Complete Guide to Tulum: A Full Week in Paradise

Admin
Jul 17, 2018
8 min read

TULUM:

Paradise begins where the jungle meets the beach.

INITIAL LANDING:

Our flight landed around midnight in Cancun

Please keep in mind that there are no direct flights to Tulum so there is a 2hr drive after the flight.

I highly recommend taking the ADO bus!

Still cannot figure out whether the ADO bus was running at the time but we were pressured into taking a private Taxi to Tulum which was veryyyyy over priced

From the airport to the hotel the price came out to more than 100 US dollars

We figured out on the way back that the bus was 248 pesos per person to go from the airport which was comfortable and safe.

TIP: Be sure to get off at the right terminal for your flight* ask the bus driver and listen to the announcement

Despite our late arrival at the hotel, we still went to take a dip in the pool for about an hour and called it a night around 3am

We stayed at LIVE TULUM which was a super cute boutique hotel at the edge of town.

The hotel provided free breakfast every day and bikes for the guest to take whenever they wanted.

Day 1 JULY 3

We decided to start off the day exploring the town and all the little shops.

Tulum is a super quaint and peaceful town

There are so many beautiful handmade items in the stores that oftentimes might not be at the best price. We learned that bargaining is important in this town. We practically sat in a store and bargained for hammocks that we ended up buying for ½ of the asking price. The store owner was so worn out by the encounter that he had to go home to take a siesta lmao

We also took a break from exploring to enjoy drinks at a restaurant along the strip.

We also had lunch in town at this cute little restaurant.

We then stopped by the supermarket to pick up some fresh fruits and groceries for our stay since our hotel room came with a fully functioning kitchen.

After bringing the groceries home we decided to change and head to the beach.

We decided on papaya playa beach club which is a super trendy hotel/restaurant/beach club

We were warned that the beach in Tulum were going to be filled with seaweed due to a recent tropical storm. But most of the hotel beaches along the beach hire people to clean it out throughout the day.

We arrived at the beach around dinner time so after chilling at the beach for an hour and lying in the sand we decided to venture off in search for some food (always looking for food hunny)

After dinner we took a couple steps down from the restaurant and watched the stars on the beach.

Coming from NYC, where we barely see any stars, I cannot even begin to explain the feeling of watching night sky. It all felt so surreal to me. It was truly magical.

Day 2 JULY 4

We decide to take on the day like a true tourist haha

The night before, we told ourselves that we wanted to do the Tulum ruinas as soon as they open so we could beat the rush and the heat, but of course…we overslept. Well it’s more like Konnie woke up and told me to wake up but I went right back to sleep after hitting snooze and Konnie just let me sleep and feel back asleep along with me haha

Anywayssss we finally made it to the ruinas around 12:30 (admissions 70 PESOS), when the sun was directly the strongest RIP. (I am definitely 5 shades darker after this entire trip)

Though the ruinas was smaller than I expected, it was still amazing. The area was composed of over 40 structures left over from the Mayans that sat on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Seeing the whole scene reminded me of something out of a postcard.

You can walk right down to the beach and take a dip in the ocean if you wished

Since it was so hot out when we went to the ruinas, we did not stay for long.

We meet up with our Taxi driver (Erick who was superrrr nice through our whole trip and so we just always called him) and he recommended we go to Casa Tortugas for their amazing Cenotes, naturally forming limestone caves filled with crystal clear water that extends deep into the earth.

Casa Tortugas is 3 cenotes combined with a guided tour of the caves with a instructor (400 PESOS per person).

I personally cannot swim at all. LIKE NOTHING. NADA. AFRAID FOR MY LIFE NADA.

I was fully just expecting to put my feet in the water and take some cute cave pictures. But nope that was not the case.

When the instructor was telling us to put on our life vests and giving us the run through on how the caves are 40 meters deep, I was internally screaming.

If Konnie did not force me to go on with the experience, I would have just sat the whole thing out.

The guide was super patient and came fully prepared with a floaty thing and I kinda just floated the whole way through. After getting over my initial fear and realizing that despite my best efforts, my life vest would always hoist me up, I had a surprisingly great time. After floating past a certain smaller segment of the cave, we were able to see the entire expanse of the sparkling cave interior both above and (with our goggles) below us.

FUN FACT: I learned that the same meteor that killed the dinosaurs, created all the cenotes in the world. All of the cenotes are inter-connected to each other. So if you went scuba diving in one cenotes, you can easily come out of another cenotes in another area if you really wanted to. Also the reason the water is not salty even though it comes from the ocean is because the explosion boiled the salt out. Lastly the Mayans used to use cenotes as a place to sacrifice to their gods, practically for rain. So the people have found many treasures in the depths of the cenotes.

