Click on the #travelgram hashtag on Instagram and you’re 99% sure to find gorgeous photos of Mexican cenotes—the swimming holes and caves with aquamarine water. Those photos are enough to make anyone want to take a family vacation in Tulum, Mexico. My family and I stayed at a beach house about 20 minutes outside of Tulum this year and I loved it—but there are some things I wish I’d known first.

If you’re considering a family vacation in Tulum, you’ll want to read this post. In it, I take an honest look at visiting Tulum with kids—the good and the bad. Keep reading to learn what you need to know about vacationing in Tulum with kids.

What you need to know for a family vacation in Tulum

Traffic in Tulum is atrocious

When we first drove our rental car into Tulum, it took us more than a half-hour to get from one side of the beach strip to the other. Bumper to bumper traffic on this tiny road made our day trip feel claustrophobic, not relaxing.

Expect traffic, especially as they redo the infrastructure in parts of this growing beach town.

(If you’re flying into Cancun, you’ll probably be driving the roughly 2 hours to Tulum. Read my post all about renting a car in Cancun if you’re going this route.)

Beachside restaurants are expensive—but worth it

You can only access the beach in Tulum if you’re staying at a hotel there, you rent a beach cabana or bed, or you eat at a beachside restaurant. We went to Ziggy’s Beach Club to do just that.

This kid-friendly restaurant in Tulum was such an oasis after battling traffic through town. Staff were incredibly attentive and the food was superb. My favorite part: The entire restaurant was on the sand, so the kids made sand castles and played in hammocks as we waited for our food. What’s more, the seats at the bar are actually swings—so my kids voted Ziggy’s the most family friendly restaurant in Tulum.

Afterwards, we played in the ocean. After all, when you eat at a beachside restaurant in Tulum, you’re paying for the beach too. Ziggy’s also has changing rooms and showers so you don’t have to drive back to your hotel or rental all sandy.

The food and drinks at beachside restaurants in Tulum are American prices ($220 pesos for a margarita, for example, which is about $12 USD) but everything we tasted at Ziggy’s was well worth the price.

Walking on the street is dangerous

We walked around in Tulum’s beach zone to check out the town—and my kids almost got hit by cars twice.

There are no sidewalks on almost all of the road. That means you and your family will have to walk right next to traffic. With all the growth in Tulum, there’s construction everywhere—so you’ll have to actually step into the street to get around ongoing construction projects.

In addition, you and your kids will be inhaling all the exhaust and dust from the cars driving right alongside you. Walking in Tulum with kids was beyond stressful.

Tulum town is much more family-friendly

Only a small part of Tulum is on the beach; the rest of the city is more inland—and is much more charming.

I actually loved exploring Tulum town. We stumbled across a store full of handmade goods from Mexican artisans, La Llorona, where my girls picked out souvenirs and gifts for their grandparents and cousins. A quaint Mexican restaurant, Charlie’s, had live marimba music. And we found street art in the side roads that were refreshingly absent of tourists.

If you do go to Tulum with kids, you’ll want to spend at least part of the day off the beach and in Tulum town.

Visiting Tulum Ruins with kids

You’d totally miss out if you didn’t go to the ruins while staying in Tulum with kids. The ruins are right in town, are fairly inexpensive, and you can explore the whole site in about an hour. Extra bonus in case you’re on the fence: Within the Tulum Ruins is a gorgeous beach you can access as a park visitor, so bring a towel and swimming suit! The beach at the Tulum Ruins was the most beautiful beach where we swam in Tulum.

I wish I had pushed my family to get out the door earlier in the day. There is almost no shade at the Tulum Ruins, and the middle of the day was hot in the full sun. My poor kiddos were wilting before my eyes! So if you go to the Tulum Ruins with kids, go first-thing.

And if you want to explore a ruins near Tulum that doesn’t have the crowds, the heat and the direct sun, you’ll want to read my post on the Muyil Ruins.

Level 10 travel tip: There are soft-serve ice cream joints in the area in front of the Tulum Ruins: A wonderful way to treat your kids in the heat!

Buy kid-friendly souvenirs from local artisans

If your kids are anything like mine, they’ll ask to buy every knick knack, straw hat and lucha libre mask they see at Tulum’s many souvenir shops. But I don’t want to bring a bunch of crap home, and I’d rather support local artisans who are being paid fairly for their work.

That’s why we shopped for souvenirs at La Llorona and Mixik, both sources of gorgeous and authentic Mexican crafts and artwork.

La Llorona is on the road that runs alongside the beach. My younger daughter picked out a hand-sewn rhino and my older daughter chose a traditional Mexican doll. The shop owner was helpful and generous, too: She threw in a complimentary tote bag along with the other gifts we bought for family back home.

And I could barely restrain myself from buying everything in Mixik in Tulum town. The traditional clothing in kids’ sizes was perfect for my nieces, and I felt terrific shopping here because I knew artisans were paid fairly for their handiwork.

Level 10 travel tip: Stop at Charlie’s next to Mixik for lunch. They sometimes have live music! When we visited, Maxine was enthralled with the marimba players.

Feed your family in Tulum at Chedraui

My siblings and I had a running joke when we were in Tulum: We couldn’t stop laughing at our own attempts to pronounce Chedraui, the name of the mega-grocery store in Tulum. All jokes aside, though, this Tulum grocery store is a must-stop for every family vacation in Tulum.

It’s incredibly well stocked with both Mexican staples and foods my kids were familiar with. We bought peanut butter, crackers, granola bars, cereal and tons of other staples that kept my kids fed—while the adults feasted on tacos, guacamole and other insanely delicious Mexican food.

(My kids are not adventurous eaters, but they still have to eat!)

Going grocery shopping in Tulum gave me peace of mind that my kids would always have something familiar to eat. That way, I didn’t have to stress about them getting hangry because they refuse to try black beans.

Level 10 travel tip: To save money in Tulum with kids, eat two meals a day at home. We prep and cook breakfast and dinner at our beach rental, then eat lunch at a restaurant.

Swim in cenotes with kids

When we arrived at our first cenote, my kids couldn’t believe their eyes: The clear water in this sunken limestone cave was unlike anything they’d ever seen before. We couldn’t get in fast enough!

My girls loved swimming in the Dos Ojos cenotes so much that Max, my younger daughter, refused to get out even when her teeth were chattering. (The water is fairly chilly, especially because these cenotes were shaded in caves and not in full sun.)

When you go on a family vacation in Tulum, do not miss swimming in a cenote.

Level 10 travel tip: You’ll want to bring a life jacket for kids, even if they already know how to swim: Many cenotes are deep, and without a swimming pool edge to hang onto, kids get tired. Many cenotes will lend you a kids’ life jacket with the price of admission, but I felt more comfortable bringing my kids’ puddle jumpers, which we swear by (affiliate link).

Planning a trip in Tulum with kids

I must admit I was surprised that Tulum wasn’t more family-friendly. If we went back, I wouldn’t stay on the beach in Tulum unless we were planning on staying at the hotel beach and never leaving. (This option makes it difficult to explore the area around Tulum, including the Tulum ruins and cenotes, though.)

I would, however, do the same thing we did on this vacation: Stay in a rental home outside of Tulum. (This is the amazing house outside of Tulum where we stayed—I’m already scheming for our return trip! And use my referral code to get 15% off your first stay!)

That said, a lot of people take a family vacation in Tulum. I hope this post on what to expect in Tulum with kids is helpful—so you can take advantage of all the wonderful parts and avoid the worst.

Happy travels!

PS – If you fly into Cancun, you may be driving to Tulum. Read my in-depth guide to renting a car in Cancun!