What to do in Riviera Maya and how to plan your trip
The 130 kilometres of coast between Puerto Morelos and Tulum, told zone by zone: which beaches are calm, where the cenotes are, when the sargassum comes and what a transfer costs from the airport to each one.
- 5transport zones
- 208hotels
- 9tours & activities
- 130 kmof coast
- 28 °Caverage, all year
- UTC−5no daylight saving
Everything you need to know about Riviera Maya
The Riviera Maya is not a town but a strip of coast: about 130 kilometres of Highway 307 between Puerto Morelos and Tulum, with the second-largest barrier reef on the planet a few hundred metres offshore and the limestone underneath it riddled with cenotes. Two international airports now serve it, Cancun at the north end and Tulum at the south, and the Maya Train runs the length of it. There is no historic centre and no skyline — what there is, is a line of beaches, a chain of resorts set back in the jungle, and five or six towns that could not be less alike. Where you sleep decides what your holiday is.
Getting to Riviera Maya
- Cancun International AirportThe gateway to the whole coast. Half an hour to Puerto Morelos, an hour and a half to Akumal, and the road is dual carriageway nearly all the way.
- Tulum International AirportOpened in 2023 at the southern end, closer if you are staying around Tulum or Akumal. Fewer routes, so check the timetable against Cancun before booking.
- Maya TrainFour stations along the coast — Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Tulum Airport — plus Cancun Airport at the top. Useful for moving down the coast without a car.
- ADO and colectivosADO runs air-conditioned coaches between the towns; the white colectivo vans stop anywhere on the main road for a few pesos.
Beyond the beach
The three things this coast has that a beach anywhere else does not.
Good to know
- LanguageSpanish, with English spoken in every resort and dive shop along the coast.
- CurrencyMexican peso (MXN). Small towns and colectivos are cash only.
- Time zoneUTC−5 all year, the same as Cancun. No daylight saving.
- Power127 V, 60 Hz, flat two-pin US-style plugs. Bring an adapter from the UK.
- WaterBottled water everywhere. Cenote water is fresh and clean but not for drinking.
- Emergencies911 nationwide. Highway 307 has its own Green Angels roadside-assistance patrol.
Transfers from the airport to every zone of Riviera Maya are a fixed price per vehicle, with the driver waiting at the exit. See availability.
What to see and do in Riviera Maya
The full list, not a top three: what the destination’s tourist board puts first.
The most booked park on the coast: underground rivers you swim through, a wildlife park, and a three-hour evening show of Mexican history and folk dance that is worth staying for.
A natural inlet where the underground river meets the sea, turned into an all-inclusive snorkelling park. The calmest water of the three and the easiest with children.
The adrenaline one: zip lines over the jungle, amphibious vehicles and swimming through caves with a head torch.
The flooded cave system under the whole coast. Dos Ojos is the famous one; Cristalino, Azul and Jardin del Eden sit right on the main road and need no excursion.
The road inland from Puerto Morelos, with a dozen cenotes, zip lines and far fewer people than the ones on Highway 307.
The bay where green turtles graze the seagrass a few metres from the sand. Regulated now: guide, life jacket and no sun cream in the water.
Where the Riviera Maya starts: a fishing village with a leaning lighthouse on the pier and the reef two hundred metres out, inside a protected park.
Regularly listed among the best beaches in the world, halfway between Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen, and almost entirely hotel frontage.
A gated marina town with dolphins, calm water and a beach you reach through the development rather than off the main road.
A Maya city still in the jungle, forty-five minutes inland from Tulum, with causeways running between the groups and a lake beside it.
The second-largest barrier reef on the planet, running parallel to the whole coast a few hundred metres offshore.
Four stations along this coast — Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Tulum Airport — which makes moving down it without a car realistic for the first time.
Beaches of the Riviera Maya
From the reef at Puerto Morelos down to the turtle bay at Akumal, north to south.
A fishing village with the reef 500 metres out and a national park protecting it. Calm, shallow, good for children.
Consistently listed among the best beaches in the Caribbean: white sand, no rock, reached through the resorts that line it.
Wide and sheltered, a short way north of Playa del Carmen and much quieter than it.
A gated marina town with two small, calm beaches and a dolphin lagoon.
The turtle bay. Green turtles graze the seagrass a few metres from the sand; entry is regulated and a guide is required.
A long open beach between Puerto Aventuras and Akumal, with beach clubs at either end and almost nothing in between.
Tours and activities in Riviera Maya
Pick-up from your hotel, and each tour’s cancellation policy is shown before you pay.
Shows
Cirque du Soleil JOYÀ
Theme parks
Jungala Aqua Experience
Theme parks
Xcaret Park
Theme parks
Xenses Park
When to visit Riviera Maya
Four seasons for one destination. Choose yours by weather, crowds and price.
Dry, breezy and busy. Clearest water for diving and the highest hotel rates of the year.