Day 3 JULY 5

We started the day with breakfast at RAW LIFE TULUM

Hands down the cutest place for breakfast ever in Tulum. They have hammocks and swings set up in an outdoor area.

After breakfast we walked on the beach and decided to camp out on the private beach of this restaurant that haven’t opened yet. I laid in the sand, worked on my tan some more and meditated.

We decided to move along and find our next destination for lunch. We decided to try out THE REAL COCONUT, where we sat outdoors to enjoy the beachy decor.

It started to rain so we moved indoors and waited out the rain.

By this point in my trip, I had realized that RAIN in Tulum only last for a couple minutes and ends as quickly as it starts. After the worst part was over we decided to venture out and seek out the much hyped MATCHA MAMA.

After we got a few mamas in us…we got in a taxi and…went to search for dinner. (LMAO THIS WHOLE DAY WAS JUST ME EATING AND CHILLING ON THE BEACH ON REPEAT - for the full gluttonous reviews, wait for my next blog post featuring all the scrumptious moments of my trip)

DAY 4 JULY 6

Today started off a little rainy, but by the time we decided to venture out of the hotel the rain had stopped. So like classic ladies, we chose to start the day with more water: surfing.

When we got the location for classes the instructor was not there yet so we laid on the beach for about 45 mins till he showed up

The waves were pretty crazy on this day…

And oh have I mentioned…I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SWIM! YUP, STILL DON’T

I don’t know why I let Konnie convince me to do so many water sports...but alas, we do it anyways.

It was nice feeling the waves. I fell off the board more times I can count lol but it was still fun (shot-out to whoever invited the life vest <3)

After surfing, we ventured back to papaya playa and decided to have lunch there.

After lunch we went back to the hotel and I was soooo tired, I knocked out

After waking up, I decided to take advantage of the free bike situation offered by the hotel and we biked around the town and discovered a cute little park.

I hunted down some more coconuts…honestly 100% drank more coconuts than water during this whole trip and I REGRET NOTHINGGGGG

TBH I think my two favorite things about Mexico has to be coconuts and cacti, hands down!!!

Day 5 JULY 7

SO LIKE I LIKE TO PRETEND I HAVE MORE STREET-CRED THEN I DO LOL

When I found out that PABLO ESCOBAR had a mansion that was converted to a hotel by an art collector…I had to visit!

Cut throat like Pablo* cue Migos song NARCOS

The hotel is now called CASA MALCA and it is everything you hoped for and more

One downside though (1000 pesos per person to enter :( )

After we saw Pablo’s pretty mansion we went next door to NÓMADE for lunch.

The restaurant was located in this amazing hotel and had a holistic theme - which makes sense considering everything was so healthy and eco-friendly. There was even a sound healing tent completed with a whole forest made of wind chimes for sound healing therapy.

DAY 6 JULY 8

Took it as a slow day and we had a late start.

We decided to see the town on bikes as well and discovered this amazing local showroom featuring pieces made my local women. The pieces were all handmade with 100% cotton in the surrounding local towns.

We also had to get some coconuts (high-key it’s an addiction at this point LOL)

DAY 7 JULY 9

COBA ADVENTURE DAY

We decided to go deeper into the jungle to see the bigger Ruinas of Coba (admissions 70 pesos per person)

For some reason we thought the bus left from Tulum to Coba at 10 and we woke up super early but we were mistaken so on the way there we took a taxi collective (70 pesos per person) and on the way back we took the ADO bus (56 pesos per person)

TIP: make sure to confirm the time ahead of time for the buses

The runias were really spread out and they give you an option to rent a bike to go about all the buildings for 50 pesos which isn’t too bad

After the ruinas, Konnie wanted to go to the cenotes in the area… the cenotes in the area were lowkey pretty sketchy in comparison with those that we went to first.

When I say lowkey…it was highkey LOL like no people in the middle of the jungle sketchy

But we survived so I guess it was okay (55 pesos for each of the cenotes, we went to two)

We caught the 3:10 ADO back to Tulum and got back to the hotel around 4:30

I took a shower and nap (I took a lot of naps on this trip lmao)

Wanting to fully take advantage of our last night in Tulum, we decided to go out and treat ourselves.

And treat ourselves we did!

Best for last I guess, we went to AZULIK for drink and the sunset and it was amazing.

This place is basically one giant treehouse for adults.

There is a crazy wine-cellar casually filled with priceless vintages.

There are “Nest” areas for seating connected by a suspension bridge and hammock beds dangling in mid air over the middle of the jungle.

Everything your inner child needs to run wild (heart eyes for days) but also amazing drinks for all you grown ass adults

There is also a gallery space built in to the structure that can easily have belonged from another planet

The space has a no shoes allowed policy (brings me back to childhood) which makes sense considering the was multiple levels each coupled with interactive installations that can be climbed on, swung on, and more.