FixedtoTravel: Tulum, Mexico and What You Should Know

May 21, 2018

I just had the best weekend getaway in Tulum. My only complaint is that it was too short, I would have preferred to have a few more days worth of time to explore but to be honest just planning the trip had me a little stressed so I wasn’t going to try to stretch it out longer than a weekend. Coordinating a trip with a large group of people is never easy but this one seemed to particularly stress me out. I’d traveled with most of the people going so all I can chalk the stress up to is the constant messages of fear and worry, like come on. IT’S A TOURIST TOWN! Fuck! I can honestly say that I’ve never received so many messages of concern while planning a vacation before in my life. I thought I was going to need another vacation just from the stress of planning this one but luckily all of our fears were quickly alleviated once we arrived in Cancun. Besides a little longer than anticipated wait for our shuttle everything was easy as pie and even that wasn’t a huge deal considering we were able to buy and drink a few Mexican beers right there, curbside at the airport, as we waited and also in our shuttle on the hour and a half ride to Tulum.

Pro tip: Book your shuttle beforehand, that way you have everything agreed upon and paid for before getting into a car. We used Super Shuttle and had no issue.

Now, I will say this, the language barrier can be a real issue in some areas so it would be ideal to brush up on your Spanish a bit or better yet, take someone with you who is fluent. Having a Spanish speaker in your group is going to come in handy when you’re negotiating taxi fares(super important to always get the fare amount before getting in), trying to give/get directions and for general information from locals. I mean come on, who’s going to know a place better than the locals? It’s important to be able to communicate plus you’re going to get a much better response if you at least give a little effort and make an attempt to speak the native language, no matter how terrible you may sound. Give it your best effort and ask Google when in doubt.

Eating in Tulum

Ok, I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again…I, Sylvia, am a huge creature of habit. Even on vacation. Once I find something I like I’m hooked. Now I’m a little more flexible when traveling because I want to experience as much as possible but well, old habits die hard as you’ll see.

Paloma, Coco Hacienda

So, typically I don’t eat breakfast but on vacation I know I’m going to be out exploring, usually walking a ton and well lets be honest, drinking will start early most vacation days. & though breakfast isn’t the first thing I think about, I do need coffee. Enter Coco Hacienda’s restaurant, Paloma, the sign outside the door literally said “Your coffee is here” um sold. Order the Horchata Latte and thank me later! Breakfast burritos, pancakes, exotic fruit parfaits and chilliquiles, I tried it all. Partly because I went with a large group and we each ordered different dishes and shared and partly because we chose to eat breakfast at this particular spot three days in a row. All three days I ordered the tropical fruit, all three days. Such a beautiful restaurant and hotel with one of the most friendly staffs we encountered the entire trip and that’s saying a lot because everyone was so incredibly friendly. Located less than a mile from our Airbnb it was basically written in the stars. The owner, a Canadian transplant, was so sweet and helped us to avoid a huge touristy crowd by pointing us in the direction of the cenotes where the locals like to swim. An experience we would have otherwise never had.

Kin Toh

I heard a ton of mixed reviews about this place from people who had been, mostly about the price and concerns about the lack of a menu and saying how there was a revolving menu…um, Do it! Don’t let anyone scare you away from trying this restaurant, it’s breathtaking. It’s all of your childhood treehouse dreams brought to life by your new, cool adult side which understands the importance of good food and great service. Basically it’s a dream. Try to go during the day or at the very least at sunset because it can be a little dark at night. It is a little pricier than the local style restaurants you’ll find all around Tulum but we went for a birthday dinner and it was comparable to what we would spend back home.

Diablito Cha Cha Cha

Authentic dishes, great service and a variety of live music throughout the night. I can’t recommend this place more. Bring pesos with you because the musical acts work for tips and believe me when I say you’ll want to tip them all, they’re amazing! Perfect dinner and a show type location.

Fabuloso

No, no relation to the cleaning products…at least I don’t think so. Where we stayed in Tulum a lot of the restaurants were closing a little early, around 10pm and this spot, with it’s oversized patio, took us in and filled our stomachs with tacos late night. Open until 1am.

Cerveceria Chapultepec

Everything is 21 pesos, everything! Located in downtown Tulum, this two story bar is an ideal spot to grab some cold beers, snacks and catch your breath from the day. There are fish tacos, sliders and even fries, the portions are small but everything is so inexpensive it gives you a chance to really try out the full menu.

Some tips that should be noted:

Most Authentic Looking Restaurants with Pastor cooking in sight will probably be a good idea, follow your nose. We did that the very first night and it was delicious, after 6 plates of tacos for the table, lots of chips, salsa and margaritas none of us remembered to get the name of the restaurant but best believe if I, wait, when I go back I’ll follow my nose and find it again.
People will come around all day on the beach selling bags of fresh fruit, you have to try some-it’s so fresh and there’s nothing to be concerned about! I got about 3-5 bags of pineapple in the short time I visited.
Tip is almost never included so be sure to leave a tip!

