Our 16th anniversary trip to Cancun & Tulum, Mexico

Caribbean beaches are typically everything one dreams of in a beach - lovely turquoise colors, powdery white sands, and warm waters. Cancun is popular for its beaches and resorts, and is only a short flight away from Austin, where we currently live, making it an easy choice for a quick getaway to celebrate. 

We flew to Mexico to celebrate our 16th anniversary and spent 2 nights in Cancun and 1 night in Tulum. Both are very different experiences and we had a great time in both places. 

Our first stop was at Cancun, where we spent 2 nights at NYX Hotel, which is an ocean front all-inclusive resort in the hotel zone of Cancun. We rented a car from Easy Way Car rental in Cancun, and they included the 3rd party liability and all coverages needed in Mexico. We reached our hotel just in time for lunch.

The ocean view from our balcony was great, and the best part was being able to be in the water in mere minutes to enjoy both sunrise and sunset. My favorite part of a beach vacation is playing in the waters at sunrise, when I usually have the place all to myself.

The service was great, food and drinks were always available, and I loved the Mariachi band that played in the restaurant on Friday evenings during dinner. It was hot and humid during the day though, since we went in August. 

We spent one afternoon exploring the nearby flea market, but we limited our other adventures due to the weather. 

After thoroughly enjoying playing in the waters in the beautiful beach of Cancun, we headed to our next destination, Tulum. It is a 1.5 hours easy drive from Cancun. We checked into the Ikal Hotel in Tulum, which is inside the Tulum National Park. I fell in love with the place immediately. The resort was eco-friendly, truly a sanctuary, and had such a peaceful vibe! 

Our wooden cabin had its own private yard and outdoor shower, which I totally loved and thoroughly enjoyed. The swinging beds by the beach were amazing, and I spent several hours on them reading in the afternoon breeze.  The resort has a beautiful space for yoga and a lovely restaurant by the beach. It is totally my kind of place, and seeing the care with which all elements of Nature were incorporated as best as possible, brought me so much happiness. Being part of a National Park, and surrounded by trees, it is in total contrast to the concreteness of the Cancun hotel zone. The beach, however, did not have the same turquoise waters, as Cancun did. 

                   

Another gem we found within the National park was the Mezzanine restaurant, which served us the most flavorful Pad Thai I ever ate! We were able to go to the restaurant by simply walking along the beach, which was a big bonus.

The National Park also had a great trail for walking and biking, which we took advantage of, in the evening. 

I am glad we made time for both the places, even though it was a short trip. We loved the Cancun beach, and the Ikal hotel in Tulum, and felt like we got the best of both worlds, though I wish we stayed a bit longer at the Ikal sanctuary.