Come Home With One Photo of All of You
You booked Hotel Riu Tequila because it holds the whole family under one roof — grandparents, parents, a couple of cousins and the kids, all on the same all-inclusive week in Playacar. Then the week runs the way these weeks always run. The messages we get from families staying here open the same way almost every time: a mother wrote to us last spring — fourteen of them, three generations, one long table at dinner — and said it plainly, "we have hundreds of photos and there isn't one with all of us in it." The pictures you actually flew down for are the ones nobody inside your own family can take.
We've photographed thousands of sessions across Playa del Carmen, and for families staying inside Playacar the answer is almost always the same: you don't have a beach of your own here, so a beach session asks nothing new of you. You already head out to the sea every day — the only question is which stretch of sand, and that is the one decision we make for you. Six years and more than a thousand clients later, that hour is still the easiest thing we can hand a family.
Three Sessions Every Riu Tequila Family Books
Almost everyone who writes to us from this resort is travelling with people they don’t get in one place often enough — three generations in a block of rooms, cousins meeting for the first time, a family that only lines up like this once a year. These are the three sessions we photograph most for guests staying here.
Family portraits
The one everybody actually wants: all of you, in focus, in the same frame — the picture that ends up printed and framed instead of lost in a camera roll. We build the full group first, then split it into parents-with-kids and grandparents-with-grandkids without moving anyone twice, so nobody is stuck holding a phone. Our family photoshoot guide for Playa del Carmen covers outfits and how an hour on the sand really goes.
The multi-generation trip
Grandparents in four pictures, the kids in four hundred, and not one frame with everybody in it — someone always ends up behind the camera. This is what we get asked for most from a hotel this size, which is why we ask for a headcount in the first message: a group of fourteen needs a different piece of beach than a group of five. Our group session guide shows how we pace a shoot that big.
Everyday vacation memories
Not every family wants a lined-up portrait — some just want the week remembered the way it actually felt: kids in the shallows, someone buried in sand, the walk back with wet feet and melting ice cream. We shoot it loose and let it happen, and those unposed frames are the ones most families end up loving best. Our vacation photoshoot guide covers how a relaxed hour on the beach comes together.
How We Get Your Family to the Open Sand
Playacar keeps Riu Tequila a short way back from the water — about 450 metres, a ten-minute walk down a shaded path or the quick shuttle you already know by heart, which is the point: you build beach time into every day here anyway. For the session we don’t use the resort’s own strip; we take you to open public sand instead, where a fourteen-person lineup has room to breathe and the coast behind you isn’t a wall of loungers. We meet at Playa Fundadores, the free public beach at the north edge of town — nothing to book, and nothing that can cancel your morning.
It is a short hop from Playacar — roughly three kilometres we’d rather your family didn’t sort out half-asleep, so for couples or groups of up to four we can arrange to pick you up, and we send the exact pin over WhatsApp the day before. Open sand earns its place for one reason above the rest: with a big family, room matters — everyone fits, the little ones can run without a lounger in the way, and the whole three-generation group gets shot properly instead of squeezed against the crowd.
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 a trip like this one.
No Session Fee, No Surprises
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 when the whole family wants in — 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 they usually apologise for it in the first message. 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 your headcount, and we will tell you which morning to keep free.
Ready to Get the Whole Family in One Frame?
Tell us your dates and how many of you are travelling, and we will hold a morning for your family. The early slots go first, and they go fastest in the weeks the whole family flies in.
Why Riu Tequila Families Book the Open Beach
Everything we shoot for families staying at Riu Tequila happens on open public sand — not the resort’s own strip, but the beach that gives a big family portrait the room it needs.
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Everybody fits in the frame
Open public sand gives a fourteen-person, three-generation lineup room to stand properly instead of pressed against a wall of loungers — and the cousins still have space to run.
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We pick the beach, you skip the planning
You don't have a beach of your own in Playacar, so we choose the public sand that photographs best and sort the short ride — one less thing to organise on a family trip.
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We direct the whole thing
Almost nobody who books us has done this before. We tell everyone where to stand and what to do with their hands, so it looks like your family, not a school photo.
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You keep only what you love
There is no session fee. You choose from the full gallery afterwards, which takes the pressure off the hour — useful when a toddler is setting the schedule.
Family Sessions at Hotel Riu Tequila — FAQ
We are not photogenic and the kids never sit still. Will the photos actually work?
Yes, and it is the thing almost everyone apologises for in the 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 just let the kids run — and the frames parents end up printing are almost never the ones where everybody stood still. What comes out looks like your family, not a pose.
How much does a family session near Hotel Riu Tequila 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 when the whole family wants in. You see the full gallery first and choose from it afterwards, so you only ever pay for the images you love.
There are fourteen of us across three generations. Can you photograph a group that size?
Yes — multi-generation groups are what we photograph most for guests of this resort. Tell us the headcount in your first message and we will pick the stretch of public sand that fits it. We build the full lineup first, then break it into parents, siblings and grandparents-with-grandkids without moving anyone twice.
Where do we meet you if we are staying at Riu Tequila?
At Playa Fundadores, the free public beach at the north edge of Playa del Carmen — no resort access needed and nothing to book. It is a short ride from Playacar, so we send the exact pin over WhatsApp the day before, and for couples or groups of up to four we can arrange to pick you up.
Can we do it in the afternoon instead of the morning?
You can, though it is worth knowing the trade. This coast faces east, so there is no sunset over the water here. Mornings give you soft light and an emptier beach; late afternoon is still lovely, just not quiet. Either way, plan on about an hour on the sand.