Mexico
Yucatan Peninsula
Quintana Roo
Riviera Maya
Akumal
Things to Do in Akumal
Akumal Beach
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Akumal Beach

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Akumal Beach
4.5
#1 of 19 things to do in Akumal
Beaches
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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About
White sand, palm trees, and crystal-clear, turquoise waters are the trademarks of this Yucatan beach. Here, you can go snorkeling with sea turtles, eagle rays, and colorful fish, relax along the shore or swim in the calm waters. Before you leave, hunt for handicrafts and souvenirs at the little shops around the town. To enjoy Akumal to the fullest, we recommend staying at a seaside resort in the area. However, if you’re staying in Cancun, you can book a guided day trip to Tulum and stop at Akumal along the way. There’s an entrance fee for this beach. – Tripadvisor
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Tours & experiences
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The area
Best nearby
Restaurants
42 within 3 miles
Taverna Akumal
803
0.1 mi$$ - $$$ • Italian • Pizza • Seafood
Imelda's Ecocina Akumal
232
0.1 mi$ • Mexican • Vegetarian Friendly
Turtle Bay Cafe & Bakery
2,118
438 ft$$ - $$$ • Dessert • Mexican • American
La Cueva del Pescador
1,251
421 ft$$ - $$$ • Mexican • Caribbean • Latin
Loncheria Akumalito
263
0.2 mi$ • Mexican • Latin • Vegetarian Friendly
Lol-Ha on Akumal Main Bay
1,834
135 ft$$ - $$$ • Mexican • Bar • Seafood
Lucy's Homemade Ice Cream
232
289 ft$$ - $$$ • Dessert
Taco Maya
72
0.1 mi$ • Mexican • Latin • Vegetarian Friendly
Leo's
37
0.1 mi$ • Italian • Pizza
Restaurante Akumal Natura
9
340 ft$$ - $$$ • Seafood • International
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Attractions
19 within 6 miles
Akumal
24 ftBeaches
Akumal
24 ftBeaches
Centro Ecologico Akumal
504
27 ftNature & Wildlife Areas
Hekab Be Biblioteca de Akumal
65
0.2 miLibraries
Cenote Santa Cruz
720
0.7 miCaverns & Caves
Half Moon Bay
525
0.7 miBodies of Water • Beaches
Akumal Monkey Sanctuary & Rescued Animals
1,657
1.2 miNature & Wildlife Areas
Aktun Chen
2,336
2.1 miBodies of Water • Caverns & Caves
Mayamar
214
2.3 miParks
Yal-ku Lagoon
3,150
1.1 miBodies of Water
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See what travelers are saying
  • JODY L
    8 contributions
    Can we just live here?!
    It’s a busy place near the turtles but you can find calm a little ways south and the water and beach are amazing as always! We stuck around for the afternoon after our turtle swim! Was a perfect afternoon. Most people access the beach as part of one of these tours anyways unless staying at one of the few beach hotels. Just pack a towel and swim wear as you will need for the turtles anyways. There are lockers on site at the government access area(where you enter for turtles)for beach bags, wallets and so forth if you need. You just leave a deposit for the lock which is returned at days end. Few good restaurants right there for drinks and eats!
    Visited December 2022
    Traveled with family
    Written December 21, 2022
  • IanPLancashire
    Leyland, United Kingdom1,897 contributions
    Ignore the Tour Operators
    We were staying at the Akumal Bay resort which was great and the beach at the resort was fab. The public beach was crowded, full of people trying to sell you trips to see turtles when you can literally swim out yourself and see these. They rope parts of the beach off we’re they feed the turtles to guarantee you seeing them as they take your 25 dollars. We went out early every morning by ourselves and sighted over 100 turtles in our 2 week holiday without paying a dollar. Ignore the hawkers, get your snorkel mask on and swim out to the bouys and see turtles. Don’t fall for the tourist rip off.
    Visited November 2022
    Traveled as a couple
    Written December 21, 2022
  • Jess R
    2 contributions
    Everything was wonderful but..
    We loved this resort, but there were a few things that needed improvement in my opinion. The food was okay at best at all the restaurant locations. The entertainment at night was either a band or piano. We would of liked to see more variety in night activities. Clean rooms, clean pools, staff kept up very well with the beach, staff was very friendly, very laid back, lots of couples, not a lot of kids, majority of guests were older than us (we're in our 30s), bars had a lot of options. I would go back if the food was better or I was retired.
    Visited February 2023
    Written February 8, 2023
  • hippyb
    Bolton, United Kingdom173 contributions
    Clean and safe
    Beauifull beach with a man-made lagoon which is very safe. Plenty of fish but all nothing colourful. Nice sun loungers & straw brollies - get there early to reserve one as the beach gets very busy after 9:30 am
    Visited January 2023
    Written February 15, 2023
  • TreeFolkRock
    1 contribution
    Murky waters
