Most commonly asked questions, when guests are considering booking our property.
LOCATION
- Where is the property located? How far is it from the beach?
The property is 0.5 miles from Tulum center (0.9 km). It is right off of a street from the main street that goes through Tulum. Yes, you can walk easily to the Tulum center. Please consult a Google map of Tulum to understand where the Airbnb residential areas are compared to the “beach strip” road. All of the Airbnbs are near Tulum Center in 3 main areas: Aldea Zama, La Veleta, and Riviera Tulum. Aldea Zama is 1.5 miles from beach but has mainly Condos. If someone is giving a place for holding “large groups” >8 guests in Aldea Zama – either it is a large penthouse condo, or multiple rooms in a condo building, where the amenities are all shared with other people. Riviera Tulum is too far from center and the beach and some people don’t like going through the area that leads to the Riviera Tulum (not recommended for walking). La Veleta is where most of the large Villas are and where we are located. We are about 2.5 miles from beach. Tulum traffic is what determines your time to beach not the distance. Off-season or traveling earlier in morning- you can be at the beach in 10-15 min. With high traffic, could take 30 min. There is a ‘back road’ to the beach that avoids the Tulum center. Ask our concierge how to use that back road. Please note: The beach strip only has boutique hotels/resorts, not Airbnb properties.
2. What’re the nearest grocery stores?
Closest one that has organic options (but a little pricey) is Gypsea Market, in walking distance. The largest grocery store in Tulum is Chedraui which is at the entrance of Tulum, about 1.5-2miles from our property.
3. Are there restaurants in walking distance from property?
Yes, many. There are cafes and restaurants right next to Gypsea Market. Then, there are lot of “local” restaurants on Calle 7. Then of course the entire Tulum center is full or restaurants and night clubs.
4. Should I stay by the beach?
If you are coming between June – November (the low-season of Tulum), it is recommended you stay closer to Tulum center. There are more things going on in the center during that time, than the beach strip. In fact, many hotels, restaurants etc close down during low-season on the beach strip, but Tulum center is always open. Also, you can encounter the red seaweed in the sea during the summer, so staying on the beach strip may not be as attractive since the seaweed piles up.
TRANSPORTATION
- How can we get transport setup?
Please go to http://www.NastTransfers.com and use “Casa Ayurveda” for destination and check the prices. If you need to contact an agent, the phone# for Rupert is: +52 998 140 4695. They also provide van with driver rental for “day trip” and “evening trip” if you want someone to drive you around to attractions. They accept Paypal and Cash on the day of your transport.
2. Do you recommend car rental?
Mexico car rentals has become more difficult and expensive since 2020. A new law was passed where you must purchase full insurance and if you wish to use your Credit Card provided insurance, you have to bring an official letter from your credit card company in order to rent the car. And when you get full insurance in Mexico, the cost of that insurance is much higher than the cost of rental itself. So, if you plan to rent a car, please read all the rules before coming or contact rental car company in advance. We recommend using HolidayAutos.com website, as it clearly shows if the ‘minimal insurance’ called TPL is included in the rental. This is required insurance and you cannot use US insurance as a substitute. But they require additional insurance since 2020 which is what you can use Credit Card for or buy in Mexico at much higher costs.
3. Are there rental car companies in Tulum?
Yes, you can easily rent a car or van from many rental car companies in Tulum. Avis, Hertz, Enterprise, Europcar are in Tulum. MexRental is Mexican company also located in Tulum. To give you an idea, we have rented a van that could seat 8 people from Avis before for a cost of $100/day including insurance.
4. Can I bike to the beach?
Yes, ofcourse. In fact, biking is what numerous people visiting Tulum like to do, especially taking their bikes on the beach side road. This avoids all the traffic issues too and you ride on dedicated bike paths. There are many bike rental places in Tulum center that rent PER DAY or PER WEEK basis. Let our concierge know if you want to book bikes and she can provide assistance. Otherwise, you can always walk over to the bike rental place near our property and rent from them. They also rent 4×4 vehicles.
CHEF SERVICES
- Can we book a Chef?
Yes, please contact Chef Caroline at +52 984 276 3663. Let her know you are staying at Casa Ayurveda. She can give you a price and if you are in agreement, she can prepare a menu for you. There are 3 ways to pay Caroline. A) You can download an App on your phone called WISE. She can give you info and you can transfer money to her US account. B) You can pay her in cash USD in advance of the day she will come to cook for you. C) You can pay us and we can transfer the money to her. We charge a $15 fee to cover the money transfer charges. If you are booking for multiple days, the transfer fee can be greater. We can quote you.
2. What is the approximate price of the Chef?
This depends on # of guests, whether you want Breakfast, Lunch, or dinner or multiple meals, or multiple days of Chef services. And whether you want Vegan, meat, seafood, lobster, or something by special request. Chef also considers allergies and restrictions. Assuming a group of 10 people, the cost of a meal could be $350-$500 depending on breakfast, lunch or dinner. More meals you get, cost is spread out. It is best to write up your exact requirement, then contact the chef for the quote. Please also note, Tulum is also experiencing huge inflation with food cost increases, plus there is seasonality to the food costs due to tourism. So it is best to quote Chef cost approx. 1-2 months in advance.
CLEANING SERVICE
- Do you offer a cleaning service?
We charge only 1 cleaning fee during your booking, which is to clean/prepare the property for your arrival. If you would like additional cleaning services, the Concierge can provide that to you. You may discuss with our concierge whether you require full cleaning of the property, or a ‘light’ cleaning for bedrooms, toilets and kitchen.
CONCIERGE SERVICES
- What concierge services do you offer?
We contract with a Property manager/concierge service provider to help you plan your stay. We are the hosts of the property and have no affiliation with the concierge, except to simply refer you to them so you can setup anything you need. They provide transport, tours/attractions, Chef, Yoga, Masseuse, Boat rentals, grocery shopping, event decorations/cake, cleaning services, and anything else you may need. The provide you the prices, and if you agree on the prices, you pay them directly and they arrange everything for you. They also help with Check-in/Check-out for your stay and any maintenance issues that may come up. Contact CLEM at +33 6 60 44 30 53 to setup a concierge service.
GUIDEBOOKS
- Our Guidebooks can be found here:
A full guidebook can be downloaded from this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_LkXcW2sVkH6NP0bX4YJBlDgkJQXCOen/view?usp=sharing
Our property layout diagram (to plan where your guests may stay): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z9OwgFrzu-ME9AmuFrOKuSP7ixftNt_O/view?usp=sharing