We’ve been to the Tulum Ruins and surrounding area, it’s beautiful.

We had thought that’s all there was to Tulum. Then on our way to visit Bacalar last year we were stunned to see that Tulum is so much more than just the ruins. We made a plan to spend an afternoon on our next trip. We put that plan into action this year.

Tulum Pueblo is a bustling spot. Great food, shopping, and things to see.

We took a cab from our resort, yes you can take the Collectivo but I don’t take the bus at home so it’s unlikely I will ever do it on vacation.

One of the most impressive things we noticed was the number of bicycles and the placement of bike lanes. The lane in the middle of the sidewalk is reserved for bikes. Access to safe bike lanes here at home is always a contentious subject and I thought the placement in Tulum was really good.

Given a choice between visiting Tulum and Playa del Carmen, we would easily choose Tulum. The two spots are very different but offer all the same sort of things for tourists.  Tulum feels more authentic and relaxed than Playa del Carmen. Don’t get me wrong, Playa del Carmen is an experience on it’s own, and I think everyone should visit but for us it’s too busy and commercial. That’s not the vacation experience we are looking for.

Another discovery we made about Tulum was it’s hotel district. While on our Sian Ka’an tour we were fortunate to have had the opportunity to pass through the hotel district. I didn’t get any pictures, but it is now one of those spots we plan to visit on a future trip. It was so amazing to go through and see it. I’ve been googling some of the places we saw and they are just beautiful.

Tulum is a place full of surprises!