Two months ago, the company I work for (Expedia) sent me to Cancun along with the rest of our team for our offsite, a 4-day conference where we discuss past performance of the prior year, have skill and team building workshops/activities, and discuss our team strategy for the upcoming year.
I decided to extend the trip and make it a vacation and traveled south for a few days to Playa del Carmen with a few co-workers. Playa del Carmen was only about 45 minutes south of Cancun. Playa del Carmen was absolutely beautiful, and might I add it was less “touristy” (or at least it felt like it) than Cancun – less big resorts, not as many “party animals”, and more laid back. A few friends recommended that I visit Tulum, about 45 minutes south of Playa along the coast, and I surely don’t regret it!
We booked a tour with one of the local tour companies, YucaTreks. I recommend them if you are pressed for time and want to squeeze in as much as you can. If you have a few days to spare, I highly recommend spending a few nights in Tulum itself and exploring the island on your own.
The day started off at the Tulum ruins, a former walled-city right along the ocean, built by the Mayans, built in the late 13th century. Luckily we arrived early in the morning so for the first half of the tour, the site was pretty empty. I definitely recommend going earlier to beat the crowds as tourists began to swarm the ruins at around 10/11-ish. The views are incredible – Below are a few photos I took:
Afterwards, our tour guide took us to a secluded beach where we took in the front-row ocean views and made us a homemade delicious Mexican meal. Yum!
The cherry on top? Snorkeling in the ceynotes, underwater caves with mineral-rich clear water. Here, I got up close and personal with the cutest fish and turtles! Check out my video here (and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram):
Happy Travels!
Mari Meets World 