What to do in Tulum in Quintana Roo

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Day 35: What to do in Tulum: Akumal Beach, Playa del Carmen and Punta Esmeralda

Today is going to be a day of many things what to do in Tulum, but all focused on the beach and the sun, something that we are not going to deny, we were very excited about this trip to Mexico in 45 days.
Initially the idea was to visit the archaeological ruins of Tulum today, but since we are going to have three days in the area, we have preferred to wait for the best weather forecast and thus be able to enjoy this last visit to an archaeological site, considered as One of the essential places to visit in Mexico.


To be honest, the decision of things to do in Tulum and the beaches that we have included in the list, on this trip to Mexico for free we have decided them thanks to all the people who follow us on Instagram, who yesterday when we asked them gave us hundreds of recommendations, among which we selected the ones that most repeated and that will be the ones we know the next few days.

What to do in Tulum. Beaches we will visit

As we mentioned, our main concern these days was to have good weather to visit the ruins of Tulum, so yesterday when we arrived, after visiting the ruins of Cobá and we saw that the weather forecast was not the best for these days, we decided to wait for tomorrow for the visit to the site and today, with all the things to do in Tulum We have scheduled, devote the day to a more beachy approach.

With this decision, we went down to the breakfast room of the Hotel Ginger, our accommodation in Tulum these days, when it is 9 am, to after charging energy, take the rental car in Mexico, take some postcards to the post office and start the Today's tour of some of the best beaches in the area and also some of the Top things to do in Tulum in Quintana Roo.

Breakfast at the Ginger Hotel

The first of our stops will be the Akumal beach, one of the most recommended beaches and which is also considered one of the best beaches in this area of ​​Mexico.
From Tulum to Akumal there is a route of about 25 kilometers and about 20 minutes of journey that we do on a road in very good condition, like most of those we have been traveling throughout this trip, reminding us that there is not always What to pay attention to at least become obsessed with what we read.

We arrived there when a few minutes past 9:30 in the morning and although initially they recommended us to come soon and for us that getting up early is not a problem, today we have taken it with some more tranquility, so when we arrived, now We see that like us, there are already several tourists in the area.
As recommended, we enter through the second entrance, going directly to the second parking lot where we pay 50 pesos for the whole day.

Akumal beach. What to do in Tulum

We have to say that as soon as we arrive we find the typical Caribbean postcard, the one that usually appears in the travel catalogs and that was the one that, we are not going to deceive you, we were looking forward to meeting.
Although after that first impression, the number of hotels in the area and how they have invaded the coast completely attracts a lot of attention, turning that incredible postcard image into something more commercial, which we began to intuit yesterday in Tulum .

Akumal Beach

Akumal Beach

This circumstance is something completely understandable and more in a place like this, although we understand that that should not imply that shatter places like this and that the line of nature should be maintained a little more and do something that was a little more integrated and not these moles of cement leave these places quite overshadowed.

Tips to visit Akumal

- When you arrive in Akumal you will see that there are several entrances to access the beach. We recommend that you do it for the second one, where nothing more than 200 meters travel you will find a parking lot, where you can leave the car.
You will see that against more you approach the beach, although the distance is only 100 meters, there are a couple more parking, but more expensive than the first. The first cost 50 pesos all day and the last, which is the closest to the beach, 100 pesos all day.
- As soon as you get out of the car you will begin to meet people who want to sell you both snorkeling equipment, saying that they are mandatory, like vests that also tell you that they are mandatory. Keep in mind that none of this is mandatory, so you should not rent it and much less if you already have snorkeling equipment.
- Another thing that we have read, although it has not happened to us, is that there are people who tell you that the beach is private and you have to pay an entrance fee. This is not true, Akumal beach is public and to access you do not have to pay anything.
- If you want to enjoy the place with peace of mind, we recommend you come as soon as possible. We arrived around 9:30 in the morning and there were enough people, although at 11:30, when we left, there was no longer a pin.
That is why, if you want to enjoy the place with tranquility and nothing with turtles, coming early has a prize.
- And finally, but for us the most important thing, take care of nature, in all aspects. Akumal is known for the possibility of swimming with the turtles in its waters.
Although there are signs on the beach with recommendations such as not approaching, not touching them, not chasing them or feeding them, the time we have been, we have not seen anyone watching that these rules are met, seeing true atrocities in the water.
It is at these times when we should be aware that not everything is worth a photo.

Akumal Beach

Hotel zone in Akumal

After being practically two hours on the beach of Akumal, we have to say that we take from this beach mixed feelings and that although the beach is very beautiful, the issue of the law of coasts in this area of ​​Mexico we see that it has not respected too much, besides that the premises are not integrated in the nature, being moles of cement the majority.
In addition, something that has surprised us a lot is that the hotels themselves put a kind of giant towels in front of the sunbeds they have for their customers, so that tourists can not put their towels in front of the palapas and thus ensure their customers beachfront.
This together with the issue of the treatment of turtles that we discussed before, the truth is that we have to say, it has left us a little bad taste

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

After these practically two hours and seeing that the sky begins to cloud a little, we decided to go in search of the next thing we have what to do in Tulum in Quintana Roo, and that is none other than going to Playa del Carmen, 37 kilometers from Akumal and about 30 minutes away.

