Why I Love Tulum
By Glynna Prentice, International Living
I’m not usually a big fan of popular “resort” destinations. But I make an exception for Tulúm, in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. This little beach town is very easy to like.
In fact, if I had to recommend just one destination in Mexico for beach lovers today, it would be Tulúm. Cards on the table: I own a condo here. But for good reasons, Tulúm is where I chose to invest and where I enjoy visiting. I try to come a couple of times a year with friends or family to spend a week swimming, walking the beach, and exploring. It’s become a favorite for us all. Here’s why…
The beaches around here are among the prettiest I’ve seen anywhere. This is the Caribbean, after all, with its clear, dramatically turquoise water. It’s a feast for the eyes—and, since the water temperature is usually mild, a pleasure to swim in. You can often see fish swimming quite close to shore, all around you. Many people bring or rent snorkeling gear to see them, but honestly, the water is so clear that you don’t need it.
Instead, save the gear for snorkeling off the barrier reef. It’s the second-largest in the world, running from Cancún down to Belize. And at Tulúm it’s just a few hundred yards offshore—in some places you can kayak out to it. Companies in the area also take boatloads of snorkelers and scuba-divers out to it.
And then there’s Tulúm’s inviting ambiance. The town was traditionally a backpackers’ hangout, and it still has that low-key feel.
In the original town of Tulúm, you still find those backpackers. The main drag here is the north-south highway that runs from Cancún to Belize. This road is rife with the speed bumps and tiny roundabouts that you find everywhere in quirky, small-town Mexico.
Hostels, open-air restaurants, and funky shops selling clothing and hammocks line both sides of the street.
Outside of town, along the beach road that runs down to the Sian Ka’an Biosphere, fashionistas have replaced the backpackers. And while the feel is still casual and relaxed, the price tags are higher.
Here the road is lined mostly with little restaurants and semi-rustic hotels that back right onto the beach. Buildings—even cabana-style accommodation—often have palapa roofs. As in the main town, few buildings here are more than three stories high, and most are surrounded by jungle, so the feel is small-scale and intimate.
Best of all, the beaches are blissfully uncrowded. Have a cold beer and a plate of ceviche while looking out at the white sand and turquoise water. Only the rhythmic whoosh of the waves breaks the silence…
One thing this beach area isn’t, though, is inexpensive. At least compared to Tulúm’s old backpacker days. The fashion-industry stars have discovered Tulúm, and prices have risen to accommodate their fatter wallets. In season, a palapa-roofed cabana for two people, without air conditioning, can run $150 a night. That may not seem bad for digs where sea breezes blow and you can walk right out onto a first-rate, white-sand beach…but less than 10 years ago, that same cabana might have gone for a third that price. And before that you could have hung a hammock here for $10.
Though you can still ferret out some cheap digs and eats, prices in general are likely to keep going up. Mexico’s government has big plans to develop Tulúm and dramatically increase its tourism. And it’s positioning the area as a high-end destination.
At times I do wonder if success will spoil Tulúm…if it will become too developed and manicured, too expensive, and lose its intimate, slightly bohemian air.
But Mexico has learned a lot since it developed Cancún 40 years ago. Today Mexico prefers low-rise, low-impact tourism…and the kind of upscale tourist it attracts.
In other words, it wants what Tulúm has always offered…
[Photo by Janet Schwartz]
