Every gym in Santa Teresa and Playa Carmen compared: ACTIVO, Central Gym, Real Training, the Lifeguards Gym, Somos Sweat Den, Sol y Mar, the Outdoor Beach Gym and DFI Surf Training, with 2026 day pass, weekly and monthly prices, hours, equipment, classes and which ones have air conditioning.
A gym day pass in Santa Teresa costs $10 to $45 in 2026 and a month runs $70 to $260, depending on whether you want a bare weights floor or classes plus a sauna and ice bath. ACTIVO is the best all-round gym, Central Gym at Playa Carmen is the one with air conditioning, and the Lifeguards Gym is the cheapest and the one where your money funds the beach towers.
The short version
Santa Teresa has more gyms than a town this size has any right to, because everyone here is either training for surf or recovering from it. ACTIVO is the established fitness centre with published prices from $15 a day. Central Gym at Playa Carmen is the newest, with the only air conditioned floor in town. Real Training, upstairs at Super Ronny 1, is the small group strength and conditioning gym with a $99 month. The Lifeguards Gym is an open air jungle gym at $10 a day where every pass funds the volunteer lifeguards. Somos Sweat Den is the open air gym and sauna on the House of Somos campus, and DFI Surf Training, in the same building, is the surf specific coaching programme.
Two things to know before you pick. Most floors are open air, which at 33 degrees in March is a real consideration, and most gyms sell recovery (sauna and ice bath) as part of the pass rather than as a separate spa visit.
ACTIVO Fitness Center
ACTIVO is 100 metres north of Super Hacienda on the main road in Santa Teresa, open 6am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and 6am to noon on Sunday, with a 4.9 Google rating from 158 reviews. It is a proper fitness centre: an air conditioned machine and weights room for independent training, a functional training floor with coached group classes, sauna and ice baths, showers, and a coffee and juice bar. Classes are booked in the ACTIVO app.
The 2026 price list is the clearest in town. Gym only: $15 a day, $60 a week, $99 a month. Functional classes only: $20 a class, $70 a week, $120 a month, $150 for a ten pack valid three months, $330 for three months. Recovery only (ice bath, hot bath, sauna): $30 a day, $85 a week, $135 for ten sessions, $175 a month. All included (gym, classes, recovery): $45 a day, $140 a week, $260 a month, or $165 a month for gym plus classes without recovery. Who it suits: anyone staying a week or more who wants machines, classes, and a cold plunge under one roof, and early risers, since it opens at 6am. The caveat: it is the busiest gym in town at 7am and 5pm in high season, and the recovery add on doubles the monthly price.
Central Gym Santa Teresa
Central Gym at Playa Carmen is the newest gym on the coast and the one serious lifters point to: full plate loaded racks, dumbbells, functional rigs, and an indoor air conditioned floor, which no other gym here offers. It is open 7am to 9pm every day and holds a 4.9 Google rating from 29 reviews. Every membership includes the spa with sauna and ice bath, and the gym has run a 10% discount on the monthly rate for new sign ups this year.
Prices are on the gym's Instagram rather than a website, and day passes and weekly memberships are available alongside the monthly. Expect the day pass to sit around the $15 local rate and the month near ACTIVO's gym only price, and message on WhatsApp for the current number. Who it suits: anyone who lifts heavy, anyone who cannot train in the heat, and people staying at the cruce end of town. The caveat: quieter and smaller than ACTIVO, with no coached classes, so it is a floor rather than a programme.
Real Training Santa Teresa
Real Training is a strength and conditioning gym on the second floor at Super Ronny 1, next to the old Selina South at Playa Carmen, run by Marco, and it is the closest thing Santa Teresa has to a CrossFit style box. The programme is small group coached classes: Real Training (60 minutes, strength, conditioning, and technique), Integral Strength (60 minutes, structured strength in a small group), and Open Gym for your own programme with all the equipment. The site describes evidence based strength and conditioning with functional movement, mobility, and cardio, adapted to each level, and self guided access every day from 5am to 10pm. Google reviews are 5.0 from 17.
