Bahia Principe Akumal: An Affordable Family-Friendly Stay in Mexico

If you are looking for an affordable all-inclusive resort in Mexico, look no further than Bahia Principe Akumal.

This family-friendly resort is located within the larger Bahia Principe resort complex, where you’ll have access to sister resorts Bahia Principe Grand Tulum, Grand Coba, and the adults-only Sian Ka’an. The resort even has an adults only section for those traveling without children.

Whether you are looking for a family friendly resort in Mexico or are considering staying at one of the Bahia Principe resorts, keep reading for everything you need to know about Bahia Principe Akumal.

Bahia Principe Akumal: What You Need to Know

Bahia Principe Akumal, also known as Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal, is an all ages resort with a dedicated adults only pool area. As a guest, you’ll have access to the facilities and a la carte restaurants at the three other resorts, which are connected by a golf cart tram service.

The best way to book your stay is directly with the resort. Bahia Principe guarantees the best rate and offers a number of additional perks through their free loyalty program.

If you signup for the free loyalty program before booking, you will receive 10% off your stay – even on your very first stay! You’ll also have access to the app prior to your stay, so you can select your room location and make dinner reservations up to five days before your trip.

Bahia Principe Akumal: Location & How to Get There

Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal is located south of Cancun along Mexico’s Riviera Maya coast, near the town of Akumal. The resort is about an hour outside of Cancun, approximately halfway between Playa del Carmen and Tulum.

To get to the resort, you will need to fly into the Cancun International Airport (Airport Code: CUN). Cancun is a major international destination, so usually can find affordable flights from the US on major airlines like Southwest, Delta, American, and JetBlue.

Once you land in Cancun, you will need ground transportation to the resort. I highly recommend booking your transportation in advance, so you are not scammed by the many transportation vendors at the Cancun airport.

We booked directly through the resort at the time of our room booking. This cost us $150 roundtrip for a private transfer for two. Shared transfer options are available from $99.

All Inclusive at Bahia Principe Akumal

Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal is an all-inclusive resort, meaning all food, snacks, drinks, and alcohol is included in your nightly room rate. You will have access to a full buffet at Bahia Principe Akumal, as well at all the restaurants and bars in multi-resort the complex. Room service is included as well!

Your all-inclusive stay at Bahia Principe includes perks like:

• Access to all resorts within the Bahia Principe complex
• All food, beverage, alcohol, and snacks
• Room service and in-room minibar
• Lounge chairs, umbrellas, and towel service
• Entertainment and activities for adults and children
• Children’s club
• Free wifi

Other than your airfare, the only other costs you will need to be prepared for is airport transportation, extra experiences or services, and tips.

Bahia Principe Akumal: Lobby & Check In

When you arrive at the resort, you will check in at Akumal’s open air lobby. The Lobby Shop as well as the Lobby Bar are located here as well.

The lobby is located in the heart of the resort, close to the restaurants and main pool. The resort staff can transport you via golf cart to your room, as most of the buildings are a bit of a hike from the lobby.

There is also a golf cart train service that take you to the other Bahia Principe resorts in the complex. They do run on a schedule, with new trains arriving every five minutes or so. Upon arrival, the driver will shout out the location they will be heading to, or you can check out the route map to ensure you board the right train.

Bahia Principe Akumal: Rooms & Suites

Bahia Principe Akumal is a large resort, with over 758 rooms and suites, not including the other adjacent Bahia Principe resorts. Akumal’s thirty five buildings are three stories tall, and do not include an elevator.

The three Superior class rooms are designed for families, and can typically accommodate two adults and two children, or three adults and one child. The Deluxe rooms are located in the adults only section of the resort, and do not allow children. There can be up to three adults in these rooms.

In 2024, Bahia Principe Akumal introduced three entirely new room classes: Junior Suite Premium, Junior Suite Deluxe Swim Up, and the 2 Bedroom Suite. These are newly renovated and decorated in a modern and luxe Mayan-inspired style.

Bahia Principe Akumal: Pools

There are three pools total at Akumal: the Quiet Pool, the Activities Pool, and the Adults Only Pool. Additionally, there are several jacuzzis throughout the property.

