Anyone been Tulum?

[squarepants]

We are seriously considering Tulum for our next week-long dive trip. I am excited about diving the cenotes, and caverns. http://www.hiddenworlds.com.mx/

Does anyone know anything about the area?
I've read on these boards that Hidden World is a good op. to use for cenotes, and it looks pretty close to Tulum.
I'm not too sure about the sea-diving from Tulum, though.

We've only been to Coz once via cruise ship, so I don't know if we should get a hotel on the Island and take a trip to Tulum, or just stay at Tulum. Maybe split the week in half?

Help, please!

 

[ggunn]

Well, the diving is certainly better around Cozumel than it is across the channel, and I don't know if any dive ops over there will pick you up at Tulum. I haven't been there in a while, but when I was there, the only hotel was a long way from the water (maybe a mile), and Tulum is on a cliff.

I would recommend staying on Cozumel and taking a day trip across to the Yucatan. A few years ago, a couple of us took the ferry across to Playa del Carmen, rented a car, toured both Tulum and Coba, and made it back across to Cozumel in time for dinner.

 

[amandasdaddy]

What do you want to do?

Do you want to hang out at the more trendy and busy touristy places? If so, anywhere in cancuun is your best bet. There are places to party all night long. Some really good cenote diving too.

But....


If you want to dive the second best sites in the world, then Cozumel is your best bet. There are some trendy places on CZM too (Carlos and Charlies, Fat Tuesday's) but there are many more world class dive sites.

I stayed in Cancuun a few years back, and never made it to CZM... silly me! Cancuun was ok, but as a diver, Cozumel is better. I like the family atmosphere of the Island. I don't mean family as in Child friendly necessarily, I mean a more down to earth place to meet Natives of the area.

I like the little hole in the wall restaraunts on Cozumel. I like Sunday nights in the Square when all of the Towns people dress up and come out to party. I like to sit and watch the locals fish with a piece of string and a hook frmo the piers. I like the fact that there aren't 10,000 spring breakers there. I like the drive around the Island and stopping at all of the small bars, beaches, and places to eat.


I like Cozumel because I can take a day trip to Cancuun, go to Tulum or the other attractions, and then go home to Cozumel (I live in San Jose, Ca.), they make you feel like it's yuor second home.

It's a great place to be.

There is my 2 cents (and maybe a couple more).

I'll be there on Friday! WooHoo! Look for me, I'll be the diving fool!

 

[squarepants]

I appreciate the insight on the area. That was very helpful, as we are more the traditional, hole-in-the-wall types. It sounds like Cozumel is the way to go. I thought I'd found a good resort in Tulum ( www.cabanascopal.com ), but the door between the toilet and the bedroom is a fabric curtain - not good for three adults. It really looked interesting, and not at all like the huge modern resorts, but alas! Our modesty prevails.

You asked "What do you want to do?" Maybe if I give you an idea, you could recommend a good place?
We'll be going mid to late October.
We plan to dive 2x a day and then probably hang out at the pool, sip some 'ritas, and hopefully eat by the pool.
We like to walk from our lodging around town (Town Square sounded nice when you mentioned it) and see the town, and maybe hit some HITW type restraunts, and maybe once or twice go to a club.
Dive shop on or close to premises is best for us, and small dive boats are preferred.

Not too picky, huh?!
Any Ideas?

 

[teamheatwave]

There is a quiet beach next to the ruins with a little surf. If you walk around to your right and between the base of some rocks there is another smaller more private beach. Nice area. Some fish, shallow dive but not much to look at as a shore dive.

However, hidden worlds is awesome. Very professional operation. Great guides. Very safety conscious. Half the fun is the ride on the luxury transportation to the cenote! I will be definitely going back in October / Novemeber when I return.

There are also a few nice outdoor places to eat in Tulum. Message me if you need more.

 

[ggunn]

squarepants once bubbled...


You asked "What do you want to do?" Maybe if I give you an idea, you could recommend a good place?
We'll be going mid to late October.
We plan to dive 2x a day and then probably hang out at the pool, sip some 'ritas, and hopefully eat by the pool.
We like to walk from our lodging around town (Town Square sounded nice when you mentioned it) and see the town, and maybe hit some HITW type restraunts, and maybe once or twice go to a club.
Dive shop on or close to premises is best for us, and small dive boats are preferred.

Not too picky, huh?!
Any Ideas?

Cozumel, definitely. It totally fits your bill.

 

[cozumelinsider]

Hi!
Just a few points that others haven't hit on yet ~
1) The journey from Playa Del Carmen [where you catch the ferry over to CZM] to Tulum area is around 45 minutes total via taxi..so we arent talking an expansive area here. For the most part in accomodations, down around Tulum you have your choice of primitive cabana [hiker hangouts] type places, luxury resorts [high end prices] or vacation rental homes to choose from. And the luxury resorts can be 15-20 minutes away from Tulum town proper. Once you get away from Playa things spread out as you go south toward Tulum...so if you plan to explore you definitely need a rental car or plan to spend a goodly amount on taxis!

2) If you are coming this way for the diving and plan to spend most of your time in our crystal clear blue waters then CZM is the place to be. If you are focusing on Cenotes this trip...then DO stay on the mainland...it saves you money and most importantly...time. The ferry from/to CZM-PDC is 45-50min. each way!! So pick your locale based on what you intend to focus on!! On most days, comparing blue water diving from the mainland and that of CZM is like comparing apples and oranges. The reefs of CZM are on our protected side of the island so viz tends to be best for us as well as topside conditions.

3) There are some great dive package specials to consider in CZM for as little as $465/diver for 7 nights/15 tanks ~ go here to see details www.cozumelinsider.com/specials
Have fun and enjoy your time in our area!!

 

[Salt]

Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, or Tulum. All different places that will give you different experiences. We stayed in Playa and were able to take the ferry over to Cozumel for a day and do a cenote. But you could also just as easily take the ferry from Cozumel to the mainland for a day of cenote diving. (The Cozumel ferry runs out of Playa del Carmen.)

Tulum is about an hour south of PDC. Tulum is actually split into the hotel zone on the beach and the pueblo. You'll find most of the dive shops, restaurants, and cheaper hotels in the pueblo. The hotel zone has the fancier hotels on the beach. It's a lot less developed than Cancun, simpler, closer to nature. I haven't dove the ocean there. I have heard it is okay but Cozumel is much better. Tulum is closest to the cenotes. If you really want to dive the cenotes more than one day, I would think about splitting the week.

Dos Ojos is a good cenote to start with.