Need some advice/insight on Tulum. We're looking for villa/cabana/bungalow oceanfront in the $100-150/night (give or take) range for 2 ppl. Since it will only be for 2 nights, we're looking for close to town (walking distance if possible) and where the beach is clothing optional. Also looking for a good size beach, not rocky and not too crowded....thanks!

The clothing optional beach is at Copal which should have a cabana in your price range, but their beach can be slightly rocky.

Town is too far to walk. Look at a couple of maps to see the distances:
sac-be.com
bill-in-tulsa.com

The best beaches are south of Esmeralda K. Topless is accepted just about everywhere, but full-on nudity is not always.
In this area, look at Tierras del Sol, La Via Laktea. This area is also far down the road and kinda remote - a rental car is a must.

Downtown Tulum is several miles from the beach, so no hotels are within walking distance. The beach that stretches from the ruins down to the biosphere is 90% wide white sand beach, with a few rocky spots. There are dozens of small cabana type hotels along this stretch that would meet your needs. We stayed at Tierras del Sol last time we went, and were very pleased with it.

We stayed at Copal last April. We loved the location and the beach. However, the bungalows were not as nice as we had hoped. You can read my review on TripAdvisor.com.

If you are only staying two nights, I'm sure you would find Copal a good choice if you want a c/o beach. There's a number of good restaurants a short ways away that you can walk to.

We never went into town and didn't have the desire. One day we walked to the ruins mostly along the beach but took a $10 cab ride back because I had been stung by a tiny jellyfish on the beach near the ruins. Because of the crowd, I couldn't apply the recommended antidote.

Thank you all -- these are great ideas!

Just returned from Tulum at La Via Laktea. Any of the hotels from Las Ranitas south would fit your request. Saw several couples partaking of optional sunning in that area. That part of the Tulum beach is amazing. No rocks. Wide white talcum powder sand. Can walk for miles south and at least a mile north. As others have said, it is too far to walk to town from the beach, but some ride bikes. La Via Laktea has bikes for rent. Can walk to a number of restaurants along the beach and there are a couple of mini marts on the beach road in that area. Enjoy!

We just returned from Posada La Mar in Tulum. You can see photos and read about that portion of our trip to the Yucatan at www.hitherandthither.net