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The popularity of the Mexican Caribbean beyond Cancun is rapidly growing, with tourists in search of sun, sand, and surf for their vacation getaway.
Looking just at occupancy levels for resorts and hotels in the region, several areas had higher levels of hotels full of tourists relative to Cancun.
Exploring Beyond Cancun
According to reports from the Mexico Ministry of Tourism, Playacar and Akumal both had higher overall resort and hotel occupancy in the first four months of the year compared with Cancun.
Cancun ended the period between January and April with an overall occupancy of the resort and hotel level of 80.3%.
Nearby Playacar, an upscale resort community in Playa del Carmen, boasted an occupancy level of 92.4% in the same period. Even Akumal had an occupancy level of 83.6% in its resorts and hotels during the first four months of the year.
Granted, there is a significant difference in the total number of hotels and rooms available in Cancun and the two dramatically smaller areas.
However, it does demonstrate that tourists are very interested in exploring other tourist destinations in the Mexican Caribbean.
Destination Playacar
Playacar is an upscale gated community on the south side of Playa del Carmen that boasts luxury all-inclusive resorts for tourists.
It is well known for its large golf course, great restaurants, boutique shopping areas, and even a bird park aviary.
It is primarily a residential home and condo community with a couple of resorts included.
The main resorts located at Playacar include Royal Hideaway Playacar, Riu Palace Playacar, and the Iberostar Quetzal.
Many travelers also praise the amazing beach that is never crowded and the nearby ancient Xaman-ha Mayan ruins which are fun to explore.
Beach Town Vibe in Akumal
About 60 miles south of Cancun, nestled between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, is the beachfront resort community of Akumal.
The small beach town is a popular Riviera Maya beach destination for snorkeling and nature watching, especially green sea turtles.
Akumal is also known as the Place of the Turtles, which shows the important connection between the beach town and the animals.
Its calm water lagoon beaches are also a great place to enjoy a relaxing vacation getaway to the sun, sand and surf without being in some of the larger Mexican Caribbean cities.
There are several resorts, hotels and vacation rental properties available in Akumal to suit the needs of nearly every traveler to the Mexican Caribbean.
Exploring the Mexican Caribbean
As the area grows in size and popularity, many travelers are seeking more boutique-style accommodations and amenities that allow them to skip the high population centers of traditional vacation hotspots such as Cancun, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen for smaller destinations.
The numbers show that travelers looking to enjoy this style of vacation need to make their reservations well in advance due to the popularity of these beach towns and luxury-level accommodations.
Also, due to the limited number of resorts and hotels in areas like Playacar and Akumal, you may want to plan ahead for higher room rates due to the high demand and limited supply.
Visiting small-town destinations can provide the ultimate escape or luxury experience that many travelers are seeking in their vacation getaways today.
Again, it may take some advanced planning with early reservations and higher planned vacation expenses.
However, for many travelers, choosing these special vacation locations, which are growing in popularity, can definitely contribute to a Mexican Caribbean vacation getaway to the sun, sand, and surf of a lifetime.
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