Above: the Zamas boutique hotel in Tulum
News

Why You Need to Visit Tulum

By: Caribbean Journal Staff - August 22, 2015

The Riviera Maya’s bohemian beach escape

By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
CJ Travel Editor

Cancun gets kudos for its glitzy resorts. Playa Del Carmen’s laidback personality certainly has its appeal.
But 90 minutes’ drive further south is an of-the-grid oasis where the Caribbean beach vacation is distilled to its essentials: seemingly endless stretches of bone-white sand; Instagram-worthy turquoise waters; and inexpensive small Tulum hotels and restaurants strung together with “manana” vibe that encourages you to just relax and soak it all in.

Bienvenido a Tulum.

Pack light for a trip here because everything you need to enjoy this boho beach town – swimwear, shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops – will easily fit in a carry-on. Tulum is one of those precious few places where if you’re wearing more than the minimum for propriety, you’re likely overdressed.

zamas

That’s because everything here revolves around the foamy seas that lap the six-mile-long beachfront stretch. There’s no dress code at Que Fresco!, a seaside bar with Crayola-colored tables under a beachfront palapa where denizens feast on fish tacos washed down with icy “cheladas” (beer with lime in a salt-rimmed glass).

You don’t need to get gussied up for dinner at Casa Banana, the super-casual restaurant at Nueva Vida De Ramiro, one of Tulum’s best-loved hotels where a clutch of breeze-filled bungalows lines the sand.

t

And you won’t need much more than swimwear and shorts when you visit the town’s famous Mayan ruins (which you must), the only oceanfront remains in the Caribbean.

Touring the grounds of the built-by-hand cliffside castillo will be sweaty work. But the beach that unfurls 40 feet below at the bottom of wooden staircase is a welcome reward for your efforts.

Above: Nueva Vida de Ramiro

Above: Nueva Vida de Ramiro

If you’re further motivated to move from beach chair you might rent a bike and freewheel into the “pueblo” (town), where the main drag is lined with a hodgepodge of tour companies, cantinas and bars where you can sip a margarita to the strains of a roving band.

Or take a tour inland to Gran Cenote, a nearby watering hole where you can refresh yourself in a crystalline pool on a sweltering day.

tucave

But chances are you’ll spend most of your time in Tulum doing what the locals do: simply taking life as it comes. Sunny skies will invite beachfront languor.

An afternoon thunderstorm offers justification to linger longer over your cerveza. And sunrise brings the opportunity to do it all over again.

Popular Posts w punta cana

A New All-Inclusive W Hotel Is Opening This Year in Punta Cana 

The first-ever all-inclusive W Hotel in the Caribbean is opening this year in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Caribbean Journal has learned.  The hotel, part of a broad expansion for parent company Marriott International, is on the list of expected 2024 […]


Why Grenada Is a New Caribbean Luxury Hotspot

beach house silversands

From its world-renowned chocolate to its pristine beaches to a region-leading focus on sustainability, Grenada is as fascinating and unique as destination as you’ll find in the Caribbean.  But in the last few years, the lush Eastern Caribberan island has […]


5 Adults-Only Resorts to Visit Right Now in the Caribbean 

galley bay

Sometimes you just want that extra degree of serenity, of privacy, of seclusion. There is a reason, after all, that adults-only resorts are booming in popularity, particularly in the Caribbean: travelers want to know that when they arrive, they know […]


Related Posts all-inclusive resort antigua

Why This Antigua All-Inclusive Is the Ultimate Toes-in-the-Sand Resort 

You know the sounds: the gentle lap of the waves, the light shake of a palm tree; the rustle of a palapa. We all feel that connection to the beach. We’re all drawn by its siren sound, that maritime metronome that […]


From the US Virgin Islands to Aruba, Caribbean Travel Is Booming

aruba usvi beach

First there was the breakout after restrictions were lifted. Then there was all that pent-up travel demand. Through each phase of the post-pandemic period, travelers have continued flocking to the Caribbean.  It’s the sign of a resilient global destination, and […]


Frontier Is Adding a New Nonstop Flight to Los Cabos 

nobu los cabos

It’s one of the most popular hotel destinations in Mexico: Los Cabos, which has seen a broad boom in recent years with the entry to market of brands like Nobu, Thompson, Marriott and Waldorf Astoria, among others.  That has led, […]


SUBSCRIBE!

Sign up for Caribbean Journal's free newsletter for a daily dose of beaches, hotels, rum and the best Caribbean travel information on the net.


No. Thank You