"The Anti Playa Del Carmen!" Top 5 Page for this destination Akumal by whitneyone

Akumal Travel Guide: 71 reviews and 146 photos

Ahhhhh - Akumal
Ahhhhh
Peace and Quiet!

I love Playa del Carmen. It is the anti cancun. I love Akumal because it is the anti Playa Del Carmen! Unlike Playa you won't find the hundreds of restaurants or night clubs. What you will find is the sound of the surf...the beautiful beach, and yet you are within driving distance of Tulum, X Caret, Xel Ha..
wonderful!
We are going back in two weeks to give you some great info and photos!
You can also check out my Akumal Travelogue under my Playa Del Carmen Page!

FEB 2005
Yes, Akumal is just as charming as I remember, even more so. we only had three days here to explore, you can give yourself more as Akumal is a perfect base for any day trips you might want to take. It's close to the free road to Coba, Chichen Itza and Ek Balam, which I am sure you have not heard of, but I will be posting photos of this recently discoverd and reconstructed ruin. It will blow your mind. The free road is more adventurous than the pay road, and it won't save you a lot of time, but you won't have to drive back to Cancun everytime you want to go inland.
It's also close to Xcaret, Xel Ha and Tulum.

UPDATE July 2005.
Just came back after a short 4 day hop with put us smack dab in the middle of Tropical Storm Cindy. But it takes much more than a storm to ruin this trip!
Even cloudy and rainy there was beauty in the usually tranquil bay, which was now sporting actual WAVES, Power was lost for a few hours, but the magic never left.

UPDATE JULY 2005
We stayed up all night watching hurricane Emily. Sadly, landfall was made quite close to Akumal which received a lot of damage, but put in perspective, it could have been much worse. No injurys of deaths reported. a miracle! Lots of palapa roofs blown off, much broken glass, jungle took quite a hit. We understand the Pueblo was left intact (across the highway), minus a few brand new palm trees. Less than a week afterwards, most restaurants are open, many condos accepting guests, we await the return of electricty, the skies are beautiful. The reconstruction is underway!
Sadly, 150 turtle nests were destroyed in the storm. Yet the day after Emily hit, turtles returned to lay their eggs on the beach. There is always hope.

Update September 2005
You ever love a place so much that you MUST have a piece of it to take home with you?
What if that piece is too big?
We bought a condo at La Sirena on Half Moon Bay in Akumal.
You can find the link below!
You can rent it too.

Cannot get enough of this Area of the Yucatan
View from my own Personal Paradise - Akumal

View from my own Personal Paradise

We bought this place.
Crazy, isn't it?

It's all about the snorkel
What's not to love? - Akumal

What's not to love?

Akumal is right on the second longest reef in the world.
In the water you are hard pressed to NOT find turtles, huge schools of fish, simply outragous underwater adventure.
And every now and then someone blows a kiss at you.

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:Great snorkeling! Drive anywhere!
  • Cons:Cons?
  • In a nutshell:I just love it here
  • Last visit to Akumal: Dec 2006
  • Intro Updated Jul 9, 2007
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Reviews (26)

Looked too much like fish - Akumal Really fresh Restaurants (11)

Dailly catches served nightly. The mini lobsters are mini, but mighty good. We also got a whole fish, but after all the... more travel advice

Happy and Oh So Full - Akumal "Finest" dining In Akumal Restaurants (11)

Just because it's nice, doesnt mean you have to wear shoes. A table on the sand will bring hermit crabs to your toes!!... more travel advice

me full and happy - Akumal Breakfast of Akumal Restaurants (11)

I had heard all about the french toast with pecan maple syrup and bananas..but it was worth all the talk... however the... more travel advice

How i took this in a full panic is a mystery - Akumal Something spooky...and yet harmless Things to Do (11)

when you get WAY out where the big fish are, and the turtles....you can run into some things that can take your breath... more travel advice

Comments (4)

  • Reply
    Loniv's Profile Photo
    Oct 1, 2006 at 9:19 PM

    Hi Whitney! So glad I found this! Reading your comments, I think we really are kindred spirits! Great Pages and great info!

  • Reply
    whitneyone's Profile Photo
    Feb 19, 2006 at 1:54 PM

    Caribe Utopico--relax amigo! Akumal is way slower than Playa Del Carmen. You know I love Playa...but Akumal has stolen my heart!

  • Reply
    caribe_utopico's Profile Photo
    Feb 17, 2006 at 10:29 AM

    You say something against Playa del Carmen and I'll hacker this page :-) I 've to try Akumal!! Cancun is not worth in my opinion.

  • Reply
    manuelEB's Profile Photo
    Jan 15, 2005 at 3:41 AM

    Anti-playa??? New concept!

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