Riviera Maya Rainy Season

Uploaded on September 19th, 2006 by Tortuga.
Categories: Travel tips.

A cheap Akumal hotel is harder to find any time during the year but your best chance to get one is during low season, though you risk the chance of rain.

There are only two seasons in the Riviera Maya of the Yucatan - rainy and dry. High season or dry season begins around mid-December and lasts until the week after Easter. The weather during this time is around 80 degrees and every day is sunny. This is peak season because there are more tourists in town and because hotel prices and shop prices “peak” as well. Everything is more expensive during the winter months and you must make reservations well in advance.

Cheap Akumal hotel

Now it used to be, during the low or rainy season, April through November, accommodations are half the cost and shop owners are more willing to come down on their prices - up to 50%. As Akumal becomes more popular, there is less and less of a low season here and more difficult to get such big discounts on accommodations. However, there are definitely fewer tourists in town which makes for a more pleasurable vacation and there is a better chance for you securing a cheap Akumal hotel or at least a better chance for your desired accommodation being available.

The Riviera Maya rainy season is between April through November. Often you luck out and have beautiful sunny days. But you risk your entire vacation week having dreary skies.

The down side is that while the prices and attendance may drop, the temperatures can rise to 110 degrees and you run the risk of rainy days and/or a hurricane. It is a trade off. Travelers are getting hip to this and the “low” season is getting shorter every year.

Here’s a tip to think about. Another factor to consider which many vacationers do not: the temperature of the water. Although December, January, February, being the heart of high season, are extremely popular months for tourists flocking to the Riviera Maya — partly due to the weather temperatures being so pleasant — think about whether the water temperature matters to you.

A close friend of mine vows she would never take a vacation to Akumal during the high season simply because the water is too cold during these “winter” months. There is certainly no winter in Akumal — it is extremely pleasant here while during winter months that may be bringing snow to your neck of the woods where you live. But the ocean water here may be too cold during those months to be able to swim and snorkel Akumal’s waters comfortably. And the private pool that came with your villa may only serve as decoration.

If you vacation during the Akumal high season, you will miss out on the uniqueness of jumping in the Yucatan’s cenotes because — though cenote water is always freezing — the ice-cold splash is refreshing to your body when you’ve been baking under the scorching sun.

Unique to the geography of this area are cenotes — or natural sinkholes — which the Mayans believed to be sacred wells of the gods. Tourists should jump in one or more of the area’s cenotes. The water is clear, provides interesting snorkeling, but be warned it is chilly! An ice-cold dip in a cenote is fine in the summer months during sweltering heat. It makes for a nice balance to tour the ruins under the scorching sun but then dive into a nearby cenote and let the freezing water shock your body with refreshment. The water is ice cold in these sinkholes summer or winter, but in the high season winter months, the cool weather makes it too unpleasant to take a dip in a cenote.

Once again, it’s a trade off. It’s what’s most important to you. Pleasant weather or a hot baking sun? Full accommodations or fewer people in town? Too cold to swim or snorkel or so hot that it’s a nice jolt to splash into freezing water?

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• Akumal Tip #028 - Private romantic sunset cruise

• Rental Property Insider’s Advice: Akumal properties for rent

• Akumal Mexico in Quintana Roo on the Riviera Maya

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• Akumal Tip #011 - Buying fresh fruits and vegetables locally

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