Ever since I saw this blog post all about Tulum, I was hooked. I instantly added it to my bucket list but it was one of those places {like many on my bucket list} that I never thought I'd get to see for myself. Luckily for me though, our hotel in the Riviera Maya was only 20 minutes down the road by car, so I just had to get myself down to Tulum.
We were only in Mexico for a week, and had some other trips {and serious pool time} planned, which meant there was only time to head into Tulum once, so I crammed as much in as I possibly could and picked out a few spots I really wanted to see while I was there to make the most of the one day we had.
We got up super early on the day we'd dedicated to visiting Tulum, it was meant to get up to 30° that day, so we wanted to get there early before it got too hot to explore. We took a taxi from our hotel which took around 20 mins - half an hour and cost about £20, not bad considering how far we went. If you want to keep the costs down then you can take the bus but for the price, we decided to escape the heat in a taxi {and save ourselves an inevitable argument trying to work out the mexican public transport system}.
First on the agenda was the Mayan Ruins...we couldn't really visit Tulum without seeing these! The 13th Century Mayan site at Tulum National Park overlooks the sea {the bluest sea I think I've ever seen!} and is comprised of the clifftop Castillo, built as a watch tower over the port, and the Temple de las Pinturas. The site also has pyramid shaped temples with views over the surrounding jungle. We went on our own to the ruins, sans-tour guide, and it was easy enough to follow the path and each part of the ruins are well signposted with stories about what the building was used for, who would have lived there, etc. I would recommend getting down to the site early though, as all of the tour groups arrive at around 9am, and it can get pretty busy, especially in high season.
After wandering around the ruins {you want to leave around 2 hours for this} we were a bit peckish and very thirsty as it was so hot that day, so we jumped in a taxi to Nomade, a laid back eco hotel right at the end of the beachfront resort strip in Tulum. However, when we got there we were informed that the restaurant was only for guests, despite seeing hundreds of fellow bloggers nip in for lunch. Feeling a little deflated, we headed off down the road to see if we could find somewhere equally as pretty {it wasn't hard, every resort there is looks like it stepped right out of Instagram}.
A few steps down the road we discovered Nest, a boutique eco hotel right on the beach and it was stunning. We wandered through the hotel to get to the restaurant, taking in all of the cute little treehouse rooms and the smell of incense burning through the jungle and fell completely head over heels in love with the place. The restaurant was right on the beach, shaded by palms which was a godsend after trekking around the mayan ruins all morning, and had the most incredible views of their seaside set up - the cabanas were perfect. The food was also the best I ate the whole time I was in Mexico, I had the vegan tacos which were to die for and my friend had the shrimp and quinoa salad which I'm also assured was amazing. After lunch we chilled out on the cabanas with a margarita before heading down to our next stop.
Next on my Tulum Bucket List was Coco, an all-white beach bar which was just SO pretty. Instead of chairs, they have swings to sit on looking over the beach and let me tell you, the view is perfect. Tulum has some of the best beaches in the world, and being able to sit on the swings, sipping a piña colada and taking in the view was a real treat - and the best way to end the day. I also loved the fact that the beach showers were actually shells attached to some drift wood, it gave the place a real beachy vibe, and I'd have loved to be staying in one of the rooms there.
I honestly can't express just how much I loved Tulum and how happy I was sitting there watching the world go by, it's a day I'll never forget and I'm sure it won't be my last time in Tulum, the place really did capture my heart in the few hours I was there.
xo Becky
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