Beaches in the Riviera Maya at the Quintana Roo state in the Yucatan Peninsule.

The Beaches of the Free and sovereign State “Quintana Roo." are located in the area known as the Caribbean; Oh Yes, Mexico is the Caribbean too. When you are in the Mexican Caribbean is like being in 3 worlds. First the Caribbean, Second Mexico and Third the Mayan World. There are plenty of activities in every one of this 3 worlds. Now lets focus in the Beaches of the zone.

                      TheWaterfront main street at Isla Mujeres

To the north of the state we have the quiet and shallow beaches of the Island Of the Women ( Isla Mujeres ) this beach is great for small children and elderly people all year round. The white sand is very fine and free of rocks completely. The wave action is almost nonexistent and the water is just like a gigantic crystalline pool.  The entire beach is public. This beach is great for learning to windsurf or snorkel as the slope is not very steep. People can walk far into the ocean the deep start about 100 yards.

 There are beach chairs and umbrellas for rent, the fare is no more that 4 dollars for a set. The restaurants at the bar offer to serve food at your beach umbrella and also bring beer to you. It is customary to order a bucket of beer. Ice is put on top of the bucket to keep the beer cold. To get here the departures are from Cancun and Puerto Juarez and they go all day long until 11 PM. Travel time from Cancun or Puerto Juarez 45 minutes one way. This is the only PUBLIC safe beach in the Island of The women. ( isla Mujeres ). The Island is rocky in the rest of the beaches are only for experiences swimmers. 

Fragment of the Cancun beach strip.

The Beaches at the Hotel zone of Cancun are a bit different story. In the first section of the hotel zone from kilometer 3 to kilometer 8 is known as the protected side. This side of the island of Cancun faces Isla Mujeres, thus it is protected from the open ocean. This creates a very calmed beach waters. The vegetation in the ocean floor is abundant and full of small marine life. The bottom is mostly sand with hardly a rock. The water is crystal clear . The slope is very gentle but steeper than Isla Mujeres . There is no current or undertow at all. the entire beach is public. The sand is white powder sand and is cleaned every day from algae and debris all along. It is possible if you go very early in the morning to see an occasional local fishermen throwing a small net.

After the kilometer 8 the beach orientation changes and faces the Caribbean sea directly. The wave action is quiet from 7 am to 10 am. After 10 am. the wind intensifies most of the time ad the wave action starts. There are series of waves that are adequate for body surfing and swimming. Some days the wind is really strong and there are waves high enough to surf. This beach is fantastic for the practice of windsurfing and kite surfing. There are plenty of opportunities to take a parasail raid in this beach. White powder sand and clean ocean bottom all the way. Not very much fish to see.

At the kilometer 19.5 there is the access to the Nizuc beach. This beach is rocky and is used to launch snorkelers , the beach is public and there is an access trough the Westin Regina Hotel parking lot side. As well it is possible to walk from the El Rey Beach to this one. The snorkeling is very good for children and grown ups. Is Chest shallow and the fish are right there so it is not necessary to swim long to look at marine life.

The names of the public beaches, in the Cancun Hotel Zone, are: Tortuga, Delfines, Langosta, Ballenas, Mirador del Rey and Punta Nizuc. The best way to move around this beaches is by bus , they run 24 hours and go by very frequently, every 10 minutes there is a bus , there are also plenty of taxis but is more expensive, the bus is only 80 cents of dollar. Tell the bus driver to which beach are you going so he will stop and advise you , they are very friendly and used to help visitors. Well this covers the most important beaches in the north of the State of Quintana Roo.

Departing from Cancun and traveling south ( there is only one road so u cannot get lost. The road is a 4 lane high way , it is very well maintained and safe.The first Beach we find along the way from Cancun is located at "Puerto Morelos" , a quiet little town . The beach here has white powder sand and crystal clear waters. All the beach is public and crowded Saturdays and Sunday. This is an excellent beach for snorkeling as there is much more marine life than in the Cancun beaches. The slope is not very steep almost standard and the wave action is very gentle. There is no undertow at all. The nicest thing about Puerto Morelos is the reef in front of it. the reef is visible from the beach as the waves strike it and form sheep ( white foam ) in the distance. This reef is about one mile away an is possible to go swimming . Once there the marine life is incredible and is very shallow. there are no currents or undertow.

The next beach from Puerto Morelos is located at the quaint town Of Playa el Carmen white powder sand crystal clear blue turquoise waters. The marine life is scare but occasionally you can see school of fish if you bring cookies.( saltines ). The wave action is medium . It is safe for children most of the time but occasionally gets rough. The water is not very clear in October November and December. All the beaches are public. All along the beaches are small restaurants serving seafood and international cuisine. The new beaches are located at playa Mamitas . there are several beach clubs with a lot people from Italy and the rest of Europe.

From Playa del carmen,  down south is the Akumal beach, this beach is very small and rocky.After Akumal is the beach at Tulum. the beaches in Tulum have a steeper slope, white powder sand and crystal clear Turquoise blue waters. No rocky bottom sea floor. There are big rock formations sitting in the middle of the sandy ocean floor and are full of marine life and coral. This beaches at Tulum are very empty beaches and gives you the feeling of being in a far away beach. The people that come here are mostly Europeans and the ladies use monokini.

After Tulum going south is the Town of Mahaual. The beaches here are a bit rocky but very calm and clear.