Sightseeing in Tulum

Sightseeing in Tulum points in three directions. The ruins come first: the city was built between about 1200 and 1450 and may have been called Zama, the City of Dawn, because it faces sunrise. A wall 3 to 5 metres high and about 8 metres thick closes it on the land sides, the Temple of the Frescoes carries a stucco diving god over its door, and the Temple of the Wind God guards the cove below the 12-metre cliff. Cobá lies 47 km inland and held an estimated 50,000 people at its peak. Muyil, 15 km south, was occupied for well over a thousand years from about 350 BC, and sits on a lagoon inside the Sian Ka'an reserve, created in 1986.

Tulum sightseeing tours range from an express hour at the ruins to a twelve-hour day. A ruins-and-cenotes day takes ten hours, with free time on the beach and a swim in two cenotes. Tulum with Cobá and one cenote takes seven and a half hours, and a Maya village stretches it to twelve. A sea snorkel off the ruins takes about three and a half hours. South of town, Sian Ka'an is a half day at Muyil with a boat through the lagoons, a six-hour private bird walk or a private sunset boat. Chichén Itzá with Valladolid and a cenote is a ten-hour day by road. Private transfers run on to Mahahual and Chetumal with stops such as Bacalar on the way, in four and a half to five and a half hours.

Practical. January afternoons reach about 29C and August ones 32C, and spring is the dry season. The ruins give no shade, so go in the morning and carry water. Wear closed shoes for Muyil, add repellent for its boardwalk and bring a towel for the cenotes. Swell can cancel the sea snorkel, and sargassum clouds the water from April to October. A Chichén Itzá day crosses into Yucatán, an hour behind Quintana Roo, so allow for the clock when planning the way back.