Just one more post about Tulum. We gotta talk a few deets: Places to go! Things to see! It was our first visit, and we were only there a week, so we are obviously the farthest people from experts on the area. Nevertheless, there were several places we really enjoyed during our trip, and I want to share them. Some are places I found before our trip through online research, while others we stumbled upon while there.
PLAYA MAMBO ECO CABAÑAS There are lots of hotels in Tulum, and all of them are small and locally-owned. No big resorts. But there are lots of choices. We wanted to be right on the beach, and somewhere that was more rustic, so Playa Mambo sounded like a good choice from what I'd read online. It was.
We reserved through booking.com and rented a bungalow with ocean view. There are two of these available. Both have the beach and ocean as their front yard. They are also a bit bigger than "cottage" options because they have a sleeping loft. I thought this would be a good option for the kids. It was a small loft with a window, accessible by ladder. It worked out well for Cameron; he slept up there in his travel crib and it was good for naps because we could go in and out of the cabana without disturbing him. Willa was freaked out. She slept on a mattress by our bed.
Pros:
- Location. Playa Mambo's beach was beautiful. They had a small number of beach chairs/beds with umbrellas. There were several good restaurants nearby, as well as a mini-mart just outside the gate for cheaper beers and other snacks.
- The hotel provided breakfast to guests. Coffee, fruit, and pastries. Eggs and such were available at an additional cost.
- The staff were efficient and friendly. Our room was cleaned daily. The staff offered the kids beach toys on our first day.
- Overall, Playa Mambo had a great vibe. It was laid back and casual while still being stylish and well kept. It seemed to attract friendly people; we enjoyed interacting with many of the other guests staying there at the same time.
Cons:
- No fridge. No cold drinks. No way to store perishable food.
- Breakfast. We wanted to enjoy it because it was part what we were paying for, but it wasn't quite enough. It was our first breakfast and then we'd go find a second breakfast.
- Cash only. I alluded to this in a previous post. It is absurd that a place that charges what Playa Mambo does per night would not take a credit card. Or at least PayPal or some other electronic option. This was really to their detriment though; we would have bought many more piña coladas if we could have paid with plastic.
- Value. While we really enjoyed our stay at Playa Mambo, it didn't feel like a great deal. It was "eco-chic" which, in some ways, just meant "budget." There was no air conditioning. The shower was a trickle. We only got new towels every few days. All of this was totally fine for us, but I'm not sure it matched the price point.
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RINCÓN POBLANO I didn't want to spend a week in Tulum and only be at the beach. (However, the beach was really nice!) We ventured into town one of our first days to check things out. The town definitely had a less tourist-focused vibe.
My favorite thing to do when I travel is to do everyday activities like locals would, so it was nice to just walk into this random restaurant off the main street and have lunch. It ended up being a great choice. It was relatively empty; just us and one Mexican family eating lunch. The man working was quite friendly and the food was delicious. We ordered taquitos and a mole. And beers. And a smoothie. Willa got quite into smoothies on vacation!
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LA OÑDA A few doors down from Playa Mambo, this place advertised "Best Pizza on Earth." Now, I'd have to disagree with that bold statement, but the pizza really was quite good. The service was friendly and the beers were cold.
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BOLAS DE POSTRE (Balls of Dessert) Being on vacation was no different than real life; the words "if you X, you can have ice cream" somehow at some point were uttered by some parent. That was much easier said than done however. On Tulum's beach road, everything is run by generator, so freezers are few and far between. Willa was a good sport about it, but we did feel compelled to find ice cream at least once during the week.
We'd seen an ice cream cart when we were driving to and from town, so on one of our last afternoons, we finally decided to walk down the road to find it. It was a bit of a walk; Willa was asleep in the stroller by the time we arrived, but it was so worth it!
They called it "superfood ice cream" and all the flavors we tasted were divine. The Vegan Papaya Almond Bliss was my favorite, but the Cacao was also good and the Tamarind Jamaica was really delightful and refreshing. Willa initially said "yucky" when the chocolate came out (3 year olds!) but I think she was just thrown off by the nuts and other textures. She ended up devouring it. As did Cam.
There were no real cons about this place for us, but my only somewhat negative thought was that all the soymilk they were using might not fly in a trendy American city, but that was no problem for me (tofu foreva!).
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ZAMAS The New York Times told me to go to Zamas in the morning for the view and the huevos rancheros. So that's what we did. And, unsurprisingly, NYT was right. The service was great, the food delicious, and the location on the beach was fantastic. This breakfast is a really happy memory for me; I'm so glad we went. (Notably, Cam cried through most of the meal. See, another vote for traveling with kids! Even when they cry it's still a happy memory!)
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LA EUFEMIA While Tulum was overall a great travel destination, and we really enjoyed our time there, there's no getting around the fact it's quite touristy. Perhaps it was once off the beaten path, but beach road is now the path. It's full of folks from Brooklyn or London (or Denver), looking for some tasty tacos. Luckily, just a few places down from our hotel, was La Eufemia. It ticked all the boxes for me: casual, fun, delicious food, good drinks, reasonable prices, and an authentic vibe. It was the only place we went twice. It was also the only place we spotted the young, hip staff from our hotel eating after they clocked out.
They had a 2x1 drink special the first night we were there, and we didn't really think it through before Dan ordered a piña colada and I ordered a mojito. So when 4 drinks came to the table, we were like, "hey, I guess we're having a big night!" The second time we went, we were ready and just ordered one piña colada. Although I don't judge anyone who enjoys multiple. They were good!
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LAGUANA KAAN LUUM The morning I did my paddle boarding + yoga outing, they took us to this public lagoon. SUP Tulum has their own private lagoon, but it was quite windy that day, and Kaan Luum was smaller therefore less wind.
It was beautiful. When we arrived at 9:45am we were the first ones there. By the time our class was over, around 11:30, there were probably 20-30 locals there swimming. The sandy bottom of the lagoon was pretty squishy, which took some getting used to, but the water was gorgeous and a perfect temperature.
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SOL Not a place, but I feel compelled to note that while on the beach, the refreshing taste of Sol made it my preferred cerveza.
Salud, amigos!