The trip
Overview
The Riviera Maya answers the long-haul golf question with the classic formula: seven nights, four rounds, everything on the room key. The coastline south of Cancun stacks beachfront all-inclusive resorts against a course pool with real pedigree — El Camaleon at Mayakoba hosted the PGA Tour for years, its fairways running through mangrove, jungle and a mid-fairway cenote that television never quite did justice.
Around the headline round sit Riviera Cancun's Nicklaus design near the airport, the Iberostar course at Playa Paraiso and the jungle corridors of the newer clubs inland — we place the four rounds by availability and your appetite for a second El Camaleon attempt. Between them: cenote swims, Tulum's clifftop ruins and a beach that runs the length of the state.
Routing from Dubai is one-stop through a European or North American hub, and worth the miles precisely because the week is prepaid. Every course remains a suggested set, requested and verified before you book.
Highlights
- ✦El Camaleon Mayakoba — long-time PGA Tour host with its fairway cenote
- ✦Three further rounds from the Riviera course pool
- ✦All-inclusive beachfront base south of Cancun
- ✦Cenote swimming and the Tulum ruins on rest days
- ✦Seven-night, four-round shape — the long-haul golf standard
Who it suits
- ●Golf groups wanting the fixed-cost, long-haul week done properly
- ●Mixed parties — the all-inclusive resort carries non-golfers effortlessly
- ●Golfers collecting former tour venues in warm places
Why this journey works
- ✓The 7-night, 4-round shape is the proven long-haul formula
- ✓El Camaleon gives the week a genuine tour-venue anchor
- ✓All-inclusive board means the only variable left is your score
Day by day
Days 1–2
The long way to the easy week
Fly from Dubai with a single connection into Cancun, then transfer south along the coast road to the resort — Playa del Carmen and Mayakoba-adjacent stretches keep golf transfers shortest. Day two is deliberately empty: beach, pool, and the first proper night's sleep on Mexico time.
Days 3–4
El Camaleon and a cenote day
The headline round at El Camaleon — mangrove corridors, ocean glimpses and the cenote gaping in the seventh fairway. Day four swaps golf for the real cenotes: a guided swim in the caverns inland, back for a beach afternoon.
Days 5–6
The course pool, two more cards
Rounds two and three from the pool — Riviera Cancun's Nicklaus layout and the Iberostar Playa Paraiso course are the usual pairing, placed by availability. Evenings alternate between the resort's restaurants and a Playa del Carmen night on Quinta Avenida.
Days 7–8
Final round, Tulum, home
The closing round goes to the group vote — a second El Camaleon is the common answer — with the last free half-day for Tulum's clifftop ruins. Fly out of Cancun the next morning; you are back in Dubai a calendar day later, tanned and prepaid.
The golf
Rounds
4
Handicap
No formal certificate generally required — confirmed per club at quote stage
Buggies
Buggies are typically mandatory and bundled with green fees in the region — confirmed at quote stage
Clubs
Club carriage quoted through to Cancun; hire sets widely available
El Camaleon Mayakoba
The long-time PGA Tour host — mangrove, jungle and a cenote mid-fairway; the round the week is built around. Access unverified — confirmed at booking.
Riviera Cancun Golf Club
Nicklaus design near the airport end of the coast, the usual second card. Access unverified — confirmed at booking.
Iberostar Cancun or Playa Paraiso
The third round is placed within the Iberostar course pool by availability. Access unverified — confirmed at booking.
Fourth round — pool or encore
Group's choice between a new course from the pool or a second El Camaleon tee time. Access unverified — confirmed at booking.
Tee times are requested and confirmed at booking — we never guarantee a tee time until the course has.
For non-golfers
When to go
November to April is the Riviera Maya dry season and the golf window that matters — warm, breezy and largely rain-free, aligning neatly with the UAE winter. May onward turns hotter and more humid, and the September–October hurricane-season core is when we route groups elsewhere. Christmas and Easter book furthest ahead.
Planning around seasons, regions and style? Read the full Mexico destination guide →
What’s included
- ✓Return flights from Dubai with one connection
- ✓Seven nights all-inclusive in a beachfront Riviera Maya resort
- ✓Four rounds of golf with pre-booked tee times once confirmed
- ✓Golf transfers on playing days
- ✓PCT golf travel consultant support
Not included
- —Buggies and caddies where not bundled by the course
- —Golf club hire
- —Travel insurance
- —Personal spending
Ways to extend it
- +Chichen Itza day trip with a private guide
- +Two nights in a Tulum boutique hotel to finish
- +Add a fifth round at a jungle course inland
Gallery
