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Travel guide
Tulum
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: November to April
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Welcome
Tulum, in a few days
A walled Maya city on the Caribbean shore, its temple standing on a twelve-metre cliff above a white sand beach. Behind it, the jungle is pitted with cenotes that open onto vast flooded cave systems, and the Sian Ka'an reserve covers 5,280 km².
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Tulum archaeological site · about 1 h 30A fortified Postclassic Maya port, occupied from the 13th to the 16th century on a cliff above the Caribbean, trading jade, obsidian, salt and cotton.
- Afternoon · Playa Paraíso free · half a dayA white coral-sand beach with leaning palms a kilometre from the ruins, one of the few stretches of this coast still freely open.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Diamante K€150 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Cenote Calavera · about 1 hA round sinkhole whose three openings form a skull seen from above; climb down the wooden ladder or jump four metres into the dark pool.
- Afternoon · Gran Cenote · about 2 hAn open cenote 4 km from town on the Cobá road, with two pools joined by a walkway and clear water showing stalactites and roots.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Zenses Wellness and Yoga Resort€120 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Cenote Dos Ojos · about 2 hTwo circular sinkholes linked by a flooded passage north of Tulum, opening onto Sac Actun, with over 380 km of mapped underwater caves.
- Afternoon · Kaan Luum lagoon · about 2 hA shallow turquoise lagoon edged with mangrove south of town, with a cenote over 80 metres deep at its centre, roped off from swimmers.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Aldea Xaan Ha Tulum€110 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve · half a dayMangrove, lagoons, low forest and reef over 5,280 km², a World Heritage Site since 1987, whose Maya name roughly means where the sky is born.
- Afternoon · Cobá and the Nohoch Mul pyramid · 2 to 3 hA Maya city in the forest 45 km north-west, perhaps home to 50,000 people, linked by raised white causeways, one running 100 km to Yaxuná.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Zamas€150 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Tacos al pastor: pork marinated and carved off a vertical spit, with pineapple and coriander.
- Mole: a sauce of chillies and chocolate, built from twenty ingredients or more.
- Guacamole and antojitos: avocado, quesadillas and the wide Oaxacan tlayuda.
- Tamales: corn dough with a filling, steamed inside a leaf.
- Mezcal and tequila: sipped slowly, not thrown back.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Drink bottled water only, ice included once you leave the hotels.
- Check which areas are advised against before you go, and use Uber or a registered taxi.
- Keep valuables out of sight and carry little cash.
- Haggle in the markets, but not down to nothing: the weaving took days.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Spanish
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Hello | Hola |
| Thank you | Gracias |
| Please | Por favor |
| Yes | Sí |
| No | No |
| Excuse me | Perdone |
| Goodbye | Adiós |
| Do you speak English? | ¿Habla inglés? |
| I don't understand | No entiendo |
| How much is it? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? |
| Where are the toilets? | ¿Dónde están los baños? |
| The bill, please | La cuenta, por favor |
| Help! | ¡Socorro! |
| Cheers! | ¡Salud! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyMexican peso (MXN)
BudgetAbout €120 a day, mid-range
Best seasonNovember to April
PlugA/B · 127V
Tap waterBottled only
Tipping10 to 15%, expected
Emergency911
EntryNo visa for stays of up to 180 days with a passport, for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens. An officer writes the number of days granted on entry, so check it.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. Malaria is limited to a few lowland areas and there is none on the Yucatán coast. Dengue is present: use repellent.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/tulum
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.