So, You Wanna Vacation in Tulum?
Here are 5 tips for Tulum-newbies that’ll help your visit run smoothly, including how to get covid-tested for US citizens!
1. TRANSPORTATION
From Cancun Int’l Airport to Tulum is about a 2-hour drive without pitstops. Your options include shuttle, bus, taxi or renting a car. The shuttles and buses stop at multiple hotels for drop-off and the taxis are expensive, especially once you’re in Tulum and want to get around. We chose to rent a car for efficiency and freedom. We absolutely loved it! There are many options for rental services once you arrive in Cancun Int’l Airport, so we didn’t bother booking ahead of time. It was about $24 USD a day to rent with Hertz. They’ll take you about 2 minutes from the arrivals area to the rental pick-up where we waited outside for about 1.5hrs in line. There aren’t many options for food on the drive to Tulum; I packed protein bars from home which came in handy. Try to arrive early in the day to avoid driving on that road at night.
If you arrive in Cozumel Airport, keep in mind it’s an island and you’ll need to take a ferry to get to Tulum.
2. ADVENTURE INTO THE JUNGLE!
We booked a Jungle Half-Day Tour for about $100 USD which includes 4 hours of riding an ATV through the jungle, ziplining, and a Cenote —pronounced seh-NO-tay, a water-filled sinkhole that occurs in limestone rock when an underground cave collapses on itself, exposing the groundwater beneath. They’re beautiful and all over Tulum! Bring a bathing suit, sneakers you don’t mind mudding up, sunglasses for sun and dust protection. Also, a bandana is way more secure than a surgical mask, especially on an ATV— trust me. Don’t bring flip-flops or sliders; it’s not very safe for the ATV and you might lose them on the zipline. Bring mosquito repellent!
3. MAKE TIME TO RELAX ON THE BEACH (obviously!)
We chose to stay on the beachfront, at Nomade Tulum which had fabulous service and two restaurants; one of them was right on the beach. Yes, the beachfront accommodations are a bit pricer, but if you can stay for a few nights, it’s worth it. Otherwise, you can visit the beach clubs, which each have their own perks. Some beach clubs I heard good things about while visiting include:
4. EAT LOTS!
Amazing food is everywhere. I booked my trip during the week, but even then, it was still pretty busy, so I made reservations for atleast one fancy dinner. Tulum has world-class chefs and some of the best food on the Yucatan Peninsula. Restaurants I loved based on healthy/pescatarian/mediterranean options and service:
Meze — My absolute favorite restaurant of my entire vacay. It’s Mediterranean Cuisine with tons of healthy options. The Pita and hummus is the perfect starter. The Catch of the day is enough for two people! It’s a whole dang fish. The Aegean Tonic was so good we came back here one night just for drinks! The ambience is large and spaced out enough for everyone to eat 6-feet apart.
Mezzanine — Thai food with a GORGEOUS view. The view only gets better as the sun sets, try to go right at 6pm-ish. Their yellow-curry is delicious and the chef is actually from Thailand. Try the mango-ginger blended drink in the coconut!
Raw Love Tulum — Vegan, fresh, eco-friendly options on the beach! There is a line for the photo, but don’t stand in line if you’re coming to eat! Skip the line, get yourself an açaí bowl or chocolate dream with fresh cacao (I tried both!) then get your photo afterwards! This place is currently cash only.
Macondo — Clean eats with options for fresh fruit, bread, eggs, and açai bowls. For breakfast, try the mango and marucaya bowl. No regrets. Also, their cappuccinos/lattes are pretty good if you need your coffee fix (they also have non-dairy milk!). This restaurant is inside Nomade. For dinner, best to skip this place and go elsewhere — servings are toddler sized and pricey.
Other eats I didn’t get to checkout, but highly recommended by friends: RosaNegra (esp for meat eaters!), Hartwood, La Taqueria, and Taboo.
5. DO SOMETHING ZEN-ish
Yoga
Tulum attracts a lot of hippie dippy zen types. There are many yoga studios available on the beach strip and in many hotels. It’s relaxing, but beware of the Fitness Yoga at 11AM if you stay at Nomade. It was on level 1000 and I was on level 1, so it took me OUT!
Art
Spend some time at SFER IK, an art museum attached to the Azulik hotel — which is an architectural wonder in itself! It’s $10 USD per person for entry and I bought tickets on Eventbrite before hand. Loved that the staff shared the history of the artist’s vision. It’s fairly small compared to the photos, just FYI. Mask required. Shoes off.
A Note On Getting Covid-Tested:
Starting January 26th, travel from Mexico back into the USA requires a negative Covid-test up to 72 hours before your return flight. You cannot gain entry back into the USA with it! We got tested at our hotel and had our results in less than 24 hours. Covid-testing is aslo available on the beach strip where there are multiple pop-ups that range from $40–100 USD. Many hotels will accommodate their guests in getting tested through their concierge service. I am fully vaccinated, however, I also chose to get covid-tested 72 hours prior to traveling to Mexico. This is good practice, although not required. Some places in Tulum are very lenient about masks, again good practice means you should wear a mask; we wore ours except when eating and for photos.
Enjoy Tulum! For more photos and videos, follow me on IG @kuriascase and check out my Tulum Story Highlight!
