Tulum bicycle tour - Mayan ruins, lagoons and the free beaches


In the morning I visited the Mayan ruins in Tulum, then rented a bicycle for a day to see a few more attractions around town. It included more Mayan ruins and two big lagoons, then I finished the day with visiting one of the free beaches. (Most beaches in Tulum charge an entrance fee, but there are some public beaches - see map and listing below.)

Map of the Tulum area


1. Tulum center; 2. Colectivo stop, ticket office; 3. Tulum Mayan ruins; 4. Playa Santa Fé (free beach); 5. Playa Las Palmas (free beach); 6. Playa Punta Piedra (free beach); 7. Laguna de Kaan Luum; 8. Muyil Maya Ruins, Laguna Muyil & Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve.

The cheapest bicycle rental I found was 150 pesos for 24 hours. The bike was new, but not the best: it had only a back-pedal brake and no gears. The area around Tulum is flat as a pancake, nevertheless it would have been good to have a faster gear, not the default. Anyway, it did the job and I covered around 60 kilometres with it.



Muyil Maya Ruins
(Zona Arqueológica de Muyil)


Located about 25 kilometres from Tulum centre, it is a small site with only a few buildings, but the main pyramid is stunning. It is a steep walled pyramid, similar to Tikal in Guatemala. See more photos.

Laguna Muyil & Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve
(Laguna Chunyaxché)


Starting right behind the main Muyil pyramid, a path through the jungle leads to a wooden lookout tower and then the Muyil Lagoon, also known as Laguna Chunyaxché. It is part of the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve and visitors can take a boat tour.




















Laguna de Kaan Luum


Closer to Tulum, and also near the main road, is another beautiful 'lagoon'. It is in fact a very big cenote and people are allowed to enter the water.




















Tulum free beaches


I didn't check all the beaches out as I ran out of time, only had a look at one, Playa Las Palmas, then I had to go back to the town centre to return the bicycle. Anyhow, these are the free beaches from north to south: Playa Santa Fé, Playa Pescadores, Playa Paraíso, and Playa Las Palmas in one stretch, and Playa Punta Piedra further south.






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