Tulum Travel Diary: Part One
There is something to be said about a destination that totally exports you away from reality. While many people are visiting Tulum everyday, it’s still a very under-developed and almost primitive-like destination, and that is what makes it so special. Yes, you sweat, yes, there is likely no air conditioners, and you can’t throw anything in the toilet – but man, is it a special place!
There’s nothing better than complimentary bikes
We arrived into Tulum on Friday afternoon and we were pretty much partially dead to the world because of how tired we were (2 hours of sleep the night before). Once we got checked into our hotel, we assed the situation and decided to order some Guacamole to hold us over before the beach, and then at night we decided to keep it low key and eat at the hotel. Eating at the hotel was the best choice because it was the best Mexican food we ended up having in Tulum. We ordered a bunch of tacos and tostadas and received a complimentary glass of Mezcal which later put us right to sleep. We passed out at precisely 9:06 PM and woke up bright and early around 6am the next day for a sunrise (which never happened) so we went back to bed for 2 more hours until we decided it was mandatory we got our butts out of bed.
Saturday was our first full day, and I was really looking forward to riding the bikes that Encantada had. There’s nothing better than complimentary bikes, and it seemed like most hotels had them FYI. Biking around Tulum would seem unsafe at first glance, but in reality, it is quite safe (despite the occasional pot hole). Taxi’s and bikers all seem to be on the same page in terms of road sharing and while we didn’t wear helmets, it probably wouldn’t hurt to have one on just in case. Also, wear shoes that make sense. I made the mistake of wearing slides and it wasn’t the best decision.
I figured that if we got out early enough, we wouldn’t get too hot, however, as soon as we started to exert any energy we were sweating. To be honest though, it felt good – coming out of such a horrid winter, it felt good to be hot. We drove north, up Tulum road to our destination, The Real Coconut. I was dying to check out their Gluten, Grain and Dairy Free menu. I’ve heard rave reviews, and even though we weren’t too hungry we both ordered something. I ordered a vanilla almond bliss smoothie, which was to DIE for, and also an ice cold coconut water. Jordan stuck with a Phyto Green Mojito (FULL MENU HERE). Everyone around us had lots of amazing-looking food, I really wish we didn’t stuff ourselves with breakfast because I would have loved to get something else. Even though we didn’t eat actual food, this was one of our favorite places. I can’t wait to go back here!
After our drinks we took a stroll around Sanara, which is the hotel that The Real Coconut is located at. The grounds were really amazing, and when we got there we noticed there was a yoga session going on in the studio. What I loved about Tulum is that you could pretty much just go wherever you wanted. You did not need to be staying at the hotel to waltz right in and explore! I love the details in this tunic so much. It’s actually much longer, like a dress, but I decided to tie it up to keep cooler. I ended up wearing it almost every day while we were lounging up in the room. This will definitely be a summertime go-to.
Everyday around 1:30-2pm we would head to the beach at Encantada. You can only be out and about so long in the heat, and I loved having a few hours to relax at the beach, drink tequila and eat guac. Around 4:30pm we’d head up to the room, shower and relax again before heading out. Our first night we went to Casa Jaguar. It was one of those places I’d heard so much about, and was a place I felt like I needed to go check out and see what all the hype was about. I will say, the decor and atmosphere was really amazing, I’ve never been to any place like it before. But after being there for about an hour I was really confused to be honest as to why everyone loved it so much. The service was horrible, the drinks were just FINE and the crowd there was a bit odd. I felt like everyone who worked there was judging everyone who came in, and I hated that. After one drink we decided to head out and try some place else. I’m glad I tried it, but if you only have a couple nights in town, there are better places – like Casa Violeta.
If you are in Tulum, you must go try Casa Violeta. It’s absolutely underrated and I’m not sure why. It’s situated right on the beach and the food is delicious. The best we had in Tulum. It is Italian, but it was really nice to have a different cuisine option than Mexican! If you follow along on Instagram, go check out my Instagram Story Highlights of Tulum – theres some photos I took on my phone of the food there! I always got the Pear and Parmesan Ravioli with Truffle Cream Sauce (WHAT?!).
Also, I feel like I need to mention safety in Tulum, especially with everything in the news on Mexico lately. Jordan and I felt very safe where we were. We took cabs places at night to where we needed to go if we couldn’t walk, and everyone was very friendly. We had someone at the hotel hail us a cab – once it came I always asked Cuanto Cuesta? Which is “how much” in Spanish, so that I knew the price before I got in. It was always around 100 pesos to go about 7 minutes. I will also say that Tulum Road has only one cab company that drives up and down the road. They are clean and you should only take them. They are white with a red stripe on the side.
I can’t wait to share part two of the travel diary with you!
XO Em
