A TRAVEL GUIDE TO TULUM, MEXICO [PART 3|4]
last updated: January 2024
While planning our trip to Tulum, the inevitable question came to our minds: Should we stay on the beach or in town for our seven nights there? After a lot of research, we decided to hedge our bets and do both! It turned out to be a great decision. In Tulum town, we stayed in Jungle Keva and on the beach we stayed in Habitas. I could not recommend both more.
There are two things that you need to consider while deciding on whether to stay in Tulum beach or town:
1. Itinerary: How many activities / sightseeing do you intend to do? Do you wish to spend most of your time on the beach? If you are not sure, have a look at our 2 week Tulum and Holbox itinerary; it was a nice combination of relaxing and exploring.
2. Money: Are you on a modest budget or are you indulging in full luxury?
Stay in Tulum beach if:
1. You intend on spending the majority of your day by the beach or pool.
The Yucatán peninsula has a lot to offer. However, if you just want to lounge around in a beautiful hotel, drinking morning smoothies and afternoon cocktails, no judgement here! Life can be hectic and sometimes your holiday needs to be all about what the Italians call ‘dolce far niente’; the sweetness of doing nothing!
THE ISSUE WITH SEAWEED IN TULUM BEACH
If you are keen on swimming in the sea, you should know that the seaweed problem that you might have heard off is indeed a sad reality. However, its severity varies. Every year is different, and time of year also makes quite a difference. Apparently, if you visit during early winter, there’s barely any seaweed. We visited in late April and, during our week in Tulum, there was seaweed for about 3 days out of 7. Naturally, wind conditions can also make things better or worse.
While staying at Habitas, the hotel had the beach cleared in the morning but by the afternoon, the seaweed would still pile up. Nevertheless, the beach is very wide so there is still a great amount of beautiful white powdery sand which is clear. You can relax on your sun lounger, play beach rackets or go on a beach walk.
In any case, if you don’t go in the water, the seaweed won’t make much difference to you.
2. You are comfortable with beach resort pricing.
There are plenty of beach resorts in Tulum. However, the majority of them are 5-star and 4-star, so quite expensive.
3. You would like to stay in a hotel with unique ambience
Safari style tents, bamboo igloos, tipis, and everything in between take the notions of glamping and flashpacking to a whole new level. Beach resorts in Tulum have leaned heavily on creative architecture, so there’s plenty of unique stays to go around.
Our stay in Tulum beach was quite a special experience, read more about that below!
Our stay in Habitas, Tulum
We stayed in Habitas for 3 nights and it was such a unique and lush experience. Technically, we stayed in a tent, but I don’t think that I can really call our tent, a tent! There was a luxurious bed, beautiful furniture, timber floor, A/C, fridge and laptop safe, all in a perfect blend of traditional Mexican craftsmanship, Mayan inspired ambience and modern amenities. Each tent has a private deck area outside (ours was overlooking a small cenote!) and a luxurious outdoor bathroom. We felt so close to nature and yet so spoiled by the service and facilities! The whole experience was quite surreal (in the most positive way)!
All the tents are wonderfully situated so that you walk through beautiful paths in the jungle -every now and then you also get whiffs of the copal incense that burns all day. There is an amazing restaurant which offers scrumptious Mexican cuisine; we had dinner there every night and these were amongst the best meals we had in Mexico. The spectacular beach bar stays open until quite late in the evening and, of course, there’s the turquoise infinity pool and unobstructed access to the white sand beach. The beautiful grounds also host a spa, daily yoga sessions and other events inspired by the Mayan culture. Bliss!
Stay in Tulum town if:
1. Your trip is not primarily a beach holiday
While Tulum and the Mayan riviera are generally considered a beach destination, there is a surprising amount of other activities available. If you are not dead set on spending all day every day on the beach, you might find yourself doing something different every day. You can visit incredible cenotes, archaeological sights, water parks or sites of ecological interest. Make sure you have a look at my top 5 unique experiences and sights in Tulum.
2. You would like a more budget friendly accommodation option
… and you have many excursions and activities planned which will keep you away from the beach anyway.
Do note that by budget friendly I do not mean hostels (although you can probably find these too in town). Tulum town is currently being developed at a reasonably fast pace and there are a handful of gems that have popped out that will seriously impress you with their design and facilities.
3. You are happy with driving or taking a taxi to the beach
The beach is about a 20min drive from the town. That’s not too bad. However, note the following:
- The drive can be considerably longer if there is traffic (which there usually is).
- There are only a few public beaches in Tulum with free access. You will need to pay for a day entrance fee to access the beach through a hotel. Alternatively, you can visit a beach club / bar for lunch in order to access the beach.
Our stay in Jungle Keva, Tulum
I found Jungle Keva through Dezeen, a magazine about architecture and design. As you can imagine, the hotel’s architecture and interiors are very impressive while being in sync with the local traditional building principles and materials. Our room was beautiful and very spacious, its highlight being the open air bathroom. Unlike other open air bathrooms, it features a dense net as a roof so mosquitoes and other critters cannot drop by while you are taking a shower!
Kendal, the owner of the hotel, is a welcoming host who truly cares about delivering an experience beyond that of a usual hotel. Breakfast is served in a communal table where you get a chance to meet and chat with other guests. We actually met two wonderful ladies and spend our first two days visiting cenotes with them!
Candlelit dinners and Sunday barbecues also provide opportunities to taste the delicious cuisine, meet new people and exchange stories about travel and life. Yoga sessions are also frequently organised in a beautiful space overlooking the turquoise pool. All in all, Jungle Keva is a special place that I would recommend to everyone.
FINAL THOUGHTS
So, that is all! I hope I was able to convey the fact that Tulum is a place where modern society, Mayan traditions and Mexican culture meet. All you need to do to have a perfect stay there is think about what kind of a trip you wish to have. As a last piece of advice, whether you opt for Tulum beach or town, make sure to select one of the numerous hotels whose design and ambience reflects the unique character of the Yucatan peninsula. You don’t want to travel all the way there just to stay somewhere that looks like any other hotel room in the world, do you?
This is not a sponsored post & I am not affiliated with any of the hotels, restaurants or organisations mentioned.
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