RTW to Mexico - Tulum

Our fourth day in Mexico is planned for exploring the archaeological site of Tulum.

We checked out our hotel at Kavia first thing in the morning and drove slightly less than 2 hours to Tulum. We paid MXN 100 for the parking and MXN 80 per pax for the entrance ticket.

There was a poster at the ticketing counter which states "no change will be given". KPO exclaimed that it is such a smelly idea to earn more money. Lol. But surprisingly, the staff ended up giving us our change. Maybe that poster is to deter people from giving huge denominations.

Tulum is an interesting site located on a cliff leading to the beach. We realised that it was vastly different from Chichen Itza and Coba in that it was a lot more tourist friendly. It provides signs which explained the history in English, thereby eliminating the need for guides. The archaeological site had lots of iguanas roaming freely and they don't seem to be afraid of people. The tourists also don't seem to be afraid of them strangely, except for us. We even saw one ang moh who attempted to touch it, and the iguana hissed back at her. Talk about dumb blonde!

Next, we visited the Santa Fe Tulum which is a beach located on the left of the exit of the site. We were surprised at how soft the sand was. It really felt like white cool baby powder on the feet! We were attracted to how blue the water was and walked towards it. As we approached the shoreline, a guy came up and asked if we would like to join the snorkelling tour, all for MXN 200 per pax. We were shocked as the snorkelling tour was charging at MXN 600 right at the car park area where we parked the car! I was very tempted to join, but KPO is afraid of fishes and we have a very long journey back to the airport today (approximately 250km drive). Hence we have to give it a miss. Hopefully, we can try snorkelling another time. 

Mexico is full of cenote which is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. We came across this article - The Best Cenotes in Tulum and decided to visit Calavera Cenote. It costs 100 MXN per pax to enter the compound and a few minutes of walk before reaching the cenote. It was not too crowded, just a small cenote being surrounded by a few ang mohs diving/scuba diving.  We could see some tiny black fishes swimming in the cenote (remember KPO is afraid of fishes), and were concerned with the cleanliness of the water, so we decided against swimming there. Just took some photos and left. #typicalsingaporean

We are now on our way to the same airport hotel as we first started out in Mexico. Will be staying there for one night as we have an early flight to catch tomorrow. I definitely enjoy my stay here as the locals are so friendly and helpful despite the language barrier and it definitely didn't make me feel unsafe, unlike in Paris. The drivers here have good etiquette too. They will take initiative to move to the slower lane or even road shoulder to give way to the fast moving cars. The only downside is I haven't quite get used to the food here. Missing bak chor mee much. 

Will be touching down at Peru in our next stop. Can't wait to see Machu Picchu but also nervous about the effects of altitude sickness (touchwood). Keep you guys updated!

Total damage:
Tulum parking - 100 MXN
Tulum tickets - 160 MXN (80 MXN each)
Calavera Cenote tickets - 200 MXN (100 MXN each)
Some private road toll - 185 MXN

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You might be interested in these articles too:
- Our KrisFlyer Star Alliance Round The World (RTW) Trip Planning/Booking
- RTW to Mexico - Chichen Itza
- RTW to Mexico - Coba Ruins
- RTW to Mexico - Isla Mujeres
- RTW to Mexico - Tulum
- RTW to Peru - Cusco

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