Oasis Cocteleria, Tulum ***

Ruben's old boss was working at this restaurant for a while and we kept telling him that we would come by.  Well we finally got the chance.  As soon as a girlfriend of mine from the states got here, we headed off to give it a shot.  It has gotten a lot of good talk on the tulum.info forum.  

It is quite a few clocks off the main avenue but well worth the trek.  Once we got the restaurant we headed upstairs to the large palapa 2nd floor.  It was a nice clear night and the colors were changing in the sky behind us.  There was no one else dining in the restaurant and we had the whole place to ourselves.

The margaritas were very good. They came in the correctly sized glass rather then the fish bowl thanks god.  The decor was quite nice.  A bright yellow with sea fish decor throughout.  I had heard from my good friend Margo that the Camarones Diablo were very good so we got that as well as a number of other things.

I was not impressed with the nachos that we ordered.  I hate that creamy cheese.  I do not know why I just always have.  Unless I am at a sports events eating nachos I think regular cheese should be used.  But that might just be me. 

I did like the guacamole.  I use guac as a real barometer of a restaurant.  It has very few ingredients and is easy to make.  Yet a lot of people mess with their guac and I do not like that.  The picture does not look great but it was after the first few tasty margaritas! hahahaha!

The camarones Diablo were amazing.  We ended up ordering a second order.  By now we were well into margaritas so no pics of the shrimp! Sorry. Next time.

The prices were better then on the main Avenue and that was nice.  It was not a hard or dangerous walk to the main avenue either. 

Taxi driver in Tulum***

Taxis are the most common form of transportation around Tulum Pueblo and Tulum Beach.   There are 2 areas in Tulum Pueblo where the taxis will line up.  The first is right outside the sydicato about 2 blocks into town on the right from the Cancun side entrance.  This is right across from the Don Caffetto restaurant and the Mar Caribe Super.   the other is right infront of the ADO bus station towards the southern end of town.
If you are in this area it is customary to waive over the next taxi in line rather then grabing one on the road.  If not, then just waive one down. 

The base rate is between 15-20  pesos if you stay in the immediate downtown area or very near by (say to Super SF or Villas Tulum neighborhood).  At night the price goes up a little.  To get to the beach will range between 40 pesos for the nearer hotels like to Mezzanine and Luna Maya.  Going up to like 100 pesos to get all the way south towards the Sian Ka'an Bioreserve.  It is always a good idea to check with the driver before you get going. 

Taxi drivers here are very nice.  I have been to places where the taxis run you all over town because you do not know the town and try to charge you a lot.  This was really common in San Francsico where I lived. Here that is not really possible.  The town is very small and not that vast.  So long as you have a general idea you should be fine.

Please remember that people here do live on tips.  If you were really happy with your driver - tip - it is always appreciated.

one nice option around Tulum is to use taxi drivers for tours.  I have many taxi driver friends that offer very popular tours to Tulum ruins, some cenotes, Coba ruins and the monkey reserve for  fraction of the cost of a tour.  You can have up to 4 people in a taxi and you have the driver at your disposal.  rather then waiting around for a lot of people to gather together you can sit back with your friends or family and enjoy the day for A LOT less.  Many taxi drivers work with another person and therefore can accomidate larger groups.  I think that this is the very best option for seeing the ruins.

I know drivers that do tours to :

Tulum Ruins

Coba Ruins

Cenotes

Chichen Itza

Sian Ka'an Bioreserve

Playa del Carmen

and to the Cancun airport

etc.  The taxi drivers are very flexible, most speak English and they provide a more relaxed and personal day.

Colectivos in Tulum***

Colectivos in Tulum are a very easy and cost effect way to get around the Rivera Maya.  These vans run the distance between Playa del Carmen and Tulum.  Different syndicates (like Unions) run even further North from Cancun to Playa del Carmen and many run south of Tulum to Carrillo Puerto. 

I really love taking the collectivos.  They are easy and cheap.  You can simply flag one down on the main road and tell them where you want to get off.  These are especially great for people that are staying in the Rivera Maya and want to visit the ruins on Tulum.  It currently costs about 30 pesos from Playa del Carmen to Tulum.

I have heard that travel agents in the USA and Canada are advising people not to take the collectivos because they are unsafe and I can assure you that is not the case.  This is the most common form of transportation for people here and I have NEVER had a problem with them. 

The collectivos are a great way to do day trips from Tulum and throughout the Rivera Maya.  They only run along the main avenue in Tulum and on the highway.  In Playa del Carmen they end at 10th and Juarez.  These are the ideal way to get to Akumal from Tulum or between Tulum and Playa del Carmen. 

They start pretty early- I think around 6 and run till around 11ish at night.

