Tulum has somehow risen to infamy in the last several years as an LA/NYC bohemian/hipster type of mystical destination. It’s the kind of place you want to go to because the attractive girl that you see every other day at Core Power Yoga/Soul Cycle was gone for a week and when she came back, you asked her where she’d been and she told you about the spiritual awakening she had in Tulum. It’s partially true because it made its name as a serene off-the-beaten path place where yoga and wellness retreats were held (and still are). But like most untouched locales that suddenly see a spike in tourism, the genuine authenticity it once had starts to show cracks of commercialization.
Since this was my first visit to Tulum and I did not have a life changing magical experience in the 4 hours I was there, it’s merely my interpretation based on industry hearsay and a short visit which I didn’t plan well.
Ruins of Tulum
The Caribbean backdrop is absolutely stunning which helped me appreciate the ruins in Tulum much more than Chichen Itza. Although again not super impressed by the remaining structures themselves and entirely uneducated regarding its Mayan history, the beauty of the setting changes everything. Also, with the wedding a success and all of that stress gone, plus, timing the visit earlier in the morning before the heat and crowds arrived definitely helped. It was still touristy, but not the kind of droves we saw at Chichen Itza.
There’s a pretty beach you can walk to along the paths if you get hot and need a little dip but it already started getting busy around 11am and you’ll need to bring a towel with you (or own that air dry). Total time to spend at the ruins: 1 to 1.5 hours which includes time to walk to the ticket booth (5-10 minutes), buy the ticket (approx. 40 pesos), walk in through another path (5-10 minutes), look around and take a few pictures, follow the signs to exit through a different way than you came in closer to the ticket booth…to put it succinctly, a LOOP. Add time if you’re going down to the beach.
Footwear – because I googled this extensively – Rainbow sandals are fine. No need for tennies. You have no idea how many times I have suffered because I wanted cute pictures with cute sandals back when tennis shoes with shorts made you standout as the ultimate American tourist. Although irrelevant in this case, I’m so glad workout wear is errand/travel appropriate now.
Tulum Pueblo
The town of Tulum was not what I was expecting. I envisioned I would step into something like a Mexican version of Kapaa in Kauai or Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica, or at least an upscale version of downtown Mazatlan circa 2001 with a mix of vegan cafes and new-age restaurants (from an article I had read on Forbes about the burgeoning culinary scene in Tulum). What I got was a main street on either side of a highway and block style buildings with fake palapas selling tours, colorful pottery, and hammocks. Sorry, no pictures, new at this blogging thing.
The mistake I made was having the driver take us to Tulum Pueblo because we said we wanted to buy souvenirs and were short on time. I should have insisted we go to Tulum Beach town (3 miles further away) servicing the higher-end accommodations in the area and where the boho stories of lore originated. Perhaps, my aforementioned expectations would have been accurate.
Lesson – get to the ruins early, spend time at Tulum Beach town, completely bypass Tulum Pueblo. Spend at least a few nights at an eco-luxury boutique hotel in Tulum like Jashita, Be Tulum, or Mi Amor.
Result – spiritual awakening that I can go back to Core Power and tell everyone about.
HA! Who am I kidding? I live a fast-paced high-strung lifestyle, enjoy bloody red meat and wine, and quit yoga for intense cardio to loud music. The most I’m getting is some much needed sleep and a tan (stops writing, books trip to Tulum immediately).
Getting Here
We stayed at the Royal Suites Palladium which was only 30 minutes away so we hired a driver to take us around for the day. See Getting Here in previous Chichen Itza post. Similar tour/driver options which is sometimes combined with a stop at a nearby cenote or at Xel-Ha. An hour from Playa del Carmen, 1.5+ hours from Cancun airport.