Akumal beach is such a great beach for exploring the sea turtles and snorkeling! Not great if you are looking for white sands and no shells though. Weather is always amazing and so many things to do with the little town and dive shop there. Also several restaurants to eat. read more

Akumal - Beaches Near Me - Cancún, ROO

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Beautiful white sand beach, turtles in the water, minimal seaweed, what more could you ask for! I understand why people make this beach their home base for their Quintana Roo vacation.! I'm not entirely sure one must pay for the guided tour to get in the water and see the turtles. I want to support the local economy, but perhaps there's a trick to enjoying this beach without paying for guided tour, think life jackets, and locker rooms. There is a restaurant on site, and my friend and I just gave a really big tip to the waiter so he would let us leave our bags at the table for 15 minutes while we snorkeled with our own gear to see the turtles. kind of hush hush, we did it very discreetly and quietly and quickly. I attached the screenshot I showed to the taxi driver upon arrival to get us to the restaurant without going through the Disneyland style entrance line and fee. I'm not sure I recommend this method, however, as I can imagine multiple ways this theory could have gone wrong. Side note, perhaps we were off season in late may, but we actually saw no turtles. maybe we should have paid for the guided tour after all. read more

Yes!!!! Visit here for the best in Mexico and beach experiences. The beach is beautiful as is the water. The food at Lo Ha is great. The snorkeling is perfect with the turtles. Kids and adults are welcome. Yes, ignore all the tourist trapping cons and go to dive center. I actually spent 50 more pesos and got my gear from the guys under the trees as for some reason I really like them. Supported locos!! (They were crazy funny) Stay at secrets or dreams read more

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I read countless review on YELP & Trip Advisor before my husband and I made our way to Akumal Beach. Bottom line is that you DO NOT have to PAY ANYONE ANYTHING! Except for parking -I believe we paid $20 for a spot in a lot with security that closed at 6. As you make your way to the beach tons of people will try to coerce you in multiple languages to pay for entering, tours, renting gear etc. My husband and I literally (politely) ignored them all, even when they tried to tell us in English that we can't access the beach because the government has stepped in to manage the area. We did notice police presence but no one stopped us from walking through the scuba shop onto the beach. I think that's the best way to get to the beach without being harassed. Even if you get stopped courtesy and politeness go a long way because at the end of the day they are trying to preserve the area and not harm the underwater and surrounding ecosystems. But it just comes off as just random people asking for money. Definitely read the signs so you know where you are most likely to come across some turtle friends, if you're not a good swimmer you can rent a life vest and even snorkeling gear. Bring a cooler fill it with snacks & drinks and relax on the beach all day. We left our belongings multiple times there were plenty of people around doing the same and never felt shaded out or worried. We also stopped by one of the small restaurants on the beach for a quick bite which served the BEST hibiscus tea (wish I remembered the name) but beware of the ice they add in the cups you never know if it's clean so I always ask for no ice - the drink was refrigerated anyways. If you come prepared you can really have fun exploring the water and seeing different fishies, bring some pesos if you decide to check out a café or restaurant on the beach. I would say come early if you want to secure a nice spot, you cannot rent chairs from anywhere so bring some big towels or your own beach chairs. It does get pretty crowded in some spots. read more

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Amazing totally worth it. Try to get more people for a better deal or they will overcharge. You will also see the reef in the water. read more

Akumal - Beaches Near Me - Cancún, ROO

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Ohhhh do I love this little beach town! Will I ever stay in Tulum? NO WAY JOSE! I like the peace of Akumal and my little bar on the beach. Until next year, Akumal! Stay awesome! read more

The only reason to go is to swim with turtles other than that don't bother here, yes it is beautiful but they will soon be making this beach private, they charge you to go in and they don't start letting people in until 9am. Also there is a lot of seaweed and the only seaweed that gets cleaned is in the private side of the beach for the public it will be too uncomfortable to swim or sit near the beach. read more

