Playa Xpu-Ha is a long bay of fine white sand on Mexico's Riviera Maya, about 25 minutes south of Playa del Carmen off Highway 307. In April 2026 it came 37th on the World's 50 Best Beaches list. A small inlet and a sandy bottom keep the water calmer than at most beaches on this coast. The sand is public, but most ways onto it cross private land. The main gate, La Playa Xpu-Ha at km 265, charges 200 pesos a person, and you can spend it on food and drink.
What the beach is like
Xpu-Ha (also written Xpu Há) runs for several kilometres between Puerto Aventuras and Akumal. Beach clubs, villas and all-inclusive resorts line the bay behind a fringe of palms. The Barceló Maya resort has its own cove at the northern end. The beach clubs are around km 265, where rows of thatched palapas and parasols face the shallows.
Xpu-Ha is not in Tulum. It is in the municipality of Playa del Carmen, and Tulum town is 42km further south. Hotels along this stretch often use Tulum's name, so check the kilometre marker rather than the address.
Is Xpu-Ha beach free?
The sand is free, but the way in usually isn't. Mexico's General Law of National Assets makes beaches and the first 20m of dry land behind them common property. It also says access to them cannot be blocked, restricted or made conditional, except in cases set out in the regulations.
In practice, once you are on the beach you can walk the shoreline and sit on the sand. What the clubs charge for is the road across their land, plus loungers, showers and toilets. Lonely Planet notes that most of the numbered access roads to the bay are private, so expect to pay at whichever gate you use.
What La Playa Xpu-Ha charges
La Playa Xpu-Ha at km 265 is the gate most guides send day visitors to, and it publishes its prices on its own website.
- Entry: 200 pesos (about €10) a person, which you can take at the gate as a prepaid bracelet that counts towards food and drink
- Loungers and umbrellas: extra charge
- Hours: every day of the year, 10am to 6.30pm
- Facilities: showers, toilets, palapas, a seafood restaurant and bar, and a craft shop
- Music: live music daily from 2.30pm
These details are from La Playa's site, checked November 2026. Other clubs along the bay, such as Xalmar and Serenity, set their own entry fees and minimum spends. Figures quoted for them online vary widely and are mostly undated, so ask at the gate.
Getting there from Playa del Carmen and Tulum
By car, Xpu-Ha is about 28km (around 25 minutes) south of central Playa del Carmen, 42km (35 to 40 minutes) north of Tulum and about 81km from Cancún airport. The beach is on the sea side of the divided highway. Drivers heading south have to make a retorno (U-turn) and come back north to the signed turn for La Playa at km 265.
By colectivo, take a Tulum-bound van from central Playa del Carmen. Vans leave when they are full, and you pay the driver in cash. The departure stand has moved over the years, so ask your hotel where it is now. Tell the driver "Xpu-Ha" when you get on.
Southbound vans drop you on the inland side, so you have to cross the highway on foot. Wait for a proper gap in the traffic. To return, flag a northbound van from the beach side, and leave yourself time before dark. Coming from Tulum is simpler, because northbound vans stop on the beach side.
Swimming and snorkelling
On a calm day the water is the main reason to come. It is shallow, warm and easy to walk into over sand. It is not calm every day, though: the World's 50 Best Beaches page warns that the sea is more likely to be rough in the windier months.
Don't count on lifeguards. The UK Foreign Office notes that some Mexican beaches are unpatrolled, so watch children closely and follow any flags.
World Beach Guide rates the snorkelling on the offshore reef. Bring your own mask. For turtles, Akumal, 15 minutes south, is the better bay. Its Centro Ecológico asks snorkellers to stay 3m away from them.
Sargassum and the best time to go
Xpu-Ha faces the open Caribbean, so it gets sargassum like the rest of this coast. The season usually runs from about April to October, according to the Mexican Navy's monitoring, with the heaviest landings between June and August. The 2026 season was the heaviest on record.
La Playa Xpu-Ha says it cleans its sand every day, but seaweed rotting offshore can still turn the sea brown.
December to March is the best bet, though not a guarantee: in 2026 the first landings came in January. These months are drier than summer and autumn, outside the June-to-November hurricane season and before the usual sargassum season. This winter, that means December 2026 to March 2027. La Playa opens at 10am, and arriving then gives you the best choice of shade.
On the day, check the sargassum traffic light (semáforo). There are two: the Navy's state-wide alert and a beach-by-beach map from SEMA, the state environment ministry. Go by SEMA's map, and look for recent photos on the Red de Monitoreo's Facebook page. On 8 October 2026, after the Navy had put the state on green, SEMA's map still showed 21 of 140 monitored beaches at the excessive level.
Cenote Azul and Cenote Cristalino
These two cenotes are side by side near km 266, just north of the beach on the inland side of Highway 307. At Cenote Azul, clear green water lies over flat limestone slabs, ringed by palms and jungle. Each charges its own entry, so check the price at the gate.
Is Xpu-Ha worth a stop between Playa and Tulum?
Yes, if you want calm, clear water and a long lunch, and you don't mind paying a club for a gate, a chair and a shower. Its score is modest for a world top-50 beach because resorts and clubs line the bay, sargassum can foul the water from April to October, and most ways in are paid gates. It suits families with young children who will stay in the shallows, and anyone in Playa del Carmen who wants calmer water 25 minutes away. Skip it if you want wild, empty sand or turtles from the beach. For turtles, Akumal is the better bay. Tulum adds clifftop ruins but far more people (see our Tulum Beach review).
The best way to do it is to go between December and March, check the sargassum map that morning and arrive at 10am. Take the 200-peso entry as the prepaid bracelet and spend it on lunch, then spend the afternoon at Cenote Azul, just north on the inland side of the highway. Our Cancún and Riviera Maya beach guide covers the rest of this coast, and the full ranking is in our World's 50 Best Beaches roundup.
