Things To Do In Tulum

Toeing the line between indulgence & frugality on a romantic 5-day getaway.

If you've made it here, you likely read my first blog on how to plan a romantic Tulum getaway and what that general itinerary & costs look like. This is my detailed version for each day (minus Travel Day #1), if you give a shit...

DAY 2 - Exploring The Pueblo/Boujee Beach Night

Walk across Tulum Pueblo to check out the town. On the way to breakfast, we stop for smoothies at Monkey's Juice Bar. We didn’t eat dinner the night before because we got in late so sustenance for the pre-breakfast walk was necessary. Tyler got the Monkey Relax & I got the Maya Green—we watched them squeeze the fruits right in front of us & you can immediately taste the difference between even a nicer smoothie place in the US, in the lack of sweetness.

Make it to Burrito Amor for our first meal of the trip—a rec from 2 of my coworkers—which ended up being about a 30-minute walk from the Airbnb. This adorable coffee shop/vegan restaurant is situated within a secret-garden-like nook with tiki decor & lots of plants. Tyler gets a bulletproof coffee, while I decide to forfeit the actual amount of caffeine I need in order to try a coconut iced matcha latte, which seemed more time & place. We split a shrimp burrito & agree it’s the best shrimp burrito we’ve ever had; we also get some very fresh guac por gratis because the server forgot to put our initial order in.

We make a grocery / liquor run at Súper Akí, which is located at the main street/beach road intersection 10 minutes from our Airbnb; stocked up on water bottles, snacks, mixers (Tyler hates Topo Chico & I hate Sprite so we have to get both), una botella de vino tinto, and a bottle of tequila & some Dos Equis, of course. 10/10 recommend this grocery store for your one-stop-shop food & booze necessities if you are staying in Tulum Pueblo.

Afternoon is spent drinking Dos Equis & relaxing on our private rooftop because, relaxation.

We walk to Batey Mojito & Guarapo Bar for dinner (15-min walk). This was a spot I’d written down from numerous personal recs + travel blogs. I read somewhere it’s considered the “soul of Tulum Pueblo’s bar scene” and I feel like that sums it up. It’s a divey indoor-outdoor space with live music, signature mojitos, & cheap tacos—that’s a damn trifecta. We spend quite a while here, enjoying carnitas tacos (Tyler), shrimp tacos (me—there is no limit to how much shrimp one can consume in a day when in Tulum), 2 mojitos each, & a round of reposado tequila shots, while hearing 2 different great bands play. I can't find an updated menu online to mention my mojito rec, but they all looked amazing so I don't think you can go wrong.

We befriend a couple from Orange County at our community table (s/o Monica & Benny), who end up sharing a taxi with us to go out in Middle Beach. I really wanted to go to one of the most well-known beach clubs, Gitano. Gitano means gypsy in Spanish and it is a vibey swanky jungle restaurant/bar + nightclub. On Friday nights they host “gypsy disco parties” with a DJ & everyone dances under the disco ball that is quite literally hanging from a tree in the jungle. It’s $25/person USD to get in but this includes 1 drink ticket & the drinks are all around $15/20 USD, so not a terrible deal honestly. I get a bomb mezcal cocktail with my drink ticket and we we pay for a second round & drink tequila cold brew coffees under the jungle canopy /disco ball.

Bartering with the taxi driver home is not successful but to be fair it felt like the Uber surge we’re all used to around bar close time or rush hour, and the traffic felt like I-70 on a Sunday evening. So the ~$40 USD didn’t felt wildly inappropriate (30-min ride back to the Airbnb).

DAY 3 - Boujee Beach Day

Tyler is on restaurant research duty this morning. He finds Botánica Garden Cafe which is a 15-minute walk from the Airbnb. You can tell this spot is frequented by locals & tourists alike, which is always a good sign—it’s a cozy hole-in-the-wall that opens to a beautiful back patio garden, similar to many restaurants in Tulum Pueblo. Tyler gets huevos rancheros, which was on his non-negotiable list, I get a salmon tartine (tartines are their speciality), we both get lattes, and we split the hummus app & a melon/cantaloupe juice. >> Pro tip: Order the Juice of the Day!!!

