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Riviera Maya & Cozumel

Riviera Maya All-Inclusive Resorts, Area by Area

Forty-six all-inclusive resorts on the coast south of Cancun and on the island of Cozumel, grouped by where they sit: Playa Paraiso and Maroma, Playa del Carmen and Playacar, Puerto Aventuras and Kantenah, Akumal, Tulum and Cozumel. Every resort fact is sourced and was checked in September 2026.

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The Riviera Maya is the coast south of Cancun, and the Mexican Caribbean tourism site describes it as stretching 130 kilometers from Puerto Morelos to Tulum. This page covers 46 all-inclusive resorts along that coast and on the island of Cozumel: 17 in and around Playa del Carmen, 12 on the Playa Paraiso and Maroma stretch to the north, nine around Puerto Aventuras and Kantenah, two in Akumal, two in Tulum and four on Cozumel. Twenty-one are adults-only and 25 welcome families. Three are marked as opening soon, so read the status note before you set dates. Resorts around Puerto Morelos, at the northern end of the coast, are on the Cancun hub.

Most of these resorts name Cancun International Airport (CUN) as the nearest airport, and the drive gets longer the farther south you stay. Iberostar puts Iberostar Waves Paraiso Beach about 30 minutes from the airport, the Playa del Carmen resorts that give a time quote about 40 to 45 minutes, Secrets Akumal and Hard Rock Riviera Maya about an hour, and Grand Palladium Colonial and TRS Yucatan about 90 minutes. Tulum has its own airport: Secrets Tulum quotes about 40 minutes from Tulum International Airport (TQO) against 1 hour 45 minutes from Cancun. Cozumel has an airport too (CZM), and Cozumel Palace puts itself about 15 minutes from it.

The mix changes by area. Playa del Carmen has the most adults-only resorts, eight of its 17, and the town is close: Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen, Wyndham Alltra Playa del Carmen and Playacar Palace all put themselves near Fifth Avenue. The three Grupo Xcaret hotels include unlimited entry to the group's parks and a round-trip airport shuttle. Playa Paraiso and Maroma is where the big complexes are: five Iberostar hotels share one beachfront complex with an 18-hole golf course (extra charge), and five more resorts, from El Dorado Royale to Nickelodeon Riviera Maya, give their address as Km 45 of the Cancun-Tulum highway. All six water parks on this page are at family resorts.

Eleven of the 46 resorts have a former name on file. Hyatt Zilara Riviera Maya was Secrets Capri, Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen was Hilton Playa del Carmen until June 2025, and five Iberostar hotels added Waves to their names: the two Paraíso hotels, Quetzal, Tucán and Cozumel. Tell me who is traveling and what matters most, and I'll check current availability and narrow the list with you.

Jump to

Playa Paraiso & Maroma · Playa del Carmen · Puerto Aventuras & Kantenah · Akumal · Tulum · Cozumel

Quick facts

  • CoastlineThe Riviera Maya stretches 130 kilometers from Puerto Morelos to Tulum Source
  • Main airportCancun International Airport (CUN) has 4 terminals and sits 16 kilometers from the Cancun Hotel Zone Source
  • Playa del Carmen45 minutes from Cancun International Airport, with Fifth Avenue running parallel to the beach Source
  • Tulum airportTulum International Airport (TQO): Secrets Tulum quotes about 40 minutes from it, against 1 hour 45 minutes from Cancun Source
  • CozumelThe largest island in the Mexican Caribbean, 48 kilometers long, with its own international airport, a ferry terminal and 40 dive sites Source
  • Resorts by areaPlaya del Carmen 17, Playa Paraiso & Maroma 12, Puerto Aventuras & Kantenah 9, Cozumel 4, Akumal 2, Tulum 2
  • Adults-only and family21 adults-only resorts and 25 family resorts; 31 of the 46 name Cancun International Airport as their nearest airport

Before you pick

How to choose

Decide adults-only or all ages first

The list splits 21 adults-only and 25 family. Three of the family resorts are tagged with an adults-only section: Casa Fuego at Hotel Xcaret México (18 and over), Heaven at Hard Rock Riviera Maya and the adults-only areas at Riu Palace Riviera Maya. Five adults-only resorts state a minimum age in our data: 18 at JOIA Paraíso, La Casa de la Playa, Riu Palace Mexico and UNICO 20°87°, and 16 at Hotel Xcaret Arte, where the FAQ says guests from 16 are accepted only when they travel with their parents or legal guardians. For the rest, ask me to confirm the minimum age.

