Quintana Roo’s famed white-sand beaches are once again under siege from massive rafts of sargassum, the brown seaweed whose seasonal proliferation has steadily worsened in recent years.
Since last weekend, reports from the Sargassum Monitoring Network and local business owners confirm a sudden and dramatic uptick in macroalgae along the coast, driving visitors away from seaside restaurants and threatening revenues in a region still recovering from the pandemic slump.
Of the 100 beaches monitored across Quintana Roo, 35 currently register high levels of sargassum accumulation, with six showing moderate concentrations and 34 reporting low levels. Only five beaches remain entirely free of the algae. This marks one of the worst local outbreaks since monitoring began, underscoring how the issue has grown from a nuisance into a full-scale economic and environmental challenge.
In Cancún, authorities from the Federal Maritime Land Zone (Zofemat) report that Coral and Chac Mool beaches bear the brunt of the influx, necessitating the use of backhoes to keep the shoreline clear. Yet many resort-area tourists appear unfazed, continuing to sunbathe and swim despite the seaweed. “We’ve seen large piles, but it hasn’t dampened our vacation,” said one visitor, reflecting a split between guest indifference and local concern.
By contrast, Playa del Carmen’s beachfront restaurants are feeling the pinch. Business owners estimate occupancy at less than half its usual levels, attributing the drop to foul odors from decaying algae that waft through open-air dining areas. “Since Saturday, our seaside tables have been empty,” lamented one restaurateur. “People see the stench and move on.”
The worst-hit stretches extend well beyond Playa del Carmen. Along its shore, Punta Esmeralda, Playa Colosio, El Recodo, Fundadores, and the first section of Playa Car all report heavy sargassum landings. Tulum’s Xcacel–Xcacelito, Arco Maya, and Punta Piedra beaches face similar pressures, while on Cozumel the most affected spots include Punta Molas as well as Xhanan, El Castillo, Mezcalitos, Chumul, Chen Río, San Martín, and its lookout point.
Not all of the Mexican Caribbean is impacted equally. Some northern-zone destinations—Punta Mosquito, Holbox, Chiquilá, and Contoy Island—remain free of sargassum, offering tourists cleaner sands and clearer waters even at the height of the season. These pockets have seen a noticeable uptick in day-tripper traffic as travelers seek respite from the heavier accumulations elsewhere.
Data from the Sargassum Collected Monitoring System (Simsar) indicates that the total volume of seaweed floating offshore rose from 3,059 tonnes to 3,236 tonnes over the recent weekend, while cleanup crews have removed over 16,000 tonnes from Quintana Roo’s beaches so far this year. Such figures highlight both the scale of the problem and the herculean effort required to combat it.
In Playa del Carmen alone, more than 200 tonnes washed ashore in the most recent event, tarnishing the destination’s image at a critical time. Municipal authorities have deployed a 101-member cleaning team working in two shifts—6 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.—and seven backhoes to haul away the heavy biomass. Despite these resources, crews struggle to keep pace with the relentless influx.
Since January, Playa del Carmen has collected a total of 6,590 tonnes of sargassum, along with 203 tonnes of mixed garbage trapped in the seaweed mats. On average, workers clear between 150 and 200 tonnes of sargassum each day, a testament to both the severity of the bloom and the constant need for intervention to preserve the beaches’ appeal.
Even as a steady stream of both foreign and domestic tourists ventures into the sea, most choose to sunbathe on clearer shores, leaving beachfront vendors and service providers scrambling for sales. “They come, dip their toes, then move on,” said one beach-chair operator. “We need pristine sand to keep them here.”
Tulum’s tourism sector, already in the grips of a low season, has seen the sargassum crisis compound existing woes. Some 866 tonnes arrived between January and April 2025, blanketing public stretches like Punta Piedra and forcing Zofemat teams to resort to manual raking. Yet even tireless shoveling can’t fully restore the visual allure that lures vacationers.
“We’re operating at under 30 percent capacity,” said Alejandro May, a service provider at Punta Piedra. “People arrive, see the mess, and leave for cenotes or other attractions. For us, that’s lost revenue we can’t recover this season.”
Juan Manuel Ávila—known locally as “El Güero”—who runs electric scooter tours along the Riviera Maya, has felt the ripple effects despite his business being land-based. “Tourists snap photos of the sargassum, post them online, and suddenly everyone thinks the whole coast looks like this,” he explained. “It hurts every sector that relies on this image.”
With marine currents showing no sign of abating and sargassum mats continually washing ashore, the outlook for Quintana Roo’s tourism sector remains uncertain. Authorities warn that unless the region develops more robust long-term strategies—such as offshore booms, improved nutrient runoff controls, or innovative algae-repurposing initiatives—the annual cleanups will continue to strain public budgets and local livelihoods.