Halfway we see that the weather in this area is quite clear, so we decided to wait a little to go to Playa del Carmen, approaching Punta Maroma, another of the beaches that have been recommended to us very much and that is very close to our destination.
The problem comes and will come in future occasions, when seeing that the entire coastline is covered by resorts, we decide to stop and ask at the accesses that we see marked on the map by public access. Given this and several questions at different access doors, we only received the answer that the beach is private, so that already somewhat boring, we decided to eliminate this visit from the itinerary of things to do in Tulum of today, leaving already direct to Playa del Carmen.

We arrived there after 12:30 in the morning, parking directly at the Sanborns shopping center, very close to Fifth Avenue, the main artery of Playa del Carmen and one of the places we want to know.
With the car already parked, we headed directly to the most famous street in Playa del Carmen and it is here when we have a kind of crash, to put it in a way, and we find a place full of tourists, something we already imagined , but we did not perceive that it would be so exaggerated.
In addition we find a street focused entirely on tourism, where we feel like an amusement park, something that the truth after our experience in recent weeks touring a more traditional Mexico, shocks us brutally.

Carmen beach. Fifth Avenue

After touring the very long pedestrian street parallel to the beach, we decided to stop at a Japanese restaurant, Sushi Club, where we ordered a tuna tartare, 3 varieties of sushi, two lemonades and two coffees for 891 pesos.
The truth is that after trying it we have to say that we have not liked it too much and although the service is good, both the quality of the fish and the cooking of the rice have not finished us, so we would not recommend it.

We leave the restaurant when it is 2:15 in the afternoon, returning again to Fifth Avenue to finish it and finish confirming the vision we had already had during the first minutes we traveled.
As we have commented previously, Playa del Carmen was a destination that we initially did not include in the itinerary of this trip to Mexico for free.
The idea of ​​coming to spend a few hours was because they recommended it to us, in addition to knowing that it is one of the most visited places in the area, so we decided that we could not stop adding it in the things to do in Tulum.

After the experience we have to say that Playa del Carmen is the place that least resembles the Mexico that we have known weeks ago, so after these hours knowing it, we end our adventure in Playa, as it is known, to Go to Punta Esmeralda, a beach that is 3 kilometers from Playa del Carmen and that, from what we have been told, is a beach where only locals go and where the atmosphere is very interesting.
We arrived there when it is 3:30 in the afternoon and after parking directly in one of the streets of access to the beach, we can say that we find another of the postcard images of the travel agencies, but with a local atmosphere that we love, which highlights a kind of emerald pool, which owes its name to the beach, in addition to many local food stands, which make this place, a corner of Quintana Roo perfect to enjoy relaxation.

Emerald Point

Emerald Point

We recommend that if you come to Punta Esmeralda do not stay only with the first area of ​​the beach. If you go in the opposite direction to the direction in which Playa del Carmen is located, it seems that the beach becomes increasingly wild, giving us own images of travel catalog, in which we are not going to deceive you, we would have stayed for hours.

Emerald Point

Emerald Beach

It's almost 5 in the afternoon, when with great sorrow, we decided that the time has come to leave Punta Esmeralda, one of the beaches that we liked the most so far, to start the return to Tulum, our base of operations these days .

Emerald Point

Already on the road back to Tulum and seeing that the weather is still good, we decided to try our luck again by making a stop at Paamal beach, a beach that is about 25 kilometers from Playa del Carmen and that is in the direction of our destination .
We arrive here when it is 5:30 in the afternoon and encountering a barrier in the middle of the road, we decided to ask again for access to the beach. It is here when we meet again the same situation this morning: they tell us that this beach is private and we can only access if we go to the restaurant.
Being the time it is, we tell you that there is no problem, but that we will only take something, since our goal is to take some photos. Given this answer, they tell us directly that no, that photographs cannot be taken, so without understanding anything they tell us and preferring not to enter into conflict, we decided to end our search for beaches for today and the rest of the days, leaving as visits only those that we have clear access and that we know, do not have such prohibitions.

With the mood a bit warmed by the situation, although relieved by the decision not to go through these bad times again, we make our way back to Tulum, stopping before at a gas station to fill the deposit for 630 pesos.
It's almost 7 when we arrive in Tulum, where we leave the car at the Ginger Hotel, where after taking a shower and resting for a while, we go for a walk around Tulum and have dinner at our usual restaurant La Malquerida, where we say goodbye day with a couple of pizzas, two soft drinks and coffees for 440 pesos.

And so, after this first day at the beach we return to the Ginger hotel to dream about tomorrow. The day we will finally know, the ruins of Tulum.

Today with the visits to do in Tulum has led us to know the Akumal beach, Playa del Carmen and Punta Esmeralda.

Day 36: Visit the ruins of Tulum, Playa Paraíso and Playa Pescadores

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Video: A glance at what to do in Quintana Roo, Mexico - from Cancun to Tulum and beyond (March 2024).