Tulum with family in April

[suncraver]

Hi all,
My family of five (3 kids ages 10-18) will be spending our spring break in Tulum (Cabanas La Luna) April 4-11. After this LOOOONG Minnesota winter, it is what we are all living for. We have visited the beach a couple times on previous trips but this is our first time staying there--finally fulfilling a dream of mine. Enough of those yucky AIs! This forum has been immensely helpful--I want to thank everyone. I haven't, however, seen many posts from people who have been there with kids. We want to do our share of margarita drinking and restaurant visiting of course, but we also have a slightly different focus from many of you. We hope to be able to eat many of our meals at the Cabanas (using their kitchen?) as going out 3x/day with five people gets quite costly. And while we all love vegging on the beach and playing in the surf, we will want to take some outings too. We hope to tour Coba and spend time wandering in the Pueblo. But any other tips will be welcome. (We will have a rental car.) Also, my husband and I will take preventative acidophilus before we go but wondering whether the kids should too. I look forward to hearing from any of you who have been to Tulum with kids. Thanks again for all your invaluable help. :)

[pepper]

Hey! I have kids and have stayed at La Luna!! I assume you have Capt Dale's. That's where we stayed last year...and LOVED it!!!

None of us have had stomach complaints. And we don't take acidol. but I do tend to eat yogurt (like right now actually) and I try to get my kids to drink or eat it in their daily life. It's up to you.

I mostly used the La Luna kitchen to make my afternoon tea. Always offered some to whoever happened to be right there out of politeness. I've heard of some people cooking there - guess you'd want to keep you food in your cooler on your porch.

I bring peanutbutter from home (I'm picky...organic, etc) and make sandwiches. It's easy to get all sandwich fixings at the San Francisco grocery store. Bring some large ziplocs for storing other food items...like chips and snacks so you won't attract bugs.

We go into to town a lot for dinner - so much cheaper than the beach.

[minniemex]

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k83/Minniemex/A1/welcome.gif to the board Suncraver!! I too am from Minnesota!! What the heck happened here?? Below 0 in March??

Just wanted to mention that there is Don Cafetos in town which has some very cheap and very filling tacos for only 70 peso's which at the current exhange rate makes them less than $5 a meal.

Also for lunches there is Broco Pollo which you should be able to feed the whole family for under $10 a meal.

For an excursion I would recommend the Punta Laguna Monkey Preserve where you get to see the monkeys in their natural habitat and you also get to see some jungle. Be sure to splurge here and hire a guide, I think they might be around $20. I haven't been for almost 2 years now, so that may have changed. Still worth the guide in my mind though.

I would suggest you travel down to the biosphere. There are two locations of Ceisak ~ one on the left is first and then another on the right. Both are interesting and I believe both are free. Just a charge to get into the biosphere ($2 PP??) if there is someone at the office when you drive in.

[suncraver]

Thanks guys. This is all helpful. Yes, pepper, we are staying in Captain Dales. Can't wait! Minniemex, can you tell me how to put one of those tickers on my posts?

[beachreader]

I think some of the tours offered by CESiak will be perfect. Susan's kids loved the things they did, hopefully she'll check in later.

Definitely bring a variety of ziplock sizes so you can keep food/leftovers in your cooler without getting all soggy, since the ice doesn't last long. I mean, it's cold, no worries, just watery.

And I saw some people cooking full meals using the Luna kitchen, though some of them (:mad:) didn't clean up after themselves very well. Not so nice to go in to make coffee first thing in the morning and find someone's dirty dishes in the only sink. Sorry, I know you wouldn't do that, but it was gross and surprising to me.

You're going to have an excellent time, Captain Dale's is the best house on the beach (I stayed there in December), and I think it would be perfect for a family. Might be tight for 5, depending on how large people are, because the beds in the loft are really doubles, not queens, but you'll make it work, I'm sure.

[minniemex]

Thanks guys. This is all helpful. Yes, pepper, we are staying in Captain Dales. Can't wait! Minniemex, can you tell me how to put one of those tickers on my posts?

Just follow this link and you will be able to make one!!

http://tulum.info/showthread.php?t=2075

[susan]

Your kids will love it. Check out my trip report. The trip to Punta Allen was a definate highlight, Coba was fantastic but make sure you hire a guide. Everything we did my kids loved. Never missed TV or their cell phones. We ate most of our meals other than breakfast in the pueblo it is cheaper but really liked the local activity and the boys enjoyed being able to walk around. Never worried about them as they had to keep to the main drag. There is lots to do and plenty of beach time and boogie boarding.

