The Best Tulum Travel Guide
Overall vibe of Tulum, Mexico:
Do you love beautiful beaches, jungle house speak-to-your-soul kind of music, spectacular food, stunning boho modern aesthetics and spiritual vibes? If yes, you are going to be OBSESSED with Tulum. It’s a curated vibe lover’s DREAM - the energy is truly magical. Tulum was one of our favorite places we’ve ever been; I’m so excited to tell you all the best things to do!
Quick Guide to Tulum, Mexico:
Overall vibe: beautiful beaches, jungle house speak-to-your-soul kind of music, spectacular food, stunning boho modern aesthetics and spiritual vibes, lots of digital nomads
How long to stay: 3-5 nights
Where to stay: Aldea Zama or Hotel Zone
Getting around: rent a scooter, cab or walk if you stay in the Hotel Zone
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How long to stay in Tulum:
3-5 nights. We did 5 nights in December and it was perfect. I’d definitely recommend going between November-February; otherwise the beach will be covered in a lot more seaweed.
Where to stay in Tulum:
Aldea Zama or the hotel zone on the beach.
Aldea Zama is an up and coming area with a ton of new construction condos and apartments (and lots of Airbnb rentals). It’s a 15-20ish minute cab ride to the beach. We stayed in Aldea Zama at this Airbnb. It’s simple (not overly luxurious but nice if you don’t plan to spend a ton of time in room), has a 24/7 concierge, is in a quieter area and has a private rooftop plunge pool (which we loved!!). They also have scooters you can rent which was super convenient.
Our Airbnb Private Plunge Pool
The hotel zone is where all of the nice restaurants and shopping are (and of course, the beach). It’s a really great way to experience Tulum but you are going to be paying quite a bit more.
We rented a beach bed one day at Nomade and it was absolutely incredible. If you want to splurge, this would be my recommendation for where to stay by the beach.
Other good hotels on the beach (we haven’t stayed at these but we’ve heard they’re great):
Getting around:
We rented scooters and used them during the day and took taxis at night to dinner. If you’re staying on the beach, you can walk a lot of places too. We rented our scooters from our Airbnb.
Best Restaurants in Tulum:
The food in Tulum is some of the best I’ve ever had. We didn’t have one disappointing meal. I HIGHLY recommend Arca and Hartwood for the best seafood and dining experiences overall.
Hotel/Beach Zone:
Arca (Instagram: @arcatulum): Amazing, unique seafood! The flavors are SO unique and SO good!! We got the yellowtail, Caesar salad, sea bass and lobster curry and loved it all. Make sure to make a reservation in advance. All tables are outside in what feels like a magical candle-lit forest.
Arca
Hartwood (Instagram: @hartwoodtulum): Amazing fresh seafood and cocktails with the most romantic, cozy candle-lit patio vibes!
Hartwood
Meze (Instagram: @gitano.meze): Great Mediterranean restaurant. We loved the hummus, chicken and tzatziki. Amazing vibey patio, good music and good drinks.
Checkpoint Ciao (Instagram: @checkpointciao): Great, casual pizza place by the beach!
Checkpoint Ciao
Olivia Organic Market (Instagram: @oliviaorganicmarket): Great, healthy lunch spot with good juice and salads/bowls inside Hotelito Azul. They have indoor air conditioned seating which was nice before going to the beach. You can also sit on their rooftop which has breathtaking ocean views.
Olivia Organic Market
Aldo’s Gelato (Instagram: @aldosgelato): Great spot for gelato with multiple locations by the beach and in El Centro. We loved the oreo and pistachio mixed!
Aldo’s Gelato
Aldea Zama/La Veleta/El Centro:
Pizzeria Manglar (Instagram: @pizzeria.manglar): amazing pizza place with great pasta too. We LOVED the Primavera pizza - it was one of my favorite pizzas ever. It’s also a super cute, chill restaurant.
Safari (Instagram: @safari.tulum): really really good taco spot in Aldea Zama. The shrimp gringa taco was life changing and the guac was amazing too. Highly recommend!!
Safari
Burgerito (Instagram: @burgerito.tulum): we went here our last night because we were craving a burger and fries and it was SO good! It’s definitely a “fast food” style burger except way better ;)
Encanto Cantina (Instagram: @encanto_tulum): We’ve been here 3 times and loved it the first 2 times but didn’t love it for our last visit (the dishes tasted different and just weren’t as good). It’s a really cute restaurant and hopefully the last time was just a fluke. I’d try the other spots on the list first but this is probably still a decent option.
For drinks only:
Hotelito Azul Rooftop Bar (Instagram: @hotelitoazultulum): This is the same hotel that has Olivia Organic Market inside. The rooftop bar has the BEST views for sunset and happy hour. You might have to pay cover if you aren’t staying here - they let us up because we’d already been to Olivia for lunch!
Hotelito Azul Rooftop
Mi Amor (Instagram: @miamortulum): Great place for cocktails with amazing views of ocean. You can design your own cocktail which is fun…my watermelon, basil, lime, vodka drink was SO good. The food was just okay - I’d recommend just doing drinks here.
