Some like it hot, some like it cold

THE RUINS OF THE DAY Tulum's Mayan ruins are some of the area's best.

Photo: Mayo

Families don't flock to Tulum. Maybe the scarcity of indoor plumbing and electricity, the absence of english spoken here signs and the topless bathers have kept your average sea-sun-and-sand-seeking brood far from this funky little outpost on Mexico's Caribbean coast. Indeed, until five or so years ago, Tulum was not much of a destination at all, but a stopping-off point for backpackers on the Mayan route.

Times change. The road that leads down the Yucatán coast from Cancún's international airport was widened, reducing a three-hour drive to just 90 minutes, and the once-tiny pueblo of Tulum has sprouted eateries, a bank, a couple of Internet cafés and lots of building-supply stores. It's now a veritable boomtown. Half a mile away, Tulum's long, wide beach is also seeing a transformation: The area's Robinson Crusoe–like visitor accommodations are multiplying. But through all of this, much has stayed the same. Only the 13th-century walled ruinas are showing signs of exhaustion.

I first visited Tulum several years ago. I went there with my ten-year-old daughter to see the ruins, which are the most gemlike of the Mayan archaeological sites in the region, and we needed a place to spend the night. Down an unpaved jungle track, a ten-minute walk from the ruins, we found it: a group of palm-thatched, sand-floored cabañas made of widely spaced sticks.

The place, El Mirador, is still there. For $10 a night, plus $2 for hammock rental, you get a cabaña for two or three, the sound of waves at night, a candle to light the darkness, access to iffy toilets and cold-water showers, and, at your doorstep, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Climb some steps to a bluff, and you can eat at the Mirador's outdoor café with the turquoise Caribbean waters spread like glass below you.

Now that Tulum has been discovered, you can opt for more comfortable digs: Farther down the beach are cabaña hotels that range from basic to high-end (www.ecotulum.com has a partial listing). Whatever your accommodations, you'll find plenty to keep you busy: Snorkel at the coral reef, or take a biologist-led tour of the immense Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, which spreads all the way to Belize and affords glimpses of mangrove swamps, rare birds, monkeys and huge tarantulas; dive into freshwater cenotes (deep sinkholes formed eons ago by, it's been said, the meteor that ended the Age of Dinosaurs); and listen to fabulous tales told by intrepid college students about nights spent atop Guatemalan pyramids or bus rides through Nepal.

This last experience on its own is an eye-opener for NYC tweens and teens, whose steel-and-concrete world expands dramatically after just a few days in Tulum.—Barbara Aria

THE DETAILS

Getting there Most U.S. airlines fly direct to Cancún. The trip takes about three and a half hours. Rent a car at the airport for the 90-minute drive to Tulum.
Cabañas el Mirador 52 (998) 845-7689; www.hotelstulum.com/mirador.htm. Rates: Cabañas from $10.
Ecotulum.com This website offers several good accommodation options.
Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 52 (984) 871-2499; www.cesiak.org.