At the end of the year 2015, popular traveler's review site TripAdvisor choose Tulum as Number 1 Top Destinations on the Rise. The much sought-after award showcases the 52 top travel destinations world wide.
Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor stated: “Our well-traveled community has helped us identify the destinations around the world that are gaining in interest and popularity. ...We hope these destinations inspire those planning their travel for 2016 to book trips to these locales that feature excellent hotels, restaurants and attractions, and also provide a great vacation value.”
The Top 5 Destinations on the Rise for 2016
Tulum, Mexico
Cartagena, Colombia
Porto, Portugal
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Moscow, Russia
Tulum, located close to the Caribbean coast ,118 km / 73 miles in the south of Cancun international airport counts with approximately 20,000 inhabitants. It is mainly famous for one of the most visited archaeological sites in the Yucatan peninsula, only 2 km / 1.3 miles away from the town center.
The Mayan city of Tulum, originally named “Zama”, which in Mayan means sunrise, was one of the last to be be constructed by the Mayans. It was surrounded by three walls and its main temple “El Castillo” is located on top of a cliff facing the Caribbean sea.
The abandoned city was discovered in 1841 by Frederick Catherwood and John Lloyd Stephens during an expedition through Central America. Mr. Catherwood was an English artist and architect, best remembered for his meticulously detailed drawings of the ruins of the Maya civilization. The drawing of the main temple in Tulum was one of his most popular.
Currently Tulum is evolving into much more than only a sightseeing destination. The beaches of Tulum attracted a lot of “free spirits” during the 80's and 90's. You can still feel the relaxed vibes, but in these days the touristic development is discovered Tulum as a treasure of laid back vacation destination. It is so much different compared to all other all-inclusive resorts destinations like Cancun or even Playa del Carmen.
The hotel zone of Tulum is right at the coast line of the beautiful beaches. There is no electricity from the town itself till today and the originally cabañas turned into so called boutique hotels, which are producing their own electricity.
There are more than 80 hotels at a distance of 10 km / 6,2 miles along the beaches from the archaeological site to the entrance of the National park of Sian Ka'an.
If you are planning your next vacation in Mexico, you might want to look into this website: alltulumhotels.com to get a good overview on all the hotels and restaurants in the Tulum hotel zone. It is also recommended to start your research in advance, since Tulum is trending, not only thanks to the TripAdvisor “Traveler's Choice Top Destinations on the Rise for 2016” award.
If you want to read an inside view from a family traveler point of view, you might want to read the blog of Lizelle Green. She and her family has been guests of our private tours and stayed at the hotel “La Zebra”. She wrote an interesting and informative article on her blog about her experiences as a family in Tulum.
On a personal note, Tulum deserves the TripAdvisor award being the #1 Top Destination on the Rise and I am always recommending our guests to consider it for their next stay.
Fun fact: At our very first tour, back in 2014, we picked up our guests at the same hotel “La Zebra” and now we are more and more having guests from Tulum, even though we are based in Playa del Carmen. Tulum is in, Tulum is hip, Tulum is trending...
Tulum is #1 Travellers’ Choice Top Destinations on the Rise for 2016
Have you been to Tulum a long time ago, or recently? Please share your experiences. I am very curious to know what you think about Tulum.