Exploring the Mayan ruins of Tulum

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
4
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
7
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
3
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
3
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
3
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
6
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
47 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
388th/454
Bottom 20%
continent
North America
country
Mexico
Length of time
1 day or less
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$30 ($15-$25 in 2019 prices)
Time of year visited
June
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Ancient ruins Cliffs Mayan
All Tags
Temple complex
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐

Summary

The coastal Mayan ruins in Tulum are worth checking if you have a spare morning / afternoon – an early morning wander through the complex with their often dramatic positioning on the cliffs is really pleasant.

But if you’re in this part of they world, they really are small fry compared to the far more impressive Chichen Itza, Tikal in Guatemala and if feeling adventurous a Helicopter trip to El Mirador.

Again, the Tulum ruins are pleasant, but there are world-class Mayan ruins to be seen not too far away.

Highlights

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#1 An early morning wander through the complex and to marvel at engineering of the Mayan as some of the temples hang from the sharp cliffs

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#2 Seeing some of the local wildlife chilling (steaming) in the early morning sun

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#3 Walking through the large forum area, spread out across a chunky site just off the coastline

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#4 Finding a beautiful beach . . . hopefully without the dreaded Sargassum

Travel Tips for Tulum

Make sure to try the outdoor restaurant spot of Taqueria Honorio restaurant – super local place that just does the most amazing tacos.

We stayed at Hotel Panacea Tulum, which was nice and with a lovely pool area in the courtyard.

 

Travel tips for the Yucutan

 

Safety – we felt safe at all times.  The violence that is happening in so many other unfortunate areas of the country has thankfully not spread to this part of Mexico.  The same as in your home country cities, use common sense and you should be fine.

Note on the sargassum (seaweed) – unfortunately the beaches in this part of Mexico have been hit hard over the past years by strong blooms of sargassum (with varying theories as to why).  Have a quick research before you go as to how strong the bloom is and the approach the place you’re staying has to dealing with it because it really does change the vibe of the place.  The large hotels have armies of staff removing it from their beaches, but the surrounding areas don’t and so the mounds of sargassum will dominate your beach experience both in terms of visually and the smell.

Ubers were abundant and the easiest way of getting around.

Don’t expect everything to be dirt cheap.  This part of Mexico has some world famous attractions and is a natural destination for many tourists from the US, so prices reflect this.

What to prioritise.  I would think about the Yucutan like this:

Experiences nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Other Ancient Ruin Experiences

Helicopter trip to El Mirador in the heart of the Guatemalan jungle
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Exploring Petra in winter
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cycling around Angkor Wat
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hiking the Lost City Trek
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cycling around the Temples of Bagan
⭐⭐⭐

Hiking Hadrian’s Wall
⭐⭐

Hiking the 4 day / 3 night Inca Trail
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Luxor, Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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