My husband and I just got back from a 5 day trip in the Riviera Maya and it was amazing! We both have traveled to Cancun dozens of times in the past, but I had always wanted to check out Tulum and the ruins. We were originally going to stay in Tulum for our vacation but we waited to book our hotel and prices went up and rooms were sold out. Instead, we stayed at the Paradisus Cancun and planned a day trip to Tulum to check out the ruins.
The ride from Cancun to Tulum is about an hour and a half. We booked a tour through our hotel and a van took us down there for the day. We left super early at 7:30 am and got back around 3 pm. When we got to the ruins in Tulum, there were a bunch of little restaurants and shops to buy souvenirs before entering. We then proceeded to enter the area and walked around the ruins for a bit and learned about Mayan history.
At the bottom of the ruins, there is a beautiful beach with bright blue clear water and where you can lay down and enjoy the weather. They don’t have anything there, so I recommend you come prepared with sunscreen and towels and whatever else you might want. Maybe even a change of clothes!
The Tulum water is like no other! I do recommend getting there early as it fills up quickly with tourists and it’s much better for pictures 🙂 I feel like we barely got any photos with people in the background which was great. We relaxed on the beach for a while and took it all in. I think 1.5 hours is enough time to walk around and explore the ruins as it isn’t huge.
After that, we walked around the shops and restaurants and grabbed a bite to eat since we didn’t have breakfast. It’s totally a tourist trap so be prepared for people to ask for money so you can take photos with people dressed in Mayan costumes or with a monkey or snake on your shoulder! Luckily, I speak Spanish so it was easy for me to turn them down and just enjoy my time there.
I did a lot of research for this trip when we originally were planning on staying in Tulum. The hotels there are mostly eco friendly, small boutique hotels, with a handful of rooms. It’s rare to find a nice all inclusive, so you’re definitely paying more to stay in the area. Below are the hotels I recommend if you’re looking to stay there.
Favorite Hotels in Tulum
Feel free to comment below or email me if you have any questions about my trip!
[…] and I was sad we didn’t have any more trips planned. We were originally going to go to Tulum but we waited too long and had to stay in Cancun since there were more hotel options. We both have […]