Akumal/Q'roo accomdations March/April 2016

[kimmerscuba22]

I'll be heading down next year with a dive buddy who is flying from England. I've been several times and love the area, especially the sea life. Since we're going to dive our faces off we've decided to skip the all inclusive resorts and are looking to stay in a hotel or vacation rental. Any tips, suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[DjDiverDan]

If diving is the primary purpose of the trip, I'd go directly to Cozumel and skip the mainland coast. First, while the coast, from Cancun to Playa Del Carmen to Akumal and south does have some diving opportunities, including opportunities not available on Cozumel (like diving the Cenotes or the Bull Shark dives off Playa Del Carmen), overall it can't come close to the diving on Cozumel. Second, March-April is Spring Break Season, and while Spring Breakers will overrun Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, they generally are fairly sparse on Cozumel. There are lots of different options for diving on Cozumel, from the dedicated Dive Resorts, like Scuba Club Cozumel and Blue Angel, to the Aldora Villa where you can dive with Aldora, including not just the Morning Dives with HP Steel 120 taks and TONS of bottom time, but also the Aldora Afternoon dive, and the fact that Aldora dives some locations, like the Northern reefs and the East Side (when weather is favorable) that other operators don't go. Or you can go with a number of hotels, from the big resort like Hotel Cozumel (nice hotel, big pool, comfortable rooms, convenient to dive ops, but DO NOT DO THE All-Inclusive option -IMO the food is terrible), to Casa Del Mar, El Cid, and others, or even the small boutique hotels like Village Tan Kah, a small (8 rooms) hotel that has a pool, AC and fridge in the rooms, and caters to divers. Lots of very good Dive Ops on Cozumel, with an option to fit your preferences, whether low cost with good DMs, like Dive with Martin, to higher end ops offering valet service, like Aldora, Tres Pelicanos, Blue XTSea, Living Underwater, Liquid Blue, and lots of others. Other advantage of Cozumel is that it is very friendly and has a LOT of great dining options (the reason I will not do AI on Cozumel) in all budget ranges.

 

[FT]

DJDiver Dan makes good points. If you want to get a lot of variety out of your dives, and can handle a bit of current, Cozumel has more to offer. Great eating options, too.

But I'll assume you know what you're getting dive-wise from the reefs around Akumal and you like it that way... check vrbo.com for listings, Flipkey, or perhaps even air bnb. We loved Mi Casa Del Mar: very comfortable, and close enough to town to walk to our dive centre and restaurants for the odd evening out. Blue Experience Diving: fabulous service.

 

[TSandM]

I disagree -- stay on the mainland, if you want some lovely reefs AND some fun in the cenotes, and some beautiful beaches and maybe some non-diving things to do on your last day.

Where you stay depends on where you base yourself. We usually stay in Puerto Aventuras, and either rent a condo, or stay at the Catalonia all inclusive. There are LOTS of rental condos in PA, at various prices depending on where they are located. Akumal is less touristy. There are condos for rent there, or I have stayed in the cottages at the Beach Resort, which were Spartan but adequate, and came with breakfast at Lol Ha. You have fewer dining options in Akumal, but the food is better than PA. I like the reefs off PA better than the one dive I did from Akumal, but it was only one dive, and perhaps we didn't go to one of the best places.

Tulum is another option, with many hotels and condos, and lots of good dining options, but I have never done any ocean diving down there at all, so I can't say anything about the reefs.

 

[kimmerscuba22]

Thank you very much, I certainly do as I've been all over Mexico several times. This is just the first time I've gone the rental route instead of all inclusive resort. Thank you for the websites to check out - appreciate it

But I'll assume you know what you're getting dive-wise from the reefs around Akumal and you like it that way... check vrbo.com for listings, Flipkey, or perhaps even air bnb. We loved Mi Casa Del Mar: very comfortable, and close enough to town to walk to our dive centre and restaurants for the odd evening out. Blue Experience Diving: fabulous service.

 

[Grover48]

I am a multi time veteran of Akumal. If you want a place close to the dive shop, Hotel Akumal Caribe is close to all things in Akumal.

go to Riviera Maya Vacation Rentals - Villas, Condos & Hotels - Loco Gringo for very good info and help. There is a forum there too so you can discuss with veterans what to do and where to stay.

 

[choiahoy]

kimmerscuba22,

We were in Akumal for the second time this past January and rented this apartment -

Amanecer Akumal

We were very pleased; it was nice, cheap, and convenient (if you have a car--it's in Half Moon Bay).

If you do rent a car, drive across the highway into Akumal Pueblo for some great local food at a good price (food in Akumal is not cheap). Taco Maya was a favorite of ours (cerviche was awesome). Also, don't miss the salted caramel ice cream from Lucy's--you won't be the same after you try it.

If you need a taxi who will always give you good prices, call Pedro Moo – 984 877 5949 - TAXI 691. He's kind and always fair; we never once had to negotiate a proper price.

In terms of diving, the ocean dives we did out of Akumal were...fine. But the cenote dives are the ones we still dream about. There are lots of good options; we used Manati Divers. They don't have a website, but here's their facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/ManatiDiver

As opposed to some other shops in the area, safety was key with them. They're located outside Casa Cenote (also called Cenote Manati), which is a lot of fun to dive as it connects with the ocean and has lots of underwater life.

Enjoy your trip and post a report when you're back!

 

[nimoh]

Melinda's Vacation Rental