We taxi to Middle Beach (~25 minutes) to embark on what I dubbed our Boujee Beach Day (as opposed to our Chill Beach Day later on in the trip). Many beach clubs require a minimum spend on food & drinks in order to use a cabana or daybed, between $50-70 USD, but don’t actually charge for the daybed rental. So if you’re planning on spending the whole afternoon there, it’s not a bad deal, as the drinks are $15 USD on average. You definitely pay a premium for being beachside at any spot along Middle Beach.

>> Pro tip: Make a daybed/cabana reservation if you're going on a weekend day. We did not make one because didn’t want to be tied down to a specific time (some places charge if you’re more than 15 minutes late), but they were not many daybeds available when we got to Middle Beach in early afternoon.

We nabbed a daybed at Ziggy's where the minimum was $70 USD per person. I feel like you probably can’t go wrong at any of the beach clubs along here—since we didn’t have a reservation, we just walked along the beach searching for one that looked cool /had available daybeds. We ended up hitting just below the minimum (but our server said no pasa nada, which was nice) with 2 cocktails, 2 tequila shots, and 2 coconuts with tequila & mezcal (2 shots of mezcal because I was feeling spicy). >> Pro tip: Order a coconut water with a shot of your choice - the coconuts are only $5 USD and then you pay for the shot to pour in yourself. It’s super refreshing and also, who doesn’t love sipping a drink out of a coconut on the beach? You can also ask them to slice it when you’re done and eat the fruit! >> Do it differently: Mia and Taboo Tulum to have more party vibes with loud music /DJ’s, if that’s your MO. Coco Tulum and Papaya Playa Project were other beach clubs we considered (PPP is in the northern beach area, not Middle Beach - it's also famous for hosting full moon music festivals. Rufus played there the weekend after we left).

We walk about 1 mile down the beach to Hotel Panamera, where our friends had venmo-ed us for espresso martinis. It’s nearly sunset now so a lot of people have cleared out for the day, and we lounge on another daybed while drinking tequila espresso tini’s as the sun goes down. This hotel indoor & outdoor space was super chic, they had a chill DJ playing and it was perfect dusk vibes. While I would recommend staying on the beach till sunset, the tradeoff for that magical experience is some pretty gnarly traffic back to the Pueblo as everyone is transitioning from day to night, and with that high taxi prices. It took us almost an hour to get back to our Airbnb reminiscent of I-70 on a Saturday powder day morning.

We chill in the Airbnb & then taxi to dinner instead of walk because we’re tired & starving. The security guard & our good friend at this point, Isa, calls us a taxi to El Milagrito. The restaurant ends up being right next door to Batey, where we went on Friday night—Calle Centauro Cur is a pretty lively cross-street off the main downtown road that has a bunch of restaurants & bars. I’d gotten this rec from a traveler blog I follow; I wasn’t obsessed with it, but it was still good. For 750 MXN (incl. tip) we got 2 drinks (mezcal marg for me, Dos Equis for Tyler), shrimp nachos, & seafood fettuccine. Would recommend the seafood fettuccine.

We galavant down Calle Centauro Cur and end up at Kay Nah for a nightcap, a beautiful seafood restaurant with the quintessential Tulum jungle vibes & tiki decor. Tyler gets an old fashioned and I change things up & order a very refreshing basil gin & tonic (recommend). While we’re sipping at the bar, all of a sudden the hanging lanterns in the restaurant go dark and a couple of Mayan dancers in full traditional Mayan dress start dancing with fire in the street, eventually making their way into the restaurant & weaving between tables. Super cool experience to observe. We chatted with one of them after the performance, and he told us the Mayans consider the drum to represent a heartbeat and fire is the energy of the soul, which is why their dance performance art is all about the soul & energy of people. A truly lovely way to end Saturday evening.

