Mexico | Tulum

On my recent stay at the Rosewood Mayakoba in the Riviera Maya, I took the opportunity to visit the ruins of Tulum ~ one of the last Pre-Columbian cities inhabited and built by the Mayas situated on the cliffs of the Yucatan Peninsula facing the stunning Caribbean Sea.

I decided to treat myself and booked a private tour through the concierge at Rosewood. A driver picked me in a beautiful Cadillac Escalade, with free wifi, for the one hour drive to Tulum. The ride was so comfortable it seemed as though we arrived in no time at all.

There are so many benefits to booking a private tour such as being dropped off right at the front entrance, having a driver who speaks the local language and can help you communicate to make the most of out of your day, and in my case, my driver also came along on the tour and brought water bottles and carried towels (not sure this is normal but it certainly was decadent). Along with the fact that you have the flexibility to go wherever you want and make spontaneous stops along the way, this makes for a wonderful (and very spoiling) experience.

The Ruins of Tulum

Touring architectural sites has always fascinated me. The thought that civilizations centuries (and more) ago occupied the buildings and land you can visit today is incredible. And even more incredible is to hear the stories of how these cultures created such sophisticated structures and communities in what we would consider simple times.

The Mayan civilization is one of the most famous and fascinating in our history. Their achievements in astronomy, mathematics, and architecture trigger some pretty big questions such as how did this civilization design and build structures that correlate with the winter and summer solstice? How could they have known this? How did they create these huge pyramid style structures out of heavy stone? It’s all quite mind-boggling.

The stars of the tour are all of the Iguana’s that freely roam around. They are not intimated by the visitors and almost seem to pose for your pictures. (Click image to see full size)

Once you finish the tour of the ruins, you end at the edge of the cliff facing the most stunning, crystal clear turquoise water…just calling your name. So you head down the wooden steps and find yourself stripping off your clothes down to your bathing suit while being lured into the water.

It’s such a treat to cool off in the sea after walking around the ruins, and the view from the water looking up at the ruins is a beautiful perspective.

After that relaxing break, I got back into the car where my driver proceeded to hand me a cool wet cloth to clean up and a bottled water. He then suggested heading over to “hotel row” where we could have lunch.

He recommended lunch at Ana y Jose, a charming little gem of a hotel that looks like something out of a Corona commercial.

We had a lovely lunch on the beach.

Then drove through the charming town and back to the resort. This was by far the most comfortable and pleasant excursion I’ve ever been on and I highly suggest this to anyone who is visiting the Yucatan Peninsula!