherita (Italian, fish). I would recommend all of them, though Posada Margherita was a bit disappointing to me (should have taken pasta instead of fish, haha).

You might have heard of Hartwood, a hip and very hyped restaurant led by two New Yorkers everyone longs to go to. If you want to waste half a day of your holidays waiting in line in the afternoon just to try (!!!) to get a table for dinner for the same day, feel free to do so. In my opinion, this is just ridiculous and I would never wait there together with 40 or 50 other folks in order to maintain the hype the restaurant luckily build up for themselves. I think they are taking themselves a little bit too serious, and that's hardly cool.

Most restaurants don't take reservations unless you are a group of eight or more, so make sure you don't go out too late as this will mean you'll be waiting at the bar for your table (which can be also fun with a cool drink).

Remember to bring enough cash (dollars or peso) as you won't be able to pay by credit card. Anyhow, you will also find an ATM out there, too.

After dinner, you might want to have some more drinks, so head to Gitano, a lovely outdoor bar serving Mezcal cocktails under palms and mirror balls. Or, check out the Papaya Playa Project as they regularly have djs there and the atmosphere is cool, too.

Shopping

If you're looking for some nice little things you'll find shops along boca paila road and of course, in the town of Tulum. I found a lot of things really expensive at shops in boca paila, as they tend to target wealthy tourists from the US or any other place. I liked the small shop Josa Tulum, with beautiful dresses and tunics. Unfortunately, they didn't suit me well, so I didn't buy. But I found 200 dollar for a polyester dress also a bit heavy. There is a small shop at restaurant/hotel Posada Margherita, that has pretty things: nice t-shirts, beautiful swimwear (woho, didn't expect to find brands like Zimmermann, Solid and Striped etc. there in this little shop), jewelry and other things you want to grab and take home with you. But of course, not cheap either.

Places to visit

You will find many different archeological sites and pyramids on the Yucatan peninsula, starting from the nearby Tulum ruins directly located by the sea, to Coba, Chichen Itza and Uxmal, just to name a few. When visiting Tulum ruins, you can enjoy beautiful views across the sea, so it's really a special place to visit. Nevertheless it's a tourist magnet, so make sure you go as early as possible and don't forget sunscreen, hat and water as it will get really hot up there.

Another attraction are the countless cenotes, natural, water-filled holes that invite you to swimming or diving. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to one of them during my recent stays. So I will for sure come back to enjoy those miracles of nature.

What you probably did't think of or simply forgot

The wind can be blowing very heavy, so you'll find perfect conditions for (kite) surfing. For swimming, it can be a bit uncomfortable as you will struggle with big waves, too. The wind last time reminded me a bit of the German North Sea with its harsh climate.

If you don't have a hotel on the beach, you might want to get a parasol as you will realize, in some places you won't find any sun protection. As I found out, this can be very difficult. I couldn't find a single parasol to buy in Tulum, neither in supermarkets nor in smaller shops or elsewhere, so think about that before you get on the plane. Your skin will thank you, believe me.

Don't get seduced by delicious-looking (or sounding) food on the beach (no matter if it's a hotel or any other place where food is sold), as this could be your last time of fun within your vacation. Often, conditions for food such as meat or fish are not the best to secure proper storage or preparation. As a result, you will eat food you better shouldn't - but of course you won't see or smell in advance. Also, be careful with ice cubes and salad as these could be made/ washed with contaminated water. I have learned my lesson and will only eat at places I consider hygienically safe.

If you have any great tips to share for Tulum or the Yucatan peninsula, I'd be happy if you leave a comment right here.

#travel #beach #mexico #yucatan #tulum #papayaplayaproject