What Akumal is and who goes
Akumal is a shallow bay between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, known for the sea turtles that feed on the seagrass beds. It is not a resort town with nightlife or a shopping avenue: it is a run of quiet bays, condominiums and small hotels spread between the beach and Federal Highway 307, with the Yal-Ku lagoon at the northern end of the inlet and cenotes a short way inland.
That draws a fairly specific traveller: families renting a condominium with a kitchen for a week or two, divers, and people after somewhere quiet near the cenotes. Stays here tend to be long and the luggage heavy, and arriving straight from the terminal in your own vehicle avoids the changes and transfers with suitcases that any shared option imposes at the end of a long flight.
A shopping stop before you arrive
Many places to stay in Akumal are condominiums and villas with kitchens, and the shops within the area are limited compared with Playa del Carmen, which happens to sit on the way down from the airport. Since the vehicle is yours for the whole journey, a stop at a supermarket before arriving can be agreed in advance instead of having to sort it out the next day with no car.
It is worth mentioning when you book so the driver allows for that time within the run. It is a practical difference from the shared van or the bus, neither of which stops for anybody along the way: arriving with the groceries already done saves the first taxi of the holiday, and in an area with no taxi rank around the corner that is not always quick to arrange.
Inner roads and the trip back
North Akumal, Half Moon Bay and Aventuras Akumal are reached by internal roads off Highway 307 that are not always signposted from the carriageway. Public transport drops you at the junction, on the edge of the highway, and from there to your door is a stretch that is not short with suitcases in the heat. Our drivers go all the way in, to the hotel, the condominium or the villa.
For the return it pays to settle it from the start. Akumal has no taxi ranks on every corner as Playa del Carmen does, and finding a vehicle at the last minute for a morning flight can get complicated. With the round trip, $219.98 USD against $109.99 USD one way, the pick-up hour is worked out from your departing flight and confirmed the day before.