Day 37: Best beaches of Tulum: Xpuha and Xcacel
Today we will go to some of the best beaches in Tulum, since the time has come to say goodbye to this incredible place and start a new stage, which will also be the last, on the trip to Mexico in 45 days and we do not want to miss the opportunity to meet some of the paradises that surround us.
Yesterday we were in Playa Paraíso and Playa Pescadores, after visiting the ruins of Tulum and the truth is that we can confirm that for us they have been two of the best beaches we have seen so far in our travels.
Although we will have a quiet day, that does not mean that we do not get up early, so when it is 8 am we are already in the breakfast room of the Ginger Hotel, our accommodation in Tulum these days, where we charge ourselves with energy for minutes before 9, pick up our rental car in Mexico and start the tour of some of the best beaches in Tulum, which today will take us to Xcacel and Xpuha.
As we said yesterday, the decision to visit these beaches came directly from the recommendations they gave us through Instagram, which highlighted these two places as some of the best beaches around Tulum, in addition to not being overcrowded Due to its location.
Already in the car we begin the first section of the route today heading to Xcacel, the first of the beaches that we will visit, which is 18 kilometers from Tulum and where we arrived after 9 in the morning.
Xcacel Beach, one of the best beaches in Tulum
We understand that it is not very relevant to explain what we did at Xcacel beach, so in addition to some photographs so you can see what the beach looks like, we leave you some tips and information so you can enjoy one of the best beaches in Mexico.
Xcacel Beach, one of the best beaches in Tulum
Tips for visiting Xcacel Beach
- You should keep in mind that Xcacel is a nature reserve, a virgin beach, so there are no services. It is necessary to bring water, soda or food if you plan to spend several hours, since as we say, there are no services. Mind you, take everything you've brought with you. Try that only your footprints remain in the sand.
- Right in front of the sand parking lot, there is a kind of palapa where you will find the toilets, where you can also change your clothes.
- As you can imagine, in a place like this, you have to follow certain rules such as not smoking, leaving no trash or being careful with the surrounding fauna.
- The access area is through a sand path, about 300 meters, after which you reach a booth where you are informed of the rules to follow on the beach.
- At the Xcacel beach there is no fixed fee to enter. You just have to pay the will in the entrance booth and normally, from what we have been told, is usually 20-50 pesos per person.
- The schedule of the Xcacel Nature Reserve is from 9 am to 5 pm.
- The Xcacel beach is very long. We recommend you to visit it, since it is a unique experience and also, depending on the area, both the sand and the water and the perspectives change completely.
Normally in the northern area there is usually a yellow flag, so it is the most recommended if you want to bathe, in addition to being a beautiful area to spend some time enjoying the views.
Xcacel beach. Mexico
Xcacel
The central part of the beach usually has a red flag, so you have to be very careful and it is not advisable to bathe, at least first thing in the morning.
Xcacel Beach
The southernmost area also has a yellow flag in general, so it can also be a good area to bathe and enjoy the sun and the views.
Xcacel Nature Reserve
A good option to make sure is to ask at the entrance booth about the state of the sea. They will tell you in which areas it is safest to bathe.
If the conditions coincide with ours, after touring the beach completely, the truth is that we have to say that the area that we like the most is the northern tip, in which there is practically no one, since the few people that comes to this beach, it no longer reaches this area.
Xcacel
- In this reserve there is also the Xcacelito Cenote, which many people visit next to the beach. We have done it and the truth is that although small, it is interesting, so it can be a good complement to the visit to the beach.
The schedule is from 10am to 4pm, but we recommend you come first thing if you want to swim practically alone in the area.
Xcacelito Cenote
- To reach the Cenote Xcacelito you can go along the same beach, then access through a path or do it from the parking area.
We recommend you to access directly from the parking lot, since you will have the opportunity to travel a beautiful path, surrounded by palm trees, in which in some section, you have unique views of the sea.
Xcacelito Cenote Trail
Xcacelito Cenote Trail
Xcacelito Cenote Trail
- And last but not least, but quite the opposite: Enjoy it !. Xcacel Beach is one of the wonders of the country and one of the essential places to visit in Mexico, which we are sure, will not disappoint you.
It is 12 in the morning when we leave Xcacel beach, after a few hours enjoying a unique environment, which has given us unique postcard views and another of the places where we would not mind spending a few days, although you can not overnight inside.
The next stop today will be at another of the best beaches in Tulum and it is none other than Xpuha just 18 kilometers from Xcacel, where we arrived a few minutes past 12 noon.
