Tulum, Mexico: A Wedding, Sea Turtles, and a Lesson in Plastic
Two of my favorite people got married in Riviera Maya, Mexico, and I turned the trip into a few extra days of exploring the coastline around Tulum, camera and (for the first time) a video camera in hand.
Mike & Kami’s wedding in Riviera Maya
My good friends from Seattle — and honestly one of my favorite couples — chose Riviera Maya for their destination wedding, which meant a few days built entirely around celebrating them, sandwiched between exploring up and down the coast near Tulum. I put together a short video of those in-between days, followed by a set of photos from the trip.
Sea turtles, sailing, and a surprise rainstorm
My favorite parts of the trip made it into the video: swimming with sea turtles in Akumal (skip the crowded public beach area and find a quieter stretch — it makes all the difference), and a sailing outing that turned into getting caught in the middle of a massive rain storm. Both are the kind of unplanned moments that end up being the best part of any trip.
Away from the crowds — and a hard look at plastic
Once the wedding festivities wrapped, we drove away from the tourist-packed stretch of Cancun toward Punta Allen in a rental car. The beaches down that way were empty and largely untouched, save for a handful of genuinely beautiful homes tucked along the shoreline. But leaving the resort area — where staff clean the beaches multiple times a day — also meant seeing exactly how much plastic actually washes ashore.
It’s something I feel strongly about: reducing our use of single-use plastic, the water bottles and hotel shampoo bottles that exist for a few minutes of convenience and then never fully break down. Seeing it firsthand, piled up on an otherwise stunning beach and working its way into the ocean and the animals in it, made the case better than any statistic could.
Between Mike & Kami’s wedding, the turtles, the storm, and that gut-check on the beach, Tulum gave me a trip that was equal parts celebration and a reminder to travel a little more carefully.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Tulum located?
Tulum sits along the Riviera Maya on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, south of Cancun and Playa del Carmen.
Where can you swim with sea turtles near Tulum?
Akumal, just up the coast from Tulum, is known for sea turtle encounters — steer clear of the crowded public beach area for a better experience.
Is plastic pollution a problem on Mexico’s Yucatan coast?
Yes — areas away from resorts that clean their beaches daily show a noticeable amount of plastic washing ashore, a reminder of how much single-use plastic ends up in the ocean.
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