Mayan Ruins

One of the neatest things about Tulum is that it's the home of an amazing set of Mayan ruins that were built on a cliffside overlooking the ocean.

(All images from tripadvisor.com)

Beautiful, right?

We decided to rent a car, since it's relatively safe and easy to drive in Mexico, and since the rental was significantly cheaper than round trip van transportation that would take twice the time (Tulum is about an hour and a half drive south of Cancun, which is the airport that we're flying into.)  Another perk of the car rental is that instead of paying the steep "excursion" prices offered through the resort, we can drive ourselves to the ruins. From what I've read on Trip Advisor, it's about $5 a person for entry into the ruins (without a guide, which I think we're ok with skipping on.)  The resort price for the excursion is $50 a person, which does include another trip somewhere else, but still, I think we're definitely saving money.

Since we're staying at an all-inclusive, we can order sandwiches from room service (free, round the clock) and pack a lunch and drinks and then hang out on the beach.  This day trip will end up being dirt cheap.  If we decide that we need more, a short down the beach and there are supposedly some awesome beach bars/restaurants that are fun and authentic. 

Given the proximity to our resort and the low cost of this trip, this is definitely on my "must do" list.   I hope to take some amazing, breathtaking pictures like the two above and hopefully some of them will be frame worthy. 

Has anyone ever stayed in Tulum or seen the Mayan ruins there?