Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - tulum - trip report (long, sorry!)

hello fodorites -

i wanted to post some reflections on our recent trip to tulum, and of course thank the many posters who helped us make some decisions!

writing from a very snowy landscape in nyc, it is hard to believe that only yesterday we were swinging in hammocks, toes in sand! tulum is a wonderful escape - even for just a short time - and we fully intend to return some day.

we flew into cancun on sunday feb 17, and our minor hassles with Delta at LGA melted away not long afterwards. we found our dear friends, another couple who had flown in at around the same time from washington DC waiting for us at arrivals, and the four of us picked up our rental car at avis (total for 5 days including having them fill the tank at the end = $195 - not bad!).

about 1.5 hours later, a very straight and simple ride on the major highway 307 found us in tulum. we passed many, many large resorts whose entrances were right on the highway, and wondered what was behind their massive walls. we were glad to be going someplace more remote. however, when we got there, we raised an eyebrow...the road off of 307 to tulum looked to be undergoing some major expansion. we'd heard that just a decade ago there were no more than a handful of posadas dotting this beach, and though they are VERY plentiful now, it is still fairly quiet and we found ourselves glad to get the chance to experience the place before it really explodes.

we stopped off at the san francisco super market, got loads of H20 and other snacks...found that they wouldn't sell us beer or wine as it was sunday... no big deal. we hopped back in the car and minutes later we were at the entrance to Posada La Mar, where we had made our reservations. the woman who checked us in was positively lovely, though it helped a lot to have some working knowledge of Spanish, because no English is really spoken.

Staying at Posada La Mar was a great decision. It offered the exact atmosphere we needed - total removal from regular society. It's really just a few bungalows that are nicely designed with simple, local Mayan touches, but are totally unplugged. We had electricity only between 7pm and 7am...no outlets in the rooms, but we absolutely didn't notice - and didn't care! We stayed in the bungalow Lapiz, which is not one of the two that directly face the water, but it was close enough! We ended up befriending some of the people in those two sea-facing bungalows (it's a very friendly, laid-back crowd) and they both commented that the first sun of the day (around 6 or 6:30) came streaming into the their rooms, and they'd have preferred a room that had some protection from that. Personally, I disagree - I could imagine nothing nicer than seeing the ocean from your bed! Our friends stayed in the bungalow Marfil, which was set back behind another bungalow and offered a slightly better sea view than ours but wasn't as big/well designed inside as Lapiz was. The most important detail: every porch had a hammock, and whether you were in it, or under your billowy mosquito net in bed at night, the waves would lull you into your dreams!

The theme of the trip was to unwind...and that's just what we did. Relax, and then enjoy some meals! Because Posada La Mar doesn't have a restaurant (though it does offer a $15/couple continental breakfast...VERY simple - yogurt, honey, granola, fruit, bread & jam - it did the job, and was tasty)...we also explored other options for food. We went next door to Posada Marghareta once for drinks, once for breakfast, and once for dinner. We consistently found that their portions were huge and their prices would even give pause to a native New Yorker. $40 US for breakfast? That said, the food was exceptional (homemade pasta, wow) the proprietors were clearly straight from Italy - and the atmosphere was lovely, though they seemed to fancy themselves a bit fabulous. I guess it's as much of a scene as you'll find on low-key Tulum beach. Make a reservation for dinner.

As for other food, we had a meal at Zamas (terrific!) Charlie's in Tulum Pueblo (tourist trap!), and Ana y Jose, where I found several hairs in my food. We also ate at this tiny restaurant across from Hemmingway, it started with a "T" and I cannot remember its name. It was lovely though - completely candlelit, the two chefs, clearly very much in love, living out their dream of operating a small, delicious restaurant in a remote beach area. They cooked by candlelight in an open air kitchen, hanging pots and mosaics, butcher block wooden tables, and it amazed us that they made all this beautiful food and juices (no alcohol here) without any electricity. They come from the Catalan region of Spain and are very sweet and laid back. Highly recommended.

For added relaxation we booked massages at Ana y Jose - a 15 minute stroll down the beach from where we were staying. Positively divine. Their small spa faces the water, and it is really nice to have a treatment in a place where the gently crashing waves you hear are not from a CD in their stereo system! USD $80 for a Swedish massage. Worth it.

We had considered Ana y Jose as a place to stay, but were glad that we didn't (and it wasn't just the hair in my food). It really is a nice place, but is almost "too" comfortable...and because of the creature comforts that it offers, you see lots of families with small children, and also occasionally a set of people who give Americans their loud name (we cringed) - it's like a resort that's *just* small enough to not officially be a resort. we decided we might comfortably stay here one day when we have a family...but as for now - a young couple trying to truly tune out and escape - this place would have disappointed us...too busy. Back at Posada La Mar, we found that the couple in the bungalow in front of ours had just had their wedding at Ana y Jose and they said it was magical. I believe them...it's the sort of place that could accomodate a wedding and all its assorted guests very comfortably.

Since we felt a little guilty for lolling around 24/7, we decided to take one day and dedicate it to exploring and adventure. We booked a tour through "Alltournatives" which we paid USD$115/person and found it to be a little disappointing. It was a full day with a group of 13 (everyone else was German except us), a tour guide, Helen, who ran the operation like a drill sergeant. She was terse with us right off the bat, and actually sternly made us all wash off our sunblock (as she watched) because (much) later in the day we'd be swimming in a cenote that she claimed was a water source for local Maya. We doubted this, as we felt if they truly cared about this being a water source, they wouldn't let a constant stream of tourists swim in it all day long (later we discovered that this particular cenote had been a garbage dumping area for the locals until recently). And, we were annoyed that the website on which we booked the tour did not at all warn about not being allowed to wear sunblock for the duration of the day. It made for a very unnerving experience, as we had some real burners in the group. In all, the tour had its pros and cons. Good transporation (though we got stuck in the back of the van where the a/c didn't reach) - a good survey of experiences, even though it felt a little packaged (visiting the Coba ruins, bike riding, ziplines, rappelling, kayaking, swimming, and finally a yummy lunch prepared by local Mayan women) - safety was the guide's main objective, which we appreciated...but she had a very rough personality and really didn't inspire us to enjoy the local flavors or culture. In fact she was rather cold to us and even unprofessional as she made a very extended public display of affection with another tour guide before we boarded our van and set off for the day. Also, she constantly told us to leave our cameras behind, and then tried to sell us pictures ($40 for 8) that local Mayans had been snapping of us throughout the tour. It's quite an operation (racket?) they have set up...but we wished we'd just taken our rental car and done the exploring ourselves.

So as not to end on a sour note - the overall experience we had in Tulum was just delightful. Floating in the beautiful ocean, retreating to a shady hammock under the noonday sun, great food that's easy to stumble upon...and most of all - a great, great escape. Tulum can cater to many different needs - families, eco-chic spa types, couples looking for a hideaway with varying levels of ammenties...I'd just say go soon! As we were leaving, the road that they were working on had become completely paved - they are working at top speed to develop this place!