Tulum | A Travel Guide

During my two weeks in Tulum I was able to experience a few places that I'd recommend for food & drinks, scenery and great places to hang out. And a few places that I definitely wouldn't recommend. So I'd like to share some of my favourite joints with you, in case you ever visit.

Food & Drink

Panna e Cioccolato
Av. Tulum 72, Tulum 77400, Mexico Amazing gelato here. It's Italian, not Mexican, but if you want good ice-cream go to who does it best! We tried different flavours every time we visited and not once were we disappointed. There were two shops along Avenue Tulum and apparently another one on the beach somewhere. Website


Super Carne
Calle Orion Lote 15, Tulum, Quintana Roo This place is a meat shop and sells amazing meat, run by an Italian meat enthusiast. We bought from here every time we wanted meat to cook at home and we were always left so satisfied. It's located on Orion Sur just after La Parrillada restaurant. The guy who owns La Parrillada owns the meat shop so grab someone from inside the restaurant to help you.

La Nave
Av. Tulum Oriente Mz 3 Lote 7, Tulum, 77780 Tulum, QROO, Mexico Orlaith and I only got a pizza and some orange juice here but we really enjoyed it. The juice was so good we ended up drinking five glasses between us! Friendly staff and good prices. On Avenue Tulum. Website

La Fournee
Carretera Tulum Ruinas - Boca Paila Km 5.5, Tulum CP 77780
An authentic French patisserie. There were a few 'patisseries' in Tulum who's croissants tasted like thick bread rolls. This one served the best pastries and good coffee for a very reasonable price. I loved it.
Website

Papaya Playa Project
Km 4.5 Carretera Tulum-Boca Paila Tulum Quintana Roo 77780 Mexico On the beach side of Tulum this is the first beach club you come to on the 'beach road'. I loved the atmosphere, the music, the drinks (not so much the food) and, of course, the view. However if you visit make sure to double check the bill before paying :)
Website

Ahau Tulum
Carretera a Boca Paila Km 7.5 Tulum beach zone., Tulum, Mexico (Formerly Esmeralda-K) Another beach bar on the far end of the 'beach road'. This place has the whole package. We loved the food and the atmosphere was just perfect. Everyone was so friendly, guests and staff, and we had one of our favourite days here.
Website

Puro Corazón
Carretera Tulum / Punta Alen km 5.5, Quintana Roo
Also on the 'beach road' strip, this family friendly bar is ideal for good cocktails and entertainment. They had really great live music the evening we visited and everyone was super friendly. We didn't rate the food dish we tried highly but I can't comment on the rest of their food, I've heard it's good. I had one of my most enjoyable evenings here!
Website


Chedraui Supermarket
Avenue Coba Sur While I am all about buying local we did make one visit to Chedraui supermarket. It's a normal supermarket with pretty much everything you need. Due to an intolerance I buy dairy alternatives which I could only find here.

Things To Do Places To See

Gran Cenote
109 Hectares Km 25 Quintana Roo Mexico‎
Gran cenote was my favourite out of all the ones we visited and the easiest to get to (we cycled). A bat cave, water turtles and beautiful crystal clear water. We had a fabulous day here.
Website

Dos Ojos Cenote
Dos Ojos is a great cenote to spend the day at for scuba divers and swimmers alike. There are two big water areas and hammocks all over the place for relaxing in. There's also a small tuck shop there but they don't sell much apart from biscuits and crisps.
Website

The Pit Cenote
Orion Sur Centauro Sur, Tulum 77760, Mexico
The Pit is great for scuba divers but can also make for an interesting swim. Of course I managed to find a jumping platform like any big kid would (just be careful there's no scuba divers surfacing before you jump in)!

Tulum Ruins
The Tulum ruins were so convenient to visit (we cycled there from the other end of town) and had lots of information boards. If you have time and don't mind the heat get a tour guide.
Website

Coba Ruins
I liked the Coba ruins except for the lack of information boards. You'll ideally need a tour guide or guide book here. Coba is, currently, one of the last Maya sites that still lets tourists climb any the structures, and it's just the ancient pyramid. At the top of the pyramid you get a great view over the jungle top. Bring comfy shoes, there's lots of walking.
Website

Chichen Itza Ruins
Chichen Itza is about 3 hours from Tulum by bus. We were staying in Valladolid when we visited but a lot of people we spoke to made the journey from Tulum. Either way, one of the new Seven Wonders Of The World, this is a site not to be missed. Bring a hat, it gets hot. Ik kil cenote is close by, we couldn't make it there because of a lightning storm.
Website


Getting Around
Tulum is so easy to get around. It's a small town and so many places can be accessed by walking. Although you can learn from my mistake and not try to walk the 3km to the beach from town in the midday heat.

There are bicycle rental shops all over and offer cheap rental prices and child seats.

There are also taxis swarming the town and offer really affordable prices (however it's worth doing a bit of research on prices, many taxis try to overcharge tourists. And carry small notes on you, they like to pretend they don't have change). Also, many of the taxis don't have seatbelts so, if you have kids, hold on to them haha.

Another option is to rent a car during your stay. We didn't do this but I've heard it's cheap.

When travelling in and out of Tulum the bus/coach service is fantastic and cheap. There are ADO bus stations in most towns. We used them for our entire trip travelling around the Yucatan Peninsula.

There's another bus service we used once called colectivo, which is smaller and works a bit differently. It runs more frequently but is a lot smaller. It picks up people along the way depending on how much space it has available.