Where To Stay | Tulum

*This week my friends are sharing their wonderful trip to Tulum, Mexico! Kendra and Lauren went to Tulum this past February, and they are very generously sharing it with The Constant Wayfarer. 
Anyone want to go to Tulum? 

Housing

For the first part of the trip we stayed at Cabanas Maalix. They have 3 beach front cabanas and 4 just behind them in a little courtyard. It’s not lux, but it’s pretty spectacular.

We were a bit unsure at first. It seemed more rustic than we were prepared for. But that quickly melted away as we settled in. To the point that we were crushed to leave for another Air bnb and ended up coming back to that beach several times. We adored our little paradise.

We called Cabana 7 home for two nights. When you open the sliding door, you are on the beach. No fuss, no walking path. Just a beautiful view. We had a little porch with chairs and a hammock and a pretty basin filled with water to wash your feet before going back in your room. They provide bottles of water, towels, and pretty strong wifi. There is no central air, but each room comes with a fan, and honestly we were pretty comfortable at night. (I would recommend staying somewhere with AC if you are traveling during the summer months.)

Each Cabana has a queen sized bed and a bathroom. There is wifi that reaches all the way to the beach. The beach is gorgeous. Not busy at all. They have plenty of beach chairs, some available under coverings. The bar has drinks, food and provides long wooden tables and hammocks. We initially planned on exploring other beach clubs but ended up incredibly happy and content with the beach where we stayed. It was very relaxing and beautiful.

They have breakfast and lunch available, but breakfast isn’t until after 10am (we made that mistake our first morning. Up at 8am, ready to go, starving.) Thankfully there are awesome places nearby if you just can’t wait. But the breakfast at the Cabanas is worth it, everything is so fresh. Fruit and eggs are brought in daily. Because they don’t know what they are getting in, it varies as to what you’ll get. One morning there was mostly pineapple and papaya, the next mostly mango and bananas. One morning toast, the next tortillas. They also make amazing fries, fresh coffee and have fresh coconuts to drink (they’ll even cut them up after, sprinkle lime and chili pepper on it…it’s amazing!).

The staff is a bunch of sweeties. They make sure you feel welcome, have everything you need and go the extra mile in really sweet ways. And the food is cheap! One morning we had our full breakfast (they even brought more coffee to the beach chairs when we had finished eating) and then stayed all afternoon, adding a couple of margaritas, coconut waters, beer, fries and more margaritas to our tab. Our total came to about $30 for the two of us.

One of the property owners has a kitesurfing rental next door. He’ll teach you and send you on your way. We were too lazy, but he offered to teach us many times. He is Italian, came to visit Tulum 12 years ago and never left.  

There are other similar places to stay at. Zamas has ocean view cabana rooms, as does La Zebra. They also have more hotel like room options.

Beaches

We just went to the beach at the Cabanas Maalix, but there are a few beach clubs that you can go to that just require you to buy something while there. Many have chair and towel rentals for you if you don’t have one with you (we didn’t travel with towels, they were provided where we stayed)

Playa Paraiso: lounge chairs that you can rent for about $5. As long as you buy something, anything, you can park and stay all day.  Prices are reasonable.. they have a restaurant, bathrooms, beach service and massages.

Ahau: They have sunbeds available on a first come first serve, and they have a raw smoothie bar on site to enjoy! No fees, just need to buy something while there.  

*Have you ever been to Tulum? Would love to hear if you enjoyed it and any tips you learned along the way?