This was our first Winter in Colorado so a warm vacation was more than necessary for this beach-loving couple.

We booked it about 48 hours before take off! Why? Andrew found out last minute that he had a down week between switching jobs so why not!? I've had lots of questions about if we got a deal or not. Honestly, I'm not sure. I just got on Expedia and Priceline and looked at what was available and booked! There really wasn't much time to think about it. Truth be told...I woke up at 4am to research and book. I do know we got the last two tickets on our flights! YAY!

The first part of our trip we stayed at Azulik. The second part we stayed at Coco Limited. I wasn't thrilled about Coco Limited so I'm not even going to cover the details of it on this post. If you have any questions about it, I'm happy to answer!

I've put together a little recap video to show you a glimpse of our trip. I don't want to spoil all the surprises but I've put together some details below that will make you want to go!

Getting to Tulum

There are a lot of shuttles that run between the airport and Tulum. It's about an hour and a half drive. However these are pricey and seemed to run around $100-200 one way. My friend recommended renting a car because they did and had a great experience. I didn't want to deal with figuring out a ride or researching it so I booked a rental. It was super easy! Once we arrived, I received a text message from the company to call them and they'd pick us up at our terminal and take us to the rental place. It was prompt and didn't take much time to do everything. Before you knew it, we were on the road and felt so free!! *A major plus, most hotels offer free parking and we were able to drive into Tulum's town center and the Cenote without having to buy cabs or an excursion package. I would definitely recommend renting a car if you have intensions of doing that!

Staying at Azulik Tulum

Let me start with...ADD THIS TO YOUR BUCKET LIST! EVERYONE! ADD IT NOW! From the second we walked in I was amazed! It's absolutely stunning. We were welcomed with a Mayan ceremony which surprisingly put us in relaxation mode right away. Everything is focused around nature and puts you in the best mood ever.

The Room

The room was so dreamy. I did a very quick video of it at the beginning to give you an idea. Imagine...Mexican tile, wood, super tall ceilings, palm trees, ocean breeze, and neutrals. There's no a/c but the doors open allowing the ocean breeze to flow inside. The circular bed is hanging from the ceiling with a fan and net to protect you from the bugs. True story...I sleep super hard. Sometimes I don't remember getting up to use the bathroom, etc. One night, I got up to use the bathroom and didn't close the curtain back. The next morning Andrew and I were covered with 100+ huge bug bites. Opps! There aren't showers, only tubs in the rooms. How can you complain about relaxing with an ocean view while bathing?! We also had our own hot tub in the tops of the trees. There isn't any electricity in the rooms except one outlet. It was so dreamy to come home to a candlelit room at night. Get ya sexy on?! :)

Tseen Ja

This was probably my favorite restaurant we ate at the entire trip. It's a sushi restaurant and we were really digging the nigiri. It's further into the resort so it's more private and relaxed vibe than Kin Toh. The only down fall of this restaurant is that the chairs were uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong, they were beautiful. But you better work on that posture because you won't want to sit back. They do have tables on the ground that would be super fun to sit around. You'd just have to make sure you're wearing something that you can sit on the ground in and request one of those tables. You can dine here if you aren't staying at the resort.

Kin toh

It's super vibey. I'm sure you've seen images of people laying on the macrame nets...well, this is where the magic happens. Many people that aren't staying at the resort make reservations here or come to have a drink to get a little taste of what Azulik is like. We had a beautiful sunset toast in the tree tops and finished with dinner. To be honest, I wasn't crazy about what we ordered but the views were worth it.

Ik Lab

This is open to the public. It's a beautiful gallery. Just go check it out for yourself! You won't regret it.

Zak Ik | Ik_Raum

These are the two boutiques. They are both insane! You'll see a peak of the sunglass boutique, Ik_Raum on the video recap. I wasn't even going to go in these because I didn't realize they were going to be so insanely amazing. Thank God I did! It's so hard to even describe these places!

Maya Spa

Have you ever been massaged by a Shaman? Yeah, I hadn't before this trip. Hands down best massage I've ever had. We both got a deep tissue massage on the cliffs by the ocean. I'd compare it to 10 chiropractor trips all wrapped up in 1 massage! We both did the deep tissue and WOW! This isn't your average spa. There were really cool domes that were the sauna and steam room. Beautiful stepping stone walkways surrounded by water is how you got from place to place. The yoga dome, which is made completely of wood, is housed in the back of the spa area. They offer free yoga each morning at 8:30am for guests. I've never had a better setting to practice yoga than in the dome!

Other things to note

They provide unlimited bottled water which was really nice. We didn't realize how convenient this really was until we left the resort.

It's located in the best spot to walk outside and go to the roadside restaurants and hot spots by the beach. We never left the resort once we arrived because we were so in love with it. However, had we known we would've grabbed breakfast outside of the resort a time or two to experience a new place.

It's not cheap. But I don't think anywhere in the Tulum Beach area is... Cocktails and food were priced comparatively for what you'll pay in the US.

Other Places I Recommend in Tulum

Delek Tulum - We had ate a few meals here. The food, vibes, and service were great! I'd recommend staying here for a cheaper option of Azulik. They had a really cool "quiet room" with glass windows right on the beach to practice yoga!

Ziggy's Beach - Great spot for dinner! The atmosphere was really cute and different. They had live music and the bar is surrounded by swings-not bar stools!

Town Center - Definitely go into town! There is the beach and then the town. Depending on where you stay you could bike or drive into town. We had so much fun eating at Don Cafeto la Marcia de Cafe with all the other local Mexicans to experience the true Mexican food. I learned I'm a huge fan of their pickled garlic. This is also where you scan a few shops to haggle your goodies. You know ya girl got some puka shell necklaces and a leather bag.

Cenote - We went to Grand Cenote because it was a very short drive and only around $20 to get in. The best time to go is around noon because the sun hits the water so you can see the crystal blue spots best!  This is where it was super easy and nice to have a car because we were on our own schedule.

Tips for Traveling to Tulum

Take out cash at the airport. I've heard people have had their cards hacked using random ATMs. Most of Tulum uses pesos, not US dollars.

If you like advocado, eat them the entire trip! They are freaking amazing and so fresh!

It's usually pretty windy here. I'd recommend leaving the huge flappy hats at home because it's hard to keep them on (and who likes to travel with these anyways)?! I brought this hat and this one and I couldn't even wear them because they wouldn't stay on with the winds.

What I Wore in Tulum

I'll be putting together a whole other post on what I packed and wore in Tulum. You can also shop all my looks on my liketoknow.it page!