I’ve seen pictures of people in Tulum, Mexico all over instagram since it has been one of the hottest places to visit in the last few years. Tulum looked like Bali in some of these photos so it immediately had me excited about wanting to go there. It had all the nature, boho vibes that I needed.

When I started to look into booking in Tulum, I realized that it wasn’t your typical all-inclusive vacation down south. With it being one hour and 45 minutes away from Cancun, I was so confused about where to stay and what to do. I went on an endless Google search and watched a few Youtube videos to understand what it would be like in Tulum and where the best places to stay and eat are. It helped a lot and I came to the conclusion that in order to get the most out of my experience in Tulum, I needed to stay on the beach strip for half of my trip (3 days) and the remaining half in Tulum town (3 days). For a total of 6 nights, I had an unforgettable, relaxing experience in Tulum.

The beach strip is known to be the expensive part of Tulum, Mexico. There are hotel rooms that start at $4,000 a night, which obviously had my jaw on the floor. After hours of searching for an appropriate priced hotel that still had the vibes I was looking for, I booked at Coco Limited. I cannot express enough how happy I am to have booked there. It was the perfect place to stay at for what I was looking for. Quiet, beautiful boho modern vibes, clean, and overall just amazing!

The room was so beautiful and comfortable to stay in. It also had a balcony with a hammock and a small view of the garden and beach.

My hotel reservation included breakfast at their outdoor restaurant and it was exactly what I needed. Every morning I had a different fresh juice, from passion fruit to watermelon and then a coffee with my breakfast and a view of the beach. If I could live here, I would.

Coco Limited has a sister hotel called Coco Tulum, where they hold yoga classes everyday. It is walking distance from Coco Limited and the class is held right in front of the beautiful beach. I already loved yoga before this, but this was one AMAZING experience. Imagine listening to the sound of waves during your yoga session…I definitely recommend this, no matter what hotel you stay at.

On the beach strip there are countless of restaurants and they’re all amazing! I do have to say they are quite pricy though. Most of the restaurants also have hookah (shisha) and it was SO GOOD. For someone who knows a good shisha from a bad one, I can confirm you will love it here. These are some of the restaurants I ate at on the beach strip:

• Taboo Restaurant and Beach Club

• Gitano Tulum

• Chambao

• Kanan Hotel and Spa

• Mambo

I was lucky to get free breakfast with my reservation at Coco Limited but I did want to try Raw Love Beach Bar to see what the hype was about and I’m so glad I did! It was a smoothie bowl of nutrition and deliciousness all in one. This is part of what the Tulum lifestyle is about - healthy eating and mindfulness.

I took a taxi to Tulum town to my next hotel, Amaka Calma. It was a completely different vibe in the town with construction everywhere, roads not done, and a lot more locals. The hotel itself was stunning. I no longer had the beach view but it had a beautiful serene vibe with a gorgeous pool.

The front desk was very helpful with reserving a taxi for me to go into town, for extra towels and really anything I needed. The one downfall of this hotel would probably be the walls are very thin that you could hear the people in the next room VERY clearly. Price wise it is a lot more affordable than staying on the beach strip.

Walking distance to the hotel is this cute jungle themed cafe called Mistico Shisha Bar. It was quiet, and their food and shisha were really good. I would google search places near me for restaurants and there quite a few that were really good. Places I ate at in Tulum town:

• Mistico Shisha Bar

• Sonido Del Mar

• El Amacen Tulum

I would recommend taking a taxis WhatsApp number and message him to pick you up before leaving the restaurant especially if you are alone. Tulum town is not as safe at night so it is best to take precautionary measures.

I couldn’t leave Tulum without experiencing the cenotes so I made sure to take a trip to Casa Tortuga which I booked through Amaka Calma hotel. I highly recommend going here because you get to see 3 cenotes in one place. There are a lot more cenotes in Mexico that are absolutely breathtaking but if you do not have the time to go to further distances, this is a great place to still get the experience.

Link to my swimwear here. I would recommend following the size chart because sizing is a little bit different on there than regular US sizing. I got an XL and I am normally a medium.

I went to see the Mayan ruins and it was nice but definitely over-hyped for me. It started pouring rain while I was there which was kind of nice actually. There weren’t many places to take cover but getting soaked while it is HOT outside is a beautiful feeling.

And that concludes one of my absolute favourite trips! It was a more costly one but worth every penny. There is something special about Tulum that would definitely take me back.

Let me know if you have any questions that I may have missed in this blog post! I would be happy to answer them in the comments. If you are unsure about making the trip, I say DO IT.

Love,

Hanan