Versão em português aqui.
As mentioned before in my last post explaining that Tulum was high on my bucket list, we planned to celebrate New Year’s Eve there with friends to party and have a good time. In the middle of the way planning our trip, I figure it out I was pregnant, so I must confess I was a bit worried about if I would enjoy being there or not.
Our main priority was to plan the NYE celebration, which we knew it had to be at Be Tulum Hotel (I will post about it). Besides that, we planned to do some light sightseeing close to Tulum and to have some stylish dinners and sunset parties. In only 5 days it’s hard to get to know it all, but here I will share with you some of the things I suggest you to do in a short time in Tulum. It’s a good overview.
Visit Ancient Ruins
Tulum and the Riviera Maya region housed once a prosper civilization. The Mayas were numerous and built beautiful cities. You can visit the most famous ruins called “Chichen Itza” about 2 hours driving north of Tulum. If you have a short time as we had, you can visit Tulum Ruins, which are very beautiful, located in front of the Caribbean Sea and only about 20 minutes drive from Tulum centre. You can hire a car, arrange a day tour with your hotel or simply hire a taxi, which can take you to the main touristic points nearby Tulum.
Take a dip at one of the many cenotes
Did you know that under Riviera Maya soil there is a river and many caves all “linked” one to another? You can actually dive into this beautiful crystal clear blue water inside the caves, which they call cenotes. Mexico’s Yucatán Península is home of more than 6.000 cenotes, so you can imagine how hard it is to choose only one or two to visit. We decided to visit only one, very close to Tulum (about 20 minutes driving), called Dos Ojos, and we were not disappointed at all. Truly beautiful. There is another cenote very close to Tulum which is also famous called Gran Cenote. If you drive to the North, about 2 hours from Tulum, you can also visit the most famous cenotes in Yucatán Peninsula, such as Cenote X’Canche and Ik Kil.
Relax on the Beach
That’s the best daily practice in Tulum, I may say. There are plenty of beach clubs and hotels with live DJs and a party ambience where you only have to worry about whether to drink one more mojito or not. We spend our days in our hotel Delek Tulum, with a very relaxed vibe and good music. We’ve heard that Be Tulum is one of the best places to spend the day. Gitano has just opened a beach club.
Doing some shopping in stylish boutiques
It’s impossible to not fall in love with the Main Street of Tulum. It’s packed with stylish cafes, healthy bowls shops and beautiful boutiques. Even if it’s just for some Insta shots or not, you must spend some time walking and loosing track of time along this busy narrow street.
Party over the trees watching the sun going by
Picture yourself in a nest over the trees, watching the sunset and enjoying some good music in a lively ambience. You must have imagine yourself at Azulik Sunset Experience, one of the best experiences we had while in Tulum. They run it in a walk-in basis, so be there at least 1 hour before sunset time to guarantee your place. If you want to upgrade your experience, reserve a private nest at Kin-Toh restaurant and watch the sunset in a very private way. But be prepared to pay a salty price for that.
Dine in style under the stars
Tulum has so many dining options it’s really hard to choose. It’s depends on which kind of food do you want, if a more relaxed or more lively ambience, if you are on a budget basis or not. I must say everything there is quite expensive – as any other trendy place in the world. But you have a few options to choose from, so here are some of my favorite ones:
Pousada Marguerita Ristorante – For fantastic Italian food in a very relaxed atmosphere overlooking the ocean. A place to dine with your feet on the sand.
Gitano – For a lively dinner in a very stylish ambience in the middle of the jungle. Put a nice outfit. One of the most trendy spots of Tulum.
Mur Mur – Awarded Mexican cuisine in a relaxed but trendy ambience.
Maresias at Be Tulum – We had dinner there in NYE and we really loved the food and the ambience. It’s a very relaxed place, must be very nice to go there for lunch.
Tatewari at Delek Tulum – We stayed at Delek Hotel and ate every day there during lunch time. It’s absolutely delicious and we saw many people coming from other places to have breakfast or lunch. Relaxed atmosphere overlooking the ocean.
Party In Tulum
Tulum is well know for its parties and festivals. As I’m pregnant, we didn’t go to any party besides NYE in Be Tulum, which was by far one of the best parties I’ve ever been too. Fabulous vibe. Check my post about it. After New Year’s there are some festivals held in Tulum, sometimes on the beach, sometimes in the middle of the jungle. One of the most famous is Sound Tulum, which usually starts just after NYE. If you are an electronic music fan, you should check it out.
Make Instagrammable PhotosYou must have seen a thousand photos of Tulum on Instagram. Whether in front of a different hotel, a colorful coffee shop, a stylish shop, there is always a place that looks beautiful in the photos, you don’t have to try too hard to find it. This place below was very close to my hotel, I just came walking from the beach and found this beautiful spot for some photo shooting at Akiin Beach Tulum.
Work Out Like Flintstones
We are gym fanatics and always look for one wherever we are. I confess I was a bit lazy this time (pregnancy has this sort of thing), but my husband did not fail to check out this original gym. All “caveman” style. If your hotel doesn’t have a gym (most of them doesn’t), be sure to check out The Jungle Gym.
