mexico, it is
well, after our HUGE list of places we wanted to go for our honeymoon, we finally decided on the yucutan peninsula in mexico. it turns out october is a really challenging month for travel : southeast asia has monsoon season, europe just isn’t warm enough for us, a lot of places in the caribbean are closed for their hurricane season, costa rica is in rainy season… et cetera. we tried for south america for a good couple of weeks but couldn’t find the right trip for us. oh and remember i said i want to go to fiji? yeah that shit is ‘spensive.
so while my mom suggested we just postpone on the honeymoon for a couple of months, we’ve decided going to mexico will be not only amazing and something we’ve been wanting to do — but it’ll be easy, good weather and low key. we don’t have to plan a whole itinerary before we get there which is the last thing we want to worry about doing right now. and since everyone and their mother is going to tulum right now, it must be for a reason right?
BUT – we are trying to figure out hotels and portioning out the trip. right now we’re thinking for a 11 day trip, we’d stay in riviera maya for half the time and tulum the other half. we’re not sure about what hotel in tulum, there are so many cute ones, but we definitely want one that includes breakfast. (we love be tulum, but they’re having a wedding the same week… ahau is so pretty but they don’t include breakfast, the beach hotel does, papaya playa sounds like it’s a little too rustic, i know coqui coqui is supposed to be unreal but i might prefer just a spa day there)
we also want to do a lot of activities and excursions : xcaret, the cenotes, the monkey sanctuary, maybe some boating/snorkeling trips. we also want to eat lots of good food and i am so buying a hammock.
so if anyone has stayed in both, or just one, or anything — we’re desperately trying to figure out what’s more convenient and if we should stay in one place longer than the other?! or if anyone has any great tips in general — please share, i would love to hear!
I don’t have any advice for you, unfortunately, just excitement! My fiancé and I are getting married next summer and are pretty sure we’ll also be visiting Mexico for our honeymoon. Looking forward to seeing your Mexican adventures!
We just got back from our honeymoon in Tulum! We stayed at Nueva Vida de Ramiro in the Ola suite. It is right on the beach and has a hammock on the porch of the cabana. Also, on the beach they have plenty of lounging beds, chairs, and hammocks. It includes a continental breakfast at their charming restaurant, Casa Banana. It is also within walking distance of some great restaurants (Hartwood, El Tabano, Simple, and Posada Margherita). I highly recommend this hotel.
Also some Tulum tips- bring lots of cash (pesos) as most restaurants don’t take cards, don’t use the random ATMs along the main road and find one that is run by known local bank (our atm card was compromised during our the first couple days- luckily the bank caught it- but after doing some research online many people had the same experience by using the shady atms), and you may want to look into renting a car if you plan on doing a lot of excursions as some are a fair drive away and the taxi fares can add up.
We had a fantastic time and I’m sure you and your new husband will too! 🙂
We just got back from our honeymoon in Tulum. It was fantastic! We stayed at Nueva Vida de Ramiro in the Ola Suite. It is right on the ocean and has a hammock on the porch of the cabana. On the beach there are plenty of lounging beds, chairs, and hammocks to use as well. It includes a continental breakfast at their charming restaurant, Casa Banana. The hotel is also within walking distance of many excellent restaurants (Hartwood, El Tabano, Simple, and Posada Margherita). I highly recommend this hotel.
Some Tulum tips- bring lots of cash (pesos) as most restaurants don’t take cards, don’t use the random ATMs along the main road in Tulum and find an ATM run by a known local bank for use (our debit card was compromised during the first couple days- luckily the bank caught it but after doing some online research many other people had the same experience with the shady ATMs!), and you may want to look into renting a car if you plan on doing a few excursions- they can be a bit of a drive sometimes and taxi fares can add up.
Hope these tips/suggestions help! We had a great time in Tulum and I know you and your soon-to-be husband will to! 🙂
Have a great time!
Janine Maral from http://www.janinemaral.com/
Here to second Nueva Vida de Ramiro!! We stayed there a few years ago, and recommended it to our friends for their honeymoon last summer – and they loved it too!! It includes breakfast, and I had one of the best steaks at the restaurant for dinner. Also – right down the beach is a restaurant at the hotel La Zebra, and they had this stone-cooked soup (Sopa de Piedra ‘Prehispanic’) that I cannot stop thinking of 3 years later…
The hotel also has bikes you can ride to the Mayan ruins… which you will definitely need cash pesos for.
