Day 15: Today was our day to visit Tulum. We had visited before on a cruise excursion but didn't get to see the whole site and wished we had a little more freedom to explore.
Our day started out with us up at 6:00am. We wanted to be sure that we caught the 8:15 ADO bus out of Cancun to the Tulum Archeological Site. We were out of our room at about 6:50am and caught an R-1 bus in the Hotel Zone. We got to the ADO bus station and bought our tickets. If doing this trip, it is important to buy your tickets to the archeological site. You can also buy tickets to the city of Tulum, but would then need to take a taxi back to the site of the ruins.
With tickets in hand we sat and waited for our bus. Now with very litlte knowledge of spanish, it wasn't easy knowing when they began loading for Tulum. Shoot, I think even with good understanding it would be hard. There were some announcements, but they weren't easy to hear. There was no board that indicated which destinations were loading at any given time. We just lined up when a whole bunch of other people did a few minutes before out departure time and it worked. The driver checks your ticket thoroughly, so it would be difficult to get on the wrong bus.
Along the way, our bus stopped at Xplore and Xcaret. So if you were looking to go to either of these parks and wanted to do it on your own for less than some of the excursions, you could use the ADO bus to get there. It appears that most people get off at these two stops as there were only eight of us left on the bus after Xcaret.
I will point out that this trip isn't without its perils. About five minutes after leaving Xcaret our bus blew a tire. So there we were stuck on the side of the road. For this I wouldn't suggest ever doing this if on a cruise excursion. Stick to a guided tour through the ship. Though we knew there was another bus about one hour behind us (they had an 8:15, 9:15 and 10:15 departure) we didn't know if there was room. Though the driver did say in spanish, which a kind gentleman translated for us, that another bus would be along in about 50 minutes. When the other bus arrived, we switched busses and were on our way again. That bus stopped at Xel-Ha (our bus might have too, don't know for sure). We made it to the archeological site about an hour behind schedule.
The bus drops you off at the site in a place we didn't recognize, so it took us a few minutes to get our bearings. We found our way to the parking lot and market area and then we were good to go. We bought a wristband for the tram that will take you back to the site from the parking area, you can walk but we opted not to. Admission paid we were then in to the site in a few minutes. We explored for about an hour, DW took a lot of photos, and then we started to walk toward the exit when it started to rain. We stopped in one of the tunnels that was also an exit and waited for a few minutes until the rain subsided. We did bring an umbrella with us, but only had one. When the rain slacked off we headed for the back entrance to the site and caught a taxi. It was pauring rain when we got to the taxis and glad we didn't have to wait for one like we had read might happen.
We had read about Ziggy Beach Club in the Map Chicks Riviera Maya map and decided to check it out. The Tulum coast is made up of lots of small beach clubs, cabanas and hotels. Rustic and small, no big hotel chains here. Most places will allow the use of loungers with cunsumption. The taxi ride was a little longer than I had expected, but we got there in about 10 minutes or so.
When we arrived we asked for a seat at their restaurant. they have some chairs on the beach, some others in the sand up away from the beack and some others in a thached hut. We opted for the ones in the sand not on the beach. I ordered three tacos (fish and shrimp). DW who is not as adventurous with food ordered a cheeseburger. The food here was truly great. The tacos were fresh and deliscous, and DW said her hamburger was great also. Tacos were priced anywhere from 25-35 peso each and I think DWs burger was 180 peso. Sodas were 20 peso.
After eating we headed to the beach and found a lounge bed. I walked along the beach some and then layed on the lounge bed. A large matress that was rather comfy. Thhough it was breezy and any time I would lay down sand from my feet would blow up in to my face.
After a while sitting up on the beach I quietly asked DW if this was perhaps a sopless beach, she then proceeded to ask why and I explained. three couple strolling along with the women not wearing tops. She hadn't read anywhere about this. Oh well, it isn't like it isn't anything I haven't seen before. Though they did proceed to eat lunch on the beach at Ziggy's also.
After a while it was time to head out. We had bought our return tickets from Tulum City because we knew we were going to Ziggy Beach Club. So we found a taxi out front and were on our way. We got to Tulum with a few minutes to spare and walked through a few of the shops there. Our departure was at 4:10pm and we were on our way. We made it back to Cancun by about 6:45pm and were back to our hotel shortly after 7:00pm.
We opted to stop and get a to go order for dinner from Duna Sports Bar which is an onsite restaurant at the Westin Lagunamar. We were exhausted and didn't want to leave the room again and wanted to get back there as soon as possible to take a shower and rest.
Overall, there is something to be said for booking an excursion, they pick you up at the hotel door and take you back. You have an english speaking guide if necessary and everything is arranged, no confusion. Still exhausting though. For a family, a guided excursion to any of the Mayan sites is recommended, though if you are a little adventurous and don't mind putting in the extra work, it was a lot of fun going out on our own.
Today: Pool again. Perhaps make it to the Hard Rock Hotel and the Cafe to buy some pins.