The Quiet Pool is located just outside of the lobby area. It is shaped similarly to a river, and winds around the front of the property. This pool is the best spot to relax and unwind at Akumal.

The Activities Pool is large and where most the action takes place, as well as daily entertainment. Here you can enjoy a livelier environment and activities such as water aerobics.

And for those searching for a bit of an adults only haven, the Adults Only Pool at the far end of the resort is a great spot to take a break from the family fun.

Bahia Principe Akumal: Beach

Bahia Principe Akumal has both a family friendly beach area as well as an adults only beach area. The family friendly beach is located at the north end of the resort, left and around the corner from the main pool outside of the lobby.

This is one of the nicer stretches of beaches that we have seen at a resort along Riviera Maya. The beach has calm and clear water and has a lagoon-like feel. While it does get very crowded with families, we actually preferred wading in the water at this beach over the adult beach areas at the resort.

This stretch of beach has ample lounge chairs, plenty of palapas for shade, and a beach bar close by for drinks. There is even a small dock that makes for a great photo op – especially at sunrise.

If you head further south, the next beach area is located between by the Frutos Del Mar restaurant. I believe this is an adults only area intended for guests coming over from Sian Ka’an. While it was quiet and uncrowded, the water was incredibly rocky, and it was hard to get in the water – even with water shoes.

And at the southernmost end of the resort, you’ll find a beach area with a small lagoon directly in front of the adults only pool and the Los Corales restaurant. While we didn’t personally hang out in this area, I imagine it is very convenient for the adults only guests of Akumal.

During our stay, Bahia Principe Akumal’s beach had very little sargassum and it was very calm and clear. Interestingly, the Bahia Principe Grand Tulum’s beach was plagued by it and was basically unusable.

Bahia Principe Akumal: Restaurants & Bars

Bahia Principe Akumal has seven different restaurants on its property, including a buffet, pool restaurant, beach restaurant, and a la carte restaurants. Guests also have access to the a la carte restaurants at the other Bahia Principe resorts as well.

During our stay, we dined at two of the restaurants at Bahia Principe Akumal. Our first dinner was at Los Corales, a rodizio style steakhouse restaurant. Our steaks were excellent, and we enjoyed the open air dining venue near the adults pool.

We also enjoyed a sea food dinner at Frutos Del Mar. As were were dining as a couple, we were sat at a table set up with romantic decor and “Love” block letters, which was a nice touch. I had the catch of the day, which was delicious, and David reported his Caribbean Fried Fish was also excellent.

In addition the restaurants, there are eight bars at the resort. There is a lobby bar, a sports bar, a beach bar, and five pool bars throughout the property. There is also a coffee shop.

Bahia Principe Akumal: Activities & Entertainment

Bahia Principe Akumal offers daily entertainment and activities for both children and adults. For the kids, the resort has the Bahia Scouts Kid’s Club as well as the Children’s Water Park located at the adjacent Grand Coba resort.

Adults may be more interested in the Bahia Spa & Gym or the Riviera Maya Golf Club, where resort guests enjoy an exclusive discount. Water activities are available as well at the Scubaquatic Activity Center.

At night, live entertainment and music take center stage by the pool. It was perfect for sitting outside, enjoying the atmosphere with a drink in hand. The resort also schedules entertainment shows, though we weren’t able to see one during our brief stay.

Bahia Principe Akumal: Vibe & Demographics

Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal is a family friendly resort, so expect to see a large number of families and children at the resort. While we did mostly see families, there were still many couples and large friend groups at the resort as well.

The resort is a perfect choice if you are traveling with children and looking for an affordable family friendly all inclusive resort in Mexico. If you are part of a multi-generational group, Akumal is a great choice as well due to the dedicated adults only area and access to the adults only Sian Ka’an resort.

Overall, we found Bahia Principe Akumal to be a very budget friendly resort and really enjoyed the reciprocal access among the four Bahia Principe resorts.

Bahia Principe Akumal Video

Interested in a view of the Bahia Principe Akumal resort from above? Check out our drone footage video YouTube! If you found this post helpful, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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