    We were so excited to finally get to snorkel, but the water was so murky that you couldn’t see your feet. I do t know if it’s like that all of the time or just some days… worth checking before you get a snorkel tour! Very small area to swim with so many people and lots of sea grass and rocks, so wearing water shoes is suggested. I felt bad for those who had purchased snorkel tours— I saw the boats just dump them off a little further out than we went on our own and no one seemed to be doing anything but probably conspiring to ask for a refund when they got back to the shore! We rented beach chairs at Lol-Ha for about $20USD and the service was somewhat decent, food and drinks average. We still needed to go flag down our waiter most of the time. Pretty disappointing overall.
    Visited February 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written February 18, 2023
  • Kevin H
    8 contributions
    Good Free Snorkelling
    Parking and getting to the beach can be a bit tricky and they will try to make you pay as much as they can! There are places to park that are not in front of any businesses that you could just park and walk in. But there is always someone there trying to tell you what you "have" to do. The whole beach is public, it's the access to the beach that is private... Once in, the beach is nice and the snorkelling was really cool! Do not do the tours! Waste of money and you can see a bunch right from shore for free! We went out several times and always saw at least one turtle! It's pretty obvious where you can snorkel for free as it's all marked out by buoys. It is a federally protected area in Akumal, so you can get in trouble for not following the rules. We just swam right up to the buoy line and swam along it! It has a little less density with fish/coral, but you can swim for as long as you want and see just as much, and often more, than the tour groups! Plus it's free (bring your own gear!).
    Visited March 2023
    Written March 21, 2023
  • Dan M
    Mexico City, Mexico101 contributions
    Nice but crowded
    I cannot say much about the beach, since it was a quick stop on the tour to swim with the turtles. The beach was packed, and countless people were swimming around. Even though it was off season, we did get to see a couple of turtles in the water. It is mandatory to hire a local tour to swim with the sea turtles. They can be hired at the dive center.
    Visited April 2023
    Written April 10, 2023
  • simon c
    Sydney, Australia6 contributions
    Would find another beach
    We went for a day trip with our young kids. We tried to arrange a boat but just before we went out the guide said there was no boat and that we were going to swim to the turtles. When I said my two year old can’t swim he pointed to a lifebuoy. He then told me if I wanted a boat it would be a crazy price. As I left he started to reduce the price significantly but it was too late. I don’t mind haggling at all but don’t like bait and switches. The place is naturally beautiful and we made the most of it but there are way too many people and the it feels off. Would give it a miss.
    Visited June 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written June 25, 2023
  • Off their P
    Manchester, United Kingdom4,179 contributions
    Not far from paradise!
    We had six nights by this beach and it has a great deal going for it. True, it does suffer a little from the local seaweed problem but it isn't as bad as other parts. That out of the way, we loved our timer. The sand is pristine and lovely to walk on. We used to love snorkelling directly off the beach and you don't need to be part of a tour or have a guide to do this. The sea is very safe and calm and you can go out a long way and still stand up. We managed to see multiple kinds of fish along with several decent size stingrays and a few turtles. Absolutely wonderful. Don't forget your snorkel!
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 13, 2023
  • helmac
    Barry, United Kingdom131 contributions
    Swimming with turtles
    We did a private tour with Darwin Zetina Huerta who is a biologist and very knowledgeable, we contacted him through Facebook. Darwin met us outside and managed our entry to the park. All equipment was provided including mandatory life jackets. Once we were in the water he knew where we were likely to find turtles we saw quite a few as. well as rays, squid and cuttlefish . The tour lasted about 45 mins to an hour it was fabulous well worth the money, if we are in this area again we will definitely use Darwins service again.
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written November 18, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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ThebestofKendell
Denver, CO368 contributions
A must while in the Yucatan peninsula
Aug 2020 • Couples
We rented a car and drove to Akumal. As soon as you enter towards the beach there will be a million different companies flagging you down telling you to stop, it’s quite annoying but if you’ve been in this area long you will be accustomed to it by now. 😂
Never buy from the first place you see.
We ended up going with a private tour guide named Alejandro López and we loved him. We paid 800 pesos altogether. Which included the 100 pesos/person to enter the beach. So, 300 pesos each for the guide. We went with just him and didn’t have to worry about waiting for others. We paid for an hour but got way longer and we loved it so much we ended up paying twice and the second hour ended up being over 2 hours 😂.
This included all the equipment and our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the area, the flora and fauna as well.

