I had shared with you the first part of our Mexico vacation starting in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  We spent the next six days in Akumal, Mexico.  If you are like me, you might not know how far it is from Cabo to Akumal, but it was flying coast to coast in Mexico!  Oddly for us, we could get home easier from Akumal, so that is what prompted us to combine the two into the same vacation.  It was almost like we had two trips in one, which was great.  For this portion of our trip, we used VRBO to find a condo to rent on Half Moon Bay in Akumal.  We had our own patio right on the beach and the view was just perfect.

Bob and I have traveled to this area of Mexico three other times.  Many people refer to the area as the Riviera Maya, which is a whole section of Mexico.  We were specifically in Akumal and we visited Tulum beaches on several days.  Since we have been to the area before, it was like we didn’t miss a beat.  We got to Akumal late in the evening and when we woke up in the morning, we stepped out onto the beach in front of our condo and hopped in the water for some snorkeling.  It is a bay, so it is protected, but it had some small waves too.  After snorkeling, we relaxed under the palm tree in the picture above.  It was a great start to this part of our trip.  Our condo was dangerously close to the beach bar, La Buena Vida, so that was a regular stop for us.  It is right on the beach with a sandy floor and open air.  They also make awesome food.

Our next day, we drove to one of the beaches in Tulum.  The water is so clear and it has nice little waves.

We got beach chairs outside the restaurant, La Vita e Bella, and spent the day on the beach and enjoyed a good lunch at the restaurant.  Finding restaurants on the beach is nice, because you have access to food and facilities, and another important item for me is access to shade too.  I love the beach, but I  need my shade!

The next day, we went to another beach….that is the theme for this portion of the trip, a different beach each day 🙂  Akumal Bay was the beach for the day.  We’ve previously stayed on Akumal bay and it has gotten much busier since then, but the reason we go is for the snorkeling.  It is so nice.

Akumal means, “home of the turtle” and there is definitely no shortages of turtles.

Bob did a great job of capturing them up close.

The bay is full of more than just turtles though; there are plenty of beautiful fish and coral.

We saw some for the first time ever….the lionfish were really cool.

And, so was the squid.

I love just floating in the water and watching below.  The crackling sounds of the coral, let you know that everything is alive.

We saw a few sting rays too.

When we are floating in the water, I tend to forget everything else that is going on.  And, then you surface and realize there is so much around us and above water.  Akumal is where many boats depart for fishing too, so it is a busy bay.

We snorkeled a few times that day, and had lunch a the Lol Ha, which is right on the beach too.

Our next day, we traveled back to Tulum.  We just chose to go to a different portion of the beach.  Again, we chose to access the beach at a restaurant/resort.  For this day, it was Cabanas Tulum and Ziggy Beach.  On one of our previous trips, we stayed at Cabanas Tulum, so we knew it was a good location.  They have big beach beds to hang out and deliver your food right to you on the beach.

Each beach is just slightly different, and you can see the differences in the water too.  We enjoyed a long walk up and down the beach in Tulum.

For our last full day in Mexico, Bob asked what I wanted to do and I chose Xcacel.  Again, we have been there in the past…we learned of this local beach from one of the waiters on our first trip to the area.  There is nothing there other than a “guard” to collect your $40 pesos (about $4 in US) for entrance/parking.  Other than that, it is just a big empty beach.

The picture shows how empty it was.  More people showed up as the day went on, but it was just a wonderful final day.  We were missing some shade, but on the last day I was not quite as fussy with my sunscreen and shade so that when I came home it at least looked like I had been in Mexico for 10 days!

Overall, our vacation in Mexico was wonderful.  We had a great trip full of great beaches, food and fun.  I’m grateful for the pictures to preserve our memories too.

Have you traveled to Mexico?  Do you like returning the same vacation places?