Tulum has been on my travel bucket list for the past year, so when the trip was finalized, I was practically jumping out of my skin with excitement. I visited Cancun about 3 years back, and as much as I enjoyed it, I had no plans of making a trip back there, primarily because I found that all it really had to offer was the all-inclusive experience. Tulum, however, is a completely different ball game. There is no shortage of things to do and there’s truly something for everyone. From the Mayan ruins, to the Cenotes, to every single Instagrammable restaurant I visited, Tulum truly holds a special place in my heart. I put together a travel diary for those of you who decide to visit, which I highly recommend you do!
How to get there: Tulum is about an hour and a half away from Cancun. You can get there using either a private car or shuttle service, but be sure to book in advance to avoid any confusion once you get there. My hotel organized a car for me, which cost about $190 for a round trip.
Where to stay: Tulum isn’t the place for you if you’re looking for an all-inclusive experience. Most hotels are small, secluded and have an eco-feel to them. I stayed at Mi Amor Hotel which I cannot recommend enough. It’s located about 5 minutes away from the main hotel strip, with a stunning view of the ocean. Although you can’t go into the ocean on account of the hotel being located on top of rocks, the beach is a 2 minute walk away. The staff are extremely warm and helpful, arranging everything from transportation to snorkelling equipment for me to borrow.
Where to go: There are an endless amount of places to explore in Tulum. Since I was only around for 3 three nights, I barely touched the tip of the ice berg and would happily go back in a heart beat.
Cenotes are arguably the best part of Tulum. I visited two while I was there, the first being Cenote Dos Ojos which was an otherworldly experience. It’s a natural freshwater body located within a cave where you’ll find bats and fish, and the water is quite literally clearer than that in a swimming pool. This was a particularly memorable experience for me as I faced my fear of water in order to explore it. The Cenote is actually quite deep, so you can even dive there if you’d like to, although I was pretty sure my heart would stop beating if I even tried. Next to Cenote Dos Ojos is Cenote Nicte-Ha which is an open waterbody. Nicte-Ha has a bit of a whimsical feeling to it on account of the leaves and lily pads floating about.
You cannot leave Tulum without exploring the Mayan Ruins of Tulum. They are located on the beach and take about an hour and a half to walk through. I personally didn’t get a tour guide, choosing instead to read through while I walked around. Be sure to arrive early as it becomes jam-packed with tourists as the day progresses. The ruins open at 9, and although I arrived at 10 it was still a tad too crowded for me.
Where to eat: The food was quite possibly my favourite aspect of Tulum. On my first night, I dined at Unico, which had excellent ratings and was conveniently located within my hotel. The food was absolutely delicious, I highly recommend the Wild Snook.
On my second afternoon, I ate at Posada Margherita, an shabby-chic Italian joint located right on the beach. With the food, you can hardly go wrong with everything – it’s all prepared fresh and bursting with flavour. I tried two of the pasta dishes, both of which were delicious. Afterwards, I visited the beach right outside, and out of all the beaches I visited, this was the cleanest one in Tulum.
The most memorable dining experience I had, however, was at Gitano, a Mezcal Bar and restaurant. The interior has a rustic feel to it, with wooden tables and boho-chic tapestry. Gitano is located in the jungle side of Tulum, and at night, the whole restaurant is lit up with fairy lights and chandeliers within the trees, giving it a dreamlike quality. I went on a Friday night, which I think is the best night to go. There was a live band unlike anything I’ve ever heard – the manager, Seth (who is truly wonderful) described it as Indian Jazz on account of the sitar player. At 10pm, there was a DJ who played the most incredible music which was sort of a transition between the soothing live band and a harder DJ who comes on later at night. Now regarding the food, I ordered the ceviche, and three types of tacos (beef brisket, fish, and shrimp), all of which blew me away. The beef brisket one in particular was unforgettable. The drinks here are also to die for – it will put anything you’ve had in the past to shame. I ended my meal with guava cheesecake, something I never thought I would enjoy, but could have happily gone to eat seconds of.
