Why Tulum is still my favorite weekend escape

I live and work in Playa del Carmen. That's where my office, my clients, and most of my listings are. But if you ask where I actually want to be on a Saturday afternoon, the honest answer is almost always Tulum.

There's a rhythm to Tulum that's different from anywhere else on this coast, and after enough weekends there, it's changed the way I describe this whole region to clients — not as one market, but as several very different moods within a 90-minute drive of each other.

What actually pulls me there

It's not any single thing — it's the pace. Tulum still feels unhurried in a way that Playa, for all its energy, doesn't always manage anymore. A slow breakfast near the beach road, a walk through the ruins before the afternoon heat sets in, dinner somewhere with candlelight and no music louder than conversation. It's the version of the Riviera Maya that first drew a lot of people here, myself included.

What it's taught me professionally

Spending real time in Tulum — not just showing a property and leaving — has made me a more honest advisor about it. I can tell a client what a specific street actually feels like at 7pm, whether the walk to the beach club is realistic in the heat, or whether a listing's "steps from the beach" is accurate or optimistic. That's not something you get from a spec sheet.

It's also given me a genuine appreciation for what makes Tulum's real estate different from Playa's: smaller inventory, a slower resale cycle, and buyers who are usually there for the lifestyle first and the investment second. I list and sell resale property in both towns, but I never pitch them the same way, because they aren't the same experience — and pretending otherwise doesn't serve you.

The takeaway

If you're deciding between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, my honest advice is to spend a weekend in each before you decide anything. What sells you on one over the other usually isn't the numbers — it's how a Saturday afternoon actually feels once you're there.