Travel Guide to Tulum — Happily Madz

Hola,

I finally got around to finishing probably the most highly requested blog post to date! I’ve included just about all the details from our trip last weekend.

For starters, Tulum was magical. There was something about the jungle, beach, and culture of the city that left me mesmerized. It exceeded all my expectations and last weekend felt like a dream. It is a completely different feel from the other parts of Mexico I’ve been to (Cancun, Cozumel).

Because it was such a short trip, the Monica in me had the trip itinerary mapped out weeks before! (Friends reference) We packed as much as we could into the schedule while keeping the right amount of flexibility! Overall, we had a great balance of being tourists and relaxing.

Trip Itinerary Overview:

Day 1:

Flew into Cancun
Shuttle to Tulum
Dinner reservations at Kin-Toh (Azulik Hotel)

Day 2:

Breakfast at the hotel (Habitas Tulum)
Grand Cenote
Snorkeling at Para Iso Beach
Lunch & Matcha Mama
Dinner at Nomade
Explored the town (boutiques, nightlife, etc)

Day 3:

Short trip to Coba
- Biked through the jungle & hiked the Mayan Ruins
Lunch and explored Casa Malca (Pablo Escobar’s Mansion now Hotel)
Dinner at Mezzanine (Thai restaurant)

Day 4:

Breakfast at the hotel
Yoga overlooking the beach
Shuttle back to Cancun

Shuttle company:

For those of you that don’t know, you can’t fly directly into Tulum. We flew into Cancun and took a shuttle from the airport. It’s about a 2 hour drive! We booked a shuttle in advance through:

Happy Shuttle

https://happyshuttlecancun.com/

We had a great experience using them. Our shuttle driver was so nice and gave us plenty of travel tips! They are an affordable and safe company. We were able to get a private shuttle bus and they provided roundtrip transportation.

Hotel:

We stayed at Habitas Tulum https://habitastulum.com/

Tulum is known for their boutique hotels. There are so many amazing hotels to choose from but we were more than happy with our pick! Our hotel was basically a luxury tent with an outdoor shower/restroom. It was such a cool experience and we felt fully immersed into the jungle. Don’t worry though, the tents have A/C ;)

Transportation:

We took taxis everywhere. Heads up, there’s always a little room to negotiate with the taxi drivers. People also bike around there a lot! If you’re looking to rent a car, the roads are safe and easy to drive around for someone not familiar with the area.

Restaurants/Hotels:

Most of the restaurants we went to were a part of the different hotels there!

Kin-Toh at Azulik:

This is the tree top restaurant at Azulik. I have no words for how stunned I was by this restaurant and hotel. It is a MUST SEE in Tulum. Our reservations were for 7:30pm but my friends and I wanted to get there earlier to explore the hotel before sunset. My jaw stayed dropped for a good 10 minutes when we first got there. I couldn’t deal with the views, the large hammocks circling the restaurant, the beautiful bridge, and romantic setting. A candlelit dinner in the most gorgeous tree top restaurant was the perfect way to kick off our trip!

After dinner we explored the boutique.. it was literally a maze. Major props to whoever was behind the design and layout of the boutique. Definitely worth seeing!

Nomade:

The bohemian vibes of this restaurant are what describes Tulum best. The low tables/floor seating, sitting on the beach under string lights, DJ (wish I could’ve taken his playlist home with me), and food were all exceptional.

Casa Malca:

Such a cool hotel. At first we weren’t sure we were going to have time to stop by the hotel but I’m so glad we were able to fit it in! It was definitely worth seeing in my opinion. We loved walking around, seeing the art inside the hotel, and eating at one of their restaurants. This is where I tried a burger made with matcha buns – absolutely delicious!

Matcha Mama:

The instagram-famous Matcha spot! I tried their Iced Matcha Coffee and loved it! My friends got the ice cream and it was extremely refreshing.

Mezzanine:

Thai restaurant overlooking the beach. I’m a sucker for thai food and it was nice switching up the cuisine. We ended up spending hours here just talking and relaxing our last night there.

Habitas Tulum:

I can’t forget to include the breakfast we had at our hotel. Hands down, the most delicious French toast I ever had and probably ever will. My friends and I had breakfast here twice and inhaled the French toast both times.

Activities:

Grand Cenote:

I’ve wanted to go swimming in Mexico’s Cenotes since my trip to Cancun last Summer! I highly recommend going here. We went swimming from one cave to another and it was incredible. The water was a turquoise blue, there were fishes/turtles in the water, and it ends up being the perfect temperature once you jump in!

Snorkeling at Para Iso:

Para Iso is said to be one of the most beautiful beaches in Tulum! Unfortunately, our trip was scheduled for the weekend after they were hit by a tropical storm and that brought a lot of seaweed to the water/beach front. It didn’t stop us from going snorkeling! For $27 pp, this company on the beach took the 3 of us out on a private boat for an hour. We got to see sea turtles, sting rays, and the mayan ruins!

Day trip to Coba:

It’s about a 45 minute drive to Coba from Tulum. We rented bikes here and biked through the jungle to the Mayan Ruins. It’s a short ride and then once you get to the main ruin, you can climb up! You get the perfect view of the jungle from the top, I’m so glad we did this!

Yoga:

Tulum places a great emphasis on wellness and we were able to experience a yoga class here through our hotel. It was such great way for us to wrap up our trip before heading back to the airport.

In between doing all of the above, we had plenty of time to sway in the hammocks at our hotel, lounge around the pool, enjoy piñatas (virgin pina coladas), etc.

A couple of spots and things I hope to hit on my next trip to Tulum are:

- Gitano

- Hartwood

- Maya Spa at Azulik

So that just about includes everything we did on our trip! I could go on and on about Tulum but I thought it would be best to stick to the bullet points. Tulum is the perfect place to get away. It’s a hipster city and the bohemian vibes of the city create such a peaceful and serenading environment. I can’t wait to go back <3