love — Travel — Mercyful World

Every year Kenny and I go away for a week, without the kids, to explore a new place and enjoy each other. In the five years we have been together, we’ve been to Washington, DC, Cancun, Ocho Rios, New Orleans, Cartagena, Los Angeles, Cabo, and our most recent travels were to Tulum.

As a family we’ve been to Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, San Juan, St. Maarten, Myrtle Beach, and Los Angeles…Since we always receive a ton of questions from people about our little getaways, in regard to planning, and places we visit, we have decided to blog and vlog about our trips as a couple and as a family, so that we can share our adventure, but more so, so that we can provide travel tips to anyone who wishes to travel to any place we have visited and wants to know some cool places and activities. Here’s our guide to Tulum. I hope you enjoy it.

We went to Tulum for 7 days, six nights. We flew to Cancun, which is the closest airport and then drove to Tulum. We rented a car, but there are shuttles, and buses you can take to Tulum. I don’t know much about the bus system (like how long it would take, stops, price), but I know the busses are charter busses, so at least you’re traveling in comfort. Our car rental was done at the airport, and cost us 130 bucks for the week.

In regard to accommodations, we decided to stay at an AirBnb. Kenny and I love to explore. We like to eat at different places, visit where the locals go, so all inclusive resorts aren’t the best choice when we travel without the kids. We know we don’t spend a lot of time in the hotel, so it’s just not a good option for us. Some people do not feel safe or trust AirBnb, especially out of the country, but we have never had any issue with our Airbnb. With that said, always read reviews when booking Airbnb and know that you get what you pay for! Don’t expect a 5 star experience if you’re paying a 3 star price. That’s my only advice.

Our AirBnb was in Tulum Town. We liked that we got to stay in town because we knew the beach would be full of tourists and again, Kenny and I like to explore. We don’t want to be around tourists only. The Airbnb was pretty close to restaurants and bars that we liked, but we had to drive to the beach. (Most people drive or ride a bike to the beach from town.) It was in a building with a secure locked gate, management office, and workers that would patrol the premises and the gate, so we always felt safe. It was also very cute and quirky. I especially loved the art in the apartment and the garden and rooftop pool.

Day 1

By the time we checked in to our place and settled in it was early evening, so we got ready for dinner and explored the beach strip a little, since that’s where a lot of the “nicer” restaurants were. We ate dinner at Gitano, and had drinks at Mur Mur. It was Saturday Night so it was pretty busy everywhere. We recommend making reservations for restaurants on the strip.

In regard to our dining experience, We didn’t really like Gitano. I ordered the fish, which was highly recommended by the waiter, and I did not like it at all. I kept thinking, “Wow, and this is supposed to be one of their best dishes!” It was under seasoned, on the small side, came covered in spinach, no other sides, and cost the equivalent of about 40 American dollars. The drinks were good, but overall it’s not worth what you’re paying for, in my opinion.

The drinks at Mur Mur were good and we sat on swings by the strip, so it resulted in some good people-watching.

Day 2

Beach Day!

We started our day with breakfast in Don Cafeto (Tulum Town). This was our favorite breakfast place, so we ended up going there more than once. As a starter they give you a complimentary pickled vegetable dish, called escabeche, which we really enjoyed. The food and the coffee were really good too. We ate, had coffee, and juice for 20 American dollars including tip!

After breakfast we went to Playa Paraiso, a public beach on the strip. You can rent chairs for 200 pesos each and there is food and drinks that you can purchase. We didn’t love their margaritas. It tasted like margarita mix to us, so we started to order tequila and their grapefruit soda (basically our bootleg version of a Paloma) and that turned out to be the best drink we had there.

Other than that we did some more people- watching. We happened to be seated right by the “crooked palm tree”, which is an Instagram photo frenzy, so we had a good time looking at all the people take their pictures there. Lots of funny things happened!

We had dinner at “Antojitos La Chiapaneca”. Lawdddd! Best tacos I’ve ever had! This place was walking distance from our AirBnb. An average sized corner restaurant where locals eat. Their popular taco is the Al Pastor taco, which they cut off right in front. It’s super cheap and delicious. If you find yourself in Tulum you better stop there! We went back a few times to grab tacos during our stay.

Day 3

Breakfast at Ki’bok! We really enjoyed the coffee there. Kenny had the chilaquiles and I had avocado toast! Kenny loved the chilaquiles!

Once we had full bellies, we headed to Laguna Kaan Luum and thank God we did! First off, it’s beautiful, but also it was the only time I actually got in the water!

[Side note - After visiting the beach the day before, Kenny and I were alarmed at the amount of seaweed in the ocean. There was so much of it! Well, we learned that it’s actually an epidemic that began about 4 years ago. I’m not really sure why, but the locals explained that the seaweed showed up to the shore in immense bunches and the government has spent millions of dollars trying to fix the issue because, of course, it’s affecting tourism. Anyhow, I did not get into the beach because of it, so that was a bummer for me because I enjoy bathing in the ocean. Back to Laguna Kaan Luum though…]

Tulum is known for its many cenotes and lagoons. We didn’t visit a cenote this time because we did that when we went to Cancun a few years ago and honestly we didn’t love it. Cenotes are usually very deep and the water is freezing. We are not about that life! So we chose a lagoon this time and Laguna Kaan Luum was perfect.

There is no food or beverages sold there but you can bring your own. We brought some drinks and chips because we ate a good breakfast and figured we could eat when we leave. They also do not allow any sunscreen, which was tough for me. Their rationale is that they are trying to preserve the natural beauty of the place, which I understand, but I’m very serious about my sunscreen, so that wasn’t great for me.