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Akumal Beach is a decent place to see turtles. My family and I took the collectivo around 2pm from the highway to get there. It was easy to find! The walk to the beach area is filled with people trying to sell you things such as tours and snorkeling gear. I took my own but was required to buy a life jacket if I wanted to snorkel into deeper areas. The charge about 10 bucks for a life jacket. As we walked up to the beach there was so much trash everywhere! It was really nasty and baffling as to why no one picks it up. It's pretty much a dump. When we got to the beach, it was very crowded! It was hard to find a place to put our stuff down. The water was extremely crowded too with big groups of people. I did see turtles, which was very nice! It was hard to see them though as too many people were crowding around. I almost got kicked in the face by someone's foot! Overall it's nice to see the turtles but it is a very very busy beach that is dirty. I'm sure there are better spots! read more

My wife and I were skeptical at first about Akumal, but it's worth a trip for sure. if you're still not convinced, notice the number of locals who go here. It's obviously the place to be. Why? The giant sea turtles. There are tour guides that you can pay TONS of money to take you to see it OR you can go to Walmart and spend $20 on your own snorkel gear. Then take the bus from Playa del Carmen or drive yourself to Akumal. Park and head to the beach. Walk for about 5 minutes and camp out on the beach. Swim out for literally 5 minutes and you'll see sea turtles...all for free! The sea turtles are HUGE, but harmless. They need to come back up for air so don't overcrowd them, but it is a very cool experience. Definitely the coolest, cheapest thing we did while in Mexico. read more

I have friends who conveniently live here full time, so I stayed with them and got to enjoy beautiful Akumal briefly. Glad I got to see the "local's" version of Akumal - while other parts of Mexico are far more touristy and noisy and loud and crowded, Akumal is not quite there.... yet. Akumal is small and compact, so it's good for someone who is not looking for tourist traps. Rent a bike and wander around some of the side streets where you can see fabulous villas and little cafes and restaurants. read more

This place is gorgeous! I honestly wouldn't have known about this place if a fellow tourist hadn't told me! I came all the way from Cancun on the ADO to playa del carmen, then took a collective bus (colectivos) just to get here. It was absolutely worth the 4 hour round trip!!!!! The atmosphere and vibes are completely different compared to playa del carmen and Cancun! It had an extremely local vibe and the beaches were beautiful in its own way! Cancuns zona hotelera beaches are beautiful too but Akumal is rather unique! We paid $20/person to the locals so we can snorkel with the turtles and stingray. Definitely do not buy with big companies or online! The locals have the best price in my opinion. They speak English and they're super nice! You even get a bin to put your personal belongings in! (Included with the $20, no additional charges) They also don't expect tip!! read more

Akumal - Snorkeling with the turtles and stingrays! - Beaches Near Me - Cancún, ROO

LOVE Akumal! It has been a couple months since I've been here but I literally day dream about this beach EVERY day! On my trip to Playa Del Carmen I went here 4 out of the 7 days I was in Playa. I took the collectivo from Playa and back, which cost about 35 pesos each way. This is the way to go. (Do not take a taxi!) Me and my girlfriend brought our own masks, so we just had to rent some fins and a lifejacket which is recommended to keep you upright and because you have to swim long distances! Pay the money for a locker at the dive shop, it's worth it. DO NOT PAY FOR A TOUR! Go out on your own and swim with the turtles. I even found turtles and rays and told the tour guide where they were after I was done swimming with them. Swim out to the left and you can swim in the coral reefs and see an abundant amount of life! Is it time to go back yet!?? Can't wait! read more

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Super crowded with tourists - if you are a strong swimmer, rent, buy or bring snorkel gear from elsewhere: they have a rule that you must wear a life preserver with gear rented on Akumal beach (and possibly go out with a guide/babysitter). I borrowed some gear and saw a few sea turtles - followed them along and visited some fish. The little clumps of tourists with their tenders were easy to navigate around in the water. The main restaurant on the beach has good cold beer, amazing service and is vegan friendly. Don't expect to find a relaxing spot on the beach - it's crowded - and nobody is allowed to sit on that beach after 8pm or so (it's got guards who will chase you off). read more

