Tulum, that magical land of boho vibes, beautiful beaches and instagrammable spots had been on my bucket list for years. I had been seduced by its minimalist, eco-friendly badge and neutral palette: think whites, browns, pastels and turquoise blue waters.
However, as I shared my plans with other travellers, their resounding advice was: avoid, avoid, avoid. My fellow backpackers felt it had become a tourist trap. They bemoaned its exorbitant prices, boutique hotels that could have been transplanted from any corner of the world, and the crowds of people that flocked to this small town.
Tulum is located on the Caribbean coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. It was once a sleepy little village, surrounded by jungle, ocean and historic Mayan ruins, known only to a select group of visitors in search of its mystical hidden vibes. They were happy to experience this spiritual haven while camping on beaches or sleeping in hammocks, using shared bathrooms, and practising yoga and medication.
By the early 2000s, Tulum was discovered by celebrities and trend spotters and there has been a meteoric rise in tourism to this town. Its population grew from 2,000 in 1990 to 12,000 in 2000 and 40,000 in 2018.1 With over 2 million visitors a year, it is fair to say Tulum is now an ‘unhidden gem’.
All this to say that by the time I arrived in 2022, it is no surprise that it wasn’t exactly what I pictured. Firstly, I realised that the ‘boho-aesthetic’ of Tulum was really more of a ‘luxury-boho aesthetic’. And it belonged to a specific neighbourhood of the town, ‘zona hotelera’, made up of luxury hotels/resorts, expensive cafes/restaurants and trendy boutiques. Prices were indeed exorbitant, for my backpacker budget, so I booked a hotel in Tulum Pueblo (city centre/downtown) instead.
Zona Hotelera is a fifteen to twenty-minute drive from the city centre/downtown, and could be anything up to an hour on the bus (The buses do not keep to any schedule, it’s luck of the draw if one turns up while you wait). There is a single road in and out of the neighbourhood, which is also the only way to Tulum beaches, so there is often lots of traffic. Also surprising is that although the beaches are public, access to most of them is only through a beach club/hotel. So if you aren’t a hotel guest, you have to pay to get to the beach. You have the option of meeting the minimum spend (at a bar/restaurant) or booking a day pass.
I opted to go for drinks at one of the beach clubs and was excited to access the beach, until I was faced with stretches of (and the stench of ) seaweed! All along the coast. Perhaps because I’m not really a beach person, I had done no research on Tulum beaches and this was very unexpected. Apparently Tulum has a huge seaweed problem (there are lots of articles and blog posts dedicated to it). It’s worse in summer and least probelematic if you visit between November and January. Needless to say, faced with mountains of seaweed, I made no move to get into the water.
The one good thing about the stretch of road in Zona Hotelera is that it makes it easy to hit all the (instagram) ‘famous spots’ in one outing: ‘Follow That Dream’ sign, the entrance to ‘Selina Tulum’, ‘Matcha Mama’ smoothie bar etc. I enjoyed wandering along the road drinking in the Tulum aesthetic and beautiful installations/sculptures made of wood, rope and plants. And of course, I made my way to its most famous installation, ‘Ven a La Luz’, created by artist Daniel Popper in 2018. Now part of a ‘sculpture park’, you have to pay to access it (roughly about $3). .
I spent almost five days in Tulum, mostly hanging out in cafes, reading or writing. My favourite day by far was the afternoon spent exploring Tulum National Park and its ruins. The ancient city of Tulum was the last city built by the Mayan people, in the 11th/12th century. Known as ‘Zama’, ‘place of dawning sun’, the city is oriented to face the rising sun. It is the only Mayan settlement that was built on a Caribbean beach.
The ruins are pretty modest and do not have the grandeur or presence of Chichen Itza, for example. However the ancient walled city is set on a cliff bordered by untamed jungle, and has dramatic sweeping views of the Caribbean sea. The ruins evoke the drama of yesteryears, swashbuckling pirates and seafaring peoples. The site has secret white sandy beaches, swaying palm trees and lazing iguanas. The ruins do get busy so arrive early in the morning or later in the afternoon a couple of hours before it closes.
Tulum Pueblo itself is charming, and feels more authentic than Hotel Zonera – there are small eateries where you sit side by side with locals and enjoy delicious Mexican delicacies, colourful street art to brighten your day as you wander around the streets or friendly locals to chat to when you pop into the many souvenir shops. It also has much more affordable, and equally chic, boutique hotels and great cafes.
There is a huge party vibe at night time, with thumping EDM music blasting all night, so choose your hotel wisely. Mine was on the main drag, right next to a couple of bars. I had the worst night sleep of my life over the four nights I was in Tulum…enough to drive me crazy and regret not moving on after a couple of days. (I’d cancelled plans to go on to Cancun, as I felt it would’ve been more of the same).
My visit to Tulum came at the tail end of my four-month exploration of Latin America and I have to confess that at this point I was pretty tired to sightseeing and more interested in rest and relaxation. I didn’t have a car and this made it almost impossible for me to get to the places I actually wanted to see (without booking a tour). Other things I would’ve loved to do include exploring the Sian Ka’an Biosphere (it has pristine waters and incredible marine life – dolphins, turtles etc ) and visiting picturesque cenotes (such as cenote Dos Ojos, Taak Bi Ha etc) or lagoons like Ya Kul.
I’m glad I went to Tulum, despite the naysayers. It had been a dream destination for so long that I would have always wondered ‘what if?’, had I skipped it. I think Tulum is still perfect for visitors who want a resort experience – lounging around on the beach, eating and drinking to your heart’s content and indulging in some retail therapy. It’s not so great for those in search of local culture and adventure.
Visited July 2022.
Have you visited any of your bucket-list destinations? Tell me if it lived up to expectations…
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