Tulum, Mexico....Mayan Ruins. Any suggestions.....besides 2012?

I am headed to Tulum tomorrow morning for 6 days. I plan on visiting some of the ruins in the area while there. Any suggestions on what/where to visit to get more history on the Mayan culture? I am guessing they have been inundated with tourists constantly asking about the end of the world in 2012 so I don't plan on even bringing that up but would like to research the culture a bit and find out if there are any unsolved mysteries in the area I can check out myself. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas.....throw them at me! I will be taking pics to upload when I get back as well so if there are any particular sites anyone wants to see, and if I happen to go there, I will take some shots and post them up.

I've been trying to find anything online about Tulum mysteries or folklore but most links are to Mayan culture sites and 2012....blah blah blah. Would like to find some other topic of strangeness for the area.

Thanks!

I live here, just a few miles from Tulum.

The Tulum ruins are cool, just because they are on the beach. Watch the movie Terror Planet, it's that Quentin Tarantino zombie flick where the zombies chew the hot chick's leg off, and they replace it with a machine gun. Pretty stupid, bloody and gory movie, rather funny actually. But anyway, the ruins at Tulum is where they end up to escape from the zombies. Chichen Itza is the big one, far more extensive than Tulum.

There is plenty of other cool stuff here. Explore the cenotes, I think that is the best thing around here. Everyone wants to see the ruins, most don't even know about the cenotes.

Cenotes are sinkholes that have collapsed through to the underground rivers. The entire Yucatan is a giant limestone cap, with no rivers on the surface. IT is like swiss cheese. All rivers are underground. The most explored one is called Dos Ojos, over 150 MILES of tunnels connected to two cenotes. And that's just what they have explored so far.

I went through one, we started in one cenote, went through a pitch black mile long tunnel, and came out at another cenote on the OTHER SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY. It was pretty terrifying, knowing that huge trucks are thundering overhead as we scuba dive through the tunnel.

And of course, there are great beaches, packed with topless babes, and lots of nightlife. If that's your thing.

reply to post by CaptChaos


Wow...thanks for all the info! I will definitely check out the cenotes. I saw the movie a while back but didn't realize that was where it was filmed. I always like to find out movie/television filming locations to check out.

Really going there to get away from the crazy nights. Fiance and I are planning on having a nice few days to cut away and relax without any bother. I like to "explore" areas I visit to take in all the culture of the area so hopefully Tulum is as quiet as everyone told us it would be and will allow some needed downtime.

I know there are a lot of travel advisories in Mexico right now....how is this area? Haven't seen any on the area or the airport in Cancun we fly into, but I always like to hear it from a local....tend to trust eyes and ears on the ground over a report from the US gov't.....

reply to post by Vasa Croe


Awesome. Report back to us when you return. I have always been fascinated by the Mayans, and would love to be there at sunrise on the morning of December 21, 2012. Not sure what will take place that day, but it's all still fascinating nonetheless. Enjoy your trip and take lots of pictures for our viewing pleasure.

There is basically zero crime. That BS is all media hype by the corrupt MSM to try and keep any money from flowing down to Mexico. They want those tourist dollars to stay in their own extortion racket. There are no gunfights in the street. Any American city has at least ten times the crime of even Mexico City.

If you are not here for the nightlife, don't go to Cancun. It's lame, like a Disneyland imitation of Mexico, complete with Hooters, the Gap and Senor Frog's. Playa del Carmen is less Americanized but still party headquarters

Tulum is much more laid back. Basically full of what we call the "hempies", the new version of hippies. Granola munching backpackers. Actually the hempies are posers who want to pretend they are granola munching backpackers, but still want A/C and hot running water. You will love it if that is your cup of tea. And in Tulum you are right next to the Sian Ka'an Biosphere, which I think is the best thing around here. If you like NO PEOPLE you will love it. A giant nature preserve, something like 140 thousand square miles. Look at it on Google Earth.

If you don't know the area, on Google Earth it's easy to find Cozumel, the big island off the east coast of the Yucatan. Go straight ashore to hit Playa del Carmen, then south to hit Tulum. Right there there is a loooong, skinny peninsula that comes out and then goes parallel to the coast for about forty miles, all within the Biosphere. It creates a similar situation to the Florida Keys, where you have the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf on the other. Here you have the Caribbean on one side, white beach, coral reef, turquoise water, and a shallow bay on the other of marl flats like Florida Bay, teeming with bonefish and tarpon. If you are into fly fishing, you want to try for some bonefish, the most fight per pound of anything in the sea. Bring fly rods if you are into that and definitely don't miss it.

You can drive to the tip of the peninsula, the road is bad so it's slow going but you can make it. There is a tiny fishing village called Punta Allen at the end. Those guys will take you out to snorkel or fish the reef or go for bonefish on the other side. On google earth you will see that beyond that is the good stuff, but you can only get there on a boat or a seaplane, there are no roads into the Biosphere.

El Castillo is awesome, but the whole site is worth it just for the view.

reply to post by CaptChaos


Figured as much on the travel advisories.

I am definitely going there for the "NO PEOPLE" aspect. Cancun is not for me at all.

Love bonefishing....I have done a lot on boat trips in the Bahamas/Caribbean area. Used to go sailing a couple times a year in those areas.

Now I am really looking forward to this. Not a hempie/hippie type here, but very much like to get away from anything to do with technology and being connected to anything....sounds like Tulum was a good choice! Thanks for all the information on the area...much appreciated!

Some other ruins in the area:

Try Coba about an hour away/50 or so kilometers also Muyil which is nearby .

Farther away is Chac Mool, Chacchoben and about 3-4 hours away Chincanna and Becan

Ummm.....wow. Tulum has to be the most beautiful place I have ever visited. Snorkeled in the lagun, in the Dos Ojos cenotes and have had some of the best food I have EVER eaten here. If I did not have any ties to my hometown I would leave in a month and move here. This has got to be the single most paradise type area I have been in. Absolutely perfect weather and the locals here are the nicest people I have met in a very long time. Anyone that wants to have a relaxing time should be here now.

Oh....and I am very happy to say I stayed in a very nice place WITHOUT A/C. Not a hempie or a hippie here, but do love the atmosphere. I would love to get the local pop to clean up the beaches a bit but if I could drop everything now and stay here I would. This is paradise.

Oh...and I also have to give a shout out to the absolutely amazing live music I have heard here. I am very impressed with the amount of talent here in the music industry and the number of musicians here that have dedicated everything and can actually play and captivate