To Tulum and Back

Mid September is a beautiful time of year to visit the Riviera Maya on Mexico’s coast. With hurricane season virtually at an end, it’s considered off-season, and you get to enjoy some great weather, while the resorts are at a fraction of their capacity. We recently traveled to the Tulum area, and spent a beautiful 7 days at the all-inclusive Oasis Grand Tulum Resort.

Just a little over an hour from the International airport at Cancun, the Oasis Grand Tulum resort is geographically about half way down the Riviera Maya on the peninsula, but definitely much higher up on the list of resorts you want to visit.

This 4.5 star resort is carved out of a section of the Mayan jungle facing the Caribbean on one of the most beautiful stretches of white sand beaches we’ve enjoyed so far in our travels. If snorkeling is your thing, then you don’t have to go very far to see some amazing coral reef, just a few metres from the shore.

Situated a short 20 minute drive from the ruins at Tulum, it’s definitely worth renting one of the resorts smart cars to make the journey. If you’ve never visited any ancient ruins before, I would definitely list Tulum as one of the ‘must see’ destinations for historical reasons, and the simple beauty and grandeur. Although a little further away at 2.5 hours, the ruins of Chichen Itza are also a requirement. The grand majesty and mathematical and engineering skills of the ancient Maya are awe-inspiring, and humbling indeed.

Renting the smart car from the resort not only gets you a great deal, but also gets you out and about the area for some great day tours.  We toured back up the coast to Playa Del Carmen for an afternoon of shopping and lunch, and were also able to take in one of the areas amazing cenotes.  If you’re not familiar with the term, a cenote is a collapsed well, or sinkhole that’s usually several metres below ground level. Often used in ancient Mayan rituals, they were an invaluable source of water for the Mayans, and today are beautiful natural wonders that draw tourists for the views as well as a refreshing swim on a hot, tropical day.

Being off-season in the resort industry means you’ll invariably see renovations, maintainence, and repairs in progress, but with 9 restaraunts and 7 bars to choose from, even with the renovations we encountered during our stay, there was still plenty to choose from for meals and drinks.

I must confess, that we didn’t expect much from the sushi at a Mexican beach resort, but we were very pleasantly surprised by the flavour, selection, and quality of the sushi. We actually made several visits to the poolside sushi bar during our stay.

We were never at a lack for things to do, or entertainment at this resort. With live shows, DJ, live musicians, several pools, and the amazing beach, we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of our stay.

On the morning of our departure, it began as a wet and rainy day, however, by the time the resort shuttle had deposited us at the airport at Cancun, the sun was out and it was turning into another grand day on the Yucatan Peninsula.

For anyone looking for a great holiday, we strongly recommend the Riviera Maya in Mexico, and we would definitely recommend checking out the Grand Oasis Tulum. Whether you’re seasoned travelers, or it’s your first time getting away, there is so much culture, history, and beauty in both the land, and the people of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.