ADO bus lines around Tulum***

The ADO bus line is the main bus line that runs around Mexico and the Rivera Maya. I get a lot of questions about these buses and their safety. I have been on the the bus many times back and forth to the airport and to smaller towns around the Yucatan. The buses are very safe and very comfortable. You can read more about how to go to the Cancun airport from Tulum on the ADO buses here.

There is also a new shuttle ADO bus from Tulum to the airport 4 times a day. Check the schedule at the bus station in Tulum to see if this cost effective option will work for you. This is definatly the cheapest way to get to the airport.

To some of the smaller towns you may also end up on the Mayab bus line. These buses will stop more frequently and might be in a little less of great shape. But they are still very nice and comfortable. There are many stops at other towns which offers a good chance to get out and use the restroom and buy some of the amazing Mayan food being sold by vendors near the station. Many times people will come right up on the bus and pass through with sopes or sodas for sale.

You can buy your ticket from the bus station or from the bus driver themselves. If you are at the station, buy it from the window. The buses like everything else around here operate on Mexican Time. you really need to be flexible and not get upset. Trust me- there is nothing that yelling at the ticket person that the bus is an hour late or came and left 45 minutes early is going to do. Just be flexible and have a good attitude. You can get a good idea of bus prices at the ADO website. Mayab is usually a little cheaper.

In Tulum it is on the main avenue right next to Charlie's. Charlies is also my favorite place to meet people who are coming on the bus because you can never be quiet sure what time they will get there. So I always tell people to take a right out of the station and go into the first restaurant.

I alsways feel very safe on the bus but I also use common scense.

Cabanas Tulum- El Bistro at Ziggy Beach

I have seen this new restaurant on TUlum beach from the road a few times and it looked like a place I wanted to try. Well, really I want to give all of them a try. But I finally got my chance to try El Bistro at Ziggy Beach.

Okay okay... I played ditch from cleaning the house and catching up on all of the stuff that I really needed to do and went to the beach instead. Always a good idea on a beautiful day in Tulum. I could not stop myself from trying this place. My battery on my camera went dead but you can bet that I will be going back.
All 3 of the menus look great. The breakfast even had eggs Benedict- I will be back for that.

We did not have much money so we took advantage to the great new special they have right now which is 2 for 1 on any drink and i think all day. We each got 2 margaritas- served a bit sweet but in the perfect glass. When we asked them to make the 2nd one a little less sweet they made the drinks a little more to our liking. ( I hate it when some places just totally ignore you on that) We split the chicken Cesar wrap and it was great. The tortilla was much like what I remember from living in San Francisco and the taquerias there. I might try one of the burritos on the menu.

This new restaurant on Tulum Beach is part of Cabanas Tulum. Although it will be changing names in the future. I know there was a lot of talk about Cabanas Tulum on tulum.info so I was excited to hear that a place that got such great reviews in the past looks like it is headed for a bright future.

I will post pictures as soon as I have them.

Dutzi Event a Success

Well- The holidays are over and oh my god to I have some serious catching up to do. The first thing that I want to say is how wonderful the event for Dutzi Design went. We spent the day at the new In Spirit Store and had a great time bringing awareness to this great project. These bags made by women in the Yucatan are beautiful and it was a real treat spending this day supporting this cause. These bags are being sold at boutiques all over Paris and New York and most recently Mexico and Italy. It is great.


The whole day was spent focusing on the various talents of the women in the area with a highlight on the Dutzi Design project. We had a morning Yoga class, massages available, organic spa treatments available, card readings all the bags on display, authentic Yucatecan food for purchase. It was really great. In the evening we were treated to some wonderful AcroYoga which is truly great.


The whole day could not have been possible with out the wonderful assistance and talents of Jackie and the In Spirit store, Crystal and the card readings, Land and the wonderful food, and of Course Ariane Dutzi for having the inspiration and determination to continue the project.

I would also like to give a very special thanks to the Gerardo Miranda from Yes...I Do! for donating the chairs and tables. They were beautiful and really completed the look for our event. We look forward to working with you again when we do our wedding ceremony next year. To contact Gerardo Miranda for any event needs please contact us and we would be happy to pass the information along.

Another company we would really like to thank is Flors de Tulum. The fruiteria across the side street from HCBC has always been wonderful to me the whole time I have lived here. It is one of my all time favorite place to buy- well- anything they sell really. They were so kind to donate some produce so that we could offer our guests the amazing food and services that we did. Thank you so much.

If you ever need to buy any fruit or veggies in Tulum--- this is the place to do it.


I look forward to doing more work with all of the people that I got to share the day with. Oh yeah.. And thanks to my work... Yaaj- Ximbal to letting me off for the day so that I could do this event. :)