Tulum Essentials: Start Here for Best Views

Lo Nuestro Petit Hotel
Our hosts at Lo Nuestro Petit Hotel: Miroslava, Poncho, and Jorge.

Tulum is known for its Mayan ruins, the only ruins found on the coast of Mexico. It is true these ruins are worthwhile, but they are also crowded by tourists from the Riviera Maya–resorts to the north including Playa del Carmen and Cancún. Or maybe we'd seen our quota of ruins for the week.  What we enjoyed was the town of Tulum, the hospitality we received at our hotel, and the spot-on recommendations we took to heart.

The highlight was meeting the owners of our hotel, Lo Nuestro Petit Hotel, and their little dog, Poncho, too. Our room was big, the mattress comfortable, and the hammock ready out on the balcony. Breakfast is offered (extra) and it's worth the time to chat with the owners in the lovely courtyard. (We liked the personal touches in the décor, and learned many were from San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato.) Miroslava (Polish, French), and Jorge (former accountant from Mexico City) are the hosts. This is in the town of Tulum – not on the beach – but Miroslava, in particular, offers passionate recommendations on what to visit (and stay away from) in the area. We took her advice and rented a car to visit Cobá ruins and a cenote. It was a great day trip. We ended up keeping the car to facilitate our trip to Playa del Carmen, and returned it there for only $20 more.

Mayan fortress by the sea
Mayan fortress by the sea

Of course we visited the Tulum ruins, too, and with more good advice from the hotel we entered from the ocean avenue, by taxi plus a short walk.

Some posts on Travel Past 50 may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links, we may earn a small commission. As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

After a tour of the ruins, we simply taxied back to the Playa Pescaderos (a short walk, but we were hot and tired and wanted beer NOW), a sparsely populated beach with miscellaneous fishing boats, wide white sand, great ceviche, and cold, cold beers.  Our friend from Spain, Eloy, wondered why all the beaches in Spain weren't like this, instead of overdeveloped. This southern region of the Riviera Maya is devoid of high rise buildings.

Visit Lo Nuestro Petit Hotel and make your plans around Tulum from there.

Besides great breakfasts of papaya and yogurt at the hotel, we enjoyed a dinner at El Asadero, a popular place that is worth the wait. (Or get there early, as we did.) We also had some really good food from a street place on the same road as our Hotel Lo Nuestro: on Calle Osiris Sur (right across from the “Casa de la Cultura,” in case your taxi isn't familiar with it).  The various open street restaurants offer sodas and juices, no beer or liquor. But you can load up on condiments to your heart's content.

As we plan our next moves through Mexico, we are thinking of retracing our steps back down the coast through Tulum. There is plenty more to see.

We met Eloy at Uxmal, then Chichén Itzá, then Tulúm.
We met Eloy at Uxmal, then Chichén Itzá, then Tulúm.

 

Travel Planning Resources

Looking to book your next trip? Use these resources that are tried and tested by us.

Be sure to start with our Resources Page where we highlight all the great travel companies and products that we trust.

Travel Accessories: Check out our list of all the accessories we carry to make getting there and being there a lot easier.

Credit Cards: See our detailed post on how to choose the right travel rewards credit card for you.

Flights: Start finding the very best flight deals by subscribing to Thrifty Traveler.

Book your Hotel: Find the best prices on hotels with Booking.com.

Find Apartment Rentals: Find the cheapest prices on apartment rentals with VRBO.

Travel Insurance: Don't leave home without it. We recommend Allianz Travel Insurance.

See all of the gear and books we like in one place on our Amazon shop.

2 thoughts on “Tulum Essentials: Start Here for Best Views”

  1. It was great sharing time with you!! I’d love to go back to Playa de Pescadores and have a cold beer by the sea…

    Reply
    • So great to meet you as well, Eloy. You are yet another reason why the Spanish people are the best. We will meet again soon in Amsterdam, I hope. Be well, my friend.

      Reply

Leave a Comment

If you liked this post, please share it.

Thanks.