The place itself is a beautiful green shallow body of water, complete with a deck and a few small nooks with wooden benches in the shade. Most people were on the deck sunbathing or in the water.

We spent a few hours there and then we left to visit the Ruins.

The advice we read in regard to visiting the ruins is to get to there either early in the morning or a few hours before they close. This way, you avoid big crowds and aren’t there when it’s super hot, although you could always take a dip in the beach there. However, we knew we would go later in the afternoon whenever we did visit because that made the most sense to us when considering our plans.

The ruins are amazing. I just felt connected to the ancestry of the place and in the presence of Gods. We walked around, stared in amazement, took some pictures, and just enjoyed the magic.

Since we were on the beach strip, we drove to Mateo’s Mexican Grill and had dinner there. The food was pretty good. I loved their cucumber margaritas and there was live jazz music that night, so we really enjoyed ourselves. This place is pretty big. They have a sunset rooftop, ping pong tables and other fun things. We went back to our Airbnb, but first we had gelato from Campanella Cremerie in town. Overall, it was a great day!

Day 4

New day, new town, and new beach!

On this day we decided to drive to Akumal, eat breakfast there and go to the beach. We ate breakfast at Turtle Bay Cafe and Bakery. All was good there, but this is where it gets interesting. We had parked the car for the day, so we asked the waitress if the beach was far from the place and she said it was right up the road. She didn’t mention anything else, but I guess in retrospect, what could she say, but direct us. She wasn’t aware of our plans or circumstance. Anyhow, we left the restaurant and began walking to the beach. After walking for more than 5 minutes (and still no beach), I begin to hear men by the road asking if we want to go to the beach for “100 pesos” and initially I think, “damn, how far are we? Because they must be charging to drive you there. So I come up to this security booth and ask the worker, if we were walking in the correct direction for the beach. He says, the beach is “that way” and points in a different direction. He said the direction I was walking to would lead me to a restaurant (one that we actually had planned to have dinner in, but I don’t even remember the name now because by the end of the day I just wanted to leave Akumal!) and that there is a beach at the restaurant, but that it’s very rocky and not ideal for swimming. He then says that I could go with the men for cheaper or walk to the main entrance for double the fee. SO TRUSTING that the worker wouldn’t lie to little ol’ me, and being tired of walking already, we pay the guy 100 pesos to take us to the beach. He takes us through this backroad, collects his 100 pesos and leaves us there. He tells us to keep walking straight and eventually we will get to the beach, so we do so. We pass a few hotels and find the beach. The first section was a private section of the beach for guests of that hotel, so we keep walking. We pass by a small area where people are laid up on towels on the sand in front of some palm trees and a restaurant, but we keep walking because we want to rent lounge chairs, of course. Soon after, we arrive at a part with nice lounge chairs so I inquire with a worker about possibly renting. He tells me that the part I’m in is private property that belongs to another hotel. At this point I’m getting a bit annoyed because we’ve been walking, trying to find the beach, so we can finally relax in the sun, and we even paid some random guy to get here. (I can laugh about this now, but I was so annoyed!). And so I ask him, where the public part of the beach is, to which he responds by pointing to the front of the restaurant where people are on towels on the sand, and also points to the shore, literally where the water is. I wanted to smack someone. At this point Kenny can tell that I’m upset, so he says, “Lets go to the restaurant, have a drink, and regroup.”

While sitting there we decided to slum it on the floor in front of the restaurant like the other people, since we had already spent so much time driving there and trying to find it. (We got lost driving there, so it took longer than it should’ve to get there. Now I think that was God trying to save me.) . We had a couple of cold ones, laid on our towels, and Kenny did some reading, while I did some yoga breathing to relax.

We didn’t stay there long, but what I can say is that it was a nice ride there and in Akumal we saw amazing street art. I wish we would’ve taken some photographs, but we were both so annoyed that we didn’t.

After the beach, we headed back to the AirBnb, enjoyed the rooftop at our place, showered, and then went to dinner a few blocks away at El Camello Jr. We both had the fried fish and it was delicious!

Day 5

On this day we started with breakfast at Del Cielo, which we really enjoyed! We had rented bikes from our AirBnb, so we rode there and after breakfast spent the early afternoon riding bikes through town.

After the bike riding, what else could we do, but end up back at the beach? Playa Paraiso once more for the win!

We did some reading by the ocean, one of my favorite things to do on this planet.

Day 6

Right by our place there was a restaurant called Burrito Amor. Every time we walked or drove by, this place was crowded with people, so today we decided to try them. Obviously, by their name, you can imagine they specialize in burritos, and since I’m not a burrito fan, I had the avocado toast, but Kenny had their breakfast burrito and enjoyed it.

After breakfast, we headed to the jungle side of the beach strip for a couple’s massage at Mayan Clay Spa. That was amazing! The Mayan clay had our bodies feeling so soft! You have to get fully naked and they will rub clay all over you (even your hair), but it’s worth it.

Our building manager at the AirBnb had recommended La Zebra beach club, and since it was across from the spa, we went there for lunch, drinks, and more beach time. We spent the afternoon in La Zebra, had some more gelato, and then went back to the place to get ready for our evening plans.

Our evening plans consisted of drinks and appetizers at Papaya Playa Project, followed by a sexy Cabaret Pop Up Show called Les Bains on the property. Then we went back to “Antojitos La Chiapaneca” for some late night tacos (they were even better late night!) and we finished it with drinks at the strip in Tulum town known for their bars and night life.

Day 7

On this day, we had arrived at our last day, so we had breakfast at Don Cafeto for the last time and did some shopping in town. That’s all we could do before we had to say goodbye to Tulum and head to the airport to catch our flights back home.

It was a great trip. I had an amazing time with my love. On to the next one…