Tulum Holidays

Where is Tulum?
Tulum is in the Yucatán Peninsula on Mexico’s Caribbean coastline, south of Playa del Carmen and the island of Cozumel. The nearest international airport is Cancún, just over 70 miles away, which is served by a raft of scheduled and charter flights; the transfer by road takes around two hours. Within the town (pueblo) area, you can get around easily on foot or by bicycle, but for exploring the six-mile beach strip and beyond, two wheels are the smarter choice.

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Sea-view ruins
Perched on a cliff above the shimmering Caribbean Sea, the remains of Tulum’s ancient walled city provide a compelling insight into life in the Maya kingdom. The port town was at its peak for 300 years before the arrival of the Spanish in 1518, its prosperity funding the building of ornate stone temples decorated with frescoes, and sturdy walls to protect them. Less than a century after the first conquistadors landed here, however, the city had been abandoned and swallowed up by the jungle, providing a heart-stopping discovery for later archaeologists. Discover the rich story of this compact site as you wander around the ruins, soaking up the atmosphere and the stunning vistas, then head down the staircase for a dip in the ocean below.

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Beaches
If you’re looking for sand as soft as icing sugar, you’ll find it all along Tulum’s unspoilt shoreline. For a dramatic backdrop, though not solitude, tiny Playa Ruínas lies just below the ancient Mayan city with its temples and pyramids. Playa Paraíso has soaring palm trees and a sprawling beach club with a party atmosphere – just the thing for night owls. Sporty types will prefer Ahau Tulum, home to a well-regarded watersports operator where you can learn to kitesurf or just take a paddleboard for a spin. Looking for tranquillity? You’ll find it on Playa Pescadores where the fishermen land their red-and-white boats, and most of all in the biosphere reserve at El Último Maya, where a wild stretch of sand is hidden in the dunes.

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Diving & snorkelling
With the world’s second-largest barrier reef on the doorstep, Tulum provides excellent opportunities for snorkelling and diving. At its southern reaches, the Boca Paila Peninsula in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve is the jumping-off spot for boat trips out to explore the vibrant corals and teeming marine life of the Mesoamerican Reef, with dolphin and turtle spotting along the way. Beyond the corals and the seagrass meadows, however, there are more unusual places for underwater adventures. You can explore some of the region’s otherworldly flooded sinkholes carved out of the limestone bedrock – and the weird and wonderful drowned cave systems that connect them – at Cenote Dos Ojos, Gran Cenote and Cenote Angelita, for instance.

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