Fairmont Mayakoba
- Private resort frontage, guests only
- White sand, loungers and beach club
- Mangrove canals behind the beach
- Jungle and lagoon setting
- Ten minutes north of Playa del Carmen
Overview
The beach at Fairmont Mayakoba is the seaward edge of Mayakoba, a gated resort community set in about 240 hectares of tropical forest, mangrove and waterways at Km 298 of Highway 307, roughly ten minutes by road north of central Playa del Carmen. It is a resort frontage rather than a public access: the way in is through the resort, so in practice the beach is used by guests of Fairmont and of the neighbouring Mayakoba properties.
What distinguishes the setting is what lies behind the sand. Canals and lagoons run inland through the mangrove, guests move around by boat, bicycle and shuttle, and part of the accommodation is arranged along the waterways rather than on the shore. The El Camaleón golf course, designed by Greg Norman, runs through the same jungle and mangrove and reaches the oceanfront.
Our current condition score for this beach is .
Our photographic record
Each photograph is published unedited and in date order, and is retained so the record builds rather than resets.
No photographs of this beach have been submitted yet. The grid below fills in as contributors send them.
Position relative to the Atlantic sargassum belt
This stretch of the mainland faces the open Caribbean, and sargassum can reach it when the wind and current bring it in, as it can reach the rest of the coast between Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen.
A cleared beach and clear water are two separate things. Sand can be raked while sargassum is still in the water at the waterline, so anyone deciding whether to swim should judge the water rather than the sand.
The sargassum season
What reaches a beach on a given day depends on the wind and current of the days beforehand rather than on the month alone.
The regional pattern is covered in our guide to sargassum season in the Riviera Maya.
Choosing a hotel on this stretch
Mayakoba holds several hotels sharing the same shoreline. Fairmont offers an all-inclusive package at booking, and its guests have signing privileges at the restaurants and bars of the other Mayakoba resorts, which are charged separately and are not part of that plan.
Room location within the complex is worth attention. Fairmont sells beach-area and beachfront rooms as well as canal-view and resort-view rooms, and anyone whose priority is stepping straight onto the sand should book a beachfront category specifically. Anyone travelling in a heavy sargassum period should ask the hotel directly how it manages its frontage.
Access and getting there
Mayakoba is entered from Highway 307 at Km 298, roughly ten minutes by road north of central Playa del Carmen. Entry is through a gated access, so the beach is reached as a guest of one of the resorts.
The nearest free public accesses on this part of the coast are Punta Esmeralda and Playa 88 in northern Playa del Carmen, and Xcalacoco to the north.
Within the complex, guests move by bicycle, shuttle or boat along the canals, and the footbridges and paths through the mangrove are part of the appeal.
Check live conditions before you go
A raked beach can look clear while sargassum is still in the water. Our live card for this stretch carries the current condition score and the most recent contributor photographs with their dates.
See live conditions, photos & cams →