Venue Guide
Your Wedding at
Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya
Akumal, Riviera Maya
An adults-only, all-suite resort on the turtle bay at Akumal, in the middle of the Riviera Maya about an hour and a quarter south of Cancun airport, with ten wedding venues running from a fifteen-guest garden to a four-hundred-seat ballroom.
Check your dateWhat couples ask first
5 figures, each with the caveat that comes with it.
- 1.1Outside photographers
- Only photography and hair-and-makeup vendors may come from outside, and they carry a per-company fee published anywhere from USD 300 to USD 1,000 depending on the year and source.
- 1.2Capacity
- Ten venues run from a fifteen-guest garden to 200 seated for a ceremony and 400 at a reception.
- 1.3Wedding packages
- USD 1,599 to 12,649 for 2 to 79 guests, then about USD 120 per extra guest.Published rate. Confirm with the venue.
- 1.4Best months
- December through April is the sweet spot, with the dry season, the lowest sargassum risk, and the only months when beach receptions are released.
- 1.5Airport transfer
- About an hour and a quarter south of Cancun International on Highway 307.
What couples choose it for
- 2.1
Green sea turtles feed in the calm, clear water directly off the resort's beach, guests borrow goggles at the water-sports desk and snorkel with them, and the world's second-largest barrier reef sits 150 meters offshore.
- 2.2
Every one of the 434 suites has a private furnished balcony or terrace and a two-person hot tub in the bathroom, with swim-out suites on the ground floor, so guests are housed as well as the couple.
- 2.3
The mid-coast position puts Playa del Carmen twenty minutes away and the Tulum ruins fifteen, with the cenote system and the eco-parks in easy reach, so the wedding week fills itself without long bus days.
- 2.4
An 18,000-square-foot spa carries a full hydrotherapy circuit and a beauty salon with a dedicated bridal section, so the wedding morning happens on property without improvisation.
- 2.5
The property is telegenic enough that The Bachelor filmed here in 2024.
Where you would actually get married
Ceremony
3.1Plaza Akumal
An open-air terrace seating 200 for a ceremony, 500 for a cocktail hour and 400 for dinner, so one space can carry the whole day.
3.2Central Beach
A barefoot ceremony on the sand for up to 200.
3.3The Arch
A garden terrace under a shading arch structure, listed for up to 200, the stylish non-beach ceremony option.
3.4Beach Pergola
A beachfront pergola with the Caribbean directly behind you, listed for ceremonies up to 110.
3.5Secret Garden
A lush enclosed garden for a fifteen-guest ceremony, the most intimate spot on the property.
Reception
3.6Grand Ballroom
Chandeliers, air conditioning and seating for 400, the largest indoor wedding room at any Secrets in Mexico.
3.7Sea Side Garden
Swaying palms and a manicured lawn, 450 for a cocktail hour and 250 for dinner.
3.8Lagoon Pool Side
A pool backdrop and a hard deck surface made for dancing in heels; 200 for cocktails, 250 for dinner, music to 11 pm.
3.9Desires Terrace
A sleek terrace for a 120-guest cocktail hour, used as the cocktail stop in documented weddings here.
3.10Coco Cafe Deck and Yalku Garden
40 to 80 for cocktails, dinners of 30 to 40, music to 10 pm.
When another venue fits better
Every point is drawn from the venue's own published terms and documented weddings. None of it makes this a bad venue.
- You want children at the wedding.The resort is adults-only with no exceptions for wedding parties, so flower girls, ring bearers and guests' kids cannot attend. Families in the group need a different venue.
- You want dinner on the sand in summer.Beach receptions are only released December through April because of turtle nesting season. From May to November the sand is ceremony-only and dinner moves to the plaza, gardens or ballroom.
- You are booking for the beach alone.Akumal's open, east-facing coast is among the hardest-hit for sargassum on this coastline, with May through October the peak. A summer beach that sold you the resort is not guaranteed.
- You want the coordinator's full attention on your day.The resort books two and sometimes three weddings a day, so ceremony slots, photo locations and coordination are shared. The slot has to be locked early rather than left flexible.
- You want the headline venues without extra fees.Plaza Akumal, Central Beach, the Arch and the Coco Cafe Deck all carry a venue fee on top of whatever package you choose, and only photography and hair-and-makeup vendors may come from outside, with a per-company fee.
