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Mexico's Caribbean Beaches


Scott Smith Cancun's white crescent beach and lolling surf is one of Mexico's most popular vacation spots. (Photo: Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images )


Mexico’s best Caribbean beaches stretch from the northeast tip of Yucatan Peninsula southward to Belize. Mexico’s marketing minds have dubbed the northern half of this sandy playground the Mayan Riviera, and the southern half the Mayan Coast. Much of the Riviera -- notably Cancun and Cozumel -- long has enjoyed a raucous reputation, while other parts reflect Mexico’s Spanish colonial past, maintain a paperback-and-umbrella-drink solitude or serve as base camp for snorkeling, diving, caving and kayaking adventures.

Isla Mujeres

With a five-mile moat separating it from Cancun, Isla Mujares has been slow to adopt its mainland neighbor’s spring break flavor. Only a few high-end resorts have made inroads among the quirky little inns along the shore. The reef tames the waves at Playa Norte, creating a placid, shallow pool for snorkeling and swimming. You can explore the area’s many inlets via bike, kayak or golf cart, or indulge your inner daredevil on a windsurfer. Playa Sol entices with a thicker layer of sand and deeper water than Norte, and it’s adjacent to the ferry landing.


Catch that ferry to one of the most famous stretches of sand in the world. You might be able to find a quiet corner of beach, but the translucent Caribbean, squint-inducing white sand and hard-body-packed dance floors are the big draws. Boca de Puma, one of the Yucatan’s best cenotes -- water-filled sinkholes -- makes a nice diversion on the road to Cozumel. Just inland from the unpretentious beaches of Puerto Morelos, the cenote is accessed via a forest trail. After snorkeling Boca De Puma, enjoy lunch provided by village fishermen.


Snorkelers and divers of all skills descend on Cozumel to experience wrecks, reefs and walls, habitats for sponges, barracuda, stingrays and crabs. Charter boats take divers to the best sites to the north, but you can spy on colorful fish just off the popular beaches and hotels on the island’s west side. Punta Sur Ecological Park takes landlubbers on a lighthouse tour and boat trip around the lagoon home of crocodiles, foxes and iguanas. Fodor’s says the Museo de Cozumel is worth a look if you’re interested in Mayan and pre-Hispanic history.

Playa Del Carmen

Combining the best of Cancun and Cozumel, Playa Del Carmen attracts divers and dancers, partiers and parasailers. The surf can get nasty south of the ferry dock, so most visitors head north toward resort corridor, which looms over the most popular stretch of gritty white-sand beach. A steady influx of cruise ship passengers ensures a new experience every week in La Quinta, the hub of the club and music scene.


Monolithic Mayan ruins glare down from the 50 feet above Tulum at cabana-like hotels, cut-glass seas and silky, milky sand. Considered by many the best beach in Mexico, Tulum’s sands stretch far back from the lolling aquamarine water. Its sandy-floored beach bars and bare-bones thatched-roof accommodations reflect Tulum’s roots as a backpacker’s haven. The water is generally peaceful, and reef and cenote dive trips readily bookable. Go early and beat the tour buses if you want to tour the temples, pyramids and shrines of the walled Mayan city above the beach.








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