Walking on the sand beach with the turquoise colored water of the Caribbean sea against the silent and solitude ruins of Mayan civilization – One could not have asked for more serenity. Yet if you want more of serenity, do visit here.
Tulum is a picturesque small town on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, a couple of hours drive from the famous resort town of Cancun. Known for the archaeological ruins of Maya civilization on the shore of Caribbean Sea, Tulum is a must visit for any traveler looking for tranquility and serenity with a touch of past. Probably, even the Maya kings would have loved the beauty of this place. Hence, they decided to build their ‘resort’ on the tropical beach. I would highly recommend this place because this is a unique place to find the ruins of an ancient civilization so close to the sea beach.
Bus to Reach Tulum Ruins: In order to arrive in Mexico, most travelers alight either at Mexico City airport or Cancun. Tulum is just 130 km south of Cancun on the Riviera Maya. Best and cheap way to reach Tulum is to take a bus from ADO bus terminal in Cancun which costed approximately 90 Mexican Pesos or approx 7 USD when we went ( Ours was a segunda or second class bus. First class bus costs approx. 120 Pesos). Before the bus enters the Tulum town, get down at the first Tulum stop at the intersection. Here you will find a road that leads to the ruins. Its a walk of around 15 minutes before you reach the entrance to the ruins.
Bus Timings from Cancun to Tulum: There are frequent buses from cancun. But if you want to see the sun rise over the Caribbean in Tulum, catch an early bus which starts at 4 am, 4:30 am, 5:15 am and 6 am from ADO bus terminal in Cancun. Do check the latest timings once you are in Cancun.
Colectivo or Mini-Vans to Ruins: These are Mexican form of mini-buses in which locals travel. To get an experience of the local culture, try riding colectivos and ‘chicken buses’. When in Mexico, be like Mexicans! They are the cheapest modes of travel in Mexico. You can get a colectivo from Cancum in every 5-15 min. Get down at Playa del Carmen and catch another one to Tulum (all within 60 Pesos). It will be awesome fun, i tell you on Riviera Maya routes.
Entrance Fee to Ruins: 59 Mexican Pesos, less than 5 USD
Timing for the Ruins: 8am – 5pm
Try to reach the place early in the morning so that you get a spectacular view of the rising sun from the sea. Once you are inside the ruins, do down to the extreme end of the ruins where steps lead down to the sea beach. Entrance to the sea beach opens only at 9 am. So, you must wait if you reached early and found the entrance closed. From the beach, you get nice shots of the ruins with the turquoise colors of the majestic Caribbean Sea.
Have you been to Tulum? Have you seen the amazing ruins of Maya civilization including its imposing pyramids in Mexico? Do let us know about your serene experience with Mayans.
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Read about more attractions of Mexico
Monumento a La Revolucion in Mexico City
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My boy, who learned last yr where the Mayans had made their home, found the pictures beautiful.
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Thanks so much. Hope you had a nice time in Tulum and with Mayan relics 🙂
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I am a BIG fan of anything and this place looks delightful. The first shot for sure is a killer.
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Mexico has wonderful jewels because it’s history also is pretty old. So lot of heritage sites. And Mayan sites are amazing.
Thanks for dropping by and enjoying my photos. Have a good weekend, Rajiv
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Heritage and historic sites are my favourite. There’s so much to know about them… It was a pleasure going through these posts of ur’s, keep writing.
Cheers,
Rajiv
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I am glad to know that you enjoy my posts. Even I enjoy reading your travel blogs, and especially the ones about visas. Thanks for letting us know about your experience with Singapore and Malaysia visa.
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Thank you Suryash 🙂
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🙂 🙂
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Too beautiful and serene for words, thank you for sharing and the information too:)
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Fantastic virtual tour 🙂 I enjoyed it. Bye. Kamila
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Thank you so much Kamila for dropping by my post. I am glad that you liked it 🙂
Have a fantastic week. Suyash
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I do hope one day to visit outside the United States rather it be Mexico, the Caribbeans or any of the islands…I love castles, beaches and would love to see the ruins of a foreign country, lovely pictures, you are so lucky to be able to travel.
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I am sure you will fulfill your dreams soon. Wish you all the best..!! Till then keep dreaming.
Thanks for your appreciation. 🙂
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You’re welcome.
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Of course I love this post. Great shot of the beach by the ruins. That is one of my favorite spots!
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Thank you Jessica for visiting my posts and your appreciation. We were in Tulum for a very short time and just to these ruins and beach below.
But after seeing your photos, i long to go back to this beautiful place again to enjoy the beauty and capture it in my lens. Again and Again…:) 🙂
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A favorite for my husband and myself when we visited Mexico. We’ve journeyed there many times before I started to enjoy photography. We will have to return. Thank you for the trip down memory lane. Great photos…!!! : )
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Thanks a lot dear for your kind words 🙂 🙂
Its really such a beautiful place in the backdrop of picturesque Caribbean Sea. Even we will love to return this place once again. We love Mexico and its historical sites 🙂
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Very handy information with great shots. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks a lot dear for dropping by my post and for your kind words. Have a great weekend, dear 🙂 🙂
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gorgeous turquoise sea!
Debbie
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🙂 🙂 Thanks Debbie for visiting the post. Have a great weekend ahead…
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A paradise!!! thanks from my eyes!! 🙂
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Yes it is paradise and a treat for eyes…:) Thanks dear for dropping by 🙂
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Wow… beautiful images! How could I missed it the previous week!