Not a bad place , they try to give good service and succeed most of the time, room service is bad it's cold every time we asked (5) times It's all inclusive, restaurants are pretty good They don't make tipping Clear yes or no Tips are included in the price for the stay I still tipped for great service , I feel it was worth it Fair priced You could stay for a week and not spend money They constantly clean the grounds I would go back read more

Akumal - Beaches Near Me - Cancún, ROO

Akumal has a good little beach. Nice shape to it. The launching spot for boat fishing and rides up and down the coast of Riviera Maya. And it cannot be denied that Akumal is a very cool name. It sounds so exotic, like a place far away. Sounds like it's in the deep south of ..... Mexico. Which it is. Not too much here, and that's part of its appeal. It will probably be filled with development soon enough, so enjoy it now. There's the Akumal Beach Resort, an interesting (bamboo) beach restaurant and bar, and Akumal Dive Adventures. The Be Live Resort where we stayed is close by. From around here you can get to Tulum in nothing flat, and beat the crowds in the morning when they finally arrive on their tour buses from Cancun and ruin the ruins. read more

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I bet this place was amazing a couple of years ago, but to go to a place where you're constantly being yelled at and harassed just for swimming is crazy. I understand this is a great way for the locals here to make money, but roping sections off in the water and telling you that you can't swim beyond a certain buoy is crazy. I recommend you bring your own snorkel gear, walk past the boats on the beach and go swim. We were lucky enough to see a turtle and a sting ray and didn't need a guide. I'm sure if you do the guided tours that allow you to swim further out by the buoys you'll see a lot more, but it's crazy to spend that money when you can go and do it on your own. Best of luck to you, just keep your head down and walk by all the people yelling at you to try to sell you guided tours, unless you're into that. read more

Beautiful beach for turtle seeing. The tones of blue of the sea are amazing. The white sand beach and the tranquility of the ocean are hard to believe. It's kind of annoying to have these many people trying to sell you the snorkeling trip to go see turtles. I went on a saturday and by 11 am the place was packed. read more

We stayed in Akumal in 2018 and were looking forward to a similar experience in 2021 - snorkeling with turtles, stingrays, gorgeous fish and corals. It was wonderful. So we expected it to be wonderful this time, too, but it really was just very sad. We knew how aggressive the tour people are, so we took a colectivo to Akumal early and arrived at the beach before 7:30 am. The hotel wouldn't let us through their lobby since the restaurant Lol -Ha wasn't opening for another half an hour, and neither was the dive center. As anyone who's been there knows, it's extremely hard to access the beach without either paying or some other sort of "ruse," as there is no community access (even though it's supposed to be a public beach). We managed to find an unlocked path to get in and got in the water. What few years ago was colorful and filled with amazing fish and sea life was now covered in brown gunk. And I mean everything was covered with it. We snorkeled for a while but saw very little (a small turtle in a distance and some cool fish, but had a lot higher expectations). The beach, of course, had a wide swath of sargassum weed, as the whole coast does these days (again, ten times worse than a few years ago). I just felt sad about what had happened to the sea here and we didn't stay as long as we'd planned. I decided that I don't want to further contribute to the pollution and destruction of this area and the sea that's obviously suffering from overcrowding. I'll try to hang on to the good memories we made on our first visit but won't be back. And I'm sorry for any damage my visit caused, however careful we were. read more

YOU MUST GO HERE IF IN THE RIVIERA MAYA. First of all, this is practically free. Pay the 50 pesos to park your car and bring your own mask and snorkel. The reef and the sea turtles can be seen from shore. No need to hire a boat. The water is calm and perfect for the kids. Yes, the beach is crowded. If you swim out to the turtles and the reef it's not crowded at all. Have to pay to use toilet. I've traveled many places and I have to say this area of Mexico has a special place in my heart. If you love animals and water then WOW. read more

