Today we made our way to our last Mayan site of our Yucaatan tour early in the morning. The ruins of Tulum can be found directly on the beautiful Caribbean beach of the Riviera Maya.
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By bike to the Mayan ruins
Since the site was only two kilometers from our hotel and the weather was bombastic, we just left the car and turned on the bikes (which you could rent for free in our hotel iTour Mexico).
Travelling by bike
Tulum – The Mayan site by the sea
The Mayan site Tulum (unlike all other Mayan sites) is located directly on the sea, which makes the complex special. In addition, the famous Mayan calendar was probably created here.
A map of the Mayan site of Tulum in Mexico
Settled since about 1200, Tulum was 13. and 14th century one of the largest cities of the Yucat anpeninsula. The site itself is very small compared to the others and unfortunately – for conservation reasons – not all buildings are accessible anymore.
The most famous building El Castillo
The most famous and tallest building is the “El Castillo”, which is located directly on the coast side.
Unfortunately, there is not so much left of the other buildings in Tulum. The special charm of the site is simply the magnificent location on the beach. The other buildings had quickly expired, so we left the facility after just over an hour.
Our current route along the Mexican Riviera
The return journey by bike to the hotel took only about 10 minutes. After checking out, the journey with our small rental car then continued north. The next stop was after only a few kilometers the small town of Akumal, a small tourist resort on the Mexican Riviera. From there we went on to Cancun.
Snorkeling with turtles in Akumal
“Acumal” means “place of turtles” in the Mayan language – and that was the reason for our stop. By the way, about 200 other people probably thought the same thing 😉 We parked at a diving center in the village and borrowed fins. You also have to rent life jackets here, as these are mandatory if you want to go snorkeling in the bay. From the diving center you can get directly to the beach. Then we grabbed our snorkeling equipment and went into the water. And it didn’t really take long for us to see the first turtles. We snorkeled in the bay for about an hour and it was really a great experience.
A video of the turtles in Akumal
So we quickly put on our bathing suits and jumped into the crystal clear water – that was refreshing. And by the way, there are many of the “Garra Rufa” cleaning fish here. Just swim in the middle of the cenote and put it on a stone and it doesn’t take long for the plaster columns to lay their feet and do their work diligently.
Alle Reiseberichte unserer Rundreise durch Yucatan
Für Mexiko und die Halbinsel Yucatan haben wir uns eine schöne Selbstfahrer-Route zusammengestellt, die wir auf eigene Faust mit einem Mietwagen abfahren konnten. Wir wollten unbedingt die vielen bekannten Mayastätten wie Chichen Itza, Tulum, Uxam, Edzna oder Kohunlich sehen, einige Städte wie Merida oder Campeche kennenlernen und am Ende ein paar Tage am Strand in Cancun entspannen. Alles in allem eine schöne Route von über 1.400 Kilometern, die man ideal in 10-14 Tagen erkunden kann.
» Tag 1: Mit der Fähre von San Pedro (Belize) nach Chetumal» Tag 2: Die Mayaruine Kohunlich & die Altstadt von Campeche
» Tag 3: Die Mayaruinen Edzna & Uxmal auf Yucatan
» Tag 4: Die Stadt Merida & die Flamingos von Celestun
» Tag 5: Die Mayastätte Chichen Itza auf der Halbinsel Yucatan
» Tag 5: Garra Rufa Putzerfische in der Cenote Samula
» Tag 6: Die Mayastätte Tulum & Schnorcheln mit Schildkröten
» Tag 7: Wracktauchen mit Aquaworld in Cancun
» Tag 8: Cancun – Entspannen im All-Inclusive Resort