On my last night, I visited Safari for dinner, which was recommended to me by the manager of Gitano. Now if you’re after a super luxe experience, Safari isn’t for you. It’s a very basic restaurant, completely bare bones – the operations are conducted out of a food truck, but my goodness the food is to die for. The Shrimp A Mole Verde tacos were the best I’ve had in my life, and the rice and beans gave a new meaning to the dish. The owner, Luis, has been in the food industry forever, having worked everywhere from New York to Australia, so he really knows what he’s doing.
This place looks like heaven! I had visited there for the day but after seeing these pics I might need to plan a whole vacation around it. Love the isolated and quiet feeling of this place. 🙂
http://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Great travel diary, Siffat! Tulum looks so amazing – I definitely want to visit. I’ve only been to Playa del Carmen (for a musical festival lol), which is probably somewhere in between Cancun and Tulum in terms of feel. Looking forward to hearing your stories in person very soon! xoxo
Beautiful photos!
Jill
http://jilldap.blogspot.ca
This place look like heaven! Hope you had an amazing treap!
I definitely want to visit, I really need a holidays! 🙂
Have a great weekend!
XO Erica
http://www.ericavoyage.com
Tulum has been on my radar for a bit now and I’d love to get there soon. These photos are so beautiful and just make me want to hop on a plane ASAP!
-M
http://www.violetroots.com/blog
So informative. The images are beautiful. Thanks for sharing
http://sempasite.com
so jealous! this looks amazing
xx
http://thedemeler.com
What a fantastic travel diary, and thanks for sharing with us such stunning photos to go with the post. I’ve always wanted to visit the Mayan Ruins there.
Happy travelling.
Sassy Palate Ventures
Such a magical place I really love it! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this post, amazing pics >http://evaredson.blogspot.it/2016/04/beauty-routine-essentials-spring-2016.html
xx
Eva
Looks amazing! Great post babe x
http://www.fromluxewithlove.com
http://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/from-luxe-with-love-14590195
These photos are beautiful, and Tulum looks like such an amazing place to visit! Thanks for sharing this great travel diary!
http://roadesque.com
http://ourruins.com
Wow, it sounds and looks like a magical place to visit! I’d never heard of it before so thank you for sharing 🙂
Away From The Blue Blog
These pictures look unreal! I want to go there so bad x
http://thelondonthing.co.uk/
I’ve never heard of tulum before, but judging by your pics, it looks like a really beautiful and exciting place! I’ll probably be adding it to my bucket list as well!
Is that heaven? Thank you for the trip advice. When is next flight there? Can’t believe there are places like this. Far, far away from the big city. Love it!
From your description – if I had to choose between Cancun and Tulum – I would go for the latter as well. Love the photos!
Luxessed
This is a very helpfull and interesting post! I mever heard of this place before :0
The pictures are very nice, seems to be great there!
Love, Nadine
travellingwithnikon
Amazing trip! so cool photos! Nice atmosphere)))
Specially i like grafiti with skeleton )
http://vladabush.blogspot.com
Tulum seems to be a wonderful place! It makes le want to go there!
http://violettedaily.com
How fun. Amazing photos!
Happy Sunday babe.
Xx, Raysa
What a beautiful place! It sounds like you had an amazing time there, well who wouldn’t?
Ela BellaWorld
Looks like the most amazing trip ever babe! so jealous Ive always wanted to go to mexico loved all these shots. PS add me back on snapchat: alanda.maree 🙂
http://www.whiteandcapsule.com/
xxxx
Tulum looks like an amazing place to visit! Your photos are gorgeous!
Jill
Doused In Pink
Looks like a great vacation dear
The photos are amazing.
The Bandwagon Chic | Instagram | Bloglovin | Snapchat: bandwagonchic
Very informative SIffat! None of my family of friends have been to Tulum which is why this place hasn’t crossed my mind ever, But I’m currently tackling parts of Europe and I know the Carribean is next 🙂
Real Life Nerd
http://www.vivienekok.com
It doesn’t just sound amazing it also looks amazing. I would really love to visit this place.
Xx Blue Ducklings
http://www.blueducklings.wordpress.com
This is an awesome travel diary! I am dying over how amazing the photos are.
Amy Ann
Straight A Style
Stunning pictures! That place looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!
♥ ♥ ♥
Jeanne
http://www.fashionmusingsdiary.com
This looks AMAZING!
I need to go there..