Hot and still. Sargassum season starts; north-facing bays such as Puerto Morelos and Akumal usually clear first.
Whale sharks off Isla Mujeres, short afternoon storms, sea at 29 °C and full family resorts.
The quiet months and the cheapest. Watch the tropical-storm forecast in September and October.
Getting around the Riviera Maya
One main road links the whole coast. What each way of using it costs.
White vans run the main road between Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum all day, stopping wherever you wave. Cheap, cash, no room for luggage.
Air-conditioned, reserved seats, every town on the coast. The sensible option with suitcases.
The only way to reach the cenotes and beaches off the main road. Watch the speed cameras and the topes (speed bumps) at every town entrance.
Airport to resort, resort to park and back, at a fixed price per vehicle with the driver waiting at the exit.
Areas of Riviera Maya we serve
5 transport zones, each with its own page: hotels, times and fixed transfer prices from the airport.
Puerto Morelos
Riviera Maya · 20 km- Saloon $50
- SUV $117
- Group van $103
Maroma Beach
Riviera Maya · 40 km- Saloon $52
- SUV $159.98
Playa Paraiso
Riviera Maya- Saloon $65
- SUV $139
- Group van $185.43
Puerto Aventuras
Riviera Maya · 78 km- Saloon $95
- SUV $177
- Group van $225
Akumal
Riviera Maya · 92 km- Saloon $115
- SUV $230
- Group van $270
Hotels in Riviera Maya we pick up from
Fixed price to every hotel in the zone. If yours isn’t here, type it in the search box.
Puerto Morelos
Cancun · 88 hotels- Free cancellation with Premium
- Flight monitoring
- Meet & greet
Akumal
Cancun · 58 hotels- Free cancellation with Premium
- Flight monitoring
- Meet & greet
Puerto Aventuras
Cancun · 36 hotels- Free cancellation with Premium
- Flight monitoring
- Meet & greet
Tips from our local team in Riviera Maya
What travellers ask us most, answered by the people who live here.
Book Akumal with a guide
Swimming with the turtles is regulated: life jacket, certified guide and a limited number of people in the water. Turning up at the beach and swimming out is not allowed.
The reef needs the right sun cream
Puerto Morelos and Akumal are protected parks and enforce biodegradable sun cream. Buy it before you go; it costs three times as much at the entrance.
Highway 307 has speed cameras
The limit drops sharply at every town. The fines are real and they reach the hire company.
Sargassum moves by the week
It reaches the east-facing beaches from May to September. Sheltered bays and the north end of the coast usually stay cleaner.
Cenotes are cash only
Most are run by ejidos — community land — and there is no card machine at the gate. Bring pesos.
Resorts are far apart
Two hotels five kilometres apart on the map can be forty minutes apart by road with no pavement between them. Check before planning to walk anywhere.
Riviera Maya travel guides
Practical, written by the team that drives the area every day.
Playa Paraiso: make sure you know which one you booked
There are two Playa Paraisos on this coast and they are eighty kilometers apart. One is a resort area on the Riviera Maya, a few minutes north of Playa …
2 read
The Riviera Maya is a road, not a resort
Nobody lives in the Riviera Maya. It is a marketing name for the stretch of coast running south from Puerto Morelos to Tulum — a hundred and thirty kilo…
4 read
Puerto Morelos: the reef is 500 meters away, and that changes everything
Twenty kilometers south of Cancun Airport there is a village with a square, a leaning lighthouse and a fishing fleet, and it has somehow stayed that way…
3 read
Puerto Aventuras: everything inside one gate
Puerto Aventuras is not a town that grew. It is a planned marina community behind a gate, 78 km south of Cancun Airport, with its own beaches, its own s…
3 readGetting to Riviera Maya from the airport
Fixed price per vehicle to every zone, driver at the exit with a name board. Full details on the airport page.
Transfer prices per zone in Riviera Maya
| Transport zone | Journey time | Passenger van8 8 | Airport taxi3 3 | Luxury SUV5 5 | Group van15 15 | See availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puerto Morelos | 20 min | $47 | $50 | $117 | $103 | See availability |
| Maroma Beach | 40 min | $40.50 | $52 | $159.98 | — | See availability |
| Playa Paraiso | 60 min | $60 | $65 | $139 | $185.43 | See availability |
| Puerto Aventuras | 75 min | $85 | $95 | $177 | $225 | See availability |
| Akumal | 1 h 30 min | $105 | $115 | $230 | $270 | See availability |
One way in USD per vehicle, taxes, tolls and luggage included. Return is the total for both legs. Journey times are estimates without traffic, worked out from distance and speed limits; those marked ≈ are approximate.
The prices shown are the Economy fare. Many services also have a Premium fare in the same private vehicle, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before and free changes up to 12 hours before; Economy includes one change with 24 hours’ notice. You choose between them when you see availability.