Come Home With Photos of the Two of You
Riu Palace Mexico closed for renovation in the spring, and when it reopens in September it comes back as something it has never been: an adults-only resort, on the same Playacar beachfront, for a different kind of guest. That guest is a couple — a honeymoon, an anniversary, the first week in years with nobody else's schedule to keep. We already know how that week tends to go, because couples staying in Playacar tell us the same thing every time. One pair last winter counted their photos out for us: four hundred from the trip, eleven with both of them in the frame, and nine of those eleven shot at arm's length. You are booking this trip for the pictures you will still be looking at in ten years.
We've photographed thousands of sessions across Playa del Carmen, and Playacar gives couples a quiet advantage the crowded central beaches do not: it sits roughly three kilometres south of the busy stretch, on a calm run of public sand that belongs to almost nobody in the early hours. Six years and more than a thousand clients later, the sessions we shoot for couples here almost all happen in the same short morning window — not for the light, but because that is the hour the beach is still yours. When you check in to the reopened, adults-only Riu Palace Mexico, that private hour is the easiest thing we can hand you.
The Sessions Couples Will Book at Riu Palace Mexico
An adults-only resort tells us most of what we need to know before you even write: no toddler to wrangle, no three-generation lineup, no matching family shirts. It is two people, almost every time. These are the three sessions we expect to photograph most for couples staying at the reopened hotel — the same three we already shoot week after week for guests up and down Playacar.
Anniversaries
The trip is the gift; the photographs are the part that outlives it. Five years, ten, twenty-five — the number changes and the request never does: one unhurried hour, the two of you, dressed the way you dressed for the dinner you already booked. We shoot it early, so you are back with the whole day still in front of you. Our anniversary session guide shows how we pace an hour like that.
Honeymoons
You will spend the rest of your life describing this week to people who were not there. A honeymoon session is how you stop describing it and start showing it: an hour on the sand, still in the glow of it, before the tan lines and the sunburn and the last-day exhaustion set in. Early in the trip is best, and early in the day is better. Our honeymoon photoshoot guide covers when to book it and what to wear.
Adults-only escapes
No occasion, no announcement, nothing to celebrate except the first week in years that belongs to nobody but the two of you — and a preference for remembering it properly. This is the most relaxed of the three: a slow hour on the sand, gentle direction, and the two of you doing very little beyond being together. Our couples photoshoot guide covers outfits and timing.
Where Riu Palace Mexico Sits in Playacar — and Where We Meet You
The hotel stands beachfront in Condominio Playacar, the gated residential stretch just south of the town centre, about three kilometres from the busiest part of the Quinta Avenida. The sand at the water’s edge in front of Playacar is federal public zone, open by law, and that is where couples’ sessions happen. For a fully open, unhurried stretch we often meet a short ride north at Playa Fundadores, the public beach park at the foot of Avenida Juárez by the Portal Maya sculpture and the Cozumel ferry pier — 24-hour public access, and one of the easiest places in town to shoot without a crowd behind you.
The hour is the only thing we ask you to commit to. Early, before the day-beds and the beach vendors come out, the public sand near Playacar is quiet and effectively yours, and by the time it fills up you are back at the hotel with the rest of the day untouched. We send the exact meeting pin over WhatsApp the day before, so nothing has to fail between your alarm and the first frame.
Want one frame that belongs on a wall rather than in an album? Ask about our signature beach-gown editorial sessions in Playa del Carmen — metres of fabric in the morning breeze, made for exactly this kind of trip.
Simple Pricing, No Session Fee
Pricing is refreshingly simple: there is no session fee. You pay $15 USD per photo with a 10-photo minimum ($150 USD), or choose a group package from $200 USD if friends are travelling with you — so you only ever pay for the images you love. You can see everything we offer, and hundreds of recent sessions, on our Playa del Carmen photographer page.
Every hotel has its own rules about photography on the property. We know how each one works — message us and we’ll tell you exactly what your options are where you’re staying.
Almost nobody who books us has been photographed properly before, and there is nothing to apologise for — we direct the whole thing, and you can see how that turns out on our Playa del Carmen photographer page. Send us your dates and we will tell you which morning to keep free.
Book the Morning Before the Beach Wakes Up
Tell us your dates and what you are celebrating, and we will hold a morning for you. As the reopening fills the hotel, the early slots are the ones that go first.
Why Couples Here Book the First Hour
Everything we shoot for couples staying in Playacar happens in one short window — not for the light, but because that is the hour the public sand is still yours.
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You get the beach to yourselves
Before the day-beds come out, the public sand near Playacar is quiet — so your anniversary picture has the two of you in it and nobody else's afternoon behind you.
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You are back before breakfast
A short walk or ride to the public beach, an unhurried hour on the sand, and the day you actually planned starts on time.
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We direct the whole thing
Almost nobody who books us has done this before. We tell you where to stand and what to do with your hands, so the result looks like the two of you.
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You keep only what you love
There is no session fee. You see the full gallery afterwards and choose from it, which takes the pressure off the hour.
Couples Sessions at Riu Palace Mexico — FAQ
We are not models and we have never done this. Will it look awkward?
No, and it is the thing almost everyone apologises for in their first message. Practically nobody who books us has been photographed properly before. We direct the entire hour: where to stand, where to look, and when to simply talk to each other and ignore us. What comes out looks like the two of you, not like posing.
How much does a couples session near Riu Palace Mexico cost?
There is no session fee. You pay $15 USD per photo with a 10-photo minimum ($150 USD), or choose a group package from $200 USD if friends are travelling with you. You see the full gallery first and choose from it afterwards, so you only ever pay for the images you love.
The hotel reopens as adults-only — is a honeymoon or anniversary session a good fit?
It is the reason this page exists. Riu Palace Mexico reopens in September as an adults-only resort, which means the guest is almost always a couple. Anniversaries, honeymoons and quiet couples getaways are the three sessions we shoot most for guests staying along this beach.
Where do we meet you if we are staying in Playacar?
On the public federal-zone sand in front of Playacar, or a short ride north at Playa Fundadores — the public beach park by the Portal Maya sculpture and the Cozumel ferry pier, with 24-hour access. We send the exact pin over WhatsApp the day before.
Does it have to be in the morning?
It does not, but you should know the trade. This coast faces east, so there is no sunset over the water here. Mornings give you soft light and an empty beach; the hour before sunset is still beautiful, it just will not be quiet. Either way, plan on about an hour on the sand.