WHAT TO KNOW about TULUM MEXICO!

This video is for someone who's seen the pretty pictures of Tulum on instagram and is curious about traveling there. People always ask me in instagram direct messages: WHERE ARE THE ALL INCLUSIVE RESORTS IN TULUM?! And that's NOT what Tulum is... it's not Cancun or Playa (it's something more special)!

I did my research and I knew it was the jungle. I knew it would be a different experience, but I put together this list to help others travel there - these are the things I WISH I KNEW despite all the research I did.

And I LOVE TULUM and I'm headed back!
.. or at least I thought so.

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I was at the Hilton Playa del Carmen while filming this

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🤓 I’m Christine and I keep it REAL💯 and REAL FUN. I do A LOT of research before I travel and I take EVERYTHING I learned and EVERYTHING I experienced and I make the travel videos I WISH I GOT TO SEE. That’s what you’re seeing in this video and I hope it helps! I am NOT a Youtuber that just walks around with a camera showing you “random things and me living my best life”. These videos are created to HELP you KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT, plan the BEST trip possible, and take the trip! We ALL need to travel more. Made with tons of love. xoxo

📱I created the first 100 YouTube videos of this channel using just my iPhone. I’ve (kinda) updated a few things since then…

🎒 MY VLOGGING GEAR:

Read through our YouTube disclaimer policy here:

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⏰ WHAT’S IN THIS VIDEO

0:00 Intro

0:51 Money
- Many places are cash only
- ATMs run out of cash
- Prices vary for everything (like taxis and cenote entrance fees)

3:20 Tulum beach road
- One way road that gets backed up and has a ton of potholes
- There are no sidewalks

4:05 Biking
- Road to the beach is flat and most paved
- Can be dangerous on the beach

5:45 Google maps
- Not always accurate

6:08 No service on beach

6:18 Few public beaches
- Accessing beach can be "not terribly easy"

6:50 How to access beach

7:15 North vs. South beach
- North is 'semi mellow'
- South is more 'party ish'

7:45 Where to stay
- Price difference between town and beach is significant (so is the experience)
- Hard to find info about places online
- Paying in person CAN be (not always) much cheaper than booking online

9:50 Jungle
- Many eco hotels will TURN OFF the air con at night
- You will get eaten alive by bugs

My Reel about eating raw garlic:

10:45 Seaweed

11:20 Wifi is bad
- EVERYWHERE is trying to become a 'coworking space' (with pretty bad wifi)

11:55 Gyms
- I loved Yoga Dicha

12:22 Air conditioning

12:45 Toilets

#tulum #tulummexico

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[alejandra_lopez]

I'm sorry to say this, I live here in this beautiful place. Tulum is located in the middle of the jungle. Please don't expect to have Netflix, A/C, fiber optic internet, and pay with card. Tulum has been devastaded for a lot of "investors" and construction - destruction. So then, people come to finish saying "I was in the middle of the jungle, so excited to disconnect", when it's not a real jungle experience and they are just waiting to post the next Instagram Story.

[brittneyedwards]

All of the beaches in Mexico are public. The hotels cant stop you from walking through them to access the beach. You can literally put your blanket on the sand right next to anybody's fancy $100 minimum spend chair. So dont be shy! I walked through Ahua daily to use the beach.

[thesexychef]

Me & 11 of my girl friends just came back from Tulum for a week and it was amazing. We had a private penthouse that was guarded 24hrs and we had private drivers too. They were at out “beck n call” 247 we booked through airb n b and her name was Laura she’s a super host and had great service. She booked our excursions and everything even booked our private chefs for the last night. Our drivers were from Cancun but they knew Tulum very well. We went to the beach twice in that very entrance in the video. We ate on the beach. EVERYTHING was awesome in Tulum. The only thing that was different from living in the US was not being able to drink the water in Tulum and not being able to flush our toilet tissue when we used it but other than that we had a ball. We zip lined rode horses rode atv’s and swam in the Cenotes. The Tulum tower was my favorite. I recommend it! Enjoy

[zzhpgurl]

I went to Tulum and honestly was very disappointed. I really didn’t care about the modern world amenities, my problem was the following:
1. The massive seaweed problem! This is known as sargassum season. The seaweed completely ruins the beaches in Tulum. If you want a stunning beach in MX during this season, I’d opt for Cozumel or Isla de Mujeres.
2. “Tulum-inatis” the people say they need no worldly possessions and it’s about peace and love but then will do some green juice meditation blah blah for $1000.
3. How expensive everything is compared to almost everywhere else in Mexico. This is a tourist trap, there’s no reason for you to spend more than 35 MXP (~$1.15 USD) per taco, even that’s getting up there. This because they can get it out of people.
4. Scooter/bike rentals asking for a passport as a “safety deposit”. I’m sorry, but absolutely not.
5. Taxis from the northern part of the beach to get into town will charge you 4 times more because they know the way out is to walk through the national park (about 3 miles). Also they will cap the number of people in taxis so if you’re in a large group, you are forced to take more taxis.
6. Cenote guided tours are a rip off. The only thing that might be worth it is if you’re diving (not snorkeling) because those guides are cave dive certified and equipment rentals are overpriced in Tulum.
7. Every single dive shop I went to requires that if you do an equipment rental then you must have a guided tour. If you are a diver, I highly recommend bringing your own equipment so you’re not having to pay hundreds of dollars on a guide.

[m.b.]

