A: Tulum town (Pueblo):
This is where you arrive and it is a simple town with bus stations, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, pharmacies, tourist shops, and tour services. Most tour buses or taxis will take you direct to the Ruinas entrance. However you should check this place out.
B: Tulum Ruinas:
This is the site that features the Mayan Pyramid and other ruins. It is a 2km walk with a beach back drop. There is a carpark as well and this place requires some serious walking. Once you done with the ruins take the path down to the beach and find the restaurants or the boat service to take you snorkeling.
C: Tulum Beach (playa):
This is the long stretch of beach and with all the hotels, restaurants, and beach bars.
Cancun International airport is the closest airport to Tulum so getting here is by road. You have the options of using a tour group bus, ADO bus, rented car, private taxi or collective taxi to get here.
Private taxi: A taxi will cost approximately $120-150 US dollars from Cancun to Tulum, and about half of that from Playa del Carmen. Always remember to make a counter offer to the Taxi Drivers first price. Negotiation works well here.
Rental cars: While the cost can vary here for the actual rental, there is parking at Tulum for about 50 pesos at the Tulum ruins. Street parking is available all most other places.
ADO bus: This is the local bus service it runs from all bus stations and Cancun airport as well.
Taxi Collective: This is the shared van that picks up people and drops people on the way to Tulum. Costs about 40 pesos from Playa del Carmen. A cool experience as you get to speak to the locals and other tourists with the same agenda.
Tour Group bus: This is an air condition luxury bus ride with drinks & lunch provided, with additional stops at Cenotes. A good option but lacks flexibility and the restaurants included are usually okay but not great. Costs about $90 US dollars.
There are several mid-range hotels in the town or Ruinas area. However the main recommendations I have are at the beach.
Along the 109 Quintana Roo, there are all kinds of accommodation just south of the Ruins for up to 12 km. The First Street there is called the Ruinas km, and the address is based on meters down the road. Further on the 109 road, it is labelled Carretera Tulum Boca Paila. There are more hotels in the town center. The beach accommodations is the strong recommendation. Here is a list of some of hotels I would recommend:
1. Dreams Tulum Resort and Spa An all-inclusive place with the deluxe VIP settings.
2. Kore Tulum An all-inclusive place with the beautiful settings
3. Suenos TulumIf you want to get away from the all-inclusive type hotels.
Mid-range hotels that mean more chilling at the hotel and finding beach bars at night are:
4. Hip Hotel TulumLaid Back hotel.
5. ZamasBeach front.
6. Tulum Mexico Hotel Laid back on the beach with Beach club.
Adelita is one of the places I found by accident after the visit to the ruins. After some delicious food here, along with the mango & passion fruit margaritas I was a big fan. Remember to take cash as sometimes the card terminal fails from weak signals.
If you are doing a day trip then do come in early so you can go through the Tulum ruins before it gets too hot. It costs 40 Pesos to go on and an additional 30 pesos if you sung your video camera. See one of the tour operators who can get you a boat trip from the beach as well in addition. The boat ride allows to see Tulum from the ocean as well and enjoy a cold drink while doing it. Once that part is wrapped, you get to cool off in the ocean with a snorkeling trip.
Once this is wrapped up head to the beach restaurants and enjoy lunch. If you are sober and still adventurous then head to the town for a quick exploration before heading back to your hotel.
The Tulum ruins is number one on the list here but this can be done rather fast. So if you staying in Tulum then the option to go Kitesurfing, snorkeling, and scuba are good ones. Spanish classes in the town are popular as well. There are lots of tour groups here as well that can set you up on for cenote tours. The same guys can arrange a bike rental as well so you can travel along the beach, to and from town.
The beach restaurant and bars are your best form of entertainment here.
There is not much to worry about here. There are a whole lot of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and fishes in the Yucutan Peninsula but Tulum has mostly lizards that are visible and interactive with the locals. They are friendly and not a threat. Maybe take the insect repellent for the mosquitoes.
The costs here are much cheaper than Cancun. The top hotels are a bit more expensive than Cancun but you pay for great views, service, and privacy. There is supermarkets in town and one along the 109 which is rather huge. So stack up on snack & water if you there for a few days. The supermarkets have ATMS as well.
A great place to come and relax for several days. It has lovely views and a great atmosphere. The place to stay is Tulum playa. The mass of tourists are isolated mainly to the ruins during the day with many of the locals working in the tourism industry. There are a lot of armed military and police presence on the roads here, no need to be alarmed as they are there for protection of the area.
A great vacation spot that is a big difference from Playa del Carmen and Cancun. I Can’t wait to go back.
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