Riviera Maya seaweed problem....
 

We loved our stay on soliman bay this past February. So much that we have already booked a return flight to visit the same spot in March 2016. I will admit that the most disappointing part of our trip was the unbelievable amount of seaweed being washed onto shore. We were renting a private home so of course there isn't a tractor that comes along and cleans up the huge mounds of seaweed every morning. It just keeps piling up, and I mean HIGH!! The locals were baffled by it and reported that is was very unusual. Hence our decision to book another trip to the same exact place. However, it's not to late for us to change our plans and choose another destination.....any ideas on other options???? We assumed that this was so rare it wouldn't last long and we would definitely not have this issue a year later. It sounds as though many of you disagree with my prediction in reading other posts. It would not be as big of an issue if we stayed in a hotel or condo but we truly loved soliman bay. The calm water was so great for our small children and we prefer to rent a home with a nice quiet beach as opposed to a large resort. Any thoughts or advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

People are still reporting HUGE amounts of sargassum throughout the Riviera Maya and some Caribbean Islands.
If you love calm water and quiet beaches, check out Turks and Caicos.
Who knows. by the time you go things might have improved in the Riviera Maya. I know the resorts are doing all they can to remove it, but it just keeps coming.

Just FYI, i was in both Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos last week and both are still having huge amounts of seaweed not only washed up at the shoreline but in the water. In order to get in the water to swim, you had to wade through very heavy seaweed the first 20 ft or so of the water to get past it.

I was there also in early June, and it was bad, but I think it was even worse last week. To the point where the man who helped me get my luggage up the stairs in the oceanfront hotel in Puerto Morelos apologized about the seaweed ( as if it was his fault).

I have had a condo in Playa del Carmen for 5 yrs and go down several times a year and have never seen seaweed like this. Most of the time there is no seaweed or very little. Who knows when the tide will turn and this will end.

Thanks so much for the feedback. That makes me really nervous to continue planning this vacation. Who knows it could clear up next week or continue on like this for months. We are beach lovers so if it is as bad in march as you just experienced last week that would seriously ruin our vacation. Thanks for the suggestion of Turks and Caicos but I think that may be a bit pricey for our budget. That's another thing we loved about riviera maya is how cost effective it is to travel there. Perhaps we should consider Costa Rica. We were there about eight years ago and really enjoyed it. I know the beaches are not as pristine as riviera maya but our children (ages 3 and 5) would love the wildlife. We live in Washington state so flights to Central America are better than Virgin Islands.

I haven't been there, but what about the beaches on Baja California part of Mexico? Cabo, etc. That would be closer and should also be fairly cheap. I wouldn't think they would have a bad seaweed problem. I know the beaches down near Puerto Vallarta aren't the same quality as the Riviera Maya (sand, etc.), but I think the ones north are somewhat better. see http://www.cabosanlucasbeaches.com/cabobeaches.htm

I think Mazatlan has had some crime problems in recent years, as I recall. Not sure the current situation. This article says it has improved http://www.sfgate.com/mexico/mexicom...ar-6018321.php

they have good beaches