Experience the Mexican Caribbean from a new perspective
Your stay in Akumal can also take you below the surface. Between the Caribbean reef and the cenotes of the Riviera Maya, diving is the most direct way to get to know this coast from the inside.
Akumal is far more than white sand and clear water. Its name means “place of turtles” in Maya, and the reason lies below the surface: a living reef a few metres from the shore and, inland, the largest flooded cave system in the world.
During your stay at Las Villas Akumal you can round out your beach days with a dive. If you have never dived, you start from scratch with someone beside you. If you are already certified, you are at one of the best starting points in the Mexican Caribbean.
Never dived before? No certification needed. On an introductory dive you learn the basics and go down with an instructor beside you the whole time. It is the way to find out whether diving is for you without committing to a full course.
The Mesoamerican Reef, the second largest on the planet, runs the length of this coast. Turtles, rays, schools of fish and coral formations, on guided dives for certified divers.
No other diving destination in the world has this. Flooded freshwater caves, extraordinary visibility and shafts of light coming down from the jungle. For cavern cenotes, the ones dived inside the natural light zone, an Open Water certification is enough; deep cenotes ask for Advanced. The water sits between 24 and 26 °C all year round.
The Open Water course is the first diving certification and it is valid worldwide. Once you finish it you can dive to 18 metres with another certified diver, and you can earn it during your holiday.
Talk to our concierge and we will put you in touch with the team at The Dive Machine, who build the experience around your level and the days you are with us. There is nothing you need to arrange before you arrive.
What to bring: swimwear, a towel, your diving certification if you have one, and biodegradable sunscreen, which is the only kind allowed in the cenotes.
The Dive Machine publishes that its cenote packages include full equipment, a dive light, a certified SSI guide, two dives, lunch and water, and that each diver pays the cenote entrance fee separately, and that round-trip transport costs extra.
Prices, length, transfers and minimum age vary by experience and by date. Write to us with your dates and how many of you there are, and we will send you the options with availability.
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Akumal has an advantage you only notice once you look at a map: it sits right between the two most dived groups of cenotes in the Riviera Maya. The Tulum ones to the south. The Puerto Aventuras ones to the north. And the reef, running the length of the coast.
Dos Ojos and Casa Cenote are cavern cenotes: they are dived inside the natural light zone and an Open Water certification is enough. El Pit and Angelita are deep cenotes and ask for an Advanced certification. They are the best known in the region and the closest to Akumal.
Cristalino, Jardín del Edén and Tajmaha. Windows of clear water between limestone walls and jungle, and considerably less crowded.
The Mesoamerican Reef runs the length of this coast. Coral, turtles and marine life on open water dives.
One of the finest reefs in the world, one ferry ride from Playa del Carmen. Worth a full day trip.
Diving is run by The Dive Machine, a private dive centre in the Riviera Maya based in Playa del Carmen. They work in small groups: every dive is built around the people on it, with no mass departures.
An SSI 5 Star dive centre, with PADI and SSI certified instructors.
Courses from your first dive through to Divemaster, by way of Open Water, Advanced and Rescue.
Adaptive diving for people with disabilities.
More than 3,800 experiences in the Riviera Maya, by their own count, and their conservation association The Change Machine AC.
Waking up facing the sea, having a slow breakfast and spending the afternoon underwater. Coming back to the villa with wet hair and having dinner looking out at the Caribbean. In Akumal the whole day fits.
Las Villas Akumal is 26 beachfront villas, steps from the beach where around 100 turtle nests are counted every year. Between one dive and the next you can get to know our villas, follow the Turtle Program, ask the concierge for any other Riviera Maya experience or look over the current offers.
No. The introductory dive is designed for people who have never dived: it asks for no certification and you are accompanied by a certified instructor the whole time.
You need an Open Water certification for cavern cenotes, which are most of the recreational ones. Deep cenotes such as El Pit and Angelita ask for Advanced. If you are not certified, you can do an introductory dive or earn the course during your stay.
To 18 metres, with another certified diver. It is an internationally recognised certification, so it works at any destination in the world.
Yes. If it has been more than a year, there is a refresher course that brings your skills and safety procedures back before the dive.
Yes. The Dive Machine offers adaptive diving. It is worth mentioning when you book so the experience can be prepared with time.
The reef is open water, with current, coral and marine life. A cenote is fresh water inside a cave: no current, no swell, extraordinary visibility and shifting light. They are two different experiences and plenty of people do both.
Yes, from a certain age depending on the experience and the course. Write to us with their ages and we will confirm what each of them can do.
It depends on the experience, the number of dives and the dates. Get in touch and we will send you the options with prices and availability.
Explore its waters, connect with nature and turn your stay into something that does not fit in a beach photo.
I want this experience Check availability
Experience available to guests of Las Villas Akumal. Ask our team about diving options, availability and booking conditions.
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are. We will reply with the experiences that fit and their availability.
MX 984 875 7050 / US 855 251 0169 / CAN 844 766 9918
reservations@lasvillasakumal.com
Reservations WhatsApp : 984 806 4145
Concierge WhatsApp : 984 120 6482
Carretera Cancún – Tulum Km. 104, Akumal, Quintana Roo, México, C.P. 77776 ©Las Villas Akumal 2025