Coco Hacienda

Drinking in Tulum

You can find vendors all around Tulum offering fresh coconuts to be drank, eaten or both. This was some of the most refreshing coconut water I’ve ever had. I had this particular one right outside of the Tulum Ruins after walking around exploring in the humid 80 degree heat for about 2 hours and it was so good you guys. For only a few pesos you have to try a fresh coconut while you’re in Tulum.

Now if adult beverages are more your speed then you’re clearly my people, you’ll find exactly what you expect to find-margaritas, pina coladas, mojitos, daiquiris, Mezcal and every Mexican beer you could hope for.

Encanto Cantina

Live music, a long bar and the most lovely outdoor dining area in the back. This is a must if you’re in downtown Tulum and away from the beach, the vibe is upbeat and the cocktails are delicious. Some of my favorite drinks the entire trip were at this restaurant listening to a live band do covers of hits from the late 90’s and early 2000’s as we all sang along.

La Eufemia

Beach hangout with music, great fish tacos, frozen drinks and lots of people who are just here for a fun time. Choose from beach beds, indoor seating or tables on the beach and prepare to not leave for most of the day.

Yum Yum Rooftop Bar at Kanan Tulum

This rooftop bar is located right on the beach and it’s not to be missed! Even the walk up to the hostess stand is a boho dream, it’s like walking through a tree house. The bar serves craft cocktails and has these ah-mazing booths with 360 views of the Caribbean and the Tulum jungle.

Some tips that should be noted:

The liquor stores in the downtown Tulum area didn’t sell miniature shot size bottles and a lot of the bottles available were only available in one size.
Don’t go expecting to find your favorite beer from back home, besides Bud Light it was all Mexican beer.
The locals don’t drink the tap water either so don’t worry about the ice in your drinks or your frozen cocktails at most restaurants and bars. (of course use your own discretion, IDK what type of hole in the wall joints you tend to frequent but this was my experience.)
You can walk around with alcohol but you can’t keep it in a glass container and don’t expect to enter beach restaurants/bars with your bottles (a friend told me)

What to See/Do in Tulum

Play Volleyball on the Beach

I know, you can do this anywhere but having played volleyball on many beaches in my time I gotta say something about this time stood out. It may have been because we went during a season with high amounts of seaweed coming to shore so the water wasn’t as ideal as we would’ve hoped but nobody’s complaining. We just worked around it. Nothing like a game of sand volleyball to remind you how old you’ve gotten.

Tulum Ruins

Yes, the Tulum Ruins are a touristy spot but Tulum is full of tourists so you’re going to get what you’d expect-a longer, yet totally reasonable line to get in, lots of people crowding or walking through your shots and a bunch of kids. Regardless of the larger crowds it’s a very unique site and definitely worth a morning visit. I was actually happily surprised by the number of ruin sites here. Try to get there early as it’s extremely hot and the later in the afternoon the more likely there will be crowds. Grab a popsicle as you walk in, made with no cream, no sugar, all natural coconut or lime flavors. Funny story, as we were walking in one of my friends bought a coconut one after asking the vendor what the best/most popular flavor was and him recommending it. She hated it! Like, didn’t like it at all. So on the way out, I’m parched-may or may not have been drinking on a water bottle filled with jack and coke, but I doubt that had any effect. Anywho, I stop by the same vendor, already warned by my friend to not get the coconut flavor so I ask for a Lime flavored popsicle and the dude goes “All we have left is coconut.” I died laughing! That meant that not only was coconut probably not the “best/most popular” flavor it was literally the worst/least popular and he had hustled my girlfriend. So funny. I heard the lime and pineapple flavors are bomb but until next time!

Wearing

Escondido & Cristal Cenotes

I list these together because they are located right across the street from each other and you can get a discounted price when you buy both passes to go to both at once. They each have their own unique features so I truly can’t pick one over the other. Cristal is cool because there’s a diving platform so you can take turns diving and doing backflips from there and the water is pretty clear, letting you see fish even if you didn’t bring snorkel gear. Plus on the way out of Cristal there are restrooms, I didn’t use them but did take this picture in front of them, yes they’re restrooms but they’re freaking adorable! Escondido is going to make you earn that swim, you have to trek a bit of a ways back from the main street and again, it’s hot and very humid but once you get to the cenote it’s well worth it. I actually got in here and did a little snorkeling, I didn’t swim very far but this cenote was easily twice the size of the other.

Cenote Cristal

Wearing

Skirt: H&M | Bikini: L Space c/o St Bernards | Shoes: Nordstrom | Hat: Francesca’s | Bag: c/o Melie Bianco

Sorry to keep it so brief here but I’ll be sharing an entire post on what to pack and what I packed here soon!!

Escondido Cenote

Beach Art and Shops

Walk along the beach and you’ll find some of the most colorful wall art. You guys know I love me some wall art so I was in heaven having that located right along the beach. My two faves. There was also an art show happening when I was there, I don’t know if it’s a constant installment but it was absolutely breathtaking walking through the open bodice of the sculpture art. A real masterpiece.

FixedtoTravel: Tulum, Mexico and What You Should Know