Base your Tulum yoga trip on the right side of town

The first class on the beach road starts at 08:00, in a floating wooden shala at km 10. Inland, the first Vinyasa and Kundalini sessions at Holistika start at 08:30, and by midday the steps down into Gran Cenote are at their busiest. Tulum is three places for a yogi, and the one you sleep in decides how much of the day goes on the mat and how much in a taxi.

Tulum splits into two main areas, the town (also called Tulum Pueblo or Centro) and the Hotel Zone along the beach road, a 25 minute drive or a 45 minute bike ride apart. Around and between them lie the jungle neighbourhoods: Holistika on the south west edge of town, La Veleta right next to it, and Aldea Zama between the town and the Hotel Zone. The road to Coba leaves town past Gran Cenote, about 5 km from the centre. The beach road suits a week of morning classes with the Caribbean outside the door, and couples who want the sea after savasana, the lying rest that closes a class. The jungle side suits a yogi who wants a full daily timetable and a longer, slower stay. The town suits drop-in classes, street food, the bus station and an early swim before the cenotes fill. Wherever you sleep, plan on a bike or a taxi between them.

Yoga on the beach road happens in hotels and healing centres along the Carretera Tulum-Boca Paila, the road behind Tulum Beach. At km 5, the Maya Spa at the Azulik hotel holds holistic yoga and guided meditation, private or in groups, in raised organic structures, by reservation only. At km 10, Yaan Healing Sanctuary teaches gentle Hatha, Kundalini and meditation every day from 08:00 in a floating wooden shala, the open room where a class meets. Nômade Temple Tulum sits on Tulum Beach at km 10.5.

The Amansala hotel has six fully equipped shalas steps from the sea. Groups come down every week for its six day Bikini Bootcamp of classes, healthy food and massages.

At Kanan Tulum, an adults only hotel with its own beach club, a guided yoga session runs every day at 11:00, with meditation, breathwork and ice baths alongside. Guests can reserve an air conditioned studio for their own practice.

The beach road suits couples and anyone who wants the sea within a few steps of the mat. The Hotel Zone is a palm fringed strip of eco resorts, yoga retreats and beach clubs, with powdery white sand right there. The trade off is getting around. The road is less walkable than the town, with narrow or missing pavements, little shade and heavy evening traffic, so most people rent a bike or a scooter.

Supermarkets and public transport are thin on the ground, and power cuts and low water pressure still happen. Between May and September, sargassum seaweed can wash up and change the beach, and beach club noise builds through the day. Book the first class of the morning, practise while the sand is quiet, and save the afternoon for the sea.

Holistika is the heart of the jungle side: a hotel, a restaurant and a community centre in the middle of the jungle at Av. 10 Sur. Daily classes cover Hatha, Vinyasa, Kundalini and acro yoga, and Yin and meditation sessions start from 08:30.

Ashtanga, Nei Qi Gong and tuning fork sound meditation are on the timetable too, with daily workshops in capoeira, hula hoop and Reiki sound healing. Vinyasa links each pose to a breath in a steady flow; Yin holds quiet floor poses for minutes at a time. After class, Tierra, the vegan and vegetarian restaurant on site, serves breakfast without a drive. Stay at Hotel Holistika and the classes, the food and the workshops are all on site, which counts on a week when you plan two classes a day.

La Veleta and Aldea Zama are the two jungle neighbourhoods for a longer stay, and they feel different. La Veleta sits south of Tulum Pueblo, right next to Holistika. It has grown from a quiet residential area into a base for eco lodges, vegan eateries, holistic wellness centres and coffee roasters on tree lined streets. It suits a month of practice and a slower pace, and it is closer to Cristal and Escondido, two quieter cenotes away from the crowds.

Aldea Zama is a planned community between the town and the Hotel Zone, with condos, villas, boutique hotels, galleries, cafes and wellness studios on streets made for walking. It is quieter than the Hotel Zone, a short bike ride or taxi from the main sights, and suits digital nomads and families. From either, the beach and the town are a ride away.

Tulum town is the practical base for drop-in classes: compact, walkable, and where many locals live, with supermarkets, street food and the ADO bus station close by. OM Collective is a grassroots studio in town for long stay visitors and residents, with classes every day at 08:00, 10:00, 18:00 and 20:00. Some are donation based, and it is the easiest way into the local yoga community.

Zenses, a retreat centre in town, teaches every morning at 08:30, and visitors who are not staying there book a day ahead. Its sessions mix therapeutic classes, power yoga and pranayama, the breathing practice. Studios and retreat centres across Tulum teach in English and Spanish. The town is less pretty than the beach road, and some streets are noisy at night, above all at weekends, so choose a quiet street to sleep on.

Gran Cenote sits about 5 km from Tulum Centro on the QROO 109, the road to Coba: 10 minutes by scooter or 30 by bike. A cenote is a natural sinkhole of fresh water, and this one is part of the Sac Aktun system, with an underwater cave up to 10 m deep. The swimming area is small, about 140 square metres, because most of the cenote lies underground, and the turtle area beside the stairway is off limits.

Gran Cenote opens at 08:00, last entry is 16:15, and midday is the busiest time, so go at opening and float out yesterday's class before the crowds arrive. A life jacket is compulsory, and so is the outdoor shower before you swim. It is the most popular cenote in Tulum, so staying in La Veleta puts the quieter Cristal and Escondido closer to your door.

November to April is the best time for yoga in Tulum: lower humidity and milder heat for outdoor practice. It is also the peak of the retreat season, with the widest choice of workshops, teacher trainings and multi day programmes. Holiday weeks bring the biggest crowds. From May to October there are fewer retreats, more humidity and afternoon rain, and sargassum can reach the beaches, which matters most if you stay on the beach road. In the heat, morning and late afternoon classes are the comfortable ones.

The table below shows Tulum's average daily high and low for each month, and the days with 1 mm of rain or more. April is the driest month, with 9.2 wet days and a high of 29.5 °C. June, August, September and October each bring about 21 wet days, and August is the hottest at 31.1 °C.

Tulum rewards the yogi who picks a side and stays put: the beach road for the sea at the end of class, the jungle side for a full timetable, the town for drop-ins and the cenote road. Compare the yoga friendly hotels on each side on our yoga in Tulum page. Weighing up another coast for the winter? Read yoga in Costa Rica or the rest of our yoga holidays with theKlub. Then book your bed on the side you will practise in, and the first 08:00 class for the morning after you land.