Tulum // A 15 Year Anniversary Trip
Back before 2020 we initially planned to celebrate our 15 year anniversary in Europe. After covid hit we tentatively planned a trip stateside in the pacific northwest. However, after some research we found a lot of the area had yet to fully open after covid outbreak, and the climate that time of year was not super favorable. With our choices limited we decided on a spot in Mexico, (Tulum), that we’d been wanting to go to for a while. What started as a third choice quickly showed that it was just as desirable a location as any, with amazing food, activities and options for rest and relaxation.
With the help of Nana and Papaw Fife, and fresh new covid vaccines, we were ready to go and celebrate 15 years of wedded bliss.
We booked a room with a balcony as well as a private rooftop hot tub and sundeck for 10 nights at the Beach Tulum. I highly recommend this resort for anyone over the age of 40 visiting the area. It’s one of the few on the beach that is quiet and laid back with most live music ending at 10 or 11 versus the all night club scenes further down the beach.
The beaches are cleaned every morning, and service was second to none. Not sure if this is a result of the pandemic, but to order food/drink all we had to do was contact the service via what’s app and our request appeared moments later.
The room also came with a super comfy beach bed reserved for us throughout the duration of our stay - so no fighting for spots on the beach first thing in the morning.
The beaches were great, and we spent a good deal of time relaxing with a cocktail reading a book, listening to a podcast, or watching the many influencers who flock to Tulum in the wild.
But one of the greatest things about Mexico, and Tulum in particular, is the breadth of activities that it provides outside of just lounging on the beach - which is exactly our favorite way to vacation. Not to mention the quality of both healthy alternatives and rich amazing flavors in both their food and drinks. Eleven days is a long time to spend on a vacation in just one city, but we never tired of Tulum and even missed out on some things that we will just have to save for the next trip.
Paddleboarding at Kaan Luum
Kaan Luum Lagoon was a must do on our list, and since we both like to paddle board we booked a tour with a local company early one morning. We ended up being the only people on the tour and when we arrived we had the whole lagoon to ourselves. It was pretty magical.
After some time paddle boarding our guides promised us some of the best tacos in Tulum. Being spoiled in Texas we were slightly skeptical, but these tacos fully delivered.
Cenotes of the yucatan peninsula
This region of Mexico is well known for their beautiful cenotes so we knew while planning this trip that this was something we wanted to explore. There are so many in the area so we basically just got to dip our toes in a fraction of what was out there.
valladolid
Valladolid is a mayan city about an hour and a half west of Tulum. It was close enough to a few of the cenotes that we visited so we decided to check it out.
Its a beautiful city with a rich history seen in both its architecture and many shops selling artisan goods made from techniques passed down over the years. The people were super friendly and it was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
food and drink
We didn’t have to leave our hotel to find great food and drinks. of course we would, but we had amazing options within The Beach Tulum.
all the other things…
Did you even go to Tulum if you didn’t sit on a swing chair?
Luckily our hotel provided in room covid tests, so we didn’t have to get ones off the side of the road. This was my very first covid test of the WHOLE pandemic! Happy to say we both passed.
