The average tourist planning a trip to The Riviera Maya, will typically spend the majority of their time in the three hotspots of the region; Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum. Which is okay, but there are some really lovely lesser-known spots, like Akumal Mexico.
We visited the tiny beach town of Akumal for the first time in 2023 and felt like we had returned in time. The town is far less developed than the more popular cities and allows travellers to enjoy gorgeous beaches, without the crowds. This guide will help you decide if this beach town is better than Playa del Carmen.
Is Akumal Mexico really better than Playa del Carmen?
Akumal may be the better option for the two towns depending on what type of traveller you are. While Playa del Carmen is relatively large and typically very busy, Akumal is tiny and only attracts a small portion of the total tourists travelling to the region.
Akumal, Mexico
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Playa del Carmen would be the better town for you if you like to be out and about and plan on exploring a lot. We always say that Playa del Carmen is the absolute best place to stay in The Riviera Maya because it is so centrally located, and you’ve got easy access to the ADO buses and the ferry to Cozumel Island.
If you’re visiting The Riviera Maya to spend as much time on the beach as possible, Akumal may be the best option for you. Aside from the quieter beaches, the town also offers one of the best nature adventures we’ve experienced in the area.
What is Akumal Mexico like?
As we have mentioned, the town is very small and cozy. You’ve got Centro, where the locals live, and just a short drive (or bike ride) towards the ocean is where you’ll find the hotels and condos.
The beaches: There are two big beaches in Akumal, both with a cove-like shape. These beaches are absolutely gorgeous, and one of the best places to swim with turtles (more on that later). Our only problem with these beaches here, is that they’re kept kind of exclusive, in the sense that you either have to pay an etrance fee to acces them or you need to stay in ocean-front accommodation for easy and free access.
Note that all beaches in Mexico are public by law, so I’m not sure how the town of Akumal gets away with how privatized it’s become. We’d recommend watching our YouTube video to get a better understanding of what we mean by ‘privatized’.
The lagoon: Yalku lagoon is one of the most beautiful lagoons that feeds into the Caribbean ocean. The lagoon water is relatively chilly, which is awesome for cooling down in the crazy Mexican Caribbean heat. The water is also crystal clear and is home to beautiful tropical fish.
You need to pay for entrance to Yalk-ku, which is definitely worth it! Our only suggestion is taking your own snorkel set (for hygiene purposes), and planning to go early in the day or late in the afternoon.
If we noticed one big area of opportunity for the lagoon is that there is little to no shade available. Click the banner below to get a special deal on your Yalk-Ku Lagoon tickets 👇
Glamping: If you’re looking for a unique stay, you’ll definitely want to consider glamping in Akumal. We stayed at Natura Glamping, which sits within the Mayan Jungle, right behind Akumal Centro.
We’ll talk more about our experience of glamping in Akumal later on, but you won’t find many affordable glamping options in many other places within The Riviera Maya.
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Where is Akumal Mexico
Akumal is conveniently located right between Playa del Carmen and Tulum. From Playa del Carmen, you can expect to drive only 40 minutes to get there. If you’re travelling from Cancun International Airport, it takes just over an hour to reach Akumal.
As we mentioned earlier, Akumal is ideal if you just want to relax on the beach. However, if you’re planning exploring in places like, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres or Xcaret, Akumal is not the ideal place to base yourself.
How to get to Akumal from playa del Carmen
Rental Car: Our first recommendation is to hire a rental car to get to Akumal. This will be the easiest and most comfortable.
You’ll also be able to navigate into Centro, along the beach strip and to Yal-ku Lagoon without breaking a sweat. It’s worth noting that there is virtually no public transportation and limited taxis available in Akumal, hence why having a rental car is our first suggestion.
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Collectivos: If you’re on a budget, you can grab a collectivo at the depot behind Chedraui Centro in Playa del Carmen. The collectivo shouldn’t cost you more than about USD $4 per person.
You’ll get dropped off in Akumal Centro on the side of the road, which can make it a bit tricky to get to your accommodation.
We visited Akumal via collectivo, which fit within our budget but we really struggled to move around, especially in the crazy Mexican Caribbean heat. We were fortunate enough to have free use of the bicycles at our accommodation, but it was quite strenuous to get to the beach zone.
Collectivos in Playa del Carmen
Bicycles from Akumal Natura
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The best things to do in Akumal Mexico
As this town is pretty tiny, there isn’t much for us to recommend that you do. However, we stayed for two nights and wish we could have stayed one or two nights longer to have done a bit more exploring. Here are the top things to do in Akumal:
Glamping in the Mayan Jungle
Staying in a comfortable tent, deep in the Mayan Jungle was definitely our favourite thing to do in Akumal. All we could hear was the sounds of the birds and the leaves blowing in the wind – absolute bliss. To make our glamping experience even more special, Akumal Natura had on-site cenotes at no additional charge. This meant that we could go and enjoy the cenotes at any time of the day and there was no one around – again, absolute bliss.
Visit the rescue centre
In addition to glamping with Natura, they also run a rescue centre on a piece of land near the accommodation facilities. This was such a raw and authentic experience and we’d definitely do it again. We got driven on the back of a truck through the jungle to the entrance of the facility.
We were then guided by a super professional and passionate guide, who took us to see all the rescued animals, including spider monkeys, macaws, tortoises and so much more. To end our time-off on the reserve, we got to enjoy the underground cenote they have on property. This cenote was so special in the sense that it was completely closed and it felt like we were entering another world.
