Tulum, Mexico – Everything you need to know

EN: Tulum is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Mexico, and you’ll understand why when you will get there. The beaches, the people, the food, everything is great. After spending 12 days in Mexic, visiting more destinations, I can definitely say Tulum was my favorite place. Tulum is on the east coast of Yucatan peninsula, south of Cancun, at 130km away.

RO: Tulum este una dintre cele mai populare destinatii de vacanta din Mexic, si daca ajungi aici, o sa intelegi de ce. Plajele, atmosfera, oamenii, mancarea, totul este la superlativ. Dupa 12 zile petrecute in Mexic, acoperind diverse locatii, pot spune cu mana pe inima ca a fost locul meu preferat. Tulum se afla pe coasta de est a peninsulei Yucatan, la sud de Cancun, la o distanta de aproximativ 130 km de acesta.

Hot to get to Tulum/ Cum ajungi in Tulum:

EN:

It’s not difficult to get here, as the bus network is well developed in Yucatan and you can easily travel from a place to another. Of course you can also rent your own car, or you could use private transfer, but this options may be more expensive. We used a rental car for our first days in Mexico, but we decided that we won’t need it in Tulum.

The most popular buses in Yucatan are Ado (I-st class) and Mayab (II-nd class). If you want to get to Tulum from Cancun airport, the only option is Ado, but if you leave from Cancun Centro or Playa del Carmen, you can also choose Mayab. The prices differ, but there are not expensive. You can take the buses from ADO stations (find them on google maps). For the timetable you should go and check on the site, because online you can only see the timetable for the first class ones.

Prices:
Cancun aeroport – Tulum: ~15USD
Cancun Downtown – Tulum: ADO: ~ 10USD ; MAYAB: ~ 6USD
Playa del Carmen – Tulum: ADO: 2,5 USD ; MAYAB: 2,2 USD

RO:

Nu este dificil de ajuns aici, intrucat reteaua de autobuze este destul de dezvoltata in Yucatan si te poti deplasa rapid si ieftin dintr-un loc in altul. Bineinteles ca poti inchiria o masina sau apela la transferuri private, dar aceste optiuni pot fi mai costisitoare. Noi am folosit o masina inchiriata pentru primele zile de vacanta in Mexic, dar am considerat ca nu mai este necesara pentru Tulum.

Cele mai populare autobuze in Yucatan sunt ADO (clasa I) si MAYAB (clasa a IIa). De la aeroportul din Cancun, singura optiune este ADO, insa daca veniti in Tulum din Cancun downtown sau din Playa del Carmen, puteti alege si Mayab. Diferenta de pret dintre cele 2 este destul de mare, insa preturile nu sunt foarte mari oricum.

Autobuzele le luati din statiile ADO, iar programul il gasiti la fata locului cel mai bine, pentru ca pe site e afisat doar orarul pentru clasa I.

Preturi:
Cancun aeroport – Tulum: ~15USD
Cancun Downtown – Tulum: ADO: ~ 10USD ; MAYAB: ~ 6USD
Playa del Carmen – Tulum: ADO: 2,5 USD ; MAYAB: 2,2 USD

Where to stay in Tulum/ Unde sa te cazezi in Tulum:

EN:

Tulum is divided into 2 areas: Downtown and Hotel Zone. Each area has its advantages and disadvantages, but for us, the best option was Downtown. The reasons were: affordable accomodation, easy access to the public beach, more options to eat at reasonable prices. The hotel zone is mostly known for its beaches but it’s more exclusive and the prices are bigger. What we disliked most here was the infrastructure, it’s really bad to ride the car, the bike or even to walk, so you’re mostly trapped into spending your time at the resort. If I were to return to Tulum (I will!) I would choose again to stay in downtown area.

We stayed at a small hotel – Mango Hotel, a few minutes walk from the center, but there are a lot of options here, depending on your budget and preferences.

RO:

Tulum este divizat in 2 parti: Tulum Downtown si Tulum Hotel zone. Fiecare zona are avantaje si dezavantaje, dar pentru noi, cea mai buna varianta din toate punctele de vedere a fost Downtown. Motivele pentru care am ales aceasta zona sunt: cazare mult mai ieftina, accesul usor la plaja publica, pretul mai mic la mancare si bautura, plus multitudinea optiunilor de luat masa. Zona hoteliera este renumita pentru plaja, este mai exclusivista, insa preturile sunt mult mai mari, atat la cazare, cat si la mancare. Ce mi-a displacut mult a fost infrastructura foarte proasta in zona, atat pentru mijloacele de transport (masina, motocicleta, bicicleta) cat si pentru mersul pe jos, astfel incat esti prins sa iti petreci aproape tot timpul in resort. Daca m-as intoarce in Tulum, lucru care cu siguranta se va intampla, as alege din nou sa locuiesc in downtown.

