Here is everything you need to know about visiting Tulum. Now, Tulum is really a lovely place, but the beauty in it can be found if you know where to look. I urge you to not just follow the crowd on Instagram, you will get sucked into expensive restaurants that offer half the quality of local spots, and tourist attractions you go to may be packed and less authentic then you had hoped. 

To begin with their are three major sections of the small city of Tulum to know about. The Tulum town, The Tulum Beach, and the Preservation area.

The beach clubs are really nice if youre looking to relax but,  there are some things to note about the beach. It's really expensive; You will find California prices for food at these clubs, do not expect local prices anywhere even close to the beaches in Tulum. Also driving here can be quite difficult, so please prepare. We recommend Soy Tulum Beach club to go to. Usually you can get free entrance if you buy a drink or so, which is great value. Also there is parking directly across from it. Please note that to sit on the beach chairs cost extra so please ask a waiter about that. This is one of the best places to swim in the ocean if the seaweed (sargaso) is not blooming. If it is, dont worry there are many other options below, that might be even better anyways. I think this is an important stop to see the "touristy area"of tulum, but note it is not the only or best way to swim / experience the beach / chill life.

Cenotes are definitely the coolest part of Tulum, hands down. PLEASE skip DOS OJOS, it will have a giant tourist line and be unpleasant and expensive. Im begging you to please try Escondido and Corazon. They are usually only have locals going there on the weekends and cost $10 ~ ish to enter. You can bike, or drive, or taxi. It is not too far from Tulum town, 3.8 miles. If biking please be careful on the roads, but you should be fine. Escondido and Corazon are on opposite sides of the same spot of road, but Corazon will take an extra 15 min bike down a long path. It is slightly better than the Escondido though. 

The water is crystal clear, there are rope swings, bathrooms, chairs to relax with your family. If you go please be respectful; don't play music outloud. Please be a good representative of us, these are more secret spots and we don't want locals to hate us. Also no Suncreen allowed in the water, bad for the fishies.

Also Consider Aktun Chen! It is a 2 in 1 Zoo and Cavern Cenote experience. It is insanely cool, but less accessible. It is about $40 PP and a 30 min drive away to the entrance of the dirt road from Tulum Town. There might be some tours that can drive you there and back but know that a ticket once you get there is about $40, so you dont get ripped off.

All of these are a non-negotiable MUST GO on your trip. There are beaches everywhere in the world, but there are only cavern Jungle pools with Cabanas in the Yucatan Penninsula.

As we said before there is the beach zone, and the town. They are about a mile apart from each other but have completely different vibes. The town is where we spend most of our time, it is the more local part of Tulum. Everyone always asks "Is it Safe?". The answer is yes, absolutely. Much more safe than any major city in the U.S.. I recently looked at Crime Statistics and my home City of San Jose, CA was apparently 3x more unsafe than Tulum which has an exceedingly low crime rate. Check for yourself, plus tourists are always protected, you are the area's main source of income.  

Aside from that, this is where you will find literally all the best and affordable food. Below I have some of my favorite spots below. Also it is safe the walk around at night as long as you are aware of your surroundings. I've gone clubbing with my friends a couple of times and walked home at 2AM and felt completely safe. I don't go out too much but I found this website to be pretty useful : The Ultimate Tulum Nightlife & Party Guide - 2025 - The Tulum Bible . 

There are two major supermarkets that have literally everything you'd ever need. Soriana and Chedraui. Chedraui is crazy busy and makes you pay for parking. Soriana has free parking and is literally the same thing but completely devoid of people. Easy decision to make on which one to go for me. They are hypermarkets, I think you can buy some types of cars at them even.

Ruins are super cool. Also you will see more Iguanas then you will ever see again in your life. Go in the mornings. The Ruins close entry at 3:30PM! SO many things to note about how to do this well. Parking is best at the Mystica Museum and then walk to the Ruins. You will have to Pay TWICE, Once to enter the Preservation and once to see the ruins. The first pay station is next to the permanent, large souvenir store with the statues. It is a concrete, white small building just past the store. You first pay there, and then you  pay once more when you get to the Ruins Entrance. It costs $18 for the first one, and $7 for the next, these are official prices and you cant haggle. There will be a bunch of other people yelling at you and selling you tours. Unless you want to do a water tour of the ruins on a boat (which I never have), I would say "No, gracias" to them. It is a little stressful, but if you go in knowing this, it is much easier.