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Yal-Ku Lagoon
The lagoon is not just an awesome way to cool down in the crazy Mexican Caribbean heat, but it’s one of the best ways to see the colourful tropical fish that feed off the abundant coral reefs of the region. You may even get lucky and spot a turtle. Our only complaint, is that there is barely any shading available at the lagoon, so we’d recommend avoiding this activity in the middle of the day. Get your tickets for Yal-Ku Lagoon here.
Beach day at Halfmoon Bay
This is one of the only beaches in Akumal, and it is also where you’d go if you wanted to snorkel with the turtles.
The beach itself is very beautiful, with white sand and crystal clear blue waters. There were also quite a few palm trees to settle under for some shade. But if you’ve got a bigger budget, we’d recommend paying for chairs and shade at a beach club.
The only thing that put us off a bit, is that they charge an entrance fee to the beach, which really shouldn’t be happening as all beaches in Mexico are public by law. You can expect to pay a few dollars for entrance (no more than about US$5 per person).
Snorkel with turtles
We didn’t personally do this activity, but it is a very popular thing to do in The Riviera Maya. You’ll find plenty green and loggerhead turtles in the waters, just a few metres from shore almost every day of the year. In theory, as the turtles are so close to shore and in open waters, you should be able to swim out and see them independently, but that is unfortunately not the case.
From speaking to locals, we learned that about 10 years ago, you could easily go swimming with the turtles without needing to go on a tour. In 2024, that is no longer the case.
You’ll undoubtedly be approached by hoards of tour salesmen trying to sell their ‘tour’ to the turtles – which is essentially just paying for a life-jacket and having someone escort you to the cordened-off site. The salesmen will say the tours were put in place to protect the turtles, but it definitely felt more like a cash grab than conservation.
Our top recommendation if you do want to swim with the turtles is to prebook a tour online. The reason for this, is because the salesmen on the beach might try to overcharge you and just pocket the difference. Booking online will prevent this from happening to you.
See the murals
As locals of The Riviera Maya, we can easily say that the bridge connecting Akumal town to the Akumal beach zone has some of the best murals in the entire region. Additionally, these murals change every year, so each time you revisit you’ll have new art to admire. You can easily just stop on the roadside to see the murals and get a few awesome pictures.
But what if there is alot of sargassum (seaweed)
One major downside to the ‘half-moon’ shape of both of the beaches in Akumal, is that it seems to attract a crazy amount of sargassum.
And if you haven’t heard of sargassum, it is a brown, smelly seaweed that collects in the water and on the beaches and sometimes makes swimming in the ocean impossible.
As the climate shifts, the sargassum season seems to get longer and longer each year, sometimes starting from March all the way up to the end of October. We were in Akumal in June and the sargassum was very bad.
In the case that you’re very worried about not being able to enjoy the beaches in Akumal, we’d instead recommend staying in Isla Mujeres, Cancun or Holbox Island.
📸 You can watch our video guide of Akumal Mexico on YouTube
Where to stay in Akumal Mexico
It’s important to note that without a car, it’ll be difficult but not impossible to move around. That is why it is important to consider where you stay in Akumal before booking anything.
Our first recommendation would be to go glamping at Akumal Natura, as this is such a beautiful and unique experience. However, this accommodation is located in the jungle, just behind Akumal Centro. You will have free access to bicycles as a hotel guest, which you could use to get to the beach zone, but a car would be better.
If you’re looking for a beachfront stay, we have no personal recommendations but there are plenty of hotels and condos scattered along the beach.
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What we don't love about Akumal Mexico
Privatization: We don’t want to sound like we’re complaining, but we believe it’s important to share the downsides so our readers can make an informed choice about whether Akumal is the right destination for them.
One thing we didn’t like is that the entire beach area has been privatized. In fact, you can’t even see the beach or ocean from the road because so many homes, condos, and hotels have been built there. Many of these properties have tall walls, blocking access for anyone who doesn’t own or stay there.
Additionally, the only way to access the beach is by paying an entrance fee or staying at a beachfront property. This limits access for budget travellers, and more importantly, for the local community. We sensed tension among Akumal locals, likely because Westerners have claimed land that was once open and free for everyone.
The turtle vendors: Many of the vendors trying to sell us the turtle tours seemed very pushy and had quite a bad attitude towards us when we declined to buy from them. This made us feel a bit sour about Akumal as a whole. To completely avoid getting over-charged by the vendors, we’d recommend buying your turtle tour tickets online.
Lack of local food: We did find one or two great local restaurants to dine at, in Akumal Centro. However, when it comes to the restaurants and beach clubs in the beach zone, you’re going to struggle to find authentic local meals. We noticed that most restaurants were only offering your standard Westernized menu – pizzas, burgers and fries. So if you’re expecting to experience Mexican cuisine, Akumal is not the spot for that.
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What we love about Akumal Mexico
The highlight of our time in Akumal was the glamping experience, along with our trip to the rescue centre. Of all the destinations we’ve travelled to in The Riviera Maya, we haven’t experienced anything this this.
Sure, the beaches were nice but if we were to visit the town again, it would be for the experience of enjoying the lush Mayan jungle at Akumal Natura.
In addition, we’ve found the Akumal is undoubtedly one of the quietest spots in the entire region of the Riviera Maya. So, if you’re looking for a spot to rest and recharge without the crowds and constant noise, Akumal is perfect for that.
We hope we can help you in deciding if Akumal is the best travel destination for you. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments section below 👇 We’d appreciate it if you shared this post – via Pinterest, Facebook or WhatsApp 🫶
