tulum, mexico

Tulum is awesome. It still has a small, beach-town feel and feels safe and authentic. There aren't huge resorts and you can get to a lot of cool nature near by.

TO EAT:
  • Tres Galeones
  • El Camello Jr. (super good fish at reasonable prices) 
  • Helado Buena Estrella (vegan ice cream truck - super unique and good)
  • Celti (dinner)
  • Kitchen Table (dinner)
  • Ki-bok (for breakfast/tea/coffee)
  • Pollo Bronco (some of the best chicken I've ever eaten in my life)
  • Any street food 
  • Burrito Amor (very gringo)
  • El Tio taco truck 
  • Matcha Mama (in town and at the beach) 
TO DO:
  • Dos Ojos Cenotes (cave water hole cenotes)
  • Cenote Escondido (you can jump off the rock into the water)
  • Gran Cenote (good for laying out, more a of a community pool vibe)
  • Calavera Cenote (know for it's holes... looks scary but super fun for jumping)
  • Cenote Azul (further from town but great rock jumping, beautiful water/greenery) 
  • Mayan Clay Spa (expensive but SO worth it... get the mud massage) 
  • Playa Pescadores beach (super chill) 
  • Hang out at Azulik (tell them you want to eat on the beach and you'll get access to their private, adults only, clothing optional beach)
  • Miyul ruins. Close to town and not filled with tourists - take the walk into the forest and climb to the top of the big structure thing to get a great view of the lagoon. This place is a local's secret. 
Airbnb 
We stayed at (recommend and check out Eduardo's other properties): https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/9170335

Other Tips:
Get a lot of pesos before you go, almost everything is in cash. Alternatively you can use the ATM but there's often lines. Suggest bringing a lot of USD otherwise and exchanging at official money changer (will require your passport)

When you head down the main road from town there's a traffic circle and you can go right or left. to the right (south) is the fancy part of Tulum with private resorts and fancy restaurants. We didn't hang there much. To the left (north) are some public beaches near Playa Paraiso and Playa Pescadero. I suggest checking those out... they're fun and there's food and it's a lot more mellow.

 Transportation:
We took a taxi from the Cancun airport and it was pretty reasonable, although there were 4 of us. I think it was like $88 or so. We negotiated the price when we arrived. You can also get a shared van (book ahead) through bestday.com, but it takes a while.

Rent bikes and bike around, it's the easiest way to get to/from the beach and around town!

Once in Tulum, you can take taxis (pretty cheap) or hitchhike, we we did a lot of. To take trips to other cities for ruins (Coba) or cenotes nearby you can take the bus. There is a bus station in town that goes to ruins nearby and you can take the public bus (colectivo). which stops on the side of the freeway to get to the cenotes. We used this a lot to get around, highly recommend!





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