Xpuha Beach, another of the best beaches in Riviera Maya
As we have done in Xcacel, we believe that it is best to leave some photographs in addition to advice and information so that your visit to Xpuha beach is as incredible as it has been for us.
Xpuha Beach
Tips for visiting Xpuha Beach
- Something to keep in mind is that there are several entrances on the Xpuha beach, some of them private that belong to the different accommodations and restaurants along the beach.
That does not prevent you from accessing the public beach and for this you must look for the second entrance coming from Tulum, where you will see that there is a small sign that indicates Xpuha beach.
After traveling 50 meters you will find a small sign that says that the entrance is 30 pesos that you will pay a little later, in a small booth after which you can park directly on the access dirt road, since there is no parking properly saying.
- Once you access the beach itself, you will see that Xpuha has two parts, so to speak. When you enter on the right hand side you will find different restaurants, which make this area more animated, sometimes with music and where you can rent sunbeds for about 100 pesos approximately all day.
Restaurant area on Xpuha Beach
- The part of the left is much quieter, with only one resort that if you pass it, you find an area where there is practically no one. The color of the water is spectacular, the sand of a white that seems impossible and the perfect place to relax in the typical postcard or catalog beach.
Xpuha Beach
Xpuha Beach
Xpuha Beach
- As we also commented in Xcacel, in Xpuha, despite not being a natural reserve or virgin beach, you must be careful with the fauna of the area as well as not leaving any garbage. They are incredible places, which nature gives us and we should try to keep it.
Xpuha Beach
Xpuha, one of the best beaches in Tulum
After spending an hour and a half in Xpuha, one of the best beaches in Tulum, in the area we were commenting on is quieter, we decided to get up from the towel to go around the busiest area, where we also intend to look for some restaurant to eat in.
Xpuha, one of the best beaches in Tulum
After looking at several options we decided on the La Playa restaurant, where we ordered some nachos with chicken and some shrimp tacos plus beer, soda and coffees for 450 pesos.
The truth is that it has not been bad, but neither remarkable as to recommend it as essential in the area.
Eating at Xpuha
It is 3:30 in the afternoon when we say that the time has come to leave Xpuha beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in Tulúm and although with great sorrow we start the way back to the parking lot, while enjoying this incredible beach that like the previous ones we have visited on this trip to Mexico for free, they have become "our places in the world".
Xpuha
Although we had not planned, we have been recommended to visit some cenote in the surroundings of Tulum, so being in this area, we decided on the Cenote Cristalino, located just 2 kilometers from here, where we arrived in less than 5 minutes, parking directly In the same door.
Crystalline Cenote
The schedule for this cenote is from 8 am to 5 pm and the entrance fee is 150 pesos per person. The ticket includes the price of parking that is free.
Crystalline Cenote
Being totally transparent we have to say that the visit to this cenote has not been very remarkable, and although the comparisons are odious, we cannot avoid comparing them with the cenotes of Valladolid that we visited a few days ago and that although they have nothing to do as formations, They are really spectacular.
More practical information to prepare your trip to Mexico
- The 10 best excursions in Riviera Maya
- The 10 essential places to see in Riviera Maya
- 10 essential things to do in Cancun
- 10 essential places to visit in Mexico
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Mexico
- The 5 best tours and excursions in Cancun
- Best travel insurance for Mexico
- Security in Mexico
Here, although the water is completely transparent, at the photographic level it is not so impressive and also, when we meet enough people, being able to enjoy a bath is not so experience as it was in the previous ones.
Crystalline Cenote
We are here 45 minutes and when it is not yet 5 in the afternoon, we decided that we will end this day in some of the best beaches in Tulum returning to the Ginger Hotel where after taking a shower and resting for a while, we go back to say goodbye to Tulum town, one of the places in Mexico that we have to confess, the more we have gotten.
After almost two hours of walking through its streets, we approached the Italian restaurant Il Boconccino for dinner, where we ordered some tuna loins plus a plate of pasta, beer, soda, dessert and two coffees for 595 pesos.
And so with this dinner we say goodbye to Tulum to start a new and final stage of this trip to Mexico tomorrow.
The best beaches of Quintana Roo
Although logically we have not visited a minimum part of the beaches in this area of Mexico, which we have visited, without a doubt we stay with Playa Paraíso, Xcacel and Xpuha.
We also believe that they are perfect to spend a few days at the end of the trip. If we did not leave for Holbox, we would surely have chosen this area to end our stay in Mexico.
Day 38: Tulum - How to go to Holbox, a paradise in Mexico
