Riviera Maya map

States in the region

The Riviera Maya lies entirely within one state, Quintana Roo, on the Caribbean side of the Yucatán Peninsula. The name was adopted in 1999 for the stretch of coast between Puerto Morelos and Punta Allen; travel operators generally use it for the 130 km from Cancún airport south to Tulum, which is how the map above is drawn.

Four municipalities cover the strip and the island offshore. Their combined population at the 2020 census was about 506,000, up from roughly 160,000 in 2000 — one of the fastest rates of growth anywhere in Mexico, driven by workers moving in from Yucatán, Tabasco and Chiapas.

Geography

The coast is a low limestone shelf with no relief at all: nowhere on the mainland strip rises above about 15 m, and the Tulum ruins sit on a 12 m cliff that counts as the highest ground on the shoreline. Offshore lies the northern end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, which begins at Isla Contoy and runs about 1,000 km to Honduras; the reef sits close in at Puerto Morelos, where a national park protects it, and reaches its best-known sections around Cozumel.

Because the limestone is porous, all the fresh water is underground. Rain sinks through the rock into a lens of fresh water floating on salt water, and reaches the surface only where the roof has collapsed into a cenote. The Sac Actun system inland from Tulum, with about 370 km of mapped passage, is the longest known underwater cave in the world, and its outflows create the freshwater plumes visible along the shore at Xcaret, Xel-Há, Casa Cenote and Yal-Kú. South of Tulum the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve closes off the coast: 5,280 km² of mangrove, savanna, lagoon and reef with only a rough track running down the sand spit to Punta Allen.

Main cities and sights

Playa del Carmen is the largest town on the strip and its centre, a fishing village of a few hundred people in 1980 and now a city of more than 300,000 built on a grid of numbered avenues behind Quinta Avenida. Tulum at the southern end pairs a walled Maya port on the cliff — the only major Maya city built on the coast — with a hotel road running along the beach to the Sian Ka'an gate. Cozumel, 19 km offshore, is Mexico's largest Caribbean island at about 478 km² and its busiest cruise port. Puerto Morelos, Puerto Aventuras, Akumal and Paamul are the smaller settlements in between; Cancún and Isla Mujeres sit just to the north, and Bacalar and Mahahual are on the Costa Maya further south. Inland, Cobá is 45 km north-west of Tulum and its pyramid Nohoch Mul, at 42 m, is the tallest in the northern lowlands; Chichén Itzá and Valladolid are a day trip west across the state line.

When to go and getting around

December to April is the driest and coolest part of the year, with highs near 28 °C and low humidity; it is also the busiest and most expensive. May to October is hot and wet, and the Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November with September and October the peak months. Sargassum, the drifting seaweed that piles onto the east-facing beaches, is generally worst from May to July.

Almost everyone arrives through Cancún airport (CUN), the second-busiest in Mexico; Tulum airport (TQO) opened in December 2023 about 25 km south-west of the town, and Cozumel (CZM) takes domestic flights and some direct US services. Highway 307 is a divided four-lane road the whole way from Cancún to Tulum, and ADO runs frequent buses along it. Ferries cross to Cozumel from Playa del Carmen in about 45 minutes and to Isla Mujeres from Cancún in 20. The Maya Train added stations at Cancún airport, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen and Tulum from December 2023. The beaches map and the road map cover the wider picture.

Questions about the Riviera Maya

Where is the Riviera Maya on the map of Mexico?

On the Caribbean coast of Quintana Roo, in the far south-east of the country. It runs south from Puerto Morelos, below Cancún, to Tulum — about 130 km of coast along Highway 307.

Is Cancún part of the Riviera Maya?

Not officially. The Riviera Maya was defined in 1999 as the coast from Puerto Morelos to Punta Allen, and Cancún sits north of it. In practice most flights, buses and tours treat Cancún airport as the gateway to the whole strip.

How far is Tulum from Playa del Carmen?

63 km south on Highway 307, about 50 minutes by car. Playa del Carmen is roughly halfway between Cancún and Tulum.

What is sargassum and when does it arrive?

A floating brown seaweed that drifts onto the Caribbean shore from the open Atlantic. Volumes vary year to year, but the season generally runs from April to August and is heaviest between May and July; the north-facing beaches around Isla Mujeres and Puerto Morelos are usually least affected.

Is the Riviera Maya safe?

The resort corridor receives more than 10 million visitors a year and most trips pass without incident, though Quintana Roo records higher crime than the neighbouring Yucatán. Check the current US State Department advisory before travelling.