My family has a timeshare in Riviera Maya Mexico, so we go almost every year. It’s the only trip I actually consider a “vacation,” since most of my trips I'm constantly exploring and adventuring. Here, I actually take the time to sit still and relax. Although its nice to relax, I still need to make sure I’m having at least some kind of adventure when I go so I try to find new excursions every year. Last year, I visited the pink lake and Ek Balam ruins, which is my favorite excursion in that area so far. This year I wanted to see some cenotes, sea turtles and venture around Tulum since Tulum seems to be one of the newest “it” destinations.
I personally have heard too many negative stories about renting a car and driving in Mexico and I hate going places with big mass tour groups, so I found a private tour group called Entertainment Plus. I was interested in a tour to the Tulum ruins and Akumal Bay, which has sea turtles and found this listed as an option. Then I asked about cenote options and was told I could add on the cenote, Aktun Chen. I hadn’t heard about that cenote but it was the only option, so I went with it. My next time in Mexico, I will probably try to visit a bunch of cenotes.
So this tour was actually pretty expensive for three adults since it was a private tour. Last year we hired a private driver and it was very inexpensive and the guy was great. The only issue was that we found a pipe in the vehicle with white substance. Now I’m not very familiar with drugs or drug paraphernalia, but it looked to us that it could have possibly been a crack pipe with crack on it? Not entirely sure, but we didn’t want to risk it if that were the case. Being caught with crack in your car in Mexico is probably not the best way to end a vacation. So we decided to go with Entertainment Plus. Our driver picked us up at our hotel along with a guide in training and took us to the Tulum ruins, about 2 hour or so from Riviera Maya. The unique thing about the Tulum ruins is that it is right by the ocean and was used as a port and trading post.
Tulum was one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Maya; it was at its height between the 13th and 15th centuries and managed to survive about 70 years after the Spanish began occupying Mexico. Old World diseases brought by the Spanish settlers appear to have resulted in very high fatalities, disrupting the society and eventually causing the city to be abandoned. You can walk down to the beach and walk along-side the water, looking up at the ruins. Its really the prettiest location of ruins I’ve ever seen.
I will say, though, I definitely preferred Ek Balam ruins to Tulum. You can actually climb on the structures in Ek Balam and its not nearly as crowded. I was surprised by how crowded it was. I did like it better than Chichen Itza though.
So to get to and from the ruins, you park in this little Tulum tourist town that has little shops and a few restaurants. You can then either walk about 25 minutes to the ruins or take the shuttle. There are so many tours going on as you explore the ruins. I would recommend just going at your own pace and reading the signs with information instead of joining a tour. Our guide waited for us at a restaurant while we explored and then we had lunch there which was fine. I didn’t have a preference of where we ate and figured we would just eat where the guide wanted us to since he would get a kick-back from the restaurant and it didn’t make a different to us.
The next stop was the cenote and it was my favorite stop of the day! As I mentioned, I wasn’t very familiar with this cenote since the Quintana Roo area of Mexico has hundreds of cenotes and this isn't one of the more famous ones. To get to Aktun Chen, you drive deep in the jungle for about 25 minutes. Then you reach the booking building with bathrooms and some animals to look at like snakes and coatimundis. Then you take another vehicle to the cenote site for another 10 minutes through the jungle with more bathrooms and hammocks. They make you shower before getting in the cenote and store all of your stuff in a locker. Then you descend down into the cenote. So you are wayyyy deep in the jungle.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was very impressed by this cenote. There were only four other people there and I’ve read at most cenotes, they are swarming with tourists. There were a bunch of catfish in the water, holes in the cenote shinning the sun down in, and roots of trees bursting through the limestone.
The last stop was Akumal Bay, which is known for having sea turtles. We took a boat with a private guide to the dive site and she took us around to show us the sea turtles. We only saw about four, but there are a lot more during the winter.
Overall, a great tour for something like my 12th time in Mexico. At the resort, we mainly hung out in our cabana, had a spa day, and went to see the Cirque Du Soleil Show, Joya. Next month I am headed to Thailand and Amsterdam for 3 weeks so I will have a lot of posts and itineraries coming up. Purely adventuring over there!