Hay muchos Americanos! Mas mas gente. No espacio. Guias venden incessante. Skip it and go to literally any other beach around Cancun. The beach is small and totally mobbed with people everywhere. The local resorts are hogging huge swaths of beach and the tourists all have scowls due to the discomfort of tight quarters. read more

Overcrowded, dirty, commercialized, controlled, and awful. I am assuming those who have never been to a real beautiful beach..such as Hawaii, Florida, or California, are the ones giving this beach a 5 star rating. The beach is crowded, people are yelling and selling you thing, you cannot swim with fins, you must swim with a life jacket, there is paper and garbage floating in the water, and you cannot swim where you want. The Mexican government controls every moment and move you make. Yes, you might see some turtles, but it is in murky dirty water with hundreds of tourist yelling and pointing. It's was an awful experience. If you REALLY want to see beautiful fish and turtles in their NATURAL habitat save your money and go to Maui. It is amazing and authentic. read more

When you approach the beach, all the "guides" will tell you that you have to pay them ($700mx!) to go see turtles. Not true. Just go south of the Secrets Hotel lifeguard tower and swim on you own. You'll see plenty of turtles just off shore in the sea grass. You can NOT use fins though, so a life jacket is a good idea if you're not a strong swimmer. Cool place but the hustling from the guides in the beach entrance that are giving false info to tourist, makes it only a 3 star experience. Parking is $50mx. read more

Akumal - Beaches Near Me - Cancún, ROO

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This destination was awful. From the moment you drive down the road, you're hassled to buy something: parking, tour guides, life jackets... The public beach area is unfathomably crowded - more so than any beach I experienced on the Riviera Maya, even within the hotel zone - and that's saying a lot. People are crammed together towel to towel. The beach itself is narrow and dirty! Supposedly there are turtles out in water, but I can't imagine why they'd stay around with the hoards of people and boats. Avoid being disappointed, pick another beach. Any other beach. This one is a definite pass. read more

We stayed at Secrets Akumal. This is a great beach, with beautiful water and a coral reef. The highlight is the sea turtles. We saw more than we could count and all sizes. Please don't shove selfie sticks in there face or wear fins. read more

I love this beach! Although my point of entry is always Cancun, I just always have to make my way to the beaches of Akumal. It is about an hour away from Cancun but really worth it to visit. I don't know about you but I find that the beaches in Cancun, although very beautiful, they are hard to swim in. I am always getting knocked over y waves or the waves strip me down naked. In Akumal, the waves are very calm and it almost feels like a lake. I love that you can snorkel peacefully and watch the turtles. They have a lot of diving and snorkeling shops so if you are a diver, you should definitely come. This is a beach you can definitely relax in. read more

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I just came back from a very relaxing 7 day vacation to Akumal for my birthday and it exceeded expectations. I stayed at Akumal Bay Beach Resort and Wellness Centre and it was a true 5 star experience. The resort sat on the biggest strip of Akumal beach and having the resort beach strip private provided a lot of space to roam around without the crowd. The snorkelling was amazing! I was tons of fish, turtles and a huge stingray. I was even lucky enough to see a nest of baby turtles hatching in the morning as they nest on our beach. Walking 5-10 minutes down the beach we arrived in the town of Akumal where the public dive centre and ecological centre was. There was plenty of people and it was bustling. There were a few ocean front restaurants although I didn't try it due to having fantastic food and service at our all inclusive, but they were packed. We went shopping at the supermarket just around the corner of the dive centre and they had a lot of trinkets and shirts and tons of selection for souvenirs at great prices. We even took the collectivo to go see the Tulum ruins one day. 30 pesos per person one way in a nice air conditioned van and it was super convenient. We waited on the side of the highway directly in front of our hotel and hopped in, and 20 minutes later we were right outside the ruins. Collectivos are such a great way to travel and cheap! No need to pay the taxi prices. Everything about Akumal made me fall in love with the place and I will definitely be back every year from now on. What a gem of a town along the Mayan Riviera! read more

