Introduction
I went to Tulum, Mexico in September 2022 with my partner, Philip, prior to his work retreat in Playa del Carmen. This was both our first time in the Yucutan Peninsula and we aimed to eat a lot of great food, explore Mayan ruins, swim in cenotes, and get a taste of the culture. I have detailed my Tulum itinerary below.
Getting to Tulum
We flew from San Francisco (SFO) to Cancun International airport (CUN) which was a ~4 hour flight. Once in Cancun we rented a car through Hertz then drove the 1.5 hours to Tulum. USA Transfers has been recommended for arranging a ride if you don’t want to rent a car. Some hotels also provide transportation to Tulum.
Day 1 in Tulum
Day one in Tulum was mostly consumed by travel and losing 3 hours to the time difference. Once we arrived in Tulum we checked into our hotel, Villas Geminis, and set out to find dinner. We ate tacos at el Mariachi Loco then enjoyed live music and mojitos at Batey Mojito and Guarapo Bar. From Bateys we went across the street to Santino Bar and danced on the rooftop.
Day 2 in Tulum
Breakfast at Del Cielo
For breakfast we ate at Del Cielo which is a health conscious, eco friendly restaurant with delicious food. I ordered eggs benedict and Philip had verde chilaquiles which I thought was the winner of the two. Both dishes had a twist with the eggs benedict served on potato instead of bread. We also enjoyed tasty smoothies.
Cenote Cristal and Cenote Escondido
After breakfast we set off to visit our first cenote. We drove just a few minutes outside Tulum town to Cenote Cristal and paid our entrance fee. Cenote Cristal is an open air cenote with really clear water and a lot of vegetation. We hung out here for a couple hours swimming, jumping off the wooden platform, and lounging in hammocks. The overall vibe was really laid back and the crowds were small despite visiting on a Saturday.
See post 3 Cenotes to Visit While in Tulum (2022) for more information!
Next we went across the street to Cenote Escondido which was at the end of a long dirt road. We took a quick dip and explored the grounds, however we felt we had already gotten our fill with Cenote Cristal.
Tulum Nightlife
After swimming in the cenotes we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up before getting a taxi to the beach side of Tulum to meet up with friends. Even though Tulum town and beach are just 10 minutes apart, the discrepancy is wild and happens fast! Both the crowds and prices do a 180 in a matter of minutes, with prices x3 at the beach and crowds of all tourists. We wanted the full Tulum experience so we embraced the new setting.
We walked along the road to explore this new area and were drawn to Casa Banana with it’s classy, open air setting. We enjoyed a couple drinks and appetizers before meeting our friends at Gitano for dinner. Gitano is a huge restaurant with a jungle vibe, disco balls, a DJ (on some nights), and an excited crowd. We ordered all of the appetizers to split between 5 people which was the perfect amount of food!
After Gitano we took a cab to Papaya Playa Project to get the Tulum clubbing experience. We paid the steep entrance fee, got past strict security, and continued on to the beachside dance floor. We danced, drank, and watched the moon rise until about 3am when we called it a night.
Day 3 in Tulum
Brunch at Burrito Love
After a late night we slept in then got breakfast at Burrito Amor which had been highly recommended. While I thoroughly enjoyed the burrito, I don’t think it fully lived up to the hype and the hot walk to the edge of town. I do think it’s neat how the burritos are wrapped in banana leaves and the patio’s ambience was nice.
Coba Ruins
After Burrito Amor we hopped in the car and drove about an hour to Coba to check out the ruins. Coba was a Mayan city that peaked around 1000 AD. Present day there is the small, modern town of Coba and the Coba ruins which feature ancient pyramids, ball courts, and monuments.
The Coba ruins have a big dirt parking lot and an entrance fee of 100 pesos (~5 USD). The ruins are really spread out so renting a bike or hopping in a bike taxi is a nice way to explore. You can rent bikes just a few minutes after the entrance near the first ruins. We opted to walk, though in hindsight I would have liked to bike.
We wandered through the ruins saving the largest pyramid, Nohoch Mul, for last. Like everything, photos do not do this place justice! I was in awe of the sheer size of Nohoch Mul Pyramid at 137 feet. Unfortunately you can no longer climb the pyramid which is understandable, but it would be neat to get a view from the top.
Cenote Choo Ha
Once we were finished at the Coba ruins we bought our entrance ticket to Cenote Choo Ha as we exited the parking lot. We drove 10 minutes down the road further into the middle of nowhere until we saw the big sign for the cenote. There is a small entrance into the earth that we climbed down and were amazed at the incredible cave below ground. We swam and admired the stalactites for a while, then made our way back to Tulum.
See post 3 Cenotes to Visit While in Tulum (2022) for more information!
Dinner Night 3
Back at the hotel we showered and cleaned up, then went to Akuma Tiger Sushi in town for dinner. We enjoyed a few sushi rolls, nigiri, and I drank an apple, marshmallow cocktail which was a really fun combination! We tried to hit up Bateys again but it is closed on Sundays, so instead we went back to the hotel to enjoy a mellow night.
Day 4 in Tulum
Tulum Ruins
On our final day in Tulum we finally woke up in time to enjoy our hotel breakfast which was an impressive spread of yogurt, eggs, toast, and fruit. Then we checked out of the hotel and drove toward the beach to the Tulum Ruins in the Tulum Archaeological Zone. We parked near Playa Santa Fe then walked 10 minutes along the pedestrian only path to the gate to pay our 85 peso (~4 USD) entrance fee.
These ruins were super different from Coba with the beach setting and larger crowds. I was startled when I saw a sizeable iguana sitting on the side of the path, but quickly realized there were tons of iguanas hanging out among the ruins. A lady told us one jumped on her head, so keep your guard up! The Tulum ruins exceeded my expectations and I did feel they were worth checking out.
Gran Cenote
After exploring the ruins we went to Gran Cenote which is very popular and for good reason. Gran Cenote has a lot to offer with both cave and open air sections, nice hangout areas, and a lot of wildlife. There are tons of bats in the caves, turtles in the water, and iguanas wandering the grounds.
See post 3 Cenotes to Visit While in Tulum (2022) for more information!
Leaving Tulum
After swimming and lounging for a couple hours at Gran Cenote we left and stopped at Súper Akí Tulum, a local grocery store. Philip stocked up on snacks to bring to his work retreat and I enjoyed browsing the selection. From there we drove to Playa del Carmen where I dropped Philip off, then continued to Cancun. I stayed at The Royal Islander for the night before flying out the next morning.
Final Thoughts
I was really happy with everything we did in Tulum and felt we fit a lot in. With more time I probably would have done a beach day, the sunset experience at Azulik, and a day trip to Chichen Itza.
Tulum has a lot to offer and has become a very popular tourist destination in recent years. An increase in visitors over a short amount of time comes with impacts, good and bad. My advice if visiting Tulum is to be cognizant of your environmental footprint, be respectful, and use common sense.
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