El Camaleon Mayakoba: 2026 Update
On Mexico's Riviera Maya, El Camaleon at Mayakoba is the course that put Latin American golf on the professional map, a Greg Norman design that winds from jungle and mangrove corridors to open Caribbean coastline. Here is what travelling golfers should know for the 2026 season.
Photo: El Camaleón Golf Course at Mayakoba via Google.
The course: a chameleon on the Caribbean
El Camaleon is an 18 hole, par 72 Greg Norman design that opened in 2006 within the Mayakoba resort development on the Riviera Maya. Its name, Spanish for the chameleon, captures the way it changes character through the round, moving from enclosed jungle corridors to mangrove lined holes and open oceanfront, even featuring a cenote, a natural limestone sinkhole, along the opening fairway.
That variety is the appeal. Few resort courses shift so completely from hole to hole, and the combination of tropical setting and genuine strategic interest has made El Camaleon one of the most admired courses in Mexico and the wider Caribbean basin.
Why it matters for 2026
El Camaleon's professional pedigree is unmatched in the region. It became the first course in Latin America to host an official PGA Tour event, staging the Mayakoba Golf Classic from 2007 to 2022, and has since welcomed a remarkable range of professional golf. That tournament history means visitors play a course they have watched the best tackle on television.
For 2026 it remains the anchor round of any Riviera Maya golf trip, in resort ready condition and backed by the full Mayakoba hospitality. Pair it with the area's other courses and it headlines one of the strongest golf and beach combinations in the Americas.
How to plan a visit
El Camaleon sits about thirty minutes from Cancun airport and fifteen from Playa del Carmen, within the Mayakoba resort complex, which makes it easy to reach and easy to build a stay around. The Riviera Maya pairs golf with some of the best beaches and resorts in Mexico, so this is as much a holiday destination as a golf one.
The prime season runs through the drier, cooler winter months, peak time on the Riviera Maya, while summer is hotter and wetter. Treat any quoted green fee as indicative for 2026, check resort and tee time policy, and always confirm directly before booking.
Our take
Our take is that El Camaleon is the standout golf experience on the Riviera Maya, a genuinely interesting Greg Norman design wrapped in a world class beach resort setting, with a tournament history no other course in the region can match.
Plan it as the centrepiece of a winter golf and beach trip to the Mexican Caribbean, book through the resort in advance, and treat El Camaleon as the round that justifies the journey.
Plan your the Riviera Maya golf trip
From the jungle and coastline of El Camaleon to the beaches of the Riviera Maya, tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge builds and costs the trip, with no obligation.
Questions
Who designed El Camaleon at Mayakoba?
El Camaleon is an 18 hole, par 72 course designed by Greg Norman, opened in 2006 within the Mayakoba resort on Mexico's Riviera Maya. It winds through jungle, mangroves and Caribbean coastline and even features a cenote along the opening fairway.
What is El Camaleon's tournament history?
El Camaleon was the first course in Latin America to host an official PGA Tour event, staging the Mayakoba Golf Classic from 2007 to 2022, and has since welcomed a wide range of professional golf, giving it a pedigree unmatched in the region.
When is the best time to play El Camaleon?
The prime season is the drier, cooler winter, which is also peak time on the Riviera Maya, while summer is hotter and wetter. Treat any quoted green fee as indicative for 2026 and confirm directly with the resort before booking.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course, designer and tournament history details verified June 2026 from course and tour sources; conditions and green fees change, so always confirm directly before booking. Last reviewed June 2026.