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| A guide to the beaches of the Riviera Maya south of Cancun... | ||||
 Riviera Maya's serpentine coastline stretches from Cancun to Tulum through a series of dynamic points and sandy bays. These powdery beaches are some of the best in the Caribbean. |
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| Go to the beaches of » Akumal Paamul Playa del Carmen Playacar Puerto Aventuras Puerto Morelos Sian Ka'an Soliman Bay Tankah Bay Tulum Xcacel Xpu-ha |
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| "Quick Reference" | ||||
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 Akumal actually has two beaches. One to the north in Half Moon Bay, and the other is one of the best beaches around, the main beach at Akumal Bay in the center of town. Three other bays nearby to the
south also have beaches and are referred to as part of Akumal. Those are Jade Beach, South Akumal and Aventuras Akumal.
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Paamul is just north of Puerto Aventuras and has a sandy beach mixed with limestone iron shore and an outer reef break. There
are some facilities including a dive shop and restaurant that service primarily those who live there in
Recreational Vehicles (RVs). The diving is supposed to be good.
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Playa del Carmen has grown tremendously in recent years, partly due to its long stretch of sandy beach. At its northern end the beach is widest with resorts and beach clubs along the shore. At the Porto Real hotel a cement pier makes a wave break and the beach continues to the ferry dock. Beach width varies.
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Playacar is Playa del Carmen's neighbor to the south, starting on the south side of the ferry dock to Cozumel. Depending
on the season the beach is more or less narrow just south of Senor Frog's and then increases in width as
it passes beach front villas, a couple small hotels and then a few all-inclusive resorts farther south.
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Puerto Aventuras is a resort style marina community with a full array of services and a short but wide sandy beach. There's
plenty of pure sand for sunbathing and a reef break not far off the beach to knock down the surf somewhat.
A narrow cut on the north end of the beach is the inlet to the main part of the marina.
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Puerto Morelos has a main beach in the center of town with smooth sand and restaurants nearby, but the beach is natural,
and for the most part not raked to remove trash and excessive seaweed. North and south are more beaches,
usually better where resorts and individuals clean the beach for their guests.
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Sian Ka'an, Mayan for "where the sky is born", is a coastal biosphere reserve south of Tulum Ruins designed for sustainable usage by the public. The entrance is through a stone archway on the bumpy road to Boca Paila & Punta Allen. Expect few services here, but plenty of deserted beaches, then Punta Allen at land's end.
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Soliman Bay is a wide bay that's well protected by an outer reef break. It has a picturesque crescent arc of narrow sand lined with palms and modest beach houses. Snorkeling and kayaking are common activities. Just around the northern point is Oscar y Lalo's beach restaurant with a narrow but nice beach and coconut grove.
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Tankah Bay is just south of Soliman Bay and is similar with an out reef break to limit the amount of surf that rolls in.
The beach is generally narrow but nice with plenty of room for sun worshipers. Casa Cenote restaurant
and Manatee Cenote are prime attractions here for a quick dip, a bite to eat (lunch or dinner) and a cold one.
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Tulum has some wide powdery beaches with no outer reef break and generally bigger surf. A multitude of palapa
style beach bungalows line the coastal road that heads south from the Tulum Ruins. These vary
in quality but most have good beaches in front for sunning and strolling the surf line. The road turns to sand
past Zamas.
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Xcacel has a wide expanse of sandy beach and no outer reef break to knock down the incoming waves. This is an
ideal situation for several species of sea turtles and so Xcacel is particularly well known as a turtle
nesting area. There are no services and as of this writing the beach is uninhabited.
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Xpu-ha is another wide expanse of pure sand beach with no outer reef break. There are a couple of restaurants,
beach accommodations and a dive shop on the sand, and two big resorts on the northern part of the beach. This
is one of the best beaches around.
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