42nd Birthday in Tulum

Lodging In Tulum

I traveled six hundred and three miles from my comfortable bed to wake up in a car on my birthday in Tulum.

The Airbnb host had agreed to a late check-in and once I arrived at around 1 am, there was no electricity in the apartment.

From home and throughout the drive from Cancun, the host was very attentive and responsive. That ended in Tulum.

I thought the lack of power was a simple misunderstanding since some owners turn it on per use.

I even attempted to manually turn on the power to no avail.

The area is predominantly homes so there wasn’t a hotel in sight. The internet is spotty in Aldea Zama and once you add round-abouts…GPS is a nightmare.

So after attempting to find a hotel and got lost…the car it was.

Tulum is especially humid and I refused to burn up in a hot condo.

AIRBNB’s customer service line was of no help and seemed to side with the host.

In the end, I only got a half night credit.

The property and space were modern and elegant but I would avoid ANY property managed by Diego!

I saw some bad reviews on other properties so that should have been my first clue.

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Tulum Car Rental

I booked the car rental with IDRIVE. I heard about them through a Facebook group called Black in Tulum.

They accept cash and cards with reasonable deposits.

It’s better to use cash to avoid the credit card fees. Make sure to pay attention to conversion. I rented a standard SUV.

The only things I didn’t like was the car needing detailing (especially a wash) and they originally told me $300 for a deposit but charged me $350.

Other than those slights, I would recommend them.

Tulum is known for car rental companies having hidden fees and extremely high deposits.

The rental was $50 a day including full coverage insurance.

Matcha Mama

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I wanted to visit the flagstaff location in the hotel zone. It’s really just an old shack so the pictures on social media do it a lot of justice.

I ordered a refreshingly good acai bowl and ginger shots. I’m sure the Aldea Zama location was newer but I didn’t get to visit.

Matcha Mama is at the beginning of the strip. The “Follow Your Dreams” sign is a about a street ahead of it.

I was hoping to walk to “Ven a la Luz” but it’s about thirty minutes on foot. The weather definitely does not permit.

I felt like I would’ve melted.

So I paid about $20 to park all day but ended up staying for only a few minutes to eat.

There’s a bar and brick oven pizza place on the lot where Matcha Mama is.

42nd Birthday Dinners

I chose BAK and Chambao as my fine dining options.

Chambao was more of a classy and elegant vibe.

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There was a drape climber/dancer in an open air setting. The food cost more but it was worth it.

BAK was more crowded and reminiscent of trendy South Beach restaurants. They have a very impressive fire show!

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I also liked that they put more effort in the free birthday celebration offering. Both restaurants had free birthday sparklers.

Sfer Isk

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My plan was to visit Azulik’s Beach Club, but the AIRBNB situation threw my plans off. I only had time to visit the installation museum.

Cost: $27

Of course, Ven a la Luz (Come Into the Light) is the main event of a Tulum visit.

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It’s an art lover’s dream.

So much skill is required to blend art and nature. That’s one of the reason I love Daniel Popper so much.

Did you even travel to Tulum without a picture there?

~Poof…Bee Gone

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