First of all let me say sorry for the quality of the photos but my camera brooke two days after I arrived in Mexico (lucky huh?), so my Huawei P9 had to come to the rescue...

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The Riviera Maya goes from Cancún until Tulum and I have to say that I wasn't aware of how long are the distances here. We landed in Cancún but we decided to stay in Xpu Ha for the first 5 days of our trip. We rented a car with Alamo with a Wi-fi hotspot (I had an old school map but thank God I decided to rent this device, I would still be in the middle of the jungle right now) and we drove from the airport to Xpu Ha.

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Tip: Renting a car was the best solution for us because we needed to have our own shedule and we needed to cover a lot of kilometers but be aware that police corruption is a thing there and it happen to me in Cancún the day before my departure. If it happens to you just tell the police you are going to call someone from the Rent-a-Car to explain it to you.

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I have to say that I wasn't expecting that the roads would be in good condition but they were, the only thing you need to be aware is that there are a lot of bumps (and they are huuuuge!) and be aware of the speed limits (there is police along the way).

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We stayed at Serenity Eco Luxury Tented Camp and I loved it! The staff was super nice and helpful (unfortunately when we arrived they had an energy problem but they were so kind to send us to another hotel and made sure we were fine) and the hotel is beautiful and at the beach. We stayed in a tent without the outside tub and everyday we had a nice message from the cleaning crew. The breakfast was ok, no big deal and the bar by the beach serves a really good ceviche.

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Close by our hotel was one of the nicest cenotes, the Cenote Azul (and it is really blue). There's an entry fee but it also includes parking.

The cenote was pretty full, also with locals having picnics but still it is pretty big so you don't feel claustrophobic. One of the cool things about this cenote is that it has small fishes that will come to you and eat your dead skin (it tickles a lot by the way!).

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When we went to Tulum we decided to divide our trip because we wanted to visit the Mayan pyramid, the only one built by the sea.

Be prepare when you arrive to the Tulum Ruins, there will be a lot of people, sometimes jumping in the front of your car offering you a place to park. We went all the way to the end of the road and parked there. There's still quite a walk to do until you arrive to the entrance (where you buy your tickets) but there's a bus to bring you there if you need.

I advice you to go early in the morning or by the end of the day, not only because of the crowds but also because of the heat. We got there a little over 10 am and left right in the middle of the heat time and it was horrible to walk.

The Tulum Ruins are beautiful to see, there's also a beach that you can go to and cool down (it was sooo crowded). For me it was amazing to think how they built those temples there so long ago and they are still standing.

When you are ready to leave the site, there's another beach close by that you can go and relax and it's big enough so you have your own personal space.

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Tulum is divided in Tulum City (or Pueblo) and Tulum Beach. Tulum City is where you see the locals, where you find restaurants for the locals and the prices are cheaper. There's also a lot of souvenirs shops where you can bargain for that sombrero hat. We had lunch there at Los Aguachiles, the food was good, not extremely spicy and the restaurant had a really cool vibe.

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Tulum Beach as the name says is where you find the beaches and all the 5 star hotels that you see on Instagram. There's no free parking there, some restaurants offer parking to their clients.

It's where you find the most beautiful shops ever, I loved it, the whole boho style, gypsy vibe over there.

Though the shops are open all day, most of the restaurants are not, just for dinner.

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Good to know: we went in April and there was a lot of seaweed by the shore.