Punta Bete

Beyond Punta Maroma, a river spills into the sea, dividing the coastline. South of the split, Playa Xcalacoco (scala-coco) is a 7-km-long (5½-mile-long) beach dotted with bungalows; small, exclusive resort hotels; and thatch-roof restaurants, backing into dense jungle. The beach is beautiful, a more natural extension of Playa del Carmen, but the shore can be rocky. Some hotels here supply water shoes for swimming, and the Viceroy has a dock to enter deeper water.