Tulum has been a hot spot for several years now and I was glad to finally get an opportunity to check it out since my work ended before the weekend in Mexico City. I was joined here by my sister, for a girls’ weekend of sea and sun. Our trip started with a meet up in Cancun and we hit the road towards Tulum with our rental car for a weekend getaway!

EXPERIENCE

While in Tulum, we tried to keep plans fairly low key. Hitting the Tulum Ruins and catching some sun on the beach and swimming in the cenotes was really all we intended on doing. The Tulum Ruins were underwhelming and very crowded with tourists. I think this attraction is honestly skippable if you only have a short time to enjoy paradise. The highlight of the attraction are the roaming iguanas and beautiful view of the ocean. There are additional ruins are Coba for those who find this aspect of Tulum intriguing.

Gran Cenote was the highlight of Tulum for me. For some reason I imagined the cenotes to be inlets of the ocean but they are not that. The centoes are freshwater hideaways dropped into the cave and rock systems around the Yucatan. The one we visited was very easy to visit. After a quick shower, we donned our snorkels and suits to check out the fish, turtles and bats of this special place. Other cenotes I have heard are great include San Actun, Cenote Dos Ojos, Cenote Calavera, Cenote Carwash and Cenote Escondido.

The first beach we hit was Playa Maya and wandered down to Playa Zazil Kin. This beach had a lot of debris due to some recent storms but the sand was fine and white and we enjoyed catching some sun there. Other beaches that are meant to be lovely include Ziggy Beach and Paradise Beach. I also heard great beach days can be had at La Zebra Hotel, Posada Margarita and Papaya Playa Project.

If we had more time, Chichen Itza would have been a fun day trip. But with Teotichan last week and the Tulum Ruins, we thought we’d use our weekend for beach time rather than more ancient structures.

Some of the other towns along the route back to Cancun are easy stops en route to the airport. We stopped off at Puerto Morelos, which is very charming. If making a longer trip our of the Yucatan Peninsula, I’d consider making stops in Playa del Carmen as well.

STAY

While there are many amazing houses to rent and retreat options in Tulum, we opted to keep it cheap with an Airbnb rental in Quinta Roo that was off the beaten path on Calle 8 off the main drag downtown. Our place was modern and located down a very dark secluded gravel road that seems to be being developed quickly.

Jen Seiser Tulum

EAT

Food is a big focus of the seaside town. I came to the coast with an impressive list of restaurants to try. We arrived late and were staying closer to the downtown Tulum area rather than the strip of upscale restaurants near the beach. We had some fantastic tacos and guacamole at La Malquerida at calle centauro. This was one of two dinners we had in this part of town. The other was at Encanto Cantina for some great salads and beautiful grilled shrimp. A few other recommendations in the center of town were Manglar for pizza, El Milagrito for Mexican, Bistro for French and Batey for live music. 

As we explored the beach, Raw Love Tulum became an instant favorite. This charming and cozy palm tree hideaway off the main drag is worth a stop for fresh juice, and acai bowls. Another favorite spot, La Eufemia (named after the local pup) was quite possibly the highlight of the trip. This beach taco shack is fantastic; we had a few too many margaritas, the best shrimp and fish tacos I’ve ever eaten and enjoyed a little slice of perfect beach.

The nicest dinner we had while in Tulum was at Arca. If you can’t (or don’t want to invest the energy into waiting in line) at Hartwood, check out this worthy neighbor. Here we met friends who happened to be in town and enjoyed octopus, cornish hens, fresh fishes and a tasty crème brulee.

There are several other spots I’ve love check out next time I come to Tulum. They are very near each other on the road near the beach and include the famed Hartwood. Others that top my “next visit list” include Posada Margherita for handmade pastas, Gitano, Restaurare Vegan Cuisine and Casa Jaguar. Most of these spaces are open air and absolutely romantic and stunning. I have a few other places that made my list and I also didn’t get to, if you have more time than I did, consider checking out: Simple, Ki’Bok Coffee Shop, Zamas + Que Fresco!, Kitchen Table, Cenzontle, La Coqueta, Ziggy’s, Ukami, Safari, Le Cocina de Corina, Mezzanine, La Tropicana, El Canastón and Cetli.