Four Mistakes to Avoid in Tulum
Anytime I travel I try to do a lot of research beforehand so that I can make sure things go as smoothly as possible. I definitely read a lot of posts from fellow travel bloggers! I have been a few different places in Mexico and really thought I was prepared for my Tulum trip, but there are several things I could have done differently. Hopefully the mistakes I outline below help you avoid some of the situations that we ran into. As a side note I will say that despite these small hiccups – I loved Tulum and I can’t wait to visit again!
- Time of year matters
I went to Tulum in July because I was it was my birthday and what better way to ring in #39 than with a fun trip to Mexico? Well, turns out that the time I visited was prime seaweed season and incredibly hot. We stayed at an amazing resort with a large gorgeous beachfront zone full of sunbeds. Each morning the staff would painstakingly clean the seaweed off the beach, but the water was still murky and brown. It didn’t stop us from lounging with cocktails or enjoying a walk along the beachfront though. The recommended time to visit is from January – April which is their peak season and perfect weather. Summer brings heat and seaweed, but better prices and less crowds. Same goes for hurricane season which is September – October. Many people prefer to visit during the winter months, and the staff told me that New Year’s celebrations in Tulum are amazing.
2. Dinner reservations were too early
I did make reservations in advance for each night we were in Tulum and was really giving myself kudos for doing so! That part I definitely do recommend! There are several great restaurants in Tulum that you’ve got to try while you’re visiting. We are early eaters in our daily lives, so I made most dinner reservations around 5:30 or 6pm. We realized quickly that the party doesn’t start until later in the evening… Sometimes we had the restaurant practically to ourselves! We got great service of course, but missed out on some celebrating, live music, sparklers, dancing, and overall party vibe. Although I will say early reservations will pay off in certain restaurants – specifically at the restaurants with sky nests. Kin Toh and Kanan are both places that offer giant nests with dining tables inside them. These nests are high above the tree houses and have gorgeous views of the jungle or ocean. These are ideal dinner spots to get reservations earlier so you can enjoy the sunset depending on the time of year you go to Tulum.
Want more ideas on where to eat in Tulum? Check out this blog on Hotel Zone eating
3. Visit the downtown
We stayed at Ahau, which was absolutely amazing! It’s a beautiful beachfront resort with a pool, beach cabanas and hammocks outside each bungalow. You’d recognize the iconic Ven a la Luz wooden statue that’s located on the property. It’s an IG hot spot and wait times can get up 2 hours long for a photo op. We spent most of our time lounging at the beach or walking around the hotel zone and checking out other beach clubs. There are so many unique beach clubs all within walking distance of the resort we stayed at. We enjoyed the beach and hotel zone so much that we never made it downtown to explore!
4. Bring plenty of cash
A lot of places in Mexico are budget friendly, however Tulum is not one of them. I’d compare it to Oahu Hawaii prices. One mistake we made was not bringing enough cash. Once we arrived in Mexico we realized we had no small bills and didn’t convert any cash to pesos, so my husband ended up leaving some of the staff $20 tips because its all he had. At that rate, we ran out of cash quickly and wound up making several trips to the ATM. Although most places in Tulum take credit cards, we assumed we’d be able to use a card to pay the entry fee at the Mayan Ruins entrance. No such luck! The ATMs were out of service and the site only accepted pesos. I bought tickets online with my cell phone while waiting outside the entrance, but they would only accept paper tickets… So we had to pay for a taxi ride to go a couple miles away to pick the tickets up from a kiosk. Taxi rides turned out to be a bit pricey as well, and keep in mind some taxis couldn’t take a debit card either because they didn’t have a working card reader. We decided afterwards that it would have been more cost effective to rent a scooter for a couple of days instead of renting a taxi for each place we needed to go.
If you are planning a trip to Tulum I hope this helps your vacation go a little more smoothly. If you’ve already been to Tulum I’d love to hear your input or travel tips for this fun destination. Please comment below and share your thoughts!