DAY 4 - Cenotes Day

Absolutely recommend renting a moped, if you are trying to live out your Lizzie McGuire and/or Paulo dreams, swap bopping & weaving through the streets of Roma for cruising around Tulum. We paid ~$30 USD per day to keep our old-school baby-blue moped for 2 days (FYI, also a 2,000 MXN security deposit, that we got back in full). There’s tons of bike shops & rental stands throughout downtown—we got ours from a little stand called Kar Kun one block down from Súper Akí.

While feeling very Main Character, we scoot in our new moped to Matcha Mama for breakfast. This is a very Instagram-esque trendy spot known for acai bowls.They have swings & tiki vibes & Tyler tries his first ever acai bowl. Recommend the Mamacita and the Nutty Monkey; cold brew coconut latte was also delicious.

We cruise up QROO 109 to Cenote Car Wash, which is about a 15-minute windblown ride from the center of Tulum Pueblo. ICYMI: Cenotes are beautiful natural sinkholes turned swimming holes that Tulum is famous for. This cenote was recommended to us by a few locals and our friends Monica & Benny from the first night. Officially called Cenote Aktun Ha, this spot is a local hangout as well as a tourist attraction and is commonly referred to as "Car Wash" because taxi drivers used to wash their cars there! We post up on a dock and spend several hours laying out & soaking up the idyllic scene, and swimming of course. Tyler, a true water sign, jumps off the tall dock at least 72 times while I settle for a satisfactory twice. We rent goggles for $2.50 USD—this is a must!!! Seeing the tree roots sprawling into the downward underwater abyss (which you cannot see the bottom of, for the record) was otherworldly. I felt like a mermaid. >> FYI: Entry is 200 MXN per person (~$10 USD). Many of the cenote entrance prices I saw online were outdated; but between $5 USD - $15 tops I think is the norm. Also, for Cenote Car Wash at least, you can’t bring in outside food or drinks (left the tall boys in the moped - but a fireball shooter for courage pre-dock jump was a necessity). >> Do it differently: There are several other cenotes along QROO 109 that are convenient to get to from the Pueblo. Zahil-Ha is right next to Cenote Car Wash; Cenote Calavera is the closest one to town; and the most famous one Gran Cenote is also on this road.

We cruised back into town on the moped and grabbed happy hour at La Tulumeña, a boutique hotel with an idyllic secret garden patio + bar. For ~$20 USD (incl. tip) we got incredible red snapper ceviche, a marg for Tyler & a mezcal aperol spritz for me (recommend all of the above).

Dinner was at La Coqueta, which I’d sourced from several travel blogs as well as a personal rec from my coworker. Tyler’s other non-negotiable food item was enchiladas verde, which we thankfully crossed off the list here. This restaurant is an unassuming quaint-yet-lively nook on the side of Av. Coba near Súper Akí, and felt / tasted like our most authentic Mexican meal in Tulum. We were feeling content & toasty after several tequila shots at the Airbnb, so we spent a good 2 hours chilling on the La Coqueta patio, sipping & munching on: guac, the non-negotiable chicken enchiladas (Tyler), mahi mahi fajitas (me), a marg & local amber ale (Tyler), passion fruit mezcal marg & mojito (me), and churros with espresso to top it off. All that for ~$60 USD, it’s a good bang for your buck & the food is really good. Definitely recommend!!!

DAY 5 - Chill Beach Day

It’s a 5-minute moped ride to the Mayan Ruins (Tulum Archaeological Zone) from our Airbnb. We pay ~$4 USD per person for entrance and spend about an hour exploring the site. I’d say this is a must-do when visiting Tulum, but it’s not something you need to spend more than an hour or 2 doing. The beach views are incredible and like any historical attraction, it was interesting to read all the little plaques describing the site in its former glory.