The published monthly pass is $99, with day, weekly, and two week passes available, and drop ins reported at about $15. Personal training is available at the gym or at your villa. Who it suits: anyone who wants to be coached rather than left alone with a rack, and people who miss their box at home. The caveat: it is a small space upstairs, so classes have a cap and the popular morning slots fill in high season.
Santa Teresa Lifeguards Gym
The Lifeguards Gym is an open air jungle gym 100 metres north of the football field in the centre of Santa Teresa, open 7am to 8pm every day, and it is run by the Santa Teresa Lifeguards association, so every pass is a donation that pays for the lifeguard towers, rescue gear, and the professional volunteer lifeguards on Playa Carmen and Santa Teresa. The equipment is strength machines, free weights, kettlebells, spin bikes, plyo boxes, and balls, with parking, restrooms, and showers.
Prices are the cheapest on the coast and are bought at the gym: $10 a day, $30 a week, $50 for two weeks, $70 a month with a personalised plan, and $160 for three months. Who it suits: budget travellers, long stayers, and anyone who likes the idea of a bench press keeping the beach safe. The caveat: no AC, no sauna, and the equipment is solid rather than new. It is not in the Onda directory yet; the association's site has the details.
Somos Sweat Den
Somos Sweat Den is the gym on the House of Somos campus, diagonal to La Lora Amarilla in central Santa Teresa, open 7am to 8:30pm every day, 4.9 from 76 Google reviews. It is an open air timber frame gym with weights and functional kit, and the reason to choose it is the recovery circuit next door: a cedar sauna, a cold plunge, and a sweat house, all on the same site as the garden cafe, which does the protein shakes and acai bowls the reviews keep mentioning. Day passes are available for non guests.
Prices are not published; ask at the front desk or on WhatsApp, and expect the day pass to be priced like a recovery pass rather than a bare gym pass. Who it suits: hotel guests, anyone who wants sauna, plunge, and breakfast in one stop, and people who prefer training with a view of the trees. The caveat: it is a hotel gym at heart, so the floor is smaller than ACTIVO or Central, and regulars come at 7am before the heat.
DFI Surf Training
DFI Surf Training is a coaching programme rather than a gym, based at Somos Hotel and open 10am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, with a 5.0 Google rating from 56 reviews. The method is fascia based training aimed at surf performance, mobility, and training without pain, and the flagship is an HP (high performance) programme that you apply for through a form on the site; the founder reviews applications personally. The site claims more than 500 clients through the system.
There is no price list, because it sells programmes and coaching rather than passes. Who it suits: surfers who want structured strength and mobility work built around paddling and pop ups, and anyone with a nagging shoulder or lower back who wants a coach rather than a class. The caveat: it is a commitment, in time and money, rather than a drop in, so it makes sense for a stay of a month or more.
Sol y Mar Training and the Outdoor Beach Gym
SOL Y MAR Training is a small training space in the Santa Fe part of Santa Teresa, listed as open 24 hours with a 5.0 Google rating from two reviews. Its website was not reachable at the time of writing, so treat it as a WhatsApp first enquiry and ask what the space and the access model are before you go.
The Outdoor Beach Gym is a free, open air set of bars and benches in front of Zeneidas at the north end of Playa Santa Teresa, open all hours. It is public outdoor kit for a body weight session at sunset when you do not want to pay anyone, with a 4.0 rating from two reviews. The caveat: it is public and exposed to salt air, so check each bar before you hang from it.
Pilates and yoga instead
If a reformer is more your speed, This Way Movement on the main road and HAPPILATES next to Nantipa are covered in the Pilates studios guide, and the yoga studios guide has the shalas. For sauna and ice bath without the gym, see spas, sauna and ice baths.
