Historic places in Tulum

Historic places in Tulum

1. See

   Casa Cenote

   Here the Cenote goes underground 90 m (100 yards) before the beach, and emerges as an 'underwater' water spring about 18 m (20 yards) of the beach in the ocean. Tanka III Bay is 7 km (5 miles) north of the intersection to the ruins. Take a cab. Great places to eat and stay or scuba too. One of the ways to make sure you also visit and dive is to arrange taking a diving course there and it will take just 3 hours in total.

2. Do

   Coba

   – 50 km. A beautiful site; it was one of the largest Maya cities in ancient times. It boasts the tallest pyramid of the Yucatan Peninsula, the Nohoch Mul. You can still climb it, and the view from the top overlooking the forest for miles around is impressive. A fun and efficient way of exploring the ruins is renting a bike (M$50); just go to the rental place inside the ruins.

3. Do

   Ko'ox Diving

   Offers various adventures - learning to scuba dive, exploring cenotes, admiring local wildlife, kite surfing and paddle boarding lessons and day trips to Sian Ka'an and Isla Blanca for practice. Ground tours to Punta Laguna and Coba, Sian Ka'an, Muyil and Tulum Ruins are also available upon reservation. The shop has PADI certified Dive Master instructors, senior level 2 (IKO, KISS, PASA, IBO) kitesurfing instructors and local guides speaking English, Spanish and Italian. Diving tours start at 08:00 and 11:00 every day, private kite surfing and paddle boarding trips are with the following duration: 09:00-16:00. All gear, equipment, transportation is provided.

   Open now · closes 9 pm·US$85-250, varies by trip

4. See

   Mystika Immersive

   Some sort of immersive psychedelic Mayan art museum on the Tulum Ruins grounds.

   $25.81 USD (Sep 2023)

5. See

   Tulum Archaeological Site

   Zona Arqueologíca de Tulum

   The main attraction. Mayan ruins by the sea. Access to the beach directly below the main temple via the stairway is restricted. However, for a certain price through vendors at the ruins entrance, you can still take boat tours for views of the ruins from the water. To get to the ruins, take a collectivo at the bus stop across the street from the ADO bus terminal in Tulum. Simply ask the driver for "ruinas". The cost is M$30, payable in cash and small bills only. To get back to Tulum, wait on the other side of the street from where the collectivo dropped you off and flag down one of the passing collectivos. There is a bag check at the entrance to the ruins. You are not allowed to enter with any kind of disposable plastic or smoking supplies. As the line at the bag check can get quite long and it only takes about one hour to see the ruins, it is better to not bring a bag at all, because this allows you to skip the line. There is a 7-Eleven on the corner of the street where the collectivo drops you off, so that you can buy water after seeing the ruins. The entrance procedure is a bit complicated. First, you have to buy the bracelet to enter the national park. The ticket office is in the street to the right from the bag check. Then, you pass through the bag check. After that, you can either walk 500 m or take a shuttle to the entrance to the ruins. There is the INAH ticket office, where you need to buy the entrance ticket to the ruins. It gets very crowded after 10 am, when the tours and cruise ship passengers arrive, so better come early or late in the afternoon.

   M$100 in cash only to see the ruins and M$415 by card or cash to enter the surrounding national park. You need both tickets to enter.

6. See

   Tulum Tower

   A rotating observatory tower ride affording 360 degree views of the Tulum ruins and area.

   Wed-Mon Noon-7PM·$56.48 USD (Sep 2023)

7. Do

   Xcaret (ecopark)

   – 55 km. An eco-archaeological park near Playa del Carmen. Here you can admire tropical flora and fauna typical of the region as well as different expressions of the Mayan culture. In its facilities you can find an archaeological site, snorkeling in underground rivers, beach, butterfly pavilion, orchid greenhouse, regional fauna breeding farm, Mayan village, jaguar island, among others. For additional cost visitors can swim with captive dolphins; enjoy the Temascal and Spa services. At night you can admire the unique night show “Xcaret México Espectacular” which features a variety of performances from ancient Mayan culture to traditional Mexican music and dances.

8. Do

   Playa Ruinas

   Beach connected right to the ruins at Tulum.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Tulum (CC BY-SA 4.0).