Against my usual No Going To The Same Place Twice While On Vacation rule, we go to Burrito Amor for breakfast again so I can try the vegan burrito (with cactus & Mayan spinach). Our feast includes 2 burritos (shrimp again for Tyler) with a golden tumeric latte for me & another bulletproof coffee for Tyler, and we split an inflammation green juice & chia pudding that comes in an adorable mini mason jar. Everything here is so good, but if I had to choose 1 rec it would be the shrimp burrito.

Today’s goal was soaking up some beachside sunshine without breaking the bank. We take the moped down the main beach road (Av. Coba), but instead of turning right towards Middle Beach where all the boujee beach clubs are, we turn left and go north towards the ruins. While there are still beach clubs along this strip, this area has a definite chiller vibe and you’ll find lots of people laying out on a towel doing their own thing, as opposed to Middle Beach where nearly everyone was at a daybed or cabana. We lay our towels down and nap, read, swim, & drink a few cervezas. We brought the grocery store tall boys from the day before, paid 140 MXN for 2 beers from the Playa Paraiso bar, and 120 MXN for 2 beers from a guy walking the beach with a cooler. >> Pro tip: We went through the public Playa Paraiso entrance, one of the few non-beach club entrances that I saw. All beaches in Tulum are public, so you don’t have to ever pay a fee to be on the beach even if you’re entering through a club. If you don’t want to hang at the beach club or pay for a drink, you can still use the entrance and just walk through to the beach.

We grab a six-pack of Bohemia beers from Súper Akí, which feels like we’ve frequented 27 times at this point, and spend a few hours enjoying our Airbnb rooftop paradise for our last afternoon/early dusk. The 3 out of 4 late afternoons we spent “at home” were some of my favorite memories—it was so peaceful, private, & perfect weather (dusk is my favorite time of day).

We go to La Chula for dinner, which is well-known for oysters and an on-site cenote! We split oysters, soft-shell crab tacos, & a tuna vegetable flatbread situation. I get a gin cocktail & Tyler gets a coke with no ice because his stomach wasn’t feeling well. Due to progressing stomach issues, we went home after dinner and read in bed with the sliding glass doors all the way open.

DAY 6 - The Last Day

Roman from Centro Médico Maranatha shows up to our Airbnb at the ripe hour of 7:30am for our Covid tests. Other than this early morning (being on EST time was quite the struggle for me even by the last day), the process was quick & frictionless. We got our results emailed to us about 3 hours later.

I chose Lief’s for our last breakfast feast, making us 5 out of 5 for delicious morning meals. If you’re a brunch gal, Tulum has SO many awesome places to choose from. Lief’s is an adorable vegan food truck setup on the side of the road. Naturally I already know its full story before we get there, namely that it was started by a Dutch couple who left corporate life in Texas behind to start a vegan farm + eventual restaurant in Tulum. We split an acai bowl, Tyler gets a smoothie, and I got one of their signature coconut foam iced coffee drinks.

We get gas before sadly returning the moped, and grab a few souvenirs at a shop downtown. Gas is super cheap—the tank was just below half and it was not even $4 USD. I get a few bracelets and Tyler gets coasters & a magnet, in part because we have pesos left to kill.

After Airbnb checkout we taxi to the airport for $110 USD. This was not the plan and an unfortunate cost we were not planning on, but that’s just how travel goes sometimes. >> Pro tip: Buy your ADO tickets online in advance for transport from Tulum to the airport. I’d read you can easily buy tickets at the bus station, but the 11:55am bus we needed to take sold out by like 10am, which is how we ended up having to taxi. ADO bus tickets for 2 people + tax comes out to just under $50 USD.

We had to get out more pesos for the unplanned taxi. We spend the leftover pesos on 2 sandwiches, water, and a little Mexican sombrero for Tyler’s dog Bruce. Nothing eventful to report for the rest of the travel day. I finish my book on the plane, customs at DIA is painless, and we Uber home to catch up on the season finale of Euphoria.

El fin :)