Since I had been planning for so long, I felt that I had created a fantastic itinerary, then the girls and my Maid of Honor included fun themes, planned outfits, and really took the concept of a bachelorette party to extremes. Overall, I could not have asked for a better weekend in the Mexico sun. Here is what we planned, a few tips and tricks, and a couple of additional places I wish we could have made it to but just couldn’t squeeze in during our short weekend vacation.  Getting to Tulum Tulum is located on the Yucatan peninsula about two hours south of Cancun. Cancun is the closest and cheapest airport to fly in and out of, so we all flew there from our various home cities. I had arranged for a shuttle to pick us up and drive us to Tulum. I didn’t know how expensive or difficult calling taxis would be from the airport, and I was very happy with my decision to book both ways, because it made things so easy with our luggage. I will say that we could have easily found a ride, because there were lots of companies offering at the airport, but I have no idea what their costs would have been.  I used USA Transfers to and from the airport, and it only cost $250 round trip. We had nine people in our party, so this equaled out to about $25 each. USA Transfers was very easy to find in the airport, but we didn’t know there were different terminals, and you cannot easily walk between them. There was some confusion while looking for our driver at first, because the last of us to arrive was at a different terminal than the rest of us. The best part about booking in advance with USA Transfers was that I was able to add on a package to have a bottle of tequila and a six pack of beer waiting for us in the van! That helped ease the small bit of stress we encountered finding the ride and get the party started! For the return, a driver met us right outside our Airbnb to get us back to the airport. He was even 20 minutes early to make sure we got loaded up in plenty of time for the first girl’s flight home. It was perfect!  Us on the bus with our bottle of Tequila and Coronas heading to Tulum. Where to Stay in TulumWe chose to stay near the beach instead of Tulum’s town center. In fact, we never even went into the town of Tulum! Everywhere I wanted to go was right on the water, so staying near the places we wanted to go was much easier and safer than having to hail taxis every night. *Note* that there are no Ubers or Lyfts in Tulum, so taxis are the only other option. Drivers can charge whatever they want, so be forewarned that you can be up charged while trying to get a ride especially if you have had some drinks. It could be late at night, and you may not understand the peso to dollar conversion rate as well as you do early in the day.  Beautiful sunrise from our Airbnb. Staying on the beach versus staying in town comes with a higher price though. For us, the pros of being able to walk everywhere was too good to pass up. The place we found was 100% worth the money we paid for it, especially because our Airbnb came with a private 24 hour guard, gated doors, a private chef for hire, and a pool!  Views from the master suite of Casa Cosmo.
Things to Do During The Day Tulum is a stunningly beautiful area with new and old architecture forming a harmonious combination with the stunning natural landscape. Aside from the beaches, which of course are gorgeous, there is a lot of other stuff to do and see around Tulum! Cenotes Fresh water springs, called cenotes, are found all over Mexico, and Tulum is no exception. There are dozens of cenotes all over the area. Some are located inside caves while others are just large open-air pools.  We didn’t get a chance to explore too many since we didn’t have a car, and weren’t really willing to pay to enter one, but our Airbnb host let us in on a “secret” locals’ cenote located behind the kratom and coffee shop. This cenote was free, but it was encouraged that we purchase a cocktail or coffee, so we did just that!
See more from our fun afternoon in this swimming hole, here, and see more Tulum Cenotes I saved on my Pinterest board here! Ancient Aztec Ruins One thing we were really hoping to do was tour some of Tulum’s Aztec ruins. Sadly, we just did not have the time without a car, bike, or Moped. They were too far away for us to walk to in a short afternoon. There are several different places to tour in Tulum’s Archeological Zone and south along the beach. We also could have toured Chicen Itza, one of the wonders of the world, outside of Cancun before our flights, but we just really didn’t plan to squeeze this into our itinerary. We will just have to save these ancient cities for another trip!  Photo from Island Life Mexico. Where to Eat Tulum’s food scene is as exquisite as one might imagine in such a high-end tourist destination. The location on the water gives way to freshly caught seafood with, of course, an authentic Mexican flare, and there is also a good bit of Asian influence in the town. We found both high-end and inexpensive, hole-in-the-wall places to grub, and everything we found was delicious! This restaurant was the sole reason I wanted to come to Tulum. I cannot deny it. The nests above the jungle are the most picture-perfect tables I had ever seen in my life. This spot put Tulum on my radar based on Instagram alone. This was, by far, the nicest and most expensive meal we ate in Tulum.  My bachelorette group at Tseen Ja above the jungle at Azulik.
