STEPHANIE MORK

Tulum. The destination of dreams. The place you picture in your head when you’re having a rough day at work and you just want to be somewhere perfectly breezy and tropical with a margarita in your hand. 

Truth be told, I think I enjoyed Tulum more in my head than actually being there. I feel like I was deceived by other bloggers talking the place up, when in my experience it was overpriced, dirty, not very accessible oh my god it was hot. My style of travel doesn’t include the all inclusive resorts or a huge budget – I stay in airbnb’s, cook and eat out 1x per day and buy snacks and drinks and use public transportation or bike when possible. So my point of view is that of a normal person with an average budget. If you don’t fit into that category, this post (or this blog!) isn’t for you. 

All that said, I am not a complainer and I will try to make the best of any situation so while I did enjoy parts of my trip to Tulum I felt like it didn’t live up to the expectations I made based on other people’s experiences. 

I am a list person so I will start with the things I did not like about Tulum:

• The beach was covered in seaweed: This has become a problem not only in Tulum or just Mexico, but in other coastal areas of the pacific. The seaweed covered about 4-5 feet of the beach so much so that people weren’t going in the water and it was really smelly. You could go in the water if you really wanted, but you had to jump over that pile of stinky pokey seaweed. Not so much like paradise.

The seaweed problem is actually an environmental issue. After experiencing it, I did some reading and found that it is caused by agricultural runoff, deforestation and warmer waters. The nutrients from animal waste and dirt, combined with higher temperatures is contributing to seaweed overgrowth that ends up washing onto th beaches. The planet is moaning and it makes me sad that I literally didn’t read anything about this issue before going on my trip. It made me have a renewed desire to think twice about the actions I take in my daily life and to be a proud vegan. 

Side note: Animal agriculture is the number one contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental destruction. If you care even the smallest bit about the future of the planet, please think twice about purchasing and consuming animal products. 

• Overpriced: The food was priced the way you would expect in the U.S. in upscale areas, the food was good but simple and was definitely upcharged for tourists. There were a few speciality vegan restaurants we visited that I felt the price was warranted, but most of the time I felt like I was getting ripped off. The shopping street on Tulum beach was also insanely priced. A simple dress would cost $100 and a pair of mens swim trunks were $160! “Oh but this is the best material.” blah blah, there is nothing in my mind that warrants that much money for a pair of swim trunks. There isn’t anything there for normal people to buy, which makes sense because beach road also has the most expensive hotels and restaurants. 
• Dangerous: Sorry to say, but our airbnb was broken into and a bunch of our stuff was stolen. This was incredibly traumatic. It wasn’t our fault, nor was it a set up – it was just something that happened and unfortunately to us. I do realize that this may swing my view of Tulum one way, but I also think if this never happened I would have still been disappointed by the hype of Tulum. All of this to say, bad things do happen for random reasons but in all of my travels, this is the first time I have experienced a break in and it is one more reason not to go to Tulum. 
• Not even remotely bikeable. I feel like I had this idea in my head that we would be able to leisurely ride our bikes to the beach or to a cenote la te dah but definitely not. This is a car centric community and Tulum is basically straddling a highway. There are no bike lanes, no great bike paths to the beach or on beach road AT ALL. Once you get to the beach road, you are biking right along with all of the cars. Not ideal or safe, or leisurely! In fact, it was super stressful to bike around and we eventually gave up and drove our rental car everywhere. 
• We also had the WORST experience on Cozumel. Just don’t even. If you go, be prepared to be ripped off, scammed, threatened, served chicken when you ask for veg and bad snorkeling.

Here are things things I did like about Tulum/Riviera Maya:

• The food was REALLY good. Despite being overpriced, damn it was probably some of the best vegan food of any of my travels. To be specific, my favorite restaurant was actually in Playa Del Carmen (Called La Senda – we went back four times it was so good) but Tulum has it’s fair share of vegan options. Raw Love was an experience and although overpriced, I have never had anything like the items we ordered. Two other restaurants in Tulum that I enjoyed were La Zebra and Burrito Amor. In Valladolid, we stopped at a great restaurant called Yerbabuena del sissal. So in all, there are amazing vegan options all over this area which is a definite plus.
  

• The ruins in the area are actually super cool and worth the visit. We visited the Tulum ruins, Chichen Itza and Coba. Go early to all of them to beat the heat and the crowds. Chichen Itza’s heat and hagglers were relentless, so not for the faint of heart, but it was really cool and I am still glad we went.
  

