Tulum, Mexico! I first heard of Tulum through Instagram. Bloggers that I followed would post pictures of the quiet, quaint beaches. It had such a boho feel, I knew I would love it. Thinking of drinking tequila shots at a small outdoor hole in the wall place in Mexico, with Spanish music playing in the background and my handsome hubby with me was something I’ve always dreamed of. Romantic AF if you ask me.
I didn’t want to do any type of resort for this trip, I wanted to stay in a boutique hotel, so we chose Cabanas Los Lirios. It sits right on the beach, as many of the hotels there do. Free breakfast in the morning and lounge chairs on the beach. Many people asked me about the seaweed, and I will confirm that there is seaweed, but it’s raked up every morning and the beach is close to clear by 10am. The rooms don’t have tv’s and we didn’t have any service in our room. Not sure if that’s the norm everywhere, but we liked and appreciated it.
When searched for a shuttle through Expedia. We chose a private shuttle for the transfer to and from our hotel and airport. We found the least expensive and booked. The shared shuttled were less expensive but we didn’t want to be waiting around for anyone else. The hubby is not that patient!
There’s a road that stretches 32 miles from the Tulum Ruins to Punta Allen. We saw maybe 6 miles of it. The streets are filled with entry ways to hotels, outdoor shopping areas, restaurants, juice and coffee bars. Throughout the day you’ll see taxis up and down the street, local workers (there is a lot of construction going on along the road) merchants, tourists roaming the streets, walking or on bikes.
There are many tours offered to visit the Ruins or one of many nearby cenotes. What we did, and what I recommend doing, is hiring a taxi driver for the day. We used Manolo and we paid 1700 pesos, or about $83 USD for him to drive us to the cenotes, then the ruins and then back to our hotel. There are many people looking for a taxi outside of the cenotes and the ruins. While there are many available at the ruins, there are not many taxi’s waiting at the cenotes. So you would have to wait until one showed up. There are people who will ask your taxi driver for rides while they’re waiting for you. We never had to wait for Manolo. We tipped him and bought him lunch for the impeccable customer service!
The Cenotes were out of this world! The water is a blue that I’ve never seen. The water is so clear it’s unbelievable.
One of the many places I had to see was the view at Kin Toh at Azulik. You are basically climbing a tree and having dinner at the top of said tree, overlooking the jungle and seeing the most amazing sunset! It was a very fancy place with food items that I’ve never even heard of. I am a noob when it comes to food, I like to stick to the basics. A glass of champagne was $25 and our total bill was over $200. I’m going to be honest, after dinner there we went and found a hole in the wall place to fill our bellies and drink shots of tequila!
Many of you have asked if it was pricey. And the answer is yes. I felt like I was spending a week eating out in Dallas. Lunches were at least $50 for the both of us. Dinners were at least $100 and that’s if we weren’t drinking, drinking. Now, we were told that if we wanted to get a more authentic experience to go into town. There is an area in Tulum, right before you turn to go towards the tourist area that feels more like Mexico. If you decided to head there one evening, it’s going to require a taxi and a 25 minute drive.
Casa Malca is Pablo Escobar’s old home, now hotel and work of art. The view from the rooftop is breathtaking. It’s definitely very IG worthy! If you ever visit, be sure to check out the underground pool!
To wrap it up, I loved Tulum. I loved the quaint feel of it. But I feel I would have loved it more years ago, before it was so Americanized. It almost feels like you’re in Miami Beach with a jungle. I love visiting Mexico and I love being on the beach. But I think we’re going to have to keep looking for the perfect spot where I feel more of an authentic vibe.
To see more of Tulum, check out my stories on my highlight reel on my Instagram.
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