Noi am fost cazati la un hotel micut, la cateva minute de mers pe jos de centru, numit Mango Hotel, dar sunt foarte multe optiuni in zona, in functie de buget si preferinte.

How to get around/ Cu ce sa te deplasezi in zona:

EN:

With the bike and only with the bike!! Even if the distance from center to the public beach seems big, the bike road is nice and you can get there in about 10 minutes. You could also use the car, but beware of the traffic, because you can sit in the car for 30 minutes and then have to search for parking spots.

If you want to rent a bike, there are many rental places in Tulum, prices varying from 100 to 200 pesos/day. I really recommend the place I rented my bike from: El Tigre de Tulum, it costs 100 pesos a day (cheapest in Tulum) and the people working there were really serious. I even had an issue (a flat tire) and they came to the beach to bring me another bike, for free.

RO:

Cu bicicleta si numai cu bicicleta!! Chiar daca distanta dintre Downtown si plaja publica pare mare, drumul pentru bicicleta este foarte bun si ajungi acolo in aproximativ 10 minute. Bineinteles ca poti ajunge si cu masina, dar traficul este infernal, asa ca poti face chiar si 30 minute pana la plaja, apoi sa cauti si parcare.

Exista mai multe locuri din care poti inchiria bicicleta, iar pretul variaza intre 100 si 200 pesos/zi. Va recomand din suflet locul din care am inchiriat eu bicicleta: El Tigre de Tulum, a costat 100 pesos/zi (cel mai bun pret!), iar oamenii au fost super seriosi. Chiar am intampinat o problema si au rezolvat-o imediat (mi s-a spart un cauciuc si au venit pana la plaja sa imi schimbe bicicleta, for free).

Tulum Beaches/ Plajele din Tulum:

EN:

Tulum beach is split into 2 parts: the public beach and the hotel zone beach. Both are amazing: turqoise, hot and wavy water. 

The public beach is awesome and there’s plenty of space to put your towel and enjoy.You can bring your own food and drinks or you can buy some from vendors that come on the beach or from the beachclubs. Even if there are beachclubs here on the public beach, the prices are affordable. But we didn’t go to one, we just enjoyed our own food and drinks.

The hotel zone is mostly for the beachclubs of the hotel, but even here you can find a spot to put your towel on the beach. There are a lot of popular beach clubs like Ziggy’s or Papaya playa project, but to us seemed too expensive while being on the same beach. At these there’s a minimum spend of 50usd and the prices are really big. So we chose another beach club, with amazing vibes, great drinks and delicious tacos: La Eufemia. There’s no minimum spending and the prices are really affordable. You can use their sunbeds for free if you’re ordering from the bar. There were different shows during the day even if it was a weekday and we had A LOOOT of fun. I couldn’t recommend it enough! 

RO:

In Tulum, plaja este impartita in 2: plaja publica si plaja din zona hoteliera. Ambele sunt minunate, cu apa turcoaz, calda si valuri potrivite.

Plaja publica mi-a placut foarte mult, este intinsa si ai o multime de spatiu pentru a-ti aseza prosopul. Iti poti aduce mancarea si bautura ta, sau poti cumpara de la vanzatorii de pe plaja sau de la beachclub-uri. Chiar daca exista beachclub-uri si pe aceasta plaja, preturile sunt accesibile. Noi ne-am dus pregatiti cu mancarea si bautura noastra si ne-am relaxat pe propriile prosoape.

Zona hoteliera este compusa in principal din cluburile hotelurilor, insa chiar si pe aici iti poti gasi un spatiu sa iti asezi prosopul. Aici vei gasi multe beachclub-uri populare precum Ziggy’s sau Papaya playa project, insa mi s-a parut prea scump.  Pe langa faptul ca preturile sunt maricele, este necesara si o consumatie minima de 50USD. Pentru ca am vrut tare mult sa ajungem si in partea asta a plajei, ne-am informat si am gasit un beach club foarte misto, cu cocktail-uri bune si tacos deliciosi: La Eufemia. Aici nu este consumatie minima, preturile sunt foarte accesibile si poti folosi sezlongurile lor, daca consumi orice de la bar. De-a lungul zilei petrecute aici, au fost multe show-uri live si am avut parte de o mega distractie. Va recomand din suflet locul asta!