You can pay 100 pesos for a locker, or $5. Which they give you back once you return the key. Make sure you’re back by 5 as they close. They have showers and bathrooms here too. On the beach and in the area there was also restaurants, shopping and an atm as we had to use cash only.

The area is roped off so it seems as though you can’t really swim outside of the roped area.. this is a good thing in my opinion as it protects the turtle and reef. There’s also a federal officer type guy responsible for making sure people who swim outside the ropes have guides.

We saw tons of turtles and on our second trip out we went to the reef and saw lots of fish and stingrays.

The water is great for snorkeling. After the second time my body was exhausted from swimming though so probably one hour is a good amount of time but turtles are my favorite animal so I couldn’t resist. 😂

Pop over the bridge and visit the little town before you leave.
Overall, a great place to snorkel and worth the money in my opinion.
Written August 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
trocki005
Erie, PA245 contributions
Easy to navigate once you're there
Feb 2020 • Friends
If you're coming from playa del carmen, you can take the colectivo for 40pesos/person per direction. Once there, I recommend getting to Akumal early, because the visitor center opens at 9am, so unless you are staying at the hotels, you don't have beach access until 9. 100 pesos gets you entrance, which covers the use of the showers and bathroom facilities. A refundable deposit will get you a locker to use. If you have your own snokeling equipment there is no need to join a "tour group". You can even just rent equipment from a local vendor on the beach without using a tour guide. It is very easy to navigate where you can swim without a group and plenty of fish and turtles to be seen. Without using a tour guide or any group myself and my friends were able to see two turtles lots of fish sea urchins and even a sand Ray. Definitely going to go back! The cost of the beach is for use of the beach house and facilities. There are a ton of people telling you you need to join a group, v that's not true. Just a simple "no nesesito" will suffice.
Written March 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ksufan88
Wichita, KS5,412 contributions
Beautiful beach but aggressive vendors
Nov 2020
When I was last here 6 years ago, the beach was free to all who came. Now, as you arrive, you are stopped by vendors trying to sell you "mandatory" snorkeling tours for $25. We only were able to bypass them by letting them know that we planned on dining at the Lol-Ha Restaurant which is right on the beach. There are now lots of buoys marking off areas that are off-limits. Even though our waiter told us that we were allowed to snorkel right in front of the restaurant, an aggressive vendor wouldn't let us enter the water since we hadn't purchased a tour. We were still able to snorkel by walking south down the beach away from the vendors and entering the water. It is still a beautiful beach and nice snorkeling but beware the insistent vendors.
Written December 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Beth M
Portales, NM60 contributions
Turtles and stingray and amazing fish!
Mar 2020
We loved the turtles! Right when we got there, someone grabbed us to help us get bands for entry, and set up a turtle tour with lockers included for the day. We may have ended up paying a few extra pesos for this guy's help, but it was helpful to us and we got our own private tour guide set up (we went early in the morning!). She was knowledgeable and guided us well. We saw a few turtles and a sting ray as well as some reef. Afterwards, we went to swim on our own in the Circuit. You are allowed, although tour guides that you encounter in the water will try to tell you otherwise, because they want you to go buy a tour (we just did that, let me enjoy my swim!). In the Circuit, we saw giant turtles on our own, as well as giant beautiful parrotfish. One guy even tried yelling at us that we weren't allowed to go in with fins - my husband waved him off - we had just been in the ocean with the fins with a tour guide, and even the guides use fins! Sheesh. Besides the harassment, this place was great. At one point my husband had a school of fish following him, it was really funny.
Written March 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jlwilm
Madison, WI76 contributions
Why I paid to use Akumal Beach and swim with turtles
Feb 2020
First of all, It was worth it to me! I have been to Mexico many times and this was my second time to Akumal Beach. I was in a condo nearby so I walked and didn’t have to worry about parking. I gladly paid my $5 at the entrance to the beach. There you can use showers, lockers and restrooms. I didn’t use any of these facilities but paid my money for the upkeep for the facility. When I go to National or State Parks in the USA I also have to pay an entrance fee and have no problem doing so. Akumal Beach is a beautiful, clean, soft, white sand beach. Many people go to snorkel and observe sea turtles. The purpose of paying for and going with a guide ($20 USD) is not to screw you. It is to keep you...but more importantly the turtles safe. Imagine there being no guides. It would be a free-for-all with hundreds of people all rushing about when a turtle was spotted. There are areas where it isn’t very deep. Turtles would get stepped on (I almost saw it happen WITH a guide) and the reef would be damaged. The guides are there not only to make sure you actually see a turtle, but they are also watching everyone closely, including those who don’t swim very well and they are watching out for the turtles as they come to the surface to breathe. It is an absolute amazing experience! It is a “must do” when in Akumal but honestly...pay the fee for a guide. You will spend more for your Margarita and lunch after this wonderful, once in a lifetime experience!
Written February 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Audrey S
Monroe, MI239 contributions
Swim with turtles
Feb 2021 • Friends
We paid the $6 to get into the beach, and chose to swim with the turtles with a guide. The guides are in the palapa right next to the building with the lockers, showers and bathrooms.
The lockers are complementary with your entrance fee you just have to give a $5 deposit but you get it back.
We had an amazing time and having a guide was totally worth the money!!!!
Our guide was Miguel and he was incredible and knowledgeable. We saw six sea turtles, they were very large and beautiful. We saw stingrays, crab, many fish big and small.
We are a group of six and everyone had an amazing time.
You must wear a life jacket which they provide and snorkel gear is provided if you don't have your own. You are not allowed to use flippers so I recommend taking water shoes.
Written February 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MCH65
American Fork, UT344 contributions
Drive 2 minutes further for lunch and a swim
Feb 2021
Our guide suggested we skip the regular Akumal beach that charges $25 entrance fee plus $10 tax and drive a few minutes down the road in Akumal and grab lunch and hit the next beach north. So glad we did. after lunch at la Lunita, which is right on the beach we hit the water to snorkel if you have your won snorkel gear this is a great option. fantastic lunch for less than the entrance fee at the Turtle place. While we didnt get to see any sea turtles, we had a killer lunch (recommend the coconut shrimp), swan in a calm bay with a great reef about 50 to 100 yard off shore in just 4 to 6 feet of calm clear water. We have paid for and swam at the regular Akumal beach with sea turtles. It was fine and we saw 2 or 3 sea turtles. Aggain, if you have your own snorkel gear, or just want a great bay with no crowd and an aweosone lunch, drive a bit further to La Lunita, eat and swim. Paid less for lunch than the entrance fee and had the beach and the bay to ourselves. Suggest you pay your waite for a few extra tortilas to feed the fish. They will love you. If sea turtles are a must, yo are probably better off paying the entrance fee and going ot the main Akumal beach.
Written February 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve K
Denver, CO5 contributions
Still love Akumal
Jan 2020 • Couples
Didn’t see any masked bandits trying to rob us. Did see a community trying to preserve a lovely bay and make a living. I wish they had guided snorkeling tours when I first came here 20 years ago. The shallow reef has suffered from flapping fins — no doubt I contributed. Our guide took us to see turtles, then guided us through reef passages. There is still some living coral and colorful fish. But nothing like it used to be. I worry that snorkeling is a dying adventure.

