Two perfect days in Tulum – how to get to Tulum ruins from Tulum and other tipps

In Tulum the obvious thing to do is to visit the Tulum ruins and so you find directions how to get to the Tulum ruins in this post. But Tulum has much more to offer. It has restaurants with good food, a  picture perfect Carribean beach with white sand and many stunning Cenotes. I spent three nights in Tulum but could have easily filled more days there if I had more time.

How to get to the Tulum ruins from Tulum

To get to the Tulum ruins from Tulum you have three options. Either, you drive your own car or you ride a bycicle. The bycicle rent is about 80 or 100 pesos per day. You cycle along the road back toward Playa del Carmen for about 4 km. There is a bike path and so it should be pretty safe and many people are doing it. Then you see a big sign “zona archeologica Tulum” and there you turn right. There is a car park to the right as well and with the bike you can cycle on for about five hundred meters to the entrance.

The third option to get to  the Tulum ruinas from Tulum is by collectivo. They stop along the main road close to the ADO terminal. Just approach one or flag one down on the road side where you drive to Playa del Carmen. If you can’t find them although it’s easy ask about “collectivo para las ruinas”. To make sure,  ask the driver “Tulum ruinas” or “zona archeologica” when you get on. The ride takes about 10 mins and the driver will yell “zona archeologica” when you arrive. Like the ones who came by car you now have to walk along the boardwalk with all the other tourists for about 500 meters. There are many vendors along the way and even a Starbucks. If you are really tired you could also take a tourist train to the entrance.

Visiting the Tulum Ruins

The entrance fee is 70 pesos which is cheap compared to everything else I have done.
Perhaps the ruins are not as impressive in height as other ones but they are cool because they are built on a cliff and you can take lovely pictures with the ocean in the background. Be sure to take a swim at the white sandy beach in front of the ruins as it gives you another amazing view on the ruins!
The fun thing is that you will spot about 1000 iguanas in all sizes and colors during your visit. They are quite curious as well and move around or even check out your stuff on the beach. So, be sure to close your bag when you go into the water 🙂

Other sights near Tulum

Playa de Santa Fe – Too nice to even pee in it

This was one of my favorite beaches ever as it was just so beautiful with the white sand, palm trees and different shades of blue water. “Too nice to even pee in it” as  my Mexican friend said to me.
The sad thing was that they get a lot of seaweed during February and March (it started three years ago, downside of global warming). There was one bar to get ice cream along the beach which was absolutely delicious.
To get to Playa Santa Fe you can walk 15 more minutes from the entrance or exit to the ruins along the road that goes parallel to the ocean. You can also bike there and leave the bycicle at the entrance to the beach. It’s also possible to come from the other side of that road but it’s much harder to catch a collectivo back into town. To walk from the collectivo roundabout it’s also about 20 minutes and therefore I recommend entering from the side of the ruins. But but just to cycle to the beach from the town side would be quicker.

By the way, you can never say to a taxi to take you to “playa” as they will drive you to Playa del Carmen instead of the closest beach. Happened to a French friend.

The best Cenotes near Tulum

I wrote a post about the best cenotes in the Yucatan area (read the post about the cenotes here).
To visit cenotes from Tulum you should preferably have a car or bycicle. By collectivo and walking it’s simply a big effort and pain. Or you take a collectivo up to the cenotes closer to Playa del Carmen like Cenote Azul.

However, the best cenote near Tulum (and also a very expensive one at 350 pesos) is Dos Ojos. The colors when the sun is shining are amazing and even with snorkelling you can see many stalagmites and stalactites. The second eye is much better than the first one, so you should spend more time there.

Scuba dving in a cenote

I went diving in The Pit and Dos Ojos for 130 USD. It’s an expensive diving area but the experience is worth it. There are many dive schools offering cenote trips and you will find one that suits you if you walk along the main road in Tulum. I was lucky to have found a French guy who met a French insteuctor and he took only the two of us to The Pit and Dos Ojos.

Scubadiving in The Pit

The Pit was our first dive as it is a deep dive and only open to Advanced divers. To get to the cenote you have to climb down (and then back up) a steep wodden stairway but we were rewarded with being the only ones in the cenote except for a group of divers that was already under the surface. It was amazing to later see them 30 m away from you in the dark blue water. The water is incredibly clear and just gets a darker shade of blue the deeper you go.

It looks nice when the sun rays enter through the water from the top. We saw interesting stalactite formations, the colors on the wall of a former waterfall and a skull and bones of a monkey.
At 30 meters depth there should be a white fog due to the salt and fresh water meeting and in the middle of it there is a tree (without leaves). It looked nice although the fog was only slightly visible on that day. But the water texture did become a bit different, as if it was mixed with oil.

As it could be kind of dark in the caverns you are obliged to have a flashlight on all the cenote dives. Sometimes, we covered the light and just enjoyed the true colors from the cenote changing from the surface to the blackness below us (the Pit is about 130 m deep).
As we surfaced again, we were met by a few bets and then ate our fresh fruit lunch in the sunshine.

Scuba Diving at Dos Ojos

This dive was even better than The Pit and should not be missed! We did the Barbie Line. It has its name due to a barbie they drowned at the turning point of the under water line. She ended up in the mouth of a plastic crocodile.
At the beginning of the dive we were with many other divers as well as the snorkellers but I think they all made the Bat Cave line since afterward we were completely alone on the dive. We saw lots of nice formations but the nicest thing is to see the sunlight from above as it really shows all the different shades of blue. The whole time you follow a thread below the surface. Probably better as you might lose yourself in one of thr caverns otherwise.

Diving at Dreamgate would have been our third choice as it’s supposed to be stunning as well with all its formations but it’s a cavern dive completely in the dark and I don’t think I’d have liked it as much as Dos Ojos. The Pit and Dos Ojos could be pretty dark at times as well.

Where to eat in Tulum

All my favorite restaurants are located on the main road of Tulum at the end toward Chetumal.

You absolutely have to eat at the orange  restaurant at the end of Tulum toward Chetumal on the right side. They have a big kebab meat in front and the restaurant is always packed with people. I recommend anything “Al Pastor”. They have Tacos, Empanadas, Tortas and Panuchos or Quesadillas all for 8 pesos or 12 con queso. You can chose many toppings if you eat in the restaurant and otherwise they will pack you some for takeaway. Careful, the spicy sauce is REALLY spicy. Here I had Jamaica for the first time which is Hibiscus Ice Tea and is really good.

Burrito Amar

This is a hip place with a nice ambiance and sometimes live music. Plus the burritos are good and served in banana leaves. The rest of the food and the drinks are healthy as well.

Barracuda

My hostel said that this is the only place that actually has fresh seafood. The ceviche is good and so big that you can easily share a small one with a side of Guacamole. The cocktails aren’t strong but beer is always good 🙂

Secret beach tip

Xcacel 20 minutes north of Tulum is not well known yet and you can easily get there by collectivo toward Playa. You pay a donation and can enter a beautiful beach which you have almost to yourself and a cenote.

Snorkel with turtles

Akumal is the place to snorkle with turtles but I didn’t see one when I was there in February. Perhaps it’s better around their hatching season?

Do you have any other questions about Tulum? What were your favorite beaches in the world?