Tulum, Quintana Roo

I LOVED the area around Tulum.  I was only in Tulum for dinners and sleeping and that was fine with me. It is a SCENE there.   What I loved was the surrounding area, the cenotes and jungle and mangrove forests.

Food/Drink in Tulum:

• Charlie's tacos - delicious vegan tacos, really nice owner
• Batey - did not get to go, but got a rec from many people about this mojito bar with live music
• Arca - the best meal we had on the trip, ate all the vegetarian dishes on the menu.  Delicious cocktails, wonderful outdoor jungle setting. they give you bug spray :)
• La Eufemia- low key taco join and beach bar
• La Zebra - ate here but was not super impressed.  Great view and mezcal drinks though

Excursions:

• WHALE SHARKS:  This is why we went to Mexico.  You have to check that they are 'in season'.  If they are, do yourself a favor and swim with them.  We used VIP Holbox.  They arranged our transport from Tulum to drive us to up Isla Holbox.  We had to leave at 4:00 but we were able to just snooze in the car.  The day was WONDERFUL.   You ride out on a boat for 1.5 hours or more, depending on where the whale sharks are.   Once you are there you have to quickly jump off the boat and speedily swim along with the shark.  I literally started crying because I was so overwhelmed at the once in a lifetime experience.  We had three swims with the sharks each and then headed out to relax at a sandbar and a snorkeling spot.  The tour guides were great, highly recommend this company.
• I went to the Mayan ruins in Tulum by bike.  I don't recommend it - it was hot, and sooo crowded.  But I guess its a must see? Speaking of ruins, we skipped Chichen Itza for hot, crowded reasons.
• I listed out some cenotes below.  You should either a) rent a car b) hire a taxi driver for the day or c) take an actual tour with a company.   We did both B and C and both were great options.  If you want to scuba then you need an actual tour.   Bring snorkel gear with you!
• We used Yucatan Diving and Travel for two tours. HIGHLY recommend them!  One day we did a scuba/snorkel tour at Dos Ojos and Sac Actun.  The guides were young, fun and knowledgeable.  We were the only people on the tour.   Then we also did the Muyil Floating Canals + Mayan Ruinstour.  Soooo great - we got picked up in the afternoon, checked out some great ruins with no other people around, then took a small boat across a lagoon and floated down stunning mangrove channels with beers and tequila.  Must do! 

Cenotes:

• Near Tulum:
• Dos Ojos - a popular cenote in Tulum, it might be crowded but worth a visit.  Two 'eyes' for swimming and one very busy 'bat cave'.   If you scuba, this is a big one.
• Sac Actun - one of the best cenotes I saw.  There are two big sections - one quiet cave with bats and one larger cave with a hole in the roof and trees growing through.  Breath taking!  Near Tulum. Pure magic!
• Cenote Cape- Ha - small cenote right on main road in Tulum.  Worth an early morning swim!
• Near Valladolid:  we hired a driver to take us to cenotes near Valladolid, which is a town worth seeing too (have lunch in )
• Cenote Oxman - must go ! Near Valladolid town. Go early so it is not crowded and have fun on the rope swing!
• Cenotes X'keken and Samula:   Two cenotes right next to each other.  Super cool caverns that you can swim in

Hotel:  We stayed at Alaya Tulum.  I definitely recommend.  A mix of upscale and rustic, great staff, great location, nice beach, good food.