Thanks to the TA reviews, we discovered Yul Ka lagoon. Saw many more varieties of fish here. We started here in the morning, then walked along the Half Moon Bay road back to the beach.
$14 access to Yul Ka Lagoon
$10 access to Akumal Beach
$4 collectivo van to and from Playa
$7 taxi from Akumal to Yul Ka
$35 for lunch (for two)
We had our own snorkeling gear.
Written January 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael
Kildeer, IL2 contributions
Not the same Akumal Beach
Feb 2022 • Couples
I used to love coming to this beach but it’s now protected by the federal government. You pay $5 to enter and then they charge $50/person for 1hr in a tiny bouyed area with a guide to see the turtles. You can find a private tour for $25 but definitely not worth it. This beach used to be open to the public and could swim wherever you wanted with beautiful reefs but they wouldn’t let us access that anymore.
Written February 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
horse2310
Corona, CA18 contributions
Beautiful beach
Feb 2021
Feb. 4, 2021.
The beach is beautiful and decent snorkeling.

What I want to warn you, if you have a rent a car and you drive there. There are several people, of different groups, who attempt to flag you down before the entrance to the beach. Their purpose is for you to park in their parking lot for around outside the beach area. Then they will want you to pay them so you can have access to the beach with amenities, like snorkeling or a boat ride.
Avoid these people and drive onto the beach grounds. You will pay about $2.50 (U.S) for parking.

On the beach, you again have different groups of people who want to charge you about $25 US dollar to use their cabana. It's not a bad thing, but you don't have to pay. If you're okay with hanging out on the beach without one, that is allowed. But they make it seem to you need one because then, you're allowed to use their restroom. How they monitor this is they give you a wrist band.

Aside of this massive solicitation, I had a good time.
Written February 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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