Where to stay in the Mexican Caribbean
The reef coast of the Riviera Maya and the freshwater lagoon of Bacalar
Maroma, A Belmond Hotel
Punta Maroma, Mexico
from €958 / night
Specific guides to The Mexican Caribbean
Focused comparisons to choose the right area and hotel for the trip you actually want.
Where to stay in Yucatán: Mérida, the coast or Bacalar
The peninsula is three trips in one: a colonial capital with its haciendas, a reef coast, and a freshwater lagoon near Belize. Six hotels, what each part is for, and how to put them together without spending the week on the road.
30 September 2026 · 9 min read
Yucatán, Oaxaca or Mexico City: a first trip to Mexico
Three regions, three different trips: Caribbean beaches and Maya cities, a food capital with a surf coast, and one of the great cities of the Americas. Who each one suits, how to join two in ten to fourteen days, and how long the flights between them take.
30 September 2026 · 8 min read
MICHELIN Key hotels in Mexico: the 2026 selection, region by region
Mexico has 98 hotels with a MICHELIN Key in 2026, nine more than a year ago. Where they are, which three hold three Keys, what changed, and the eight we rate.
3 October 2026 · 8 min read
The Mexican Caribbean: good to know
When is the best time to visit the Mexican Caribbean?
From December to April: dry, sunny and less humid. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November, with the highest risk in September and October; hotels stay open, but check the forecast and your insurance.
What is sargassum, and when does it arrive?
A brown seaweed that drifts in from the Atlantic and can pile up on Caribbean beaches, usually from spring to late summer, varying a great deal from year to year. The larger hotels clear their beaches every morning. Bacalar's lagoon is fresh water and is not affected.
Cancún, Tulum or Chetumal airport?
Cancún has the most international flights and suits the northern Riviera Maya — Maroma is 30 minutes away. Tulum's airport, open since December 2023, is closer to Xpu-Há and Tulum. Chetumal, 30 minutes from Bacalar, has domestic flights; from Cancún, Bacalar is about four and a half hours by road.
Do you need a car on the Riviera Maya?
Not for a beach stay: hotels arrange transfers. For cenotes, ruins such as Tulum and Cobá, and Bacalar, a car or a driver is the easiest option. The coastal highway is good, with frequent speed bumps.
Which hotels on the coast hold MICHELIN Keys?
Hotel Esencia is the only one in Quintana Roo with three Keys. Six hold two, Maroma among them, and fifteen hold one, including La Valise Bacalar (formerly Boca de Agua) in Bacalar.