Holiday in Tulum. Mexico

[Steve_Luts]

We are planning on going to Mexico for two weeks in November. One week will be in Tulum, ideally renting a beachfront cabana. Has anyone been, have any recommendations of where or where not to stay?

[beamer]

Tulum is very traveller friendly and, depending on your opinion of the gap year masses, can be great - or not so great.

i would say a week is maybe too long there, as the beach front Cabanas are fairly isolated unless you rent a bike for a week.

My advice would be spend a few days there, then get a bus accross the border to Belize - which I found amazing. Easy to combine some jungle action with some caribean style island living. Also it's only marginally more expensive than Mexico, without the hordes. 

[robski]

Near Tulum is a great pyramid ruin, but better still only a few miles away is a place called Xel Ha (pronounced shell ha). Its an amazing place if you like snorkelling as its an inlet where the sea meets freshwater and has been made into a cool relaxed theme park. you get snorkel/mask/flippers as part of the price and you simply jump in and you can swim with Manta Rays and thousands of different fish. Also included is an underwater disposable camera. Also has option to get all inclusive food/drink for the day.

check out http://www.xel-ha.com.mx/default.asp?com_id=0&idioma=1 for more details and if you like to laze about, you will LOVE the inner tube float from the narrow mangrove start right back down to sea level

[robski]

also if you do decide to go to cancun, avoid the hotel strip at all costs as its manky, but do visit a little island off the coast of cancun called Isle des mujeres http://www.isla-mujeres.net/tourism/home.htm

as its beautiful, quiet and you can hire golf carts to potter around in. proper golden sand and crystal blue water and seafood to die for.

I stayed in a hotel near the ferry port on the mainland but if I had known about the island, I would have paid extra to stay there for my trip as it was one of thre most relaxing palces on earth