As you can probably tell from my last post, I rang in my 28th birthday in Mexico (surprisingly not the first birthday I’ve spent there). I spent a week there with my boyfriend and it was honestly the perfect little getaway.

I first heard about Tulum about a year ago when some of my friends and coworkers were going. After looking into it more and seeing all of the beautiful locations (especially Kin Toh’s unique treehouse), I really wanted to plan a trip there for my bday.

It all ended up working out because my sister’s boyfriend actually has a place in Playa del Carmen that he let us stay in! It was this amazing beach house that was literally 15 steps from the ocean. It was so secluded, complete with a private pool and a palapa that we took full advantage of by having mango margaritas and breakfast under everyday. It was seriously perfect — I don’t think we could’ve found a better little airbnb to stay in.

Only a little ways from Tulum, we went to the city half of the time and made the most out of our stay, but I’ll just outline the best spots and give you my personal recs:

Restaurants & Bars in Tulum for twenty somethings

Rosa Negra

Enjoy an elegant steak dinner and desert at Rosa Negra. This place is absolutely stunning and the service was amazing, definitely top tier. We loved our waiter who was super knowledgeable and gave us a couple of recommendations (which we took) during our meal. They also have a cute little birthday firework they do for you if you say it’s your special day — would totally go there again in the future. I’d probably recommend coming here during the day so you can really take in the full interior.

Kin Toh

Come for the food, stay for the ambiance at Kin Toh. Such a dreamyyyy spot to have dinner at. We had reservations for right at sunset. The interior was so lovely and we had a really amazing view. The food was alright, not as good as Rosa Negra in our opinion; but I do think Kin Toh had the better interior and ambiance. But, don’t make the same mistake we did — bring mosquito repellant! Tbh Tulum is literally a jungle so you should have it on hand at all times, but the combination of dusk and eating in a treehouse = lots of mosquito bites. If anything, I’d come here for apps and a couple drinks and probably skip the dinner.

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Gitano Tulum

Grab drinks and dance at Gitano Tulum. This place is right across from Rosa Negra, so it’s perfect to swing by after your bite to eat. When we went, the music was okayyy. They were playing EDM funk, which was a little offputting from what we were expecting in Mexico lol. But the drinks were really good and there’s a couple of different levels (an upstairs lounge, outside patio, and an indoor bar), so it’s a nice spot to have a drink and dance a little.

Other things to do in Tulum for your first time

Maya Spa

Treat yourself to a nice, relaxing spa day at Maya Spa. My boyfriend treated us to a couples massage (and a facial for me) and it was a really unique and special experience. In the beginning, they took both of our hands and said some sort of chant or prayer, which I thought was a nice touch. Then they led us into this little white tent where we laid next to each other for our massages. It was nice after roaming around the city to take a step back and relax a little. And yes, this is in the same area as Kin Toh, if you wanted to have dinner there after x

Dos Ojos Cenotes

I don’t think you can go to Tulum and actually not check out the cenotes. The problem honestly is figuring out which one you want to go. There’s so many different ones and you can’t really go wrong either way, but I specifically picked this one because I thought it looked super unique. The one that I picked is more like an underwater cave, versus some other cenotes where they are mostly above water. For ours specifically, there are two ‘ojos’ or areas you can go to. We learned really quickly that we like the first ojo more haha it was a little more beginner-friendly, I would say. The other one looked reallyy intense and we didn’t bring any water shoes. But the first one was really nice - we got to swim around and take a couple of pics. We also went on a Monday so it wasn’t super crowded. Plus I got to live out my dream of having a bachelor in paradise moment hehe.

Honestly you can’t go wrong in Tulum. It’s so beautiful and there’s one street that literally has all of the places I mentioned above, so everything is super close to one another. But if you are planning a trip there soon let me know in the comments xx

I have so many other tips and soon I’ll be doing a blog post on how to travel internationally + what to expect, but for now, feel free to hmu personally.

xo,
s.

Tulum Travel Guide: Where to Eat and What to Do