Oh, have fun! We looked into Fiji for a hot second when we were planning our honeymoon to and had sticker shock. We wound up going to Thailand. I can enjoy relaxing with food and drinks a lot more when it doesn’t cost a zillion dollars.
I have zero tips for you but HOW EXCITING!! I’m trying to plan a Tulum trip too, because I agree, if everyone is going it must be the best, right?? I’ve heard nothing but great things about it. Good luck!!
I just went back to Tulum for my own honeymoon last month. We went snorkeling in Akumal, where there is a sea turtle sanctuary. You area guaranteed to see multiple turtles, some even swim right beside you. There is also a lot of coral so you see a great variety of sea life including urchins, stingray, squid, & barracuda. The BEST ceviche & seafood we had was at the restaurant El Camello Jr. It was better than a lot of the fancy restaurants in the hotels! It’s at the very end of the street in Tulum & it’s where all the locals go to eat.
I have an excursion recommendation! Rio Secreto is great for exploring a very well preserved cave/cenote. You actually get to learn a lot about the science behind how they are created. Our guide was AMAZING!
Last April we stayed in Playa del Carmen and ended up Airbnb-ing it. Have you tried looking there? Sometimes breakfast is included and you get the place to yourself. I went with a large group and we rented an apartment that had a hot tub on the roof and it was pretty cheap. Also we did xcaret when we were there and it was pretty fun. I second the ‘steer clear of the random ATM’ tip. Along the main drag in Playa we ate at a delicious Oaxacan restaurant. I can’t remember the name but it was yummy! We had guacamole with grasshoppers on it, which sounds strange but was super good. I would definitely check out the cenotes too! That’s something I wish I would’ve had time for on my trip. I’ve heard there’s a more local market near by plus tons of stuff to do so it’s really easy to plan on the spot. Have fun!
ohh that’s great! you’ll LOVE my country 🙂
and going in the fall means you won’t burn to a crisp in 40 C temperatures haha
I recommend going on a guided tour to Chichen Itza, it’s so beautiful! but it will be a day trip as it’s a couple of hours away. we booked ours at the hotel reception (hotel tucan) and it included entry fees, guided tour, visit to a cenote and local town and dinner.
we stayed in playa del carmen and took a bus at the station to tulum and went by ourselves as it was cheaper than the guided tour
have fun!
xo
Inspirations Have I None
I went to the Yucatan a few years ago with a girlfriend and loved it! We visited Chichen, which is amazing, but were more impressed with Uxmal (do the night light tour – it’s a little cheesy but really cool!). Chichen was so packed with people (so many vendors!) that it was hard to really focus on the surroundings but Uxmal was just as magnificent and must more peaceful. We were able to book tours to both through a tour company, which provided food, a stop at an awesome cenote, and a tour guide (if you want). Since we did two days worth of excursions, we were able to bargain on the price and ended up basically getting two for one. 😛
ENJOY! I can’t wait to go back and do more along the coast. Such an amazing place.
I ALSO stayed at Nueva Vida de Ramiro! We got #29, top floor. Beautiful! My husband and I can’t wait to go back. Their property is beautiful and very quiet/relaxing since it is down the road further from activity. (which we preferred.) We felt like we had the whole beach to ourselves! We got the breakfast sent to our room almost every day. Can’t beat eating fresh fruit, juice and bread while sitting on the beach!
My favorites of the trip were:
Posada Margherita
El Tabano- BEST chicken in red sauce I have ever had
Flor de Michoaca- fruit popsicles
La Barracuda– Tikin Xin and ceviche was amazing and huge!
El Camello–was good but thought La Barracuda was better
Le Zebra has a fun salsa night on Sundays with live music and lessons (but thought the food lacked)
We missed out on hartwood because they were closed the night we planned on it, but everyone raves about it!
LOL everyone and their mother…it’s true! haha, I wish I could too! When is your wedding? our annv is coming up in October and it would be OH SO SWEET if we could honeymoon it again…. *starts daydreaming*
My sister got married in Merida last year, and most of the guests spent a week afterwards in Tulum. We stayed at Amansala, which I really liked and they have a great cafe that is perfect for chilling during the hottest parts of the day. The breakfast isn’t included (aside from coffee) but their food is good and the fresh squeezed juices are amazing! I still dream of the chaya juice that had all kinds of tropical fruit with it. I never considered myself a “beach person” before that trip, but I’d go back in a heartbeat!