How do you rate paradise? It's a good question. for a place like Soliman Bay, many factors come in to play.
What is this place? It's a small bay just north of Tulum, lined with vacation rentals. Most of them are rented via Akumal Vacations, however many are individually owned. It's a quiet little spot with pelicans, white sand, calm water, and a warm, shallow bay. There's pretty much nothing going on here, and that's why you come to a place like this.
We stayed at the Casas del Corazon here, which could merit its very own review. Situated centrally, we could walk down to the "hotel" on the north end, as well as the tiny convenience store El Bob. On the other end of the beach sits a small "restaurant" that's actually just a beach shack selling fish and ceviche. It closes early and is only open some days. Things here happen when they happen, and everything runs at its own speed.
As for the bay, it's a solid spot for SUP'ing, kayaking, running on the beach, some snorkeling, and watching pelicans dive for the large school of small fish that hang out in the shallows. No motorized rentals or anything. Just mellowness. But what more do you need than hammocks, white sand beaches, water and a cold margarita? Nada mucho.
Why four stars? Well, there's kind of this section between the shoreline and about 35 feet out that's rocky with shells and grass before you get out to the real sandy-bottomed water. So it's not actually the best setup for just wandering out into the bay. You can swim through it/over it, or grab one of the kayaks that I'm sure your vacation rental will have and kayak out to an anchor at the reef mid-bay to do some snorkeling (which is passable). But as far as perfect vacation spots go, if that didn't exist, this would be paradise.
I'd definitely come back here again, if only to avoid the traffic and turistas and chaos of Tulum. Seems like Mexicans rent these houses too, so it's not just a shitload of Norte Americanos. Which is awesome. The proximity to Tulum is super nice.
Protip: You need to get food/drinks either on the way in from Cancun airport or in Tulum. The selection is MUCH better on the way from Cancun. read more