About seven years ago one of my friends came to visit me from England. We went to New Orleans for a few days (post here, here, and here) before her and her then boyfriend, now husband, went on to Tulum for a week or two. I remember her telling me about all the cenotes that she wanted to visit and the beautiful boutique hotels that were there. Fast forward a few more years (2016ish) and I remember seeing Tulum all over social media! Especially this hotel!

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Turns out I am a little late to the party! My trusty traveling crew and I decided to make our way from Caye Caulker (post here) to Tulum. It is pretty simple! Once you get off the water taxi in Chetumal you take a taxi to the bus station. There you take a bus all the way to the Tulum city center. It only takes about 3-4 hours depending on the bus you get.

I was a little surprised when we got there, I looked around and didn’t recognize anything and it didn’t look anything like Instagram[ (things rarely do!). We found Hotelito Hotel to drop out bags before we set off exploring. If you decide to book this hotel let me give you one warning – don’t book a thatched roof in the rainy season[ (May through November). We had a small lake form in the middle of our room because it rained throughout the night! Apart from that it wasn’t a bad hotel and they did have rooms without a thatched roof available. Another hotel we stayed in was Corazón de Jade and I would highly recommend it!

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There is a lot to do in Tulum! I already want to go back because I didn’t have enough time to see many of the cenotes I wanted to. Plus, Chichen Itza is not a long bus ride away!

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We did get to see three of the more popular cenotes and a couple of ruins (posts coming soon). The town was safe to walk around in and there were plenty of restaurants, shops, and stalls to see. The bus station is also centrally located which makes getting around easy. If you opt for taxis, there are also plenty of them and they seem to have ‘set’ prices for many of the locations you may want to visit!

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The morning before we were meant to head back to Caye Caulker we decided to book a hotel on the beach and see what that area looked like. We took a taxi, which takes about 45 minutes, to our hotel for the night which was across the street from the beach. I finally realized this is where all the pictures from Instagram are taken!!

I felt like I had walked into the Instagram app! Everything was beautiful and so picturesque. All the hotels on the beach looked like pieces of art! They also cost a small fortune so be prepared to shell out! Our hotel, Residencia Gorila, was not directly on the beach and was about $60 a night. It felt sort of like a treehouse because it was up a level and had a thatched roof (I have learnt that scorpions like to live in thatched rooms and fall from the ceilings. I’m not sure which is worse – rain or scorpions)! This night it didn’t rain so no lake (plus it was a different hotel).

I talk about the difference between Tulum city and Tulum beachfront. See which one I preferred.

As pretty as the ocean front was, I almost preferred the city center. I felt it was better priced and easier to get to things (Cenotes and ruins). Plus, since our hotel was not on the beach we had to find access to it through a public area/path. All the hotels have seemed to block off getting to the beach unless you are staying there. We walked a long way down the ocean front path and finally found a small opening that had a few small shops on either side and then opened up to a restaurant and the beach.

There, we ordered a few drinks and people watched (there were some girls trying to get the perfect Instagram shot!). We didn’t get in the water because it had all the red algae that is affecting tourism right now (or at least a few months ago)! I wish the water had been clear, it would have been so nice to get in. I wouldn’t go back to that restaurant. The servers were rude, once we finished our drinks and paid for them the server literally stood there waiting for a tip with his hand out.

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For dinner we found a Thai restaurant called Canopia. I thought the food was great! We were the only people in the restaurant (which always worries me – I try and look for a busy place when traveling – then you know the food will be good) but I think that was because it was the off season. On the way back to the hotel we stopped to get ice cream (at 2 different spots). Bolas de Postre/Scream bar had dairy free ice-cream so we stopped there first and grabbed a table. Hannah had some vanilla ice cream and said it was pretty good. This place was loud and busy but a lot of fun. It was a great place to people watch! After that, we went to Origami Gelato and I grabbed a scoop of Ferrero Rocher ice-cream and ate it while walking back (it was divine!).

I wouldn’t mind spending a few more nights in Tulum, like I mentioned above there are a lot more sites (centoes nd the Tulum Jungle gym) I would like to see. Plus, I would like to spend a few nights in Isla Mujeras (2.5-3 hours away) to go swim with the whale sharks. We tried to book a tour this time but the port had been closed, we were there the last weekend of the whale shark season. My goal is to go this year. Sometime between late July and August when it is common to see 30 or 40 of the sharks together. The season officially runs May to September though. I also added Isla Holbox to my list this week! It is another island off of Mexico!

Have a great week!!

Buffy xx

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