[suncraver]

Thanks Susan. I read your trip reports and we will definitely do a bunch of those same outings. They sound fabulous. Your mentioning of boogie boarding made me wonder: does anyone know if La Luna has boogie boards? And what about snorkeling gear? Or do you folks all bring your own stuff?

[susan]

we bring our own masks and snorkels. if la luna doesn't have the boards you can get them relatively cheap in town

[sfantle101]

We're also headed to Tulum for spring break (April 5-12) with teenagers in tow (15 & 18). We're staying 3 nights @ Luna Blue in Playa del Carmen and 4 nights @ Don Diego de la Playa in Tulum. The tent setup at DDdlP should be very fun, given our outdoors lifestyle in the Northwest.

I've read up on many of the activities, but we've been having trouble coming to any consensus on where to spend our $$. Most likely we'll have to play it by ear, as not everyone is gung-ho on adventures (unlike myself), preferring to sleep in and chill on the beach (nothing wrong with that either). Visits to the Tulum and Coba' ruins are definites, as is a snorkel outing to Yalku lagoon. Also considering Hidden Worlds and one of the Alltournative Tours to the Mayan village. Rio Secreto sounds very cool too, aside from their no personal camera policy. I'd love to go back to Chichen Itza' (we were there for our honeymoon 21 years ago), but it's a long drive and doesn't sound as appealing as in the past, what with the crowds and not being able to walk on the structures.

What I'm looking forward to most is a birthday dinner on the beach with the full moon rising over the ocean on the 9th. Can't ask for much more than that.

[suncraver]

Thanks sfantle, those are some great ideas. Like you, I'm not sure how motivated we'll be to leave the beach once we get there, but it's good to have some options. What sexes are your 15 and 18 year olds? I'm sure my girls will be looking for some teenage company by the time you get to Tulum! Are you planning to bring your own snorkel gear? We don't own any and I'm thinking it would be easier to just rent for the few times that we'll actually snorkel instead of purchasing it here and lugging it with us.

[suncraver]

Wondering what you guys do about money. Do you bring travelers checks? Do you get pesos in the U.S. before you leave? Also, we are pretty pathetic Spanish speakers. I can understand stuff but can't say much. Will that be a problem? Thanks for any advice you experienced Tulum-ers can give me :)

[minniemex]

We were just discussing Visa Gift Cards on another post ~ they can be used in an ATM or as a CC ~ just about everything I guess. They seem like an excellent idea and worked well for Eliza.

Our original method has always been a cash card (or CC) to be used at the ATm's. We all feel pretty much you get the best exhange without any hassles or long lines at the banks.

Here is the link to the post ~

http://tulum.info/showthread.php?t=3554

[suncraver]

Hey Beachreader, do you remember if La Luna supplies shampoo and soap, etc? Also, do they have hammocks?

[beachreader]

Don't bother with traveller's cheques. Many places don't take them and they're a hassle all the way around. I just use ATMs, though I'm going to check out the new gift card thing, and there's an ATM at the airport, if you want pesos right away. There are two in Tulum.

One thing to remember is that the ATMs in Tulum are in Spanish. The machines work the same, but for confidence you might bring a dictionary with you just to confirm that you're taking money out and not something else. And the amounts listed on the screen are pesos, not dollars. I watched an American woman spend five minutes at the ATM and then forgot it was pesos and took out only 100 pesos thinking it was 100 dollars. She spent like $5 in fees for less than $10! I felt for her.

Or you can bring wads of US cash and stand on line at the bank, but depending on time of day that can take an hour or more out of your day.

[suncraver]

Your kids will love it. Check out my trip report. The trip to Punta Allen was a definate highlight, Coba was fantastic but make sure you hire a guide. Everything we did my kids loved. Never missed TV or their cell phones. We ate most of our meals other than breakfast in the pueblo it is cheaper but really liked the local activity and the boys enjoyed being able to walk around. Never worried about them as they had to keep to the main drag. There is lots to do and plenty of beach time and boogie boarding.

Susan, did you arrange your Coba guide while you were down there? Or did you schedule it ahead of time? Did you drive there yourselves and then meet your guide there? People have recommended the Altournative tour that includes Coba, a Mayan village, Cenote, and zip lines, etc. but it seems like a bit much, super expensive and an entire day event. Not sure we need all that!

[susan]

Susan, did you arrange your Coba guide while you were down there? Or did you schedule it ahead of time? Did you drive there yourselves and then meet your guide there? People have recommended the Altournative tour that includes Coba, a Mayan village, Cenote, and zip lines, etc. but it seems like a bit much, super expensive and an entire day event. Not sure we need all that!

I had rented a car so we just drove up there. They have guides at the entrance you can hire as you can go in. They are very knowledgable- all are Mayan. We did the long tour and I think the guide was US$40- best investment of the trip.