Dirty Thirty Photography: Cancun: Tulum

Our time in Cancun was mostly spent enjoying the amenities of the resort and not venturing far from the beach and/or pool. However, visiting this part of Mexico requires at least some time exploring the Mayan ruins. Originally, we were going to check out Chichen Itza, seeing that it is the most well known of the Mayan ruins and one of the new seven wonders of the world. Tulum was recommended to me by a friend not long ago, but the main reason we chose it over Chichen Itza was the time and distance. Going to Chichen Itza was a full day commitment and is located twice as far from the Beach Palace Resort. Tulum was a half day affair and boasted being the only ruins located on the ocean.

Our tour started at 7:30 am by boarding a bus along with 40 other resort guests. It took about 1 hour to get to the ruins (not including a long stop at a supposedly authentic Mayan market, which seemed a lot like a souvenir shop). Upon arrival at the ruins, it was another 20 minute walk inside the walls. We spent 2 hours at the actual site. The first hour was spent on a guided tour by our tour guide Hector and the second hour we were left to our own device. Hector was an excellent tour guide and provided an abundance of interesting information about Tulum and its history.

Tulum is amazing! The ruins and grounds are located on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The view of ancient ruins along the vibrant blue ocean was almost surreal. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the site and taking pictures. Two hours was a sufficient amount of time to view Tulum, but you could definitely go for longer and spend some time on the pristine beach located below the ruins.

We did not go to Chichen Itza so I can not directly compare the two, but I can tell you that I really enjoyed Tulum and would highly recommend it! Below are some images from our time there. Thank you as always for stopping by and take care!