See more from our dinner above the trees in my TikTok video below and make your own nest reservation online or by giving them a call, here! We found that Fresco’s was a great, easy place to grab brunch. Their menu changes weekly or monthly depending on the season and the ingredients they are able to get, and I loved that! Everything was super fresh and delicious making it a great place to cure a hangover. Funky Burrito Garden
Another place we didn’t make was Casa Jaguar. A friend said she made reservations at this restaurant months in advance during her trip to Tulum, and it was her favorite place to eat. It looked like a nice, 5-star restaurant outside and under beautiful greenery, but we just didn’t have time to make it. Pablo Escobar’s former mansion is now turned into a luxury hotel and restaurant. We had reservations to eat here one night, but canceled our plans after having a bit too much to drink during the day. I was very excited to see this gorgeous estate, but wasn’t too bummed when we changed our plans. It is a bit pricey, so it helped us save money by not going!  Photo from Travel and Leisure. Where to Party Day or NightTulum is full of so many beach clubs, bars, and late-night spots. This is by no means a definitive list of places to party. We were only able to explore so many during our three-day weekend, but I did a lot of research beforehand, and these were the places I found that I felt were absolute must-do’s: This photogenic beach club is one of the first things that pops up on Google when you search Tulum. These famous pool hands were something I made sure we saw during our trip.  Vagalume's famous pool hands. We booked a pool day here for Saturday afternoon, and luckily, got a covered cabana spot. Our reservations were from 1 - 6 pm, and had we not had a cover, I feel like we would have all been sunburned. Fortunately, the club wasn’t terribly crowded or rowdy when we were there. This was both a pro and a con, but we were a touch hungover from the night before, so it was nice to not have blaring music and tons of people around. We had ourselves a nice, secluded spot and could get as wild as we wanted without feeling forced. I have seen photos and videos on their Instagram when the place gets lit for certain DJs or events.  Inside our beach cabana at Vagalume. There was a $150 per person minimum which was not expressed to me when we made the reservation. It was a little hard for us to actually hit that minimum with nine people, but we purchased cocktails, a bottle of champagne, two bottles of Titos, and some food and only went over the tab by $100 total (not including tip)! The quesadillas were AMAZING. We talked about how good the sauce in them was literally all weekend.  The group at Vagalume! This place is awesome! I will say it was a bit different than we expected at night. We thought it was going to be a club, but instead, we were seated at a table just like any other restaurant. The music, though, was fantastic, and there was a live violinist who would play along to the hip-hop music getting everyone up and into their chairs dancing and singing along!  Sparklers for everyone at Taboo! I wish we would have also made a daytime reservation here, because this beach club gets WILD! They have saxophone players and bottle girls with sparklers lining the pools. If the day club is anything like it is at night, this place is crazy no matter when you go! Confessions For a more traditional club vibe, we found Confessions. This sandy floored club was just what we were looking for – a good house DJ with lots and lots of dancing. We were advised to come here by our bartender at Taboo, and we were very happy to have found it. We stayed here till closing time at 3 am and had an absolute blast.  Dancing at the DJ booth at Confessions. This is one party place we did not make, but it was on my list and recommended by one of the girls on my trip who had been. It is on the north end of the beach, so it would have required a taxi ride for us to get to. They have lots of concerts and DJs here nearly every night of the week. Check out their website, here, to see their schedule of events, hotel room pricing, and to make a reservation.  Photo from GQ Magazine. Our trip to Tulum was honestly too short. There was still so much I wanted to explore and see, but overall, what we did and where we went was perfect. I have no complaints or regrets although my bank account was hurting after the trip, but that was expected. Tulum is a magical place, and I hope to come back to explore it and more of the Yucatan Peninsula!
Read more of my Tulum detailed guides below:
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Talkin' 'bout Tacos:
I'm Taylor, aka Tacos! I am sharing my journeys and experiences from across the world hoping to inspire travel and adventure in all who read. Archives
June 2024
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