Mexican Vacation

Mexican vacation – those are kite surfers in the background!

Chad and I finally took a real 10-day Mexican vacation! Typically when we travel it’s for business and we might tack on an extra day or two to go somewhere else – but this time it was solely pleasure and boy did we need it! I feel refreshed, alive, rested and most importantly excited to be back home doing what I love – educating myself and others on how to heal their digestive issues naturally by practicing daily yoga, breathing and meditation.

You can imagine that I was pretty concerned about what I would eat there given the water situation as well as my diet restrictions. Let me say this: when there’s a will, there’s a way. All it takes is some solid research to find the right places where you can continue to eat clean and healthy on vacation.

We drove from Cancun down to Tulum and I was in heaven. If you’ve never heard of it then I’ll tell you – Tulum is GORGEOUS! It’s right on the beach with water so blue that it’s mesmerizing. The sand is white, soft and heavenly. All of the hotels are pretty eco meaning you don’t flush toilet paper down the toilet, the shower has very little pressure, some hotels turn off the electricity at 10pm and most only have wifi access in the lobby, which forces you to disconnect! It’s fabulous. This is a place to go to when you want to go off the grid, even if only for a week.

***Recommendations for places to go/eat on your Mexican vacation are listed below. One note of advice when traveling there – don’t eat anything raw besides fruit that has thick skin ie: avocado, coconut, banana, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, kiwi, etc. Brush your teeth with bottled water! I ate mostly vegetarian with the exception of fresh caught fish.

Hartwood: Go there for an early, candle lit dinner otherwise you won’t get the first seating and you’ll have to wait until 8 or 9pm to eat. It opens at 6pm so you should arrive to stand in line at 5:15pm (don’t forget bug repellent). I it sounds silly to stand in line but it’s honestly the best meal we’ve eaten in ages! The food is out of this world and the only cooking tools they use are a wood burning stove and a blender. Here’s a fantastic article about them in the New York Times.

Candle lit dinner at Hartwood

Posada Margherita: We ate here for breakfast almost every day. They also have a beautiful romantic dinner as well as a juice bar. The ambience is unlike any place else I’ve been to – you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to Italy, which is where the owners are from. It’s also a hotel that has 8 rooms. If you eat there for breakfast you can use their beach chairs to lay out afterwards, just bring your own towel.

Breakfast at Posada Margherita

IL Barino: This little lunch spot has fresh juices as well as breakfast. It’s vegan, healthy and delicious.

Fresh coconut at Il Barino

Restaurare: This place is all vegan, which is a dream come true for someone on a strict diet.

Vegan restaurant

El Vegetariano: Located in town on the corner before you turn to go towards the beach – you can’t miss it. Eat here for either lunch or dinner. It’s a great vegetarian spot that feels less touristy and pretty authentic.

Vegetarian restaurant in town

Zamas: This is the hotel we stayed in and it was pretty good. Our issue was the noise from the live music each night so we changed rooms to be further from the restaurant. Next time I would stay on the jungle side and as far away from the road and restaurant as possible. Their vegetarian tacos were delicious and the views from the restaurant are absolutely stunning.

Zamas, a cute hotel and restaurant with a stunning view and live music.

Be Tulum: A boutique hotel with delicious vegetarian tacos. Their beach area is also fantastic for lounging – since we weren’t guests at the hotel we couldn’t use the cabanas. There was live music playing during lunch and we had a nice relaxing afternoon there.

Be Tulum: boutique hotel

Yaan Spa: Across the street from Be Tulum is their spa, which is absolutely stunning. The prices for treatments were quite expensive, however, Chad and I both agreed that this was the best experience we’ve ever had (and we’ve been to many places for treatments, including Great Jones Spa in NYC and many others!) I promise that I wouldn’t steer you wrong here. If there’s one place to splurge, it’s here at Yaan – you get a whole hydrotherapy experience, hot tea, steam, sauna and tons of relaxation. We both got the 80 minute sobada Mayan massage, which includes a full body massage with a belly massage – it was heaven! Their website is still up and coming so I would go there to book it.

Yaan Wellness – photo taken from www.yaanwellness.com

Maya Tulum: We went here for yoga. We liked the times of the classes as they fit into our vacation schedule. There are tons of other places all over, so just find what works for you and I’m sure it will be great.

Wisdom in Tulum