Travel Guide: Tulum, México, Part 1

When I first visited Tulum ten years ago with my friend Zalika, it was still mostly under the radar. Since then, there has been a proliferation of boutique hotels and restaurants along with the accompanying swarms of tourists. As beautiful as Tulum is and how welcoming Mexican people tend to be, Tulum’s popularity was perhaps inevitable. The destination is no longer the sleepy beach town it once was. With that said, I feel a bit weary about encouraging more people to visit. (Some other time I’ll explain my conflicted feelings about tourism in places like Tulum.) For now though, let’s get to this gargantuan guide! I’ve decided to break up my guide into three parts because there’s just so much information to share. In this first installment I’ll focus on some things you should know before visiting.

First Things To Note

Learn some Spanish, at least basic phrases that would be useful for common interactions. Mexicans in general are accommodating people but please don't expect them to speak English. Yes, there’ll be some locals happy to practise English. However, it's good travel etiquette to try to speak the language of the place you're visiting, even if you just know a few words. With that said, Tulum and Mexico, are perfect for practising Spanish.

Tulum sits along the Yucatán Peninsula and the Caribbean Sea. It is also home to a jungle. As such, expect it to be hot and humid!

The tourism culture here leans somewhat towards the eco conscious side (which is a good thing). Many places do not have air conditioning or reduce their electricity usage during certain hours. Instead of complaining, embrace these efforts. They’re little ways to leave a smaller environmental footprint while travelling.
Speaking of the environment, there has been a rapid increase in the amount of sargassum (a type of algae) on Mexico’s Caribbean coast. Many scientists suspect that this is due primarily to climate change and ocean pollution. While it’s easy to focus on the inconvenience of the algae bloom, I think the problem should serve as a nudge that we humans need to be more conscious of our impact on the environment.
Mexican cuisine is not the Mexican fare served in American chain eateries such as Qdoba or Chipotle. You might be disappointed if you come excepting Americanised Mexican food. Be open to experiencing authentic Mexican food. You’re in for a treat!

Currency & Spending Money

*At the time of publishing this post, the currency conversion rate was 1 USD to 19.89 Mexican Pesos.

Notify your bank/credit card companies that you’ll be travelling to Mexico so they won’t be alarmed by the out of country transactions and consequently, place security holds on your cards.

Budget how much you intend to spend and convert a large portion of that amount. You can do so either in a US airport or the Cancun airport. Unless you’re taking an Uber or have another pre-arranged option, you’ll need some pesos to pay for your transportation from the airport. There are a few international banks in the pueblo such as HSBC and ScotiaBank but it's good to have some local currency on hand. Many establishments accept US dollars but you’ll likely pay more than if you're paying in pesos. There are atm's scattered along the beach strip but they charge an arm and a leg. They’re more atm’s in town but even there, they’re might be some hiccups.
As far as using debit/credit cards, major stores and big restaurants accept the common ones. It may be a different matter at small businesses including stores, food shacks, taxis etc. - some do, some don’t. Thus, it’s useful to carry cash, preferably, Mexican. Also note that you can only pay in Mexican pesos for entrance at the Mayan Ruins. There’s an atm near the cashiers' desk but depending on the day, you will not be able to receive change from the cashiers.