Mi Amor
Don’t go:
La Hoja Verde: This was recommended by a lot of travel websites but the food is very bland and the coffee isn’t good. I’d skip it!
Where to get coffee/breakfast:
Cafe Hunab Ku (Instagram: @cafehunabku): This is a cute, small, super local cafe with really good, strong coffee and great, simple breakfasts like avocado toast and omelets.
Cafe Hunab Ku
Rossina Cafe (Instagram: @rossinatulum): super cute, fresh, healthy breakfast cafe with locations in Aldea Zama and El Centro. We loved the breakfast sandwich and fresh OJ. The coffee is much better at Cafe Hunab Ku if your highest priority is good coffee :) Cafe Hunab is also better for avocado toast whereas Rossina is better for a breakfast sandwich, burrito or other more elaborate breakfast options.
Rossina Cafe
Matcha Mama (Instagram: @matchamamatulum): great spot for smoothies and acai bowls (we loved the El Jefe smoothie with almond butter instead of peanut butter, almond milk instead of oat milk and dates). They also have a location at the beach!
Matcha Mama
Potheads (Instagram: @potheadstulum): Good, casual spot for coffee, smoothies, drinks and breakfast/lunch.
Don’t go:
Ki Bok: We went because it was on a bunch of blogs but we didn’t like the coffee at all! I’d skip it!
Best things to do in Tulum :
Yaan Healing Sanctuary (Instagram: @yaanhealingsanctuary): This holistic healing spa might actually be heaven. We did the sobada maya massage and herbal bath and it was one of the best massages ever and such a magical experience. It’s very peaceful and luxurious and you definitely pay for the super high quality but it’s SO worth it.
Yaan Healing Sanctuary
Tulum Massage Energy Healing Spa Temazcal (Instagram: @energyhealingspatulum): AMAZING massage place in Tulum town. It’s not a luxury spa like Ya’an but the massage was the deepest, deep tissue massage I’ve ever had. It hurt at moments (so be prepared for SUPER deep LOL) but it was incredibly thorough and felt like it released more tension than all of the massages I’ve had combined.
Gypsea Market (Instagram: @gypseamarkettulum): Health foods market for basic groceries and wine!
Cenote Escondido: Beautiful, natural swimming hole with clear blue water. We only went to this one so I can’t say if it’s the best but we did love it. I’d recommend picking out a few to try; there’s a lot in Tulum. It was 150 pesos per person when we went (cash only). We took our scooters here and I wouldn’t recommend it from Aldea Zama - it was kinda scary on the big road! I’d take a cab next time.
Cenote Escondido
Kaan Luum Lagoon: It’s cool to see but it’s not as beautiful as google images makes it seem, just FYI ;) I’d only go if you are going to a cenote in this area and want to check off another thing to see.
Shopping:
There’s lots of good shopping in Tulum. Just walk along the main beach road and you will find SUPER cool, trendy stores. Here’s a few I loved (not all of these were on the main beach road so see google map below for location).
World By Hand (Instagram: @worldbyhand): Amazing home decor and furniture store in Tulum town. This was my FAVORITE!! I got a marble vase and 2 really cool ceramic coffee mugs that I’m obsessed with.
Casa Belart (Instagram: @casabelart): Another awesome interior design store! We got some really cute home decor items we’re obsessed with here like this Copal Incense Burner…
Our Copal Incense Burner We Bought At Casa Belart
Kaya (Instagram: @kaya.tulum): Cute home design and clothing boutique!
Mary Jane Tulum (Instagram: @maryjanetulum): Great store for bathing suits! This is the one I got here:
My Mary Jane Tulum Bathing Suit (At Nomade)
Best beach club in Tulum:
Nomade (Instagram: @nomadetulum): I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend spending a day here and renting a beach bed (or staying here). The vibe is off the charts ;) It was first come first serve for the beach beds so we got there right when it opened. We had the BEST day. The bed is big and comfortable, the beach is absolutely beautiful and they serve you food/drinks all day long. They also burn copal all day long and really know how to curate the best vibe. It was $80 USD for the bed and the drinks/food are separate. If you can’t get a day bed, I’d try to get lunch, drinks or dinner here!
Nomade
Other fun things to know about Tulum:
There’s a lot of digital nomads so it’s easy to meet people
The food is INSANELY good
There are tons of cenotes (natural swimming holes)
They burn copal incense almost everywhere you go and it smells so good and really sets the vibe
They play vibey jungle house music almost everywhere you go (this is my Tulum inspired playlist on Spotify if you love this kind music as much as me)
There’s a very holistic, spiritual vibe here if you’re into that (If you are, you might also like Madison Arnholt, where I offer energy and intuition coaching)
Google Map of All Tulum Recommendations
I saved all of my recommendations for you in the map below to make it super easy to get around! Here’s the full link so you can save it: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/4/edit?mid=1lrB-ax1nFbigVXzhMPIljE6usSGQRtg&usp=sharing.
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