• Akumal was the only beach that we found to be free of seaweed. We were super annoyed at all of the snorkeling rules, but once we figured out where we could snorkel for free it was a really nice place to spend the day. The restaurant on site was also good. Be prepared to sit in the sand if you go because the beach chairs are reserved for hotel guests only. Don’t pay for a snorkel tour, because you’ll just be bobbing around with a group of other Americans and will probably be less likely to actually see anything. We saw sea turtles, stingrays and a bunch of colorful fish just in the public swimming areas. 
• The cenotes are cool. The only one we actually went to was Cenote Calavera, but we had so much fun here jumping into the cenote and seeing the bats etc. inside the cave. This cenote is really small and got fairly crowded as we were leaving, so again best to arrive early to have less people. I honestly didn’t even try to take pictures – we just have a few of us jumping in the water but I don’t even care because it was so much fun! We talked to other people that enjoyed other cenotes in the area. If we had more time we would have gone to see more but that break in sucked up a good chunk of our time and energy. 
• Lastly, we went to a hotel/resort called Caleta Tankah with a day pass. This was a magic find by Mike and was just an amazing way to spend some time. This place has an ocean cenote that has been unaffected by the seaweed. The rest of their beach was shit and full of seaweed to be honest, but this little ocean pool was protected by the surrounding rocks and had the clearest water. Perfect for relaxing, ordering vegan nachos and pina coladas, reading, taking a swim, jumping in the water from the rocks, snorkeling. You name it. This was the kind of vacation that I had been dreaming of. You can rent a cabana or day-bed or use the beach beds and I remember being happy with what we paid for the day and the service we were provided. Recommend if you are in the area and not staying at a beach front resort! Don’t do what we did and get there after lunch, go for the ENTIRE DAY you will not regret it. 

So there you have it. MY truth about Tulum. Hopefully this will help anyone else make an informed decision on whether they will travel there. I don’t regret it, but I won’t be going back anytime soon. 

Florence is one of the prettiest cities in Italy. The art is fantastic, the views of the river and the duomo are hard to beat and the gelato is the creamiest in the land. Spending a few days here alone, you will have the time of your life and eat some of the best food you’ve ever had. Here are your must hits as a solo female traveler in Florence. 

Climb the bell tower of the Duomo at Sunset:

Everyone says to climb the actual Duomo, but when you climb the bell tower, you get to look at the Duomo instead. One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen is this incredible domed structure against the orange pink of the Tuscan sun lowering below the horizon. Listen to the bells, feel the breeze and take a selfie at the top of the tower with the Duomo behind you. Talk about magic, people.

Drink wine all day long:
Who is going to stop you from drinking wine with lunch, wine with an afternoon snack, wine for happy hour, another wine just because, and wine with dinner and dessert. Italy is amazing and sells wine in juice boxes that you can literally take with wherever you go, so when you get thirsty, boom! You have your handy wine juice box. Since you are alone, being wine tipsy all day might just make your time be that much better – talk to strangers, soak in the Italian vibes, stroll the cobblestone streets in a dreamlike state because Italy deserves nothing less. 

Try a new gelato place everyday:
Florence is the gelato capital of Italy, so it’s pretty hard to go wrong here. Always best to wander off the beaten tourist track for more bang for your buck as well as more flavors and creamier gelato. My favorite in Florence was Gelateria La Carraia on the other side of the river, past Ponte Vecchio. 

Eat THIS sandwich (multiple times because it’s that good):

This is the best meal I had in all of Italy. All’Antico Vinaio has THE best fluffy foccacia bread, fresh, unique fillings and the smells to fill up your stomach before you even spot the teeny tiny storefront. The line is long, but it’s worth it and it moves fast AND you can even order wine to drink while you wait in line. I had something with spicy eggplant and an olive spread. Doesn’t even matter what you get because the bread is what makes the sandwich.

Climb up to the top of the Piazzale Michelangelo:

For the best view of the city, walking up the hill to this spot is worth the climb. Pack some wine juice boxes and some snacks and head up there for one of the most romantic sunsets of your life. This is truly what people talk about when they say how beautiful Tuscany is – Florence at sunset is the essence of Tuscan beauty people. If you are in the city center, cross the river at Ponte Vecchio and walk to your left along the river until you start to see some gardens. There will be signs to help guide you to the top, but it’s hard to miss! 

Do whatever the heck you want because you’re in Italy and when are you going to be there alone again? Let yourself feel the freedom of traveling alone, meet new friends and go dancing, dine in a fancy restaurant alone and order the most expensive dessert, wear something edgy and European because you’re not at home. 

Soak up that Italian culture, because its richness and flair can’t be found anywhere else.