We absolutely loved it. Tulum is the closest to paradise I've been. The beaches are amazing and sparsely populated. You didn't have to walk far to have most, if not all, of a stretch of beach all to yourself. The weather (we were there March 4-10) was perfect (sunny everyday, probably mid 80s to 90, no humidity). It's very breezy on the beach, but it's nice b/c it keeps the heat down. It feels much hotter just a little ways inland.

Tulum isn't for everyone, though. There's almost no nightlife, many of the small hotels in the hotel zone (all along the beach) don't have electricity or AC.

We stayed at Cabanas Copal for $75 per night. Overall, I was pretty happy with our cabana- it overlooked the beach (it sat on a 15 ft cliff) and had a great breeze that kept it comfortable at night. There's also a decent amount of nudity on the beach- it didn't bother us at all, but some might not like it. Our cabana was it was a little dark at night- especially the bathroom. We bought extra candles, which helped. There were a few little bugs that creeped in, as well as an iguana (just one time- we were heading out anyway, so we left him and he had gone by the time we got back.) People also traversed the path in front of our cabana (en route to their own) quite a lot, and our neighbors were kinda loud, so I would have liked a little more privacy. If we were to head back to Tulum, I might check out some of the other places, which tend to be a little more expensive $100-120, but might be a little nicer.

The ruins in the area are great. The Tulum ruins are really cool, but most b/c of their location overlooking the sea. Coba is more impressive, and only about a 45 minute drive away. We also went to Chetchin Itza (futher inland, we stayed at Valladolid to visit it), which is really cool.

The food was great and very reasonably priced. We never paid more than $30 or so for both of us. great seafood.

If you're going in April, it will be hotter, and there will probably be some mosquitos away from the beach. We had no mosquitoes at all.

Anyway, I could go on forever. I'll try to post some pics later. If you have questions, feel free to ask. If you're looking for a relaxing, tranquil, relatively affordable beach vacation, I highly recommend checking out Tulum.

sounds amazing nacho, exactly the kind of place we were looking for...thanks for the report.

i don't think we will make it this april though as my wife is about to take a new job. but we will definitely keep it in mind for next spring. sounds like march is the time to go, weather and bug-wise.

i'd love to see some pictures...please post 'em when you get the chance!

I concur.

In front of our cabana:

[img][650:488]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/877106/IMG_06692.jpg[/img][img][650:488]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/877106/IMG_06682.jpg[/img]

At the Tulum ruins:

[img][650:488]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/877106/IMG_07252.jpg[/img][img][650:488]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/877106/IMG_07272.jpg[/img]

[img][650:488]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/877106/IMG_07332.jpg[/img]

Looks cool. I'm headed to Playa del Carmen in May. Hopefully it will be comparatively tranquil.

I live just 40-50 miles south in Belize, My bunch goes to Playa all the time, email and I will assist in travel planning if you want.
Chris
lots of power outages tonight, so I gotta log off, later.

Absolutely beautiful. One day, I plan to make it to that side of Mexico.

Loved Coba and Chichen Itsa. Glad you had a good time, nacho.

Beautiful, nacho.... I was in Playa del Carmen a few years ago... reminds me of how great it was. Glad you had a good time!