Tulum, Mexico

Tulum, Mexico is a unique town that is quickly gaining popularity, but for good reason; it appeals to every type of traveler. Located 1.5 hours away from Cancun, it is a perfect weekend getaway for those living in the U.S. I am the adventuring traveler who doesn't stop going until everything has been done and seen. If that is you, Tulum offers you ruins, cenotes, freediving/scuba and parks. If you prefer to do absolutely nothing and relax the entire time (I wish I knew how to do this) you have many different luxury hotels with full service cabanas along with delicious restaurants and cocktail bars. Tulum also offers many different yoga retreats, spas and eco tourism.

HANGOUTS

Nomade

This was one of my favorite spots to chill on the beach. They have nice day beds and a wonderful restaurant right on the beach.

Casa Malca

Pablo Escobar's former mansion is filled with fun eclectic art pieces as well as this grand entrance into the small hotel. Andrew loved how quiet this hotel was during our stay. However there is a food and beverage minimum to hang out on their quiet beach so we looked around and left. I would definitely want to stay here on my next trip to Tulum.

HABITAS

Loved this place so much we went twice. I am not a huge fan of swimming in the ocean. However, a pool overlooking the ocean, I can totally get on board with. The staff was friendly and remembered us the second day, plus they have great drinks and occasionally a DJ.

EATS & DRINKS

Hartwood

This was the one place I wanted to eat at while in Tulum. They used to take reservations starting at 3PM the day of, in person. So I went on Saturday and tried getting a reservation and they informed me their reservation policy is completely online now and has a month waitlist typically. I decided to take a chance and we went back at 6:30PM and magically got right in because someone had not shown for their reservation. Score!

Not the most amazing ambience (unless your close the open fire towards the inside on the restaurant) but the food and drinks were spot on. Andrew had a drink that he swears is his favorite cocktail he's had. The ceviche and pork ribs were both phenomenal. Make your reservation now! reservations@hartwoodtulum.com

Nomade

Making the list again because it was so awesome! We loved this salmon tower with a pistachio chili glaze so much that we decided to come back for dinner and have our last meal on the beach as the sun was setting. Nomade also has a moroccan themed restaurant that we didn't get a chance to eat at but also had a really cool vibe that is worth checking out.

This was the most purple I have ever seen the sky

Kin Toh

One of the coolest restaurants/hotels I have been to ambience wise. Elegant yet comfortable. This place is a bit pricey and based off of some of reviews I read about the value of the food, we decided to just get drinks and an appetizer. While we waited for our first round of drinks we went out to the nest to see the view that drew me to Tulum in the first place. We ordered the octopus for our appetizer and were blown away by how good it was that we were tempted to get a full dinner, but there were so many other places we wanted to try that we decided to stick to the original plan and go somewhere else for our entree.

Taqueria Honorio

If you want to get some culture and explore Tulum town, you have to stop by Taqueria Honorio. It was the best tacos I had on the trip, and my mouth is watering thinking about it now. This is a food truck type scenario where all food and seating is outside under a red tarp. I got pork tacos, a quesadilla and horchata, while Andrew got one of each taco. Yum!

Our next visit we will be going to NU, WILD and Bejuco which we heard wonderful things about. We tried getting into WILD our last night but they were not excepting any more walk-ins when we arrived.

Bejuco - tepees for dinner right on the beach

DRINKS (N/A & ALCOHOLIC)

Raw Love

This jungle getaway spot can be found at Ahau Tulum and has some super tasty breakfast options like acai and greek yogurt bowls. I opted for a matcha latte, yogurt bowl and coconut water.

Matcha Mama

I ordered the Matcha Lemonade and it was not at all what I thought it would be; probably because it had no sweetener (which I am okay with). It grew on me after a while and made me feel very healthy. A must stop just for the picture.

GITANO

Looking for Craft Cocktails? Tulum has some great ones, and GITANO does them very well. However, they are expensive but worth having a couple.

COCO Tulum

The Flamingo cocktail was my favorite in Tulum. Andrew got a local beer that plays classical music to its beer while it ferments. ha! Great hangout spot as well!

ADVENTURING

Freedive Mexico

We got the opportunity to learn how to free dive from Flavia who is a professional freediver living in Tulum. Free diving is a mix between snorkeling and scuba diving. You snorkel on the surface until you see what it is you want to take a better look at and then you hold your breathe and dive to it. Upon your decent you hold your nose and blow out multiple times to equalize your body with the depth of where you are. It was fun but challenging but by the end I was really getting the hang of it.

Cenotes

Cenotes are large sink holes in the ground with fresh water and are everywhere in this area of Mexico. We decided not to go outside of Tulum to see some other more famous cenotes because we wanted to maximize our time; so we only went to two.

Gran Cenote

Cenote Calavera

Tulum is filled with Yoga classes and retreats. I had the honor of taking an acro-yoga class as part of the Art With Me Festival at HABITAS. Rooftop class with a view of the ocean. Doesn't get much better than that!

STAY

Xcape

We stayed in Tulum town for a more economical option that did not feel cheap at all. We loved our suite at Xscape. The bathtub was HUGE! (3x bigger than a regular tub). We also had our own private garden area, in addition to a nice spacious room. We found this hole in the wall (its all outdoors) bar and restaurant that was a minute walk up the street. Really cute and perfect for a night cap.