Match the area to the drive you'll accept

By the resorts' own figures from Cancun International Airport: Iberostar Waves Paraiso Beach about 30 minutes, the Playa del Carmen resorts that give a time about 40 to 45 minutes, Secrets Akumal and Hard Rock Riviera Maya about an hour, UNICO 20°87° about 1 hour 15 minutes, and Grand Palladium Colonial and TRS Yucatan about 90 minutes. Dreams Tulum's page says about 85 minutes from the airport without naming which one. Secrets Tulum quotes about 40 minutes from Tulum International Airport instead. The Cozumel resorts use Cozumel's airport: Cozumel Palace says about 15 minutes, and Iberostar Waves Cozumel about 12.4 miles.

Traveling with kids? Count the clubs and water parks

Twenty-two resorts here are tagged with a kids' club, eight with a teen club and six with a water park. Five of the eight teen clubs are around Puerto Aventuras and Kantenah, at Dreams Aventuras, the three Grand Palladium hotels and Hard Rock. Club ages differ: the Grand Palladium clubs cover ages 1 to 19, Hard Rock's Kids Club serves 4 to 12, and Hotel Xcaret México has a section for children ages 0 to 9 and another for teens 13 to 17. Nickelodeon Riviera Maya is all-suite, and Karisma says every suite is swim-up and ocean-view.

Check what the stay includes beyond the room

The three Grupo Xcaret hotels include unlimited park entry and an airport shuttle. Palafitos, El Dorado Maroma and El Dorado Seaside Suites include Cancun transfers under Lomas's More Inclusive plan, and JOIA Paraíso includes them for stays of three nights or more booked through Iberostar. Others do not: Secrets Maroma Beach, Secrets Aura Cozumel, Dreams Cozumel Cape and Dreams Aventuras all say guests pay for their own transfers. Check the beach too. Riu Lupita is about 2.5 km from the sea with a free shuttle to a beach club, and the main Secrets Tulum resort is inland in Aldea Zama with a free shuttle to its Zamna Beach Club.

Look for stays that open a second resort, and check the opening date

JOIA Paraíso guests can use all five hotels in the Iberostar Paraiso complex, Impression Moxché guests can use Secrets Moxché's 11 dining venues and seven pools, Dreams Cozumel Cape guests can use Secrets Aura Cozumel next door, the three Grand Palladium hotels at Kantenah share restaurants, bars and pools, and guests over 18 at Generations Riviera Maya can use the two El Dorado resorts beside it. Three resorts are marked as opening soon: Iberostar Waves Quetzal and Iberostar Waves Tucán are closed for renovation from May 15 to November 30, 2026, and Riu Palace Mexico is being refurbished as an adults-only hotel. Ask me and I'll confirm the current status.

12 resorts · 6 adults-only · 6 for families

Playa Paraiso and Maroma

Twelve resorts on the northern stretch, split evenly: six adults-only and six for families. Five Iberostar hotels share the beachfront Paraiso complex and its 18-hole golf course (extra charge), and El Dorado Royale, El Dorado Casitas Royale, Generations Riviera Maya, Palafitos and Nickelodeon Riviera Maya all give their address as Km 45 of the Cancun-Tulum highway. Three of the six water parks on this page are here, and Lomas says Palafitos has the only overwater bungalows in the Mexican Caribbean.

17 resorts · 8 adults-only · 9 for families

Playa del Carmen and Playacar

The largest group on this page: 17 resorts, eight adults-only and nine for families. Nine of them are in the Playacar development, six RIU hotels, Playacar Palace and the two Iberostar Waves hotels, and the three Grupo Xcaret hotels include entry to the group's parks. Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen and Wyndham Alltra Playa del Carmen are near Fifth Avenue. Iberostar Waves Quetzal, Iberostar Waves Tucán and Riu Palace Mexico are marked as opening soon.

9 resorts · 4 adults-only · 5 for families

Puerto Aventuras and Kantenah

Nine resorts south of Playa del Carmen, five for families and four adults-only. The three Grand Palladium hotels and the adults-only TRS Yucatan share one complex at Kantenah, where TRS Yucatan's 22 overwater villa suites sit over an inland lagoon rather than the sea. The two El Dorado Seaside resorts sit side by side on Kantenah Bay, and Hard Rock Riviera Maya lists 1,264 rooms and suites with the Rockaway Bay water park included. Resort sites here quote about 60 to 90 minutes from Cancun International Airport.

2 resorts · 1 adults-only · 1 for families

Akumal

Two resorts in the Akumal area. Secrets Akumal is adults-only, with 434 suites on Akumal Beach, about an hour's drive south of Cancun International Airport, on a bay its page says is known for green sea turtles and snorkeling. The Sens Riviera is the family-friendly former Sunscape Akumal Beach, now run by Oasis, with 212 suites and rooms.

