HILLARY BOWLES

Tulum, Mexico… you’ve seen it all over Instagram and it’s become one of the hottest/most popular destinations as of lately. But, let me tell you… even the photos on instagram couldn’t prepare me for how unbelievable Tulum truly is! I was absolutely blown away. It does not feel like you are in Mexico, it feels like you are in Bali or somewhere extremely exotic. If Tulum isn’t already on your bucket list… it should be!

WHERE TO STAY:

This may be my one and only regret about our trip to Tulum. We went on this trip with our friends, and opted to stay at an all inclusive, where the food and drinks are included – Dreams Tulum. While the resort was beautiful, and it was great to have unlimited food and drinks included… I kinda feel like we missed out on some of the authentic Tulum experience. My recommendation would be to stay somewhere in Tulum Beach, such as Nomade Tulum, Azulik, etc. We ended up actually visiting both of these hotels for drinks and some exploring!

WHAT TO DO:

Tulum Beach: Exploring Tulum Beach is a must! It is a long (almost dirt) road that is filled with local shops, restaurants and bars. It almost might be the most photogenic street I have ever been on. I couldn’t stop taking photos! On this road is where you will find the famous ‘Follow Your Dream” sign. It is towards the bottom of the road, so I recommend renting bikes if you plan on seeing the entire road. Which brings me to my point below…

Rent Bikes: One of my favorite things we did in Tulum! We woke up early one day and headed to Tulum Beach to rent bikes and explore. The little street was soooo much longer than we thought! Talk about getting your workout in for the day lol! We stopped along the way to look at the shops, take some photos and grabbed a delicious smoothie from Matcha Mama.

Cenotes: This was so much fun! We opted to go to the Grande Cenote and loved every second of it. Be sure to arrive about 10-15 before it opens in the morning so you have the Cenote to yourself and don’t bother getting ready or doing your hair because before you enter the cenote, you re required to take an ice cold shower and wet your hair. Wow, it was freezing and I definitely tried to get away without getting my hair wet but I was caught and forced to wet my hair lol! The part of this cenote that you always see on instagram is actually hidden in the back. Walk past the first entrance you see and you will stumble upon the little hidden gem! The water is so gorgeous!

Tulum Ruins: We didn’t actually make it to the Ruins, but I’ve heard they are beautiful and sit right on the ocean. If you have time while you are in Tulum, I would try to make a trip to the Ruins.

Explore hotels: Honestly, this was one of our favorite things we did! The hotels in Tulum are one of a kind and breathtaking! Our two favorites were Azulik and Nomade. We couldn’t believe places like that even exist! We went to Azulik for drinks, but there is a limit on how many people are allowed to go to the rooftop and sadly we didn’t make the cut but we still got to head up to the bar and hang out on the giant hammocks! Nomade was unbelievable as it was just a resort full of little mini huts! I’ll insert photos below.

WHERE TO EAT:

Matcha Mama: We stopped here on our bike ride down Tulum Beach Road. so refreshing, delicious and makes for the perfect photo op! I got an açaí smoothie.

Ziggys: Dining with your feet in the sand. What in the world is better than that? Great food and even better drinks.

Raw Love: If you are a vegetarian or vegan, like me… you will love this place!! The entire menu is vegan and so delicious!

Charly’s Vegan Tacos: Traditional Mexican food with a vegan spin on it. What more could you ask for? So many options even for you non-vegan/vegetarians.

HOW TO GET THERE:

This was quite the adventure lol! Originally we were supposed to fly from Charlotte to Atlanta then to Cancun (closest airport to Tulum). BUT, our flight from Charlotte was delayed and as a result we were going to miss our connecting flight to Mexico and couldn’t get out until the next day so, we hopped in our car at midnight and drove 4 hours to Atlanta so we didn’t miss our flight. This resulted in us not sleeping all night, then hopping on our flight to Cancun at 7am. Once we arrived in Cancun, we had to get a 1.5 hour shuttle/taxi to Tulum. This was pretty painless (aside from being exhausted), it’s just one street the whole way. We actually booked this trip through Expedia and chose the option to include our airport transfer which makes things pretty seamless and easy.