Playa Santa Fe is a stunning beach located just steps away from the world-famous Tulum Archaeological Zone in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Known for its wide, sandy shores and turquoise waters, Playa Santa Fe offers visitors an easy and free public access point to enjoy the beauty of the Riviera Maya coastline.
This beach is perfect for a relaxing day in the sun, whether you want to take a leisurely walk, swim in the clear waters, or simply soak up the atmosphere. Along the shoreline, several oceanfront bars and restaurants provide a variety of food and drinks, making it easy to enjoy a full day at the beach without leaving the area.
Playa Santa Fe combines natural beauty with convenience, offering a wide public beach area adjacent to the nearby beach clubs. Whether you’re visiting the Tulum ruins, exploring the Riviera Maya, or looking for a scenic spot to unwind, Playa Santa Fe delivers the perfect combination of relaxation, accessibility, and local flavor.
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Phil Rogers
in the last weekBe very careful parking in Tulum. Our rental car was towed late at night for being “too close to a corner” despite there being no signs or yellow lines anywhere. The police fine itself was reasonable, but the real issue is what happens next. You are sent to a third party impound company, Grupo Automotriz Riviera, where the charges suddenly jump to over 4000 pesos for a short tow and one night of storage. The breakdown includes questionable extras like “manoeuvres” and “conditioning” that clearly do not apply to a simple street tow. There is effectively no way to challenge it. Staff refuse to engage, close the window, and simply wait until you pay. This feels like a systemic setup between towing and impound rather than a fair process. The police should seriously reconsider the third party company they use. If you are driving in Tulum, avoid parking anywhere near corners or unclear areas, even without markings. Unfortunately this experience left a very negative impression of Tulum.
Eduardo Arias
a week agosentrycad
a week agoDamien San José
a week agoThe beach is magnificent, but it's impossible to access without going through Jaguar Park (and its entrance fee of over 300 pesos). Once there, you'll be bombarded with offers of snorkeling tours, priced between 150 and 300 pesos, to admire El Castillo from the water and explore the coral reef. While the experience offers the chance to see turtles, multicolored fish, and even rays, the state of the coral is alarming. Discolored and weakened, it seems doomed to disappear in the coming years... Mass tourism is gradually stifling the natural beauty that attracts so many visitors.
Jessica Laurea
3 weeks agoThis review is to give you instructions on how to get to the beach for free. We’ve seen the Tulum Ruins a couple of times so that wasn’t our purpose for this excursion. Here goes …. We were on our scooter and parked for free at the Tulum Ruins parking lot. Prior to entering the parking lot ignore all the sales people who appear to be helping you with parking, but actually selling you 1-hour boat tours for 600 MXN per person LOL. After entering the parking lot you will go through an outdoor mall. You can use the washrooms here … just follow the official signs (not the free baño signs leading you to a store). After you pass this outdoor mall you will see signs to the Public Access to the Beach (fyi 8am to 5pm). You will go through a checkpoint for your bags. Don’t bring single use plastics (eg Cristal water bottles … we bought a cheap 2-litre hard plastic water jug/bottle from Chedraui). And just to be safe I didn’t bring ziplocks too. They will stamp your wrist after this. Then you will walk for about 20 minutes to get to Playa Santa Fe. Easy peasy … you don’t have to pay a cent. From there you can walk to the next beaches …. Playa Pescadores etc. These beaches are lined with beach clubs … which don’t excite me really. Plenty of boat tours lining the shore. Vendors selling tours or products … not too pushy though. There was plenty of seaweed when we were there. Would I go back to this beach? No, but it was an experience and the water was beautiful.