X Merel
http://www.andathousandwords.com
Oh wow, this seems like a stunning place to visit! The water is beautiful, and I can’t get over how bright and colourful everything is!
https://forsevenseasons.wordpress.com
Such beautiful photographs
Cenotes, Mayan Ruins and Safari Dinners… honestly sounds like the dream holiday destination
So much beauty to see and take in!
What Raj Wants
This looks so incredible! Hope you had an amazing time!
http://www.susannahzabelle.com
Tulum sounds like a fabulous place. Your photos are stunning.
http://www.mydailywear.co.uk
So beautiful photos ! Thanks for sharing. <3
Have a great evening.
Kisses
Marie
http://www.whatiwearinlondon.com
Fantastic photos! I felt like I was there! A gorgeous area and the food looks so delicious
http://leftbankgirl.blogspot.com
ahh amazing photos! Sounds like I need to add Tulum to my bucket list!
http://www.prettyinleather.net
Great post with information.
http://www.thestylegalaxy.com/
Tulum has recently been creeping up my list of must see places. The pictures are beautiful, BTW!
Mexico is one of my favorite places to visit but I have not been to Tulum. I would actually love to see the Mayan ruins.
LaToya
http://www.toyastales.blogspot.com
I am late to the party with this post, not sure how! Anyway, this is sooo lovely, you must have had so much fun… you have me dreaming about my wedding trip to Mexico in June I can’t wait!!
Happy Sunday! Have a beautiful week
Filipa xxx
PlayingWithApparel.com | Instagram
Beautiful and inspiring! Thank you for sharing!
Tiff
http://tinytiffs.blogspot.com
Wow! This all looks so gorgeous and relaxing!
Beautiful pictures!
xo, Shell
http://acourageousbeauty.com
Omg jealous much, the places look beautiful, hope you had fun!
xx
Xin
http://xincerely.blogspot.com
Beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing this diary!
Hugs,
Love from http://www.trangscorner.com {a lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and food blog}
IN LOVE with these pictures, Tulum looks stunning! Definitely a lot more appealing than rainy England, haha x
britishmermaid.blogspot.co.uk
Tulum looks like a beautiful beach destination and it sure sounds like an amazing trip you had over there!
Prudence
http://www.prudencepetitestyle.com
This photos are amazing! I would love to be there right now! 🙂
xx
The pics are so so beautiful and inspring – thanks so much for sharing <33
xx Tschok | http://www.thedetsornfactory.com
This looks absolutely amazing, I think this has just made my travel bucket list now.
http://kellymemoir.wordpress.com
The best time, right!? You have me itching to get back here!
Love your pictures beauty!
xx Gabriella
pastelsandpastries.com
This place looks amazing !! Definitely on my bucket list ! 🙂 xx
http://kashmirandsilk.com/
Wow that looks like such an amazing place! All the food sounds incredible and I’d love to see the Mayan ruins and the Cenote Dos Ojos. It must be beautiful for you to have faced your fear of water. This is such a beautiful post!
~Lili
http://www.thefashionsalt.com
I’ve gotta visit this place! It sounds like the perfect getaway. And all your pictures really capture the vibe you described. The food alone seems worth visiting for, but you also seem so relaxed there. Lovely photos!
xx Yasmin
http://banglesandbungalows.com
The pictures are so beautiful :*
It looks so scenic and calm, I bet you enjoyed it a lot 😀
http://missweirdandnormal.com/2016/01/kamaayurvedastorelaunchjuhumumbai.html
Yes! I always look forward to these posts. Your photography is always amazing! The area looks so beautiful and one can see how happy you must have been. You make me wish visit this place. I really enjoy,keep going , can’t wait to see next post.
These images are STUNNING babe! Tulum is so high on my travel list and now you’ve made me want to go even more!
Ashleigh x
http://www.ashleighdmello.com
Gorgeous shots! Love this post! xoxo
http://www.myinfinitystyle.com
It’s the first time that I read such a great and well executed review of Tulum. Your images make me want to go there! Seems like such a peaceful place and ideal destination for me! The shaded bed on the 2nd picture from the end is a total bliss… So glad for you!
Have a great weekend!!
xx
Stella
http://www.stellaasteria.com