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Thank you so much for your nice words. Appreciate that very much. 🙂
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Your narrative is so descriptive and informative. This is a place I never knew existed, yet with your narrative, and stunning photography, I now want to visit! 🙂
Thank you for sharing! 🙂
~Carl~
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Thank you so much Carl for your nice words. I am glad my work could instill the thought in you of visiting this place. This is wonderful.
Do let me know when you are planning your trip, if i can help you in any way with any kind of information. 🙂 i will be more than glad.
Enjoy,
Suyash
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Thank you so much for this! 🙂
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You are welcome Carl 🙂
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I’ve been to Tulum a powerful, spiritual location on the ocean. Thank you for the beautiful photographic reminders.
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O absolutely. Its an amazing place overall and a must-visit place. Glad to know that you have been there. And thanks for your appreciation on photos 😉
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How exciting! I have been counting down the days until my trip to Tulum this year. I can’t wait to experience the ruins in person!
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Great that you are planning for a trip to Tulum. You must not miss this place. In case, you require any info regarding planning your trip, do let me know. I can provide you with loads of info about Mexico gathered from my experiences and others insights.
Thanks for your visit. All the best for your trip 🙂
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Thanks, I certainly will–do you have any recomendation for the best nearby cenote to visit? Also, I’ve heard rumors of an underground waterway that is great for snorkling. No idea where near Tulum that is though. I plan to head out to Chichen Itza as well. So excited!
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Hi Jen, i will be very glad to share with you my experiences. Since you plan to head to Chichen Itza, which almost every traveler does to see the magnificent pyramids, you may want to explore cenotes around the city of Valladolid. Most famous ones in Yucatan are around this colorful city. X’keken or Dzitnup cenote, the most popular one, and Samula cenote are within 5-8km from Valladolid. In fact, both of them are across the road to each other. You will get plenty of local colectivos or mini-van from Valldaolid to reach the site.
Ikkil cenote is very close to Chichen Itza ruins, not more than 2-3 km from the archaeological ruins. This is the one we had been to and we liked it. Being close to ruins, this is again very popular. It has a big opening at the top.
Due to lack of time, we could not visit any cenote in Tulum. But you may want to try El Gran Cenote, again very popular and crowded and recommended for first timers.
Casa cenote is another one not far from Tulum ruins where you can do snorkeling too. I guess this is the cenote which goes underground and very close to the beach. You may want to check more information on this cenote.
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We had covered Tulum ruins and Chichen Itza in a single day as we were really short on time. So, we started really very early from Cancun taking the earliest ADO bus to Tulum ruins. Once we were done with Tulum in a couple of hours, we took a taxi and headed to Chichen Itza where we spent the afternoon.
In case, you have good number of days in hand, explore both in 2 days and reach both the places early in the morning to avoid the tourist buses bring all the tourists and crowd. You get better experiences then.
Hope these should help you. Let me know for any more info. We had visited Mexico City, Teotihuacan pyramids, Cholula pyramid, Guanajuato in west. In Riviera Maya, we traveled to Cancun, Isla Mujeras, Tulum, Valladolid, Merida and Celestun 🙂 🙂
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Thank you so much for all the great info! We should have three full days of exploring and one or two half days depending on how our flights go. I’m sure I’ll think of something else to ask before Oct 🙂 Really appreciate it!
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You are most welcome Jen 🙂
Another recommendation since you are planning your itinerary. Make it a point to visit Merida Sunday market. Its a beautiful city and comes alive on a sunday evening, with lots of music and dancing at the city centre plaza. Do not miss this, it was one of my favorite experience of Mexico. Once in Merida, you can plan for Celestun, on Gulf of Mexico, if you want to see hundreds of pink flamingoes at one place. We were so pleased to see them in their natural habitat. 😉
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I’ve never been, but really enjoyed a visit through your beautiful photographs, Suyash.
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Thanks a lot Kan, for your appreciation. When you plan for Latin America, do plan for Mexico and Tulum. You will love the experience of this place and the lively Mexican culture and people..:)
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looks beautiful 🙂
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Thank you so much..:)
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It looks like a beautiful place! I’m wondering, with it being relatively close to the resorts area, how busy was it when you went?
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Its a very beautiful place close to the shore. We had gone in the morning exactly when it had opened. So there were hardly any tourists then. But i am sure as the day progresses, this place becomes so full of people, as i am able to ascertain with the number of shops and sellers were there outside.
Morning, as i said in the post also, is the best time to go to avoid lot of tourists and to get the best views 🙂
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Good to know for whenever I am able to go 🙂 thanks!
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Go go buddy….:)
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Great pictures of this fascinating place! 🙂
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Thank you so much dear for your appreciation…:)
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Looks like an amazing spot Suyash. Beautifully captured!
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O yes Tina. Its a beautiful place on the Caribbean. If one has a fascination for history and Maya civilization and its pyramids, one must visit Tulum and Riviera Maya in Mexico. Mexico is not only about Cancun, which most tourists amd travelers think about. 🙂
Glad you liked the photos. Thanks a lot Tina for your appreciation 🙂
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Wonderfull!!! I would like to visit this place !!!
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🙂 🙂
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Very nice travelogue. I do have a sudden desire to visit this place which you have portrayed so well. Amazing clicks 🙂
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Thank you so much for your appreciation. You must visit this small place on Caribbean in Mexico. Its really like a treasure out of some story book…so pristine and beautiful…:)
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as someone else wrote on my blog yesterday… the combination of blue and green gives a feeling of serenity… greetings from Ireland, were the weather is like one day snow, one day sunshine… one day winter and another one nearly spring 🙂 have a good one
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Thats true..Blue sky or water and green patches of land make it so serene…Enjoy two weathers in two days in Ireland…You are so lucky to be in such a beautiful country like Ireland…:)
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