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This place is so much fun! It's a nice calm bay in what was an otherwise choppy ocean during the time of my visit. It's small, intimate, and picturesque. Go to the dive shop and rent snorkel gear and start swimming out into the bay. You can see so many giant sea turtles!! They just hang out, eating grass on the bottom of the bay, occasionally coming up for air, hanging out with the tourists. They are so chill! Highly recommended as a trip during your stay in Tulum or Playa del Carmen. read more

Akumal - Beaches Near Me - Cancún, ROO

RUINED! Worst snorkeling I've ever experienced. It broke my heart to visit this place. I came here 10 years ago when Akumal was a sleepy little beach and it was one of my favorite places in Mexico. Now it's just a circus that rips off tourists. TEN YEARS AGO- beautiful, quiet beach. You could snorkel wherever you wanted. Clear water and I must have seen about fifty turtles and twenty stingrays, coral and countless fish. A restaurant and bar were about all that was here. No taxis, had to take the local bus. 12/17- Horrible. Just a huge line of ugly resorts. The worst thing is that you can't snorkel here without paying locals. The have roped the turtles feeding area off. However if you PAY a fee.. you can go swim in that area. Even if you have all your own equipment you have to pay. There are a few areas that are not roped off, supposedly for the public but the fake "guides" ride around in kayaks and blow whistles and yell at the snorkelers. There is a sign on the beaching showing it as a public area and the scamming locals yelled about calling the police if we didn't pay them. Awful! The folks sitting next to us were local lawyers working and living in Playa del Carmen and they explained to us that the "guides" are fake and just want more money and try to harass people into paying to snorkel in a public beach. Since my last trip all the coral has got smothered with sediment and died. Can't build huge resorts next to reefs without killing them with sediment from building/drainage. Happens every time. I'm all for turtles being protected but this is just a scam. If you want to close areas off to protect turtles that's great but this is just roping them off and taking money to go in. Not cool. read more

This is a hot spot for huge friendly turtles, it's the time of the year when they lay their eggs in the sand on the beach, they come here to eat the sea grass . Snorkeling with the turtle's has many options, from your gear and transportation to hiring a tour guide and everything in between! Not much fish but you will swim with turtles and see sting rays, be aware you will enjoy it more if you are a strong swimmer. Would give it five star's but it's becoming much busier than just a few years ago, it may not last long. Absolutely gorgeous area!!! read more

Reading other reviews I was expecting better. After having snorkelled in Hawaii and the Red Sea, this is very blah. Take away the awesome tranquil large sea turtles we swam with, there is really not much to see in the water. To make it less appealing, the visibility was not good and the beach was very over crowded Parking was MX$50 Snorkel equipment rental on the beach (all required gear) USD$15. Lots of places to eat and drink on the beach near bye. Personally I don't see why this place is so popular read more

If your looking to get away from the party scene this is the place.. It is a very chill and relaxed scene with great restaurants all around .. We went here to specifically swim with turtles and we where not disappointed.... The best part of the day is to go in the morning about 8:30 am the water is clear and easier to see the turtle manta rays and fishes ... Luis was my guide and he did a smashing job taking care of my 11 year old and showing us around the water.. read more

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You'll swim with sea turtles, sting rays, barracuda, and beautiful fish. Nothing like seeing a baby sea turtle poke it's head out of the ocean to take a breath of air. read more

Akumal - Beach - Beaches Near Me - Cancún, ROO

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Ok beach. Water clarity isn't that great. Especially as it's so crowded and the sand gets kicked up. I came after reading others reviews about swimming with tons of turtles. We got lucky and saw one loggerhead turtle. Most others around us weren't lucky and didn't see any. Maybe it was the season? I went mid March. It's a really crowded beach with lots of boats, noise and lots of shady spots to bathe under. We saw many stingrays, really dangerous as they were quite large and there's so many people splashing around. Saw pretty fish too. read more

