Our Honeymoon in Tulum: A Complete Guide

Albeit, Tulum wasn’t our first choice for honeymooning but I am so glad it turned out to be. As some of you may know, I’m a Nurse Practitioner working a 9-5 itching for the nomadic life. Thus, our traveling gigs are limited to how many PTO days I can gather before we book our next adventure. This reason ultimately led us to a quick trip from Miami (our home) to Mexico and a week in, what we thought would be, a less than average paradise. But boy were we wrong! Tulum was so special and after receiving so many messages regarding Tulum, I decided I wanted to share my experience with all of you. I’ll share how to get to Tulum, where to stay, where to go, and ultimately share some tips that I sure wish someone told me before traveling to Tulum.

How to get to tulum:

Fly into Cancun International Airport (CUN). Our flights were $200 each from Miami. Once we saw these prices, we couldn’t ignore it and booked our flights on a whim.
Once you fly into Cancun, Tulum is a 1 hour and 45 minute drive. We rented a car from AVIS and had no difficulty getting around ourselves. If you book the car in advance, you can literally get the car for around $5 USD a day! Some hotels offer shuttle buses from the airport and there are also companies that provide the shuttle bus. Taxis are also an option from the airport but I honestly wouldn’t take a random taxi from the airport (just sayin’).

Quick tips:

If you do decide to take a shuttle bus or a taxi, bikes are available for rent everywhere in Tulum and some hotels offer the bikes. Biking is a great option to get around. Taxis are also available to get around Tulum once you’re there. We mostly used bikes during the day and hopped in a taxi at night. Taxis are recommended to be used at night as bike riders are hard to see at night (and taxi drivers are a little more aggressive on the road). There are plenty of taxi drivers all over the strip.
If you do use a taxi in Tulum, I wouldn’t pay anymore than $200 pesos per ride within Tulum beach. Everything is fairly close and they may try to hustle you for more money.
BRING MOSQUITO SPRAY! Luckily our hotel provided mosquito spray and sunscreen but I still wish I brought my own to apply it like every 5 mins.
English is spoken but not as much as you’d think. It’s helpful if you speak Spanish or learn a few words to get around.
Cash is still a preferred form of payment in some places. I recommend exchanging your money AT THE AIRPORT. There are ATMs in Tulum as well but the exchange rate differs and they’re not very reliable.
DO NOT DRINK THE TAP WATER. This may seem like a no brainer but just in case :)

WHERE TO STAY:

My number one recommendation is La Valise (pictured above)! It’s fairly new and not really well known (not even the locals know). For the price, this hotel is excellent. For one, bike rentals and breakfast is included. Two, the staff truly goes above and beyond for you. And three, privacy is of upmost importance here. The hotel only has 9 villas and the pool, beach and day beds are only provided to those who stay at the hotel. It’s also tucked away at the end of the strip. Tulum is currently covered in seaweed, but La Valise is one of the few hotels that go out of their way to clean their beach EVERY morning. This is the best bang for your buck.
If money is no object, Be Tulum is THE hotel to stay at. Breakfast, bikes, a spa day, and yoga are a few of the many things the hotel has to offer. You have the option to also get your own private villa and a pool if you’d like. We stayed here the second half of our trip and it did not disappoint. The beach here is also absolutely beautiful. They also are one of the few hotels that clean the seaweed.
Nomade is right next to Be Tulum. We visited the hotel one day and we thought it would also be a great option. The hotel had many spiritual events happening during the week. One of them is the Cacao ceremony in which I recommend you attend.
Sanara is an affordable option that was fully booked when we were looking for hotels. So if affordability is a priority, I’d book your hotel early.
Places like Azulik and Papaya Playa Project may come up while you are searching and are very popular but I wasn’t too drawn to these places to actually stay. It’s great to visit for a day but not my cup of tea.

WHERE TO EAT:

Tulum is separated by the town and the beach. Food in the city is considerably cheaper compared to food at the beach. Both are equally delicious in its own special way.

Places you MUST eat at in town are:

Burrito amor — The only spot we ate at twice! It was our first stop in Tulum but it was so good that it was all we would ever think about. So we went back two days later!
Don Cafeto — cheap authentic Mexican food with some live music usually going on.
Antojitos La Chiapaneca — TACOS FOR LESS THAN A DOLLAR! We had 6 tacos, 2 empanadas, a corona, and a water all for a total of $7 USD. And it was delicious! If I could go back I would just get 6 al pastor tacos. So don’t just get one al pastor! You’re welcome.
The art club — a cute little coffee shop that you can stop by and grab a cold brew before doing some city shopping!

Places to eat at the beach:

La Onda — best pizza in Tulum.
Ziggys — this is a really cool place to have lunch and hang out for a day. It’s basically a beach club with great food.
Matcha mama and Nekhtar — Delicious acai bowls
Bal Nak — great service and amazing food. Perfect for a romantic dinner!
ARCA — super cool/chic ambiance and good food
Rosa Negra — save this restaurant for a night that you’re really hungry. Of all the restaurants in Tulum, this restaurant served the most food. We went on a Friday night and it was THE place to be. Good music and great drinks too!
A NOTE: food in Tulum is delicious. Posada Margarta is widely popular in the instagram world but I’d avoid the over priced pasta. Go and take some cute pictures but no need for the pasta. It was nothing out of the ordinary and for the price, it’s honestly not worth it.

Things to do:

Tulum days are simple. Hang out at your favorite hotel and enjoy the beach and a couple of margaritas. If that’s not enough, drive to a nearby cenote. My favorite cenotes are: Dos Ojos and Grand Cenote. For my fellow meatheads, go to the Tulum Jungle Gym and enjoy a workout on the beach! You won’t regret it. I also highly recommend doing a few yoga classes here and there. My favorite yoga class was at the Ahau Hotel. Spiritual activities such as meditation, the cocoa ceremony at Nomade hotel, and a Temazcal Sweat Lodge anywhere should be a priority as I felt some of these things are pretty life changing. Lastly, don’t forget to visit the Mayan Ruins! Bring plenty of mosquito spray and sunscreen for this trip to the ruins.

Tulum nightlife is pretty predictable. Everyone goes to the same places on the same nights. Here’s the schedule: Thursdays are at Casa Jaguar, Fridays are at Gitanos, and Saturdays are at Papaya Playa Project. If you like to dance salsa, you don’t want to miss Sundays at La Zebra! Rosa Negra is also really fun place to have dinner at on a Friday or Saturday. They play loud music, have people dancing on tables and are constantly lighting up sparklers for the guests. They also have someone serving up free champagne for the ladies by the bathroom (say whaaaat!?).