Thanks for being HONEST! Some people are mad, but as an experienced traveler I appreciate all that you described in the video. Locals won’t like criticism but it just helps us as a traveler to know if you want to go to that place DEsPITE those things and to have a heads up. I appreciate you. New sub!

[Benulus]

I can 100% agree on this. I went to Tulum in November & was overwhelmed of this exact things! Thank you for the video!

[RJeter]

a lot of the ''problems'' that you describe arent problems at all. they're just part of living in a place that's less developed than what we're accustomed to as americans. some of the other inconveniences you detailed aren't endemic. a lot of those things are a result of the gringoization of the area.

[CancunManny]

Only up to @2:20 but I've already came up with one of the classics, where folks that do travel blogs often mention the problem but not the key solution. Yes, taxis will try to overcharge you. She did a great job pointing that out, so yes you have to "negotiate" the rate, but she forgot the KEY part, you have to negotiate the rate BEFORE you get on and agree to the ride.

The right way to use a taxi in Mexico without a taxi meter (I think most states do require them but not in Quintana Roo), is to pull over the taxi driver, and ask them BEFORE you get in "how much to so and so place". They will give you a price, if you agree you agree, if you don't you call out your price, if he agrees, he agrees. What you DON"T want to do, is get in the taxi, tell them to take you to so and so place, once there expect to negotiate a rate because that is how you were told it works.

@3:12 She just finished talking about cenotes. What she said is sortha true for the moment, but because of Covid. I know way more cenotes than most, and visit them much more frequent than pretty much anyone else. The only cenote that I know of that has rates that go up and down between visits is Chaak Tun on Playa del Carmen. I literally stopped taking clients there because each visit was like I new set of rates and rules.

That said, she visited in Nov 2020. Everything was shutdown completely earlier in the year because of covid. Most spots have reopened under state guidelines (at the moment running at 60% capacity) but when they reopened most raised their rates drastically. I don't visit calavera too much, but I know El Grand Cenote went from 180 pesos to 300, but claim they now include the lifejacket rental (was 20 pesos). Now tourism overall has dropped drastically because of covid, so I don't see anything wrong with them charging more since there are so many less tourists in the area.

[andreesandahl]

Tulum was the most magical place 25 yes ago. Quiet, tree lined street with a few restaurants, villas and hotels on the ocean side. Turquoise water, white sugar sand. Then came social media and it exploded, got expensive and is overwhelming. Moral of the story… when you find a little slice of heaven, keep quiet about it.😊

[Gunslinger]

As a choosen priest of Ixchel, I once trained on the beach of Tulum and lived in a simple thatched sand hut not far from the mystic Mayan citadel ruins!
In that bygone era of the eighties, I bought my daily meal from home ward bound fishermen and cooked it by the sea!
The pendulum of the spirit of change swings from extreme to extreme!
Ixchel has taught me nothing remains the same in this world of impermanence, except the eternal growth of understanding wisdom!

[NM-bnjh]

I stayed at Dune Botique hotel there last month. It was an amazing experience. I didn't leave the hotel other than for dinner. I didn't need to. I was on one of the most beautiful beaches with great beach side service. And my room was so nice. The ac worked the entire time. It is expensive there but it is definitely worth visiting.

[anime-tmdh]

Just came back from Tulum with friends and we had a fantastic time. While some of the things you mentioned were things we experienced as well, for us the Pros outweighed the Cons. Especially the techno parties on the beach!!!

[joiab]

I wish I had watched this before I moved to Tulum haha! Basically everything you shared was helpful. You forgot to mention the trash everywhere, the amount of strays that break your heart or terrify you and the fact that you can't flush toilet paper. Also it's dusty and dirty. True that getting to the beach is a hassle so I spend more time in town. But I love it anyway. People are so friendly. The food is delicious! At Caonova in La Valeta you can get a pizza and two beers for $10. I'm never going back to Illinois! Thank you for sharing. If I see you in town I'm gonna say hello!

[michaelyoung]

I’m in Tulum now for a 1-week trip. Your video is pretty accurate so far. I didn’t expect this place to be as expensive as it is.

[squiddah]

Tulum was magical 30 years ago when you wandered down the (then unpaved) beach road, paid $5 for a cabana on the beach with only hammock hooks and a shared bathroom. Now, the same thing is called “eco sheik” for $250 and powered by diesel generators with one little windmill to light a single bulb just so they can make us feel warm and fuzzy about being environmentally conscious.

[candaceingram]

Was just there Oct 22 - Oct 25. Had a fabulous time! No mosquitos ever bit me, and I ate in lotsa awesome dining places and took several great tours to the pyramids, cenotes, and several Mayan communities. In other words, I was outdoors a lot! No problem with toilets flushing or the air conditioner either. stayed at Central Lagunas Tulum. Go there! You won't want to return home!💗

[bri]

Great realistic expectations video!! I feel like Tulum is one of those places that is glorified and travelers have to remember that if you want to do it on a realistic budget you have to make some sacrifices!! Thanks for the tips! I will be heading there in April

[jazzgigi]

Welcome to Mexico! You will encounter a lot of things like the ones you mention all over Mexico. Not just in Tulum. I love my country, Mexico 🤍

[natalicruzrendon]

We just came back from Tulum and encountered ALOT of what you mentioned and it was a lack luster experience... don’t think we will ever return unfortunately.. did have a beautiful beach we went on which made the trip a lil bit better!! Thank you and really wish I would have seen this video before we went too

[kjb]

The most beautiful place I’ve ever been. Definitely recommend longer stays because there is so much to see and you’ll never want to leave