Great 2nd day of my vacation enjoying the clean blue water other than NY beaches. Worth every penny got a good deal for last minute tickets. Everything included everything . read more

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Very fun! Do not be conned into being part of a tour group. We were warned before going that someone would try to coerce us into renting a tour guide or joining a tour group. After I was forced to mention that in front of the guy trying to sell us the service, he threatened that we could get in trouble if we wanted to do things "our own way, " as if snorkeling without a tour guide can get you into trouble. As we walked and found a place to lay our belongings, we noticed that everyone was swimming freely and that there's no problem with using your own snorkeling gear or renting it on he beach. Since we had our own, we enjoyed snorkeling with the beautiful schools of fish and turtles. I just recommend you read the rules before snorkeling, to be courteous. Since the rules are posted in several places, skip the ones at the entry of the beach. That's near where the guys try to sell you their tour services. Experience: Wonderful! This was our first time swimming with turtles. This is the best beach on the Mayan Riviera coast for snorkeling. Other options are taking a catamaran from Cozumel or Isla Mujeres. Those options also include scuba diving. If you're up for just snorkeling and seeing pretty fish and turtles however, for free, this is your place! Just be careful of stingrays. Once you get a little further into the water, about 6-7 feet deep, there's an occasional sting ray sitting at the bottom of the water. Since by that time you're already under water snorkeling, you'd already see them, if you see any. Money Exchange: There are no money exchanges nearby, so bring pesos with you. They will go further than the USD, as the rate is worse in this small area. read more

I saw 10+ sea turtles at this beach. They were so beautiful and it was such a memorable experience! Make sure to bring your snorkeling gears and life jackets so you can go far out to see more turtles! Bring a GoPro/ waterproof camera too! Con: Too crowded read more

Akumal the place I was staying, the place I had met my Mexican brother (lol), all the staff are great and all deserve a promotion. It's beautiful especially the infinity pool, the beach is beautiful as well and the fish that you can see in the ocean. Not only does this place deserve 5 stars it deserves a huge celebration! read more

Beautiful place and surrounding area. Weather is hot and hot! Lots of mosquitoes but well worth the bites. read more

Akumal - View from my condo. - Beaches Near Me - Cancún, ROO

Like everyone else said, go there early and you will get a spot in the closest parking lot. We got there around nine am. Twenty pesos per hour. Lots of places to rent snorkel gear and lifejackets. Just go in the water and go where the rest of the tours go. Enjoy!! And then grab a bite to eat at the restaurant, it was delicious. read more

Oh what to say about Akumal. First off: VERY CROWDED. if you do not like big crowds, do not go here (unless you come early in the morning or late in the evening). Akumal has become a very big tourist destination as the years have gone by. The beach is a short walk off the high way(about 5 minutes). People will try to sell you tour after tour as you walk in. Say no to all of them, if you know how to snorkel and know not to touch any wildlife or coral, then you can do it on your own. Some places will even say you NEED a tour to go swim with the turtles, but you do not. You can find turtles just about 30 feet off shore sometimes. Turtles go here as a refuge and to relax so please do not annoy them by touching / chasing them. The sea life is abundant here, sea turtles, sting rays, eagle rays, barracuda, squid, octopus, and many different kinds of fish. One of my favorite places to snorkel. There are many restaurants here too. I have been to Lol-Ha & Turtle Bay Cafe. Lol ha is definitely more touristy as it it right on the beach, not authentic. Turtle bay cafe has a large menu and is off the beach in the little shopping center. I love Akumal, but I prefer to go earlier when the crowds are not as large. It has definitely gotten more crowded as the years go by. read more

Akumal - Large sting ray - Beaches Near Me - Cancún, ROO