Where to eat in Tulum/ Unde sa mananci in Tulum:

EN:

In Tulum you will find food for all tastes! There are a lot of healthy options, and if you are a vegan or a vegetarian, here is the place to be!
Prices were a little bit bigger than in Cancun or Playa, but the food lived up to the expectations.

Places to eat in Tulum Downtown:

Burrito Amor: our favorite place for breakfast/brunch/dinner. We went here 2 times in 3 days and if we’ve stayed more I think we would have gone again:)). Their special dish is burrito, they have a lot of different ones, both vegetarian or with meat, but they also serve guacamole or delicious breakfast dishes. Besides from having exceptional food, you will find a lot of healthy drinks: smoothies, hibiscus water and many more! Bonus: good coffee, affordable prices.

Street food: downtown is the place where you can taste local street food, and I’d say go for it! One night when we didn’t know where to eat, we came by some food “trucks”, with locals cooking tacos on the spot. So, we ate on the street , but the food was tasty and cheap.

Other places we wanted to try, but we didn’t have time: La Malquerida, DelCielo.

Places to eat in Tulum Hotel Zone:

Tunich Jungle and cabanas: even if it’s located in the Hotel Zone, the prices here are affordable. We shared a tasty guacamole with tortilla chips. They also serve tasty and healthy non-alcoholic drinks.

Taqueria La Eufemia: you should try the shrimp tempura tacos, but there are more than 10 different tacos here. But here’s not only about food, but also about the amazing atmosphere.

Raw love by Ahau: a popular vegetarian spot we wanted to check, but didn’t have time. Next time!

Azulik: the luxury hotel you might know from pictures, has a restaurant. We didn’t manage to get here, because we needed a reservation and we decided too late. The food is pretty expensive, but I think it’s worth it, because of its unique design.

RO:

In Tulum veti gasi mancare pentru toate gusturile! Exista o multime de optiuni sanatoase, iar pentru vegetarieni si vegani este cu siguranta the place to be.
Preturile mi s-au parut putin mai mari decat in Cancun sau Playa del Carmen, insa mancarea a fost pe masura asteptarilor.

Unde sa mananci in Downtown:

Burrito Amor: Locul nostru preferat pentru breakfast/brunch/cina. Am fost de 2 ori aici in 3 zile si daca am mai fi stat, cred ca am fi mers si a 3-a oara:)). Specialitatea lor este burrito, au foarte multe variante de burritto, atat vegetariene, cat si cu carne, insa au si guacamole sau variante super delicioase de mic dejun. Pe langa faptul ca mancarea este exceptionala, au o mare varietate de bauturi super healthy: smoothies, apa cu hibiscus si chia si cate si mai cate! Bonus: cafeaua e foarte buna!

Street Food: In Downtown e locul unde sa experimentezi street food, iar eu spun go for it! Intr-o seara cand nu stiam unde sa mancam, ne-am lovit de cateva gherete cu tacos facut on the spot, asa ca am cinat in strada. Mancarea a fost super buna, autentica si foarte ieftina.

Alte locuri in care am fi vrut sa mergem daca mai aveam timp: La Malquerida, DelCielo.

Unde sa mananci in Zona hoteliera:

Tunich Jungle and Cabanas: Un loc cu preturi destul de accesibile, chiar daca se localizeaza in zona hoteliera. Am impartit un guacamole cu tortilla chips foarte bun. Au de asemenea multe bauturi non-alcoolice healthy si delicioase.

Taqueria la Eufemia: Despre la Eufemia v-am povestit mai sus, va recomand tacosul cu crevete tempura, dar sunt tacos pe toate gusturile. Oricum, aici nu e numai despre mancare, ci despre atmosfera minunata.

Raw love by Ahau: un restaurant vegetarian foarte popular unde ne-am fi dorit sa ajungem, dar nu am avut timp. Next time!

Azulik: Hotelul super luxos si exclusivist din Tulum, pe care nu ai cum sa il fi ratat din pozele de pe net, are si un restaurant pe masura. Nici aici nu am ajuns, deoarece ne-am hotarat tarziu si aveam nevoie de rezervare. Preturile sunt cam piperate, dar eu zic ca merita macar pentru a vedea designul. Daca aveti vreo ocazie speciala de sarbatorit, cred ca asta e locul potrivit.

Sper ca acest articol despre Tulum ti-a fost de folos si iti doresc vacanta placuta!

I hope this article was useful and I wish you a pleasant and fun trip!

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