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Tulum, Mexico

So, thinking about a trip to Mexico? Try Tulum.

Why Tulum? Well for starters, its easy to get to. Tulum is about 80 miles south of Cancun on Hwy 307. Traffic is fairly heavy and you can expect about a two hour drive, but the drive is not bad. Upon arriving at the airport in Cancun, you can rent a car or take a taxi. Another alternative is to arrange for a driver. But as nice as it is to have someone else haul you around, you are going to want a car in Tulum. Everything is pretty spread out and unless you have a hefty life insurance plan, don’t even think about riding bikes unless you’re ok with spending a few days in a Mexican hospital. Again, because of the many shops and restaurants in and around Tulum, renting a car is the best option IMHO.

Papaya Playa Project (PPP)

Tulum has a ton of great hotels and resorts. A couple of my favorites are Habitas and Azulik. On this last trip, my friends suggested PPP. Overall, we had a great time, but had mixed reviews of this Marriott resort property. First and foremost, while this place is expensive, it doesn’t pack much bang for the buck in terms of dollars spent to luxury / service. The rooms are nice, but small, and at least our did not even have a chair to sit down. And don’t even think about tv, phones, or music in your room. This place is “primitive” by today’s standards and there was about a 2 1/2” gap between the bottom of our door and the floor. There was at least one restaurant on the property. The food was good and seating was both inside and outside along the beach. So you’re thinking about chillaxing by the pool and have some adult beverages? Yea, sounds great but sorry. At least when we were there, there was NO FOOD or BEVERAGE SERVICE at the pool. WTF. We ended up getting a styrofoam cooler and some beers and did just fine on our own.

On top of all that, don’t even think about getting into the pool unless you bring along about 10’ of rope to haul your ass out of it because there aren’t any steps or ladders. And the pool is deep AF so unless you’re about 6’ 10”, you better be able to tread water for a long time have good upper body strength as you try to scale the wall to freedom. But then again that’s the great thing about Mexico right? Safety and the foreseeability of personal injury and even DEATH don’t really factor when your down south of the Rio Grande.

In all, I would give PPP a 7 out of 10. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible either. Just know what you’re getting into before you go and manage your expectations and you should be fine. Here is a link to the PPP website: https://www.papayaplayaproject.com.

Ocumare

No one should go hungry in Tulum. From food trucks to 5 star restaurants, Tulum has it all. One of the best restaurants hands down is Ocumare.

Ocumare’s mission is stated as follows: “to share & bring the highest quality of our foreign roots to enhance your culinary experience.” Well, they’ve done a great job in trying to fulfill that mission. “Ocumare” is a cacao seed whose fineness and quality is said to have surpassed boundaries by changing the Mexican cacao culture forever. As such, Ocumare presents a shared dining experience with a menu featuring flavors from around the world — India, Morocco, Argentina, and Spain.

Lots of seafood at Ocumare, including our favorites — the Cured Bass and the Mediterranean Ceviche. The Grilled Octupus and the Burning Grouper was also amazing. It’s all fabulous and no matter what you order, it’s going to be great. The restaurant has a cool vibe and is dark with a lot of candles for lighting. The staff were helpful and not shy about making suggestions based on what they like and what is popular. I would give this restaurant 9 stars out of 10. The only reason it doesn’t get a 10 is because I don’t give 10 stars. Here is a link to the Ocumare website: https://www.ocumaretulum.com.