I’m in love with this place! This will continue to be a once a year tropical vacation destination for many years to come. Matt and I went at the end of April this year, probably one of the best times to visit; for the warm and humid yet mild weather compared to the summer, the sea turtles that come to this beach to nest (at the end of April every year), and for the somewhat “low-season” price of the resort. I can’t even begin to explain what a deal we got, but looks like it might always be quite the dealie happening at ABR. We booked the trip through Orbitz.com and were really pleased with everything. We paid $650 per person for 6 nights at ABR, all-inclusive; meaning food and drinks (everything) is pre-paid. This included airfare! On top of that, $75 per person for round-trip shuttle to and from the airport, which is about an hour and 15 minutes each way (from Cancun Intl). This is worth it, unless you decide to rent a car, which is completely unnecessary on the Yucatan.
Food was average, got kinda sick of the buffet style meals and the snack bar lunch a few days in, but you really can’t complain for the price and the fact that I didn’t come here to grub down. The drinks were also free (ahhhhh!) and you know what that means. Lol. We got drunk, real drunk. Everyday. Alcohol was bottom shelf, but for the many tropical style drinks I consumed, along with the endless Dos Equis (XX) on draft, again, can’t complain. Just make sure you stay away from the resort Tequila (which I will compare – just guessing - to the bottles on the bottom shelf at the supermarket that just say “TEQUILA” on a generic label). It was the worst! I think it had a somewhat carbonated feel, I gagged the second time I tried to drink it. Matt on the other hand was able to drink it all week, not necessarily by choice though. Every time he asked for a cervesa, he was handed a beer & a shot of tequila. Too funny. If you really want good tequila, which I did, there’s a small town about 20 minutes up the highway (Akumal) that sells Don Julio - among other common brands. What you come to Akumal and the Yucatan for are the beaches. I’ve never seen water so crystal clear and warm (approx. 80˚F) The bay the resort sat against had a reef that blocked the waves from coming in, which made for the best snorkeling I’ve ever seen. Reefs and fish and turtles and rays – oh my! We spent a lot of time in the water taking pictures, touching turtles and kayaking. I gotta add this is real fun when you’re drunk. We pretty much lounged all day on the beach, at the beach bar, and in the ocean.
We decided to give one day to being touristy and chose the Chichén-Itzá ruins as the destination. I’ve seen these ruins on too many tv shows and in history books to not check them out. There’s a lot to do on the Yucatan (multiple ruins, cenotes, lagoons, etc) but I’ll be back and try one at a time. Chichén-Itzá was quite the adventure. In brief: we rented a car, drove a few hours inland on the crazy highways, got lost in a small town on the way, arrived at Chichén, almost died in the heat (omg-ewww), saw lots of cool ruins, took a shitload of pictures, almost died in the heat again, bought a few souvenirs, left Chichén-Itzá, got pulled over at a military checkpoint by armed soldiers and got searched inside & out, then finally made it home.
I would definitely recommend not only the Yucatan for a vacation, but Akumal Beach Resort itself for anyone looking to have as much fun as we did.
Check out the photos of our vacation:
See more Akumal, Mexico Lomo’s HERE.
See more Chichén-Itzá, Mexico Lomo’s HERE.
See Mexico LX3 pics HERE.