How to choose
| Gym | Where | Day | Week | Month | AC | Sauna and ice bath | Classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACTIVO | 100 m north of Super Hacienda | $15 gym, $45 all in | $60 gym, $140 all in | $99 gym, $260 all in | Yes, machine room | Yes, $30 a day on its own | Yes, functional |
| Central Gym | Playa Carmen | Ask, about $15 | Yes, ask | Ask, 10% off promo | Yes, whole floor | Included | No |
| Real Training | Above Super Ronny 1 | About $15 | Yes, ask | $99 | No | No | Yes, small group |
| Lifeguards Gym | 100 m north of football field | $10 | $30 | $70 | No | No | Saturday community sessions |
| Somos Sweat Den | House of Somos, by La Lora | Ask | Ask | Ask | No | Yes, cedar sauna and plunge | No |
| DFI Surf Training | Somos Hotel | Programme only | Programme only | Programme only | No | No | Coached programme |
All prices are from the gyms' own published lists in September 2026 or, where marked ask, from what regulars report. Prices do not include the 13% tax unless the gym says so.
Practical notes
Bring a towel and your own water bottle. ACTIVO and the Lifeguards Gym both have showers; ask at the others. Train early. Every regular in town is on the floor between 6am and 8am, before the surf and before the heat, and again from 5pm, and the middle of the day is empty and hot everywhere except Central Gym.
Book classes through the app or WhatsApp; ACTIVO and Real Training both cap class sizes and fill in high season. Right now, in late September, you can walk into any class.
Pay in dollars or colones. ACTIVO sells passes online and in its app, the Lifeguards Gym sells them at the desk only, and the others quote on WhatsApp, so ask about cards before you turn up with none. Monthly passes are the value play: a month at ACTIVO gym only costs less than seven day passes, and a month at the Lifeguards Gym costs the same as a week of all inclusive at ACTIVO.
Recovery is the local currency. ACTIVO sells its ice bath and sauna circuit on its own at $30 a day, Central includes it in every membership, and Somos has a cedar sauna and plunge. If you are surfing daily, budget for a plunge every other day, and see the massage guide when the shoulder goes anyway.
Browse every gym, studio, and wellness business at the /directory/heal hub.
FAQ
How much is a gym day pass in Santa Teresa?
$10 at the Lifeguards Gym, $15 for the machine room at ACTIVO and about the same at Central Gym and Real Training, and $45 for ACTIVO's all inclusive day with classes, sauna, and ice bath. Somos Sweat Den prices its day pass at the desk. Weekly and monthly passes cut the daily rate by more than half.
Which gym in Santa Teresa has air conditioning?
Central Gym at Playa Carmen has the only fully air conditioned floor. ACTIVO's machine and weights room is also air conditioned, while its functional floor is open air. Every other gym in town, including Real Training, the Lifeguards Gym, and Somos, trains open air, so go before 8am or after 5pm in dry season.
Is there a CrossFit box in Santa Teresa?
Not a CrossFit affiliate, but Real Training above Super Ronny 1 is the equivalent: coached small group strength and conditioning classes, an Integral Strength track, and open gym, at $99 a month with day and weekly passes. ACTIVO's functional training classes are the other coached option.
Which gym is best for surf training in Santa Teresa?
DFI Surf Training at Somos Hotel is the surf specific programme, built on fascia based mobility and strength for paddling and pop ups, sold as coached programmes rather than passes. For a drop in session, ACTIVO's functional classes and Real Training's strength classes both suit surfers, and both gyms have regulars who surf every morning.
Can I use a sauna or ice bath at a gym without a membership?
Yes. ACTIVO sells a recovery only day pass for $30 covering ice baths, a hot bath, and the sauna, plus $85 a week or $175 a month. Somos Sweat Den sells day passes to non guests for its cedar sauna and cold plunge. Central Gym includes its sauna and ice bath in every membership rather than selling it separately.
What are gym opening hours in Santa Teresa?
ACTIVO opens 6am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and 6am to noon Sunday. Central Gym runs 7am to 9pm daily, Real Training gives members self guided access 5am to 10pm daily, the Lifeguards Gym is 7am to 8pm daily, and Somos Sweat Den is 7am to 8:30pm daily. The Outdoor Beach Gym is free and open all hours.
