Yucatan Road Trip: Tulum
From Holbox, we drove south to Tulum on the Mayan Riviera, returning to the land of tourists and resorts. Tulum is one of those hippy expat enclaves that I would ordinarily love to despise - but couldn’t. It’s too picturesque and easy-going to hate! And we came here with our local friend, Nadia, so we still had a few “off the beaten path” tricks up our sleeve.
Highlights
Tulum National Park
We only planned two full days in Tulum, so we had to make the most of our short time. In the early morning, we drove to Tulum National Park, paid a fee to park our rental car (it’s no longer free, as previous travelers suggested), and walked to the entrance gate. We eschewed a guided tour in favor of just wandering around the eco-archeological site on our own. Tulum was one of the last Mayan cities to fall under Spanish control, so the ruins here are later than Chichen Itza and the ruins at Coba. With the Caribbean Sea as its backdrop, the cliffside views are stunning — and all the iguanas sunbathing on the walls become the perfect insta-model!
Click any photo for a larger slideshow view.
After exiting the ruins, we wandered down to the beach area, which was still relatively un-crowded. After dipping our toes in the warm water and kicking up sand for a bit, we eventually parked our butts at a beach club, settling in for a lazy afternoon of people-watching, drinking, and eating.
Caleta Tankah
The next day, our friend Nadia took us to her favorite beach club. For about $15 USD per person, we had lounge chairs, umbrellas for shade, and a secluded beach and cenote. The club limits the number of entrants each day, so it feels exclusive and posh. The way the coast is shaped, there is a large pool-like area within the beach. The waves break at an outcropping of coral at the far edge, leaving the interior of the “pool” calm and warm. The beach club also has a short jungle trail leading to a shady, cool cenote. We lounged around Caleta Tankah for about 6 hours, packing up just as the raindrops start to fall.
Mayan (Sea)Food
Tulum offers some of the freshest seafood available. We ate at two noteworthy restaurants. At Estrada, we literally chose our fish from a cooler containing that morning’s catch. Everything was grilled to perfection by a chef who came out to check on the meal at every table. A wandering mariachi duo entertained us in exchange for a small tip. The drinks were generous and the food plentiful.
Before heading back to Playa del Carmen, we stopped at an unassuming local seafood place, El Dorado. This restaurant was about 1/3 the price of Estrada and plates were piled high with fresh shrimp, ceviche, octopus, crab, and fish. The filet of fish ala diabla (chili devil sauce) was shockingly good with its deep smokey roasted pepper flavor. On the table, a basket of various salsas and toppings were on hand for bottomless bowls of freshly-make tortilla chips. We washed it all down with a Michelada - a spicy cocktail made with cerveza, clamato juice, a dash of worcestershire and chili powder, and a squeeze of lime. This refreshing concoction in Tulum is served with a ground grasshopper, sea salted rim - don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it!
Where We Stayed
Tulum is an expat and resort town. To avoid the usual trappings, we stayed at a local person’s home we found on AirBnB in a neighborhood outside the tourist zone. Lots of great little convenience markets, veggie and fruit stands, kids laughing and playing in the streets, and lazy dogs on patrol. The place was clean, very quiet at night and we slept well.