20 Jun Escape to Tulum

Posted at 15:02h in Travel by

After this long and horrible winter, I was due for a beach escape. My best friends are getting married, so they decided to do a combined Stag and Doe in Tulum with the wedding parties. Not a bad excuse for a trip… Tulum is a pretty hot travel destination at the moment and I got a ton of questions about my trip, so I thought I’d share all of the details with you.

Logistics

First thing’s first: flights. Most people fly into Cancun, which is a one hour forty-five minute drive away from Tulum. From Toronto, the flight lasted 4 hours and we rented a couple cars from there to get to our place. There’s a ton of rental car companies at the airport, so you can plan in advance. Just a note that a lot of them will require you to purchase insurance (not included in the price you’ll pay online), so do your research beforehand. Also, I would get a mix of Mexican Pesos and USD; the conversion is a lot more favourable to Pesos.

Hotel or Airbnb?

The answer to this question depends on what you want from your trip. A lot of the hotels in Tulum were on the beach, so you get those perks, but they are usually a little pricey. There are Airbnbs all over Tulum, but a lot of them are in the city. That’s where most of the locals are and you can really immerse yourself in the culture. I also wanted to note that we felt really safe in Tulum.

We were a group of 12, so we got a big Airbnb with 3 floors and a private pool. It was located right at the end of the main road in town. Since we rented cars, we were able to drive to different spots every day and really explore Tulum. It was also great because we could all spend time together around the pool and hang out at night.

However, if you’re not with a big group and you want to lay on the beach and sip on some Piña coladas all day, staying at a hotel might be a better option for you. The hotel strip goes on all the way down the coast, so you have your fair share of options. You can also use bikes at most of the hotels and explore that road, which has tons of boutiques and nice restaurants.

All of the Food

I ate amazing food in Tulum; everything was super fresh. Breakfasts were usually eaten in the house, but lunch and dinner were spent out. In the town, prices are extremely cheap and the food is super authentic. Once you get to the popular restaurants and beach clubs, prices are what you’d expect. But it’s totally doable to be on a budget during your trip.

Here are some of the best meals I had:

  • El Asadero: Cute and crazily cheap taco spot in town
  • Habitas: 100% try the fried plantain with feta and pomegranate
  • Casa Malca: Fish tacos all the way
  • Casa Jaguar: Delicious food and amazing ambiance – you’re basically eating in a candlelit jungle
  • Raw Love: Vegan smoothie bowls – the açaï bowl was amazing

If I were to go back, I’d want to check out:

Beaches and Caves

Since we were in town, we didn’t have direct access to the water, so we would drive down to the coast (roughly 20 minutes away from our place). A ton of the hotels on the beach will let you use their beach as long as you’re buying food or drinks.

My favourite beaches:

  • Habitas: Can’t go into the ocean but the vibes of the beach area are amazing. They have a great pool that you can take a dip in.
  • Casa Malca: The most beautiful beach and amazing water; there was barely any seaweed floating around.

Cenotes (fresh water caves) are a very popular attraction in Tulum and if you’ve never been in one, I’d highly suggest it. I have a fear of dark water, but I survived. We went to the Dos Ojos park and chose to visit the Mayan Mystery Cenote since it’s the only one where you could go inside the cave with a guide. We spent around an hour in the water with the nicest guide and he took pictures of the group during the tour (I look super tragic in all of them…). There are a ton of other cenotes in Tulum, but I would recommend going right when they open to experience it alone. P.S.: they aren’t free, so bring some pesos with you.

What I Wore

Let me tell you, it was HOT in Tulum (obviously). I packed a lot of clothes and wore at least two different outfits per day. I had some casual pieces and some fancier ones.

Here were some of my faves:

Life-Saving Beauty Products

I’m pretty crazy when it comes to beauty products, but I thought I’d share some of the Summer products that I got just for this trip:

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a beach vacation that doesn’t take over 20 hours to fly there (yes, I’m talking to you, Bali), Tulum is a great option. It’s still a hidden gem and not overly touristy, so go before it gets too packed!

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