Tulum and Playa del Carmen

Change

The Mexican currency is the Peso (MXN)

1 MXN = 0.0489 Euro | 1 Euro = 20.417 MXN

Transportation

From Flores to Chetumal: 225 GTQ direct minibus, San Juan Travels Company. The competitor is Marlin Espadas, whose tickets can be purchased at the Green Monkey Hostel agency, in front of the Hotel Ramada in Flores. Marlin Espadas use real big buses, but in Chetumal they have a separate terminal, from which a taxi ride is necessary to get to the main ADO bus terminal. San Juan Travels does have a good reputation, but I have to admit that, perhaps because I was expecting the worst, it didn’t go too badly. Prices: at the main office I was initially asked 275 GTQ, which is the official price, in another travel agency I got some discount without even insisting too much.

The minivan did not have air conditioning, and no sunshades. It was not the best, since that day the sun was really strong. The crossings at the two customs were simple. Leaving Guatemala, at Melchor de Mencos, I paid 20 GTQ. On the other side, Benque Viejo, Belize, long queues, little shade, and only one open desk. After the border crossing procedures, some passengers left. We then proceeded straight to the north, without passing through Belize City. 11 USD for Belize transit, paid when leaving the country, just before Chetumal. No tax for entry to Mexico. At 16.30 we were at the ADO terminal in Chetumal. The passage from Guatemala to Mexico was a cultural shock. The difference in infrastructure, just to mention one, is incredible.

From Chetumal to Tulum. Bus MayaB 12 USD. Just arrived from Guatemala, I tried to grab the first bus leaving to north stopping at Tulum. There were no seats left on ADOs. Without any local currency (there are no exchange offices in the terminal), I begged the clerk at the ticket office to allow me to pay in US dollars. Another cultural shock, the MayaB, a poor relative of ADO, still seemed to me very luxurious, a real armchair, compared to the chicken buses of Guatemala. Duration of the trip, about 5 hours, with several stops.

From Tulum to Playa del Carmen – 74 MXN with an ADO bus booked at Tulum terminal ticket office

From Playa del Carmen to Cancun Airport – 170 MXN always with ADO, booked at the Tulum terminal ticket office

Sleep

I arrived in Tulum at 22.00 without a reservation. Upset by prices of the few hotels available in the surroundings, I opted for a bed in a female dorm at Amorcito Corazon Hostel, more or less, 16 USD, right near the back of the ADO terminal. This is a latest generation hostel, hyperlusive, just renovated, with latex mattresses, comfortable, modern bathrooms, and swimming pool on the roof. Basically, you add a few cents, and it’s almost same price of a single room I could find the next day, moving for 2 nights at the Hotel Flor, in front of the ADO terminal. It is next to a renowned bakery, Flor de Michoachan, appreciated especially for its fruit and ice cream shakes. 459 MXN a single with a bathroom. Perhaps the best of the trip. A little noisy at night, because close to a club that played music. But I was so tired that I collapsed like death.

Other hotels seen in the area, before arriving to the above mentioned: Casa Rosa 600 MXN, I run away without even looking at the rooms. Hostal Cafè Cha Cha Cha, next to Amorcito Corazon, for a gloomy single room they asked for 29 USD, and the dorms were not that great. Hotel Maya, always near the ADO Terminal, more or less the same prices as the Flor, but with worse rooms.

Regarding the hotels near the beach, I did a search on Booking before leaving, then I gave up, since the least expensive, the Cabanas Zazil Kin, with sand floor and shared bathroom costed as much as 60 Eu. For those who scrupulously prepare their travels, the hamlet doubt is whether to stay overnight in Tulum Pueblo or on the beaches. If you are staying in the city center there is a huge choice of hotels, with better quality / price ratio, and same is for restaurants. The colectivos do not reach the beaches, so you have to rent a bike or take a taxi. A hotel on the beach is certainly very romantic and relaxing, but it is a bit isolated. It is essential to check very carefully the location on Google Maps, as many of them, although being reported as “beach front” are actually on the other side of the street aside the beach, with maybe another property, this time really “beach front” , right in front.

For my last night in Playa del Carmen I booked a kind of studio with kitchenette, Melissa Apartments, 400 MXN, some blocks away from the Fifth Avenue, on the 25th Norte. It was the least expensive I found on Booking, and bookable without a credit card.

Eat 

The first night in Tulum I had dinner with 44 MXN at a Chinese restaurant on the main carretera. The second night I squandered 145 MXN at the vegan Hoja Verde Restaurant for some insignificant falafel. In Playa del Carmen 145 MXN at the Bio Natural restaurant, next to the Scotia Bank in the Quinta Alegria shopping center area, on the 10th street. Then I recommend a kind of greengrocer who prepares delicious fruit smoothies at 18 MXN on the 25th Av., one or two blocks from the Walmart.

Excursions 

Having already been a couple of times in Tulum, I avoided the ruins, and I dedicated myself to the beaches. I preferred the idleness and relax to the culture. I rented a bike from hotel for 120 MXN a day, and I pedaled to the coast, first stopping at Playa Santa Fé, very congested

and then at the shores in the Diamante K area, slightly quieter.

The next day, with a colectivo, I went to Xpu Ha (40 MXN), then Xcacel (25 MXN) and finally returned to Tulum, another 35 MXN. The stop of the colectivos in Tulum is right in front of my hotel and at the ADO terminal. From the beaches back to Tulum, I just stood on the road and shaked my arms to stop them. Prices are fixed, and drivers do not cheat foreigners

Impressions

Compared to my last visit in this area in 2005, I was shocked 1) by how much Tulum town has grown 2) by how much Playa del Carmen has been cemented and 3) by how in general everything got worse. Of course, the algae presence (much less in Tulum than in Playa) did not help, but in places such as Xpu Ha, which once were heavenly semi-deserted, I noticed bubbles of foam in the water and smell of sewage; it is clear they built too much and the drains end up at sea. Playa del Carmen is a real disaster, the collected algae are buried under the sand, generating some kind of leachate which makes the water brown colour. In the area south of Senor Frog, again horrible sea, and bad smell of sewage. Seriously, I really did not understand how people could stay on that beach.

Let’s now talk about souvenirs. At Walmart, on the 25th, they sell same stuff as the Fifth Avenue, you pay the right price, and above all you do not have to waste time in bargains just to reach a price that would still be higher than Walmart.

Ultimately, if it is your first trip on the Mayan Riviera, just pretend you did not read this post, and come to Tulum: the ruins on the beach are incomparable and unique, and the sea beautiful when there are no seaweeds (so, check before leaving). As for me, I regret not having stayed a little longer in Guatemala

 

 

 

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