- You have a short runway or a small room block.Every wedding must be booked at least 30 days out, and the 79-guest top package needs 75 cumulative paid room nights and about a year of lead time.
The honest considerations
- The resort is adults-only, so guests cannot bring children.
- Dinner on the sand is only released December through April because of turtle nesting; the rest of the year the beach is ceremony-only.
- Akumal's open coast is among the hardest-hit for sargassum, with May through October the peak.
- The resort books two and sometimes three weddings a day, so slots, photo locations and coordination are shared.
- Plaza Akumal, Central Beach, the Arch and the Coco Cafe Deck carry a venue fee on top of any package.
- Every wedding books at least 30 days out, and the 79-guest top tier needs 75 room nights and about a year of lead.
Arrival, and where you get ready
- 6.1Fly into Cancun, or consider Tulum
- Cancun International has the direct routes from the US and Canada. Tulum International is actually the closer field, about an hour north of it, and can win for guests connecting through Mexico City.
- 6.2Drive south
- About an hour and a quarter from Cancun International down Highway 307, past Playa del Carmen. The resort entrance is on the Akumal stretch, twenty minutes past Playa and fifteen short of the Tulum ruins.
- 6.3Tell guests
- Send the resort's own map pin. Four Secrets properties sit on this coast, Moxche, Riviera Cancun, Maroma Beach and this one, and a guest searching the brand name can be routed to the wrong resort an hour away.
- 6.4At the airport
- Ignore anyone offering a ride between the arrivals door and the curb, however official they look. Only pre-arranged and federally authorized transport may pick up at the terminal, and the walk-up offers are where the overcharge stories come from. Ride-hailing apps work for the trip back to the airport but are unreliable for arrivals, so do not plan a pickup around one.
- 6.5Book the drive before you fly
- Reserve a private transfer in advance: the driver meets you with a name sign, at a fixed price agreed up front, and tracks your flight if it runs late. We use Private Driver Cancun, WhatsApp +52 984 132 3989, mixofcultures.com. USA Transfers and eTransfers are two long-established operators for larger guest lists.
Where you get ready
Details below come from the resort's published spa and package material and from planners who sell the property, not from our own coverage; confirm with the wedding office.
- The spa's bridal salonThe 18,000-square-foot spa carries a full beauty salon with a dedicated bridal section. Hair, makeup, manicures and a hydrotherapy circuit in one place on the wedding morning.
- The suitesAll 434 suites have a private furnished balcony or terrace and a two-person hot tub; upper categories add separate living rooms and floor-to-ceiling ocean views with room to host a wedding party. Wedding packages include a complimentary room for the bride or groom the night before the wedding.
What to ask the wedding office
- 6.6
What is the current outside vendor fee for photography, in writing? Published figures run USD 300 to 1,000 depending on year and source.
- 6.7
Which venues carry a venue fee on our date, and how much?
- 6.8
Is a beach reception available for our date, given the December-to-April turtle rule?
- 6.9
How many other weddings share our date, and which ceremony slots remain?
- 6.10
How are the 75 room nights counted for the top tier, and what happens if we fall short?
How the light works at Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya
This coast faces east over the bay, so the sun rises out of the water in front of the resort and sets behind it. A sunrise session on this sand, with turtles feeding just offshore, is an option almost no other venue can match. Late afternoon puts soft light on the beach with the sun behind the property rather than in anyone's eyes, and the plaza and garden venues carry shade through the hottest hours.
The best time to start your ceremony
Arch's own rule for this coast is to begin the ceremony about 90 minutes before sunset, which leaves the vows in soft light and still keeps time for portraits afterwards. Start times are rounded down to the half hour. Akumal, Quintana Roo. UTC-5 all year: the state left daylight saving in 2015. Times are town level, so they run within a couple of minutes of the property.
- 4:30 pm
- January, October, November, December
Sunset around 6:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- February, March, September
Sunset around 6:30 pm - 5:30 pm
- April, May, August
Sunset around 7:00 pm - 6:00 pm
- June, July
Sunset around 7:30 pm
Planning a wedding at Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya?
We are based in Playa del Carmen, so there is no travel fee anywhere in Cancun or the Riviera Maya.