Joe and I met halfway in terms of the first day activity in Cancun. I am insisting on hitting the beach and Joe wants to go to an archaeological site. Tulum perfectly fits the compromise, it is a major archaeological site and have an adequate beach area that you can hop onto.
The ruins in Tulum sits perched up on a cliff overlooking the turquoise sea. It used to be a coastal mercantile trading town. Inland, it is a major town stop for travellers from the north to south of Guatemala. It is about 1.5 hours drive from Cancun and about another half hour drive away to Coba.
Once you reach the site, you have the option to take a 5 minute walk or take the $2 shuttle that will take you in front of the site. The shuttle is ideal to take on hot days, as for our case, we have a baby in tow. Since most of the walkway was unpaved, we decided to leave the stroller behind which left us to carry most of the baby and beach supplies.
Beachview from the cliff.
El Castillo.
Access to the beach from the cliff.
Exhausted after the day from the beach.
We got to Tulum around noon time. After an hour or two of walking around the site, we went to the beach area to cool off. The water is colder than I expected but it was comfortable enough once your body adjusted to the water. By mid-afternoon, most of the people packed up from the beach and head up to another major archaeological site, Coba.
Note that there are no available facilities in the Tulum beach area. You have to get back to the parking lot area for the nearest toilet which is a ten minute walk from the beach. No shower either.
The next day will be an excursion to Isla Mujeres. I need a day of rest and let roast under the sun for the entire day. It's a must.
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