2 resorts · 1 adults-only · 1 for families

Tulum

Two resorts at the southern end, where the tourism site splits Tulum into the archaeological zone, the town center (El Pueblo) and the hotel zone. Dreams Tulum is a family resort on 44 acres about five minutes from downtown Tulum. Secrets Tulum, adults-only and open since October 2023, sits inland in the Aldea Zama complex with a free shuttle to its Zamna Beach Club, and it is the one resort on this page that names Tulum International Airport (TQO), about 40 minutes away, as its nearest airport.

4 resorts · 1 adults-only · 3 for families

Cozumel

Four resorts on the island, three for families and one adults-only, reached through Cozumel International Airport (CZM) or the ferry. Cozumel Palace puts itself about 15 minutes from the airport and 10 minutes from downtown San Miguel and the ferry pier. Dreams Cozumel Cape guests can use the adults-only Secrets Aura Cozumel next door, which has an on-site PADI dive center, and its spa is the Secrets Spa there. Iberostar Waves Cozumel's dive center runs its own boats to the reef.

Quick answers

Common questions

Which airport do you fly into for Riviera Maya all-inclusive resorts?

Cancun International Airport (CUN) for most of them: 31 of the 46 resorts name it as their nearest airport. The Mexican Caribbean tourism site says it has four terminals, and its Playa del Carmen page puts the town 45 minutes away. Resort sites farther south quote longer drives, from about an hour at Secrets Akumal to about 90 minutes at Grand Palladium Colonial and TRS Yucatan. There are two alternatives. Tulum has its own airport, Aeropuerto Internacional de Tulum (TQO), and Secrets Tulum quotes about 40 minutes from it against 1 hour 45 minutes from Cancun. Cozumel has Cozumel International Airport (CZM), which the tourism site says handles domestic and international flights, mainly from the U.S. and Canada.

How many adults-only all-inclusive resorts are in the Riviera Maya?

We list 21. Eight are in and around Playa del Carmen, six on the Playa Paraiso and Maroma stretch, four around Puerto Aventuras and Kantenah, and one each in Akumal, in Tulum and on Cozumel. One of the 21, Riu Palace Mexico in Playacar, is closed for a refurbishment that turns it adults-only. RIU gave September 2026 for the reopening, and its renovation notice was still up in late September, so ask me to confirm before you plan around it. Five of the 21 state a minimum age in our data: 18 at JOIA Paraíso, La Casa de la Playa, Riu Palace Mexico and UNICO 20°87°, and 16 at Hotel Xcaret Arte, where the FAQ says guests from 16 are accepted only when they travel with their parents or legal guardians. Three family resorts also have an adults-only section: Casa Fuego at Hotel Xcaret México, Heaven at Hard Rock Riviera Maya and the adults-only areas at Riu Palace Riviera Maya.

Which Riviera Maya all-inclusive resorts have a water park?

Six, and all six are family resorts. Three are on the Playa Paraiso and Maroma stretch: Iberostar Selection Paraíso Lindo and Iberostar Selection Paraíso Maya Suites, each with slides, a wave pool and a lazy river, and Nickelodeon Riviera Maya, whose six-acre Aqua Nick has seven water slides. Three are around Puerto Aventuras and Kantenah: Grand Palladium Colonial and Grand Palladium Kantenah each list a children's water park, and guests can use both hotels, while Hard Rock Riviera Maya includes Rockaway Bay, with nine slides for kids and teens, eight for young children and six high-speed slides with a 43-inch minimum height. Hard Rock says some attractions may be temporarily closed while the park is upgraded.

Is Cozumel part of the Riviera Maya, and how do you get there?

The Mexican Caribbean tourism site lists Cozumel as its own destination: the largest island in the Mexican Caribbean, 48 kilometers long, with San Miguel as its main town and 40 dive sites offshore. We keep its four all-inclusive resorts on this page so you can compare them with the mainland coast. The island has its own airport, Cozumel International Airport (CZM), and a ferry terminal. On the mainland, Playacar Palace puts itself five minutes from the Cozumel ferry in Playa del Carmen, and Hotel Xcaret Arte includes ferry tickets to Cozumel in its stay. Cozumel Palace puts itself about 15 minutes from the island's airport and 10 minutes from downtown San Miguel and the ferry pier.

Are there all-inclusive resorts on Holbox?

None on our list. The Mexican Caribbean tourism site describes Isla Holbox as an island 40 kilometers long with no paved roads or large buildings, where people get around by golf cart and bicycle, and it puts the island about two hours from Cancun International Airport. It mentions boutique hotels, and it gives whale-shark season as May to September. If you would like a few Holbox nights added to a Riviera Maya resort stay, ask me and I'll look at the options.

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Where these facts come from. Destination facts were checked in September 2026 against the sources below; resort details link to their own sources on each resort page.

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