October 2020 Update
We finally got a chance to escape from the COVID-19 pandemic. We spent the first five days of a 12-day trip at Camp Akumal near the town of Akumal. On our arrival, we were asked if we had been to the store yet. We said no, why? And the response was there was a hurricane on the way! We then rushed off to Akumal to pick up some groceries. On the way back the wind and rain begin to pick up. We got back just in time. Long story short, we stayed inside and played games until the power went out around 11 PM.
We didn’t hear much overnight as the camp is in the jungle and made of concrete block construction. The damage was mostly broken branches and limbs and minor flooding in the town. As we were still power and couldn’t do anywhere we assisted in some debris cleanup in and around one of the pools. Power was restored around lunch time and we ventured into town. Just about everything was closed, and people were cleaning up. We were, however, able to make plans to swim with the turtles the next day. The following day we went snorkeling with the turtles in Akumal. It is important to note that you can no longer snorkel at will from the beach. Akumal Beach is not part of Mexico’s national park system. It would be best to use a guide from a local dive shop. The one-hour guided tour was $30 with equipment, and we did see six or seven turtles. After lunch and some shopping, we headed north to the town of Puerto Morales for the rest of our vacation.
We love Mexico and the entire Mayan Rivera and one of the places that we always look forward to is Akumal so that we can snorkel with the sea turtles.
Located about 35 minutes south of Playa del Carmen, the best way to get there is by car. The only issue is parking. There are a few small lots and I would suggest taking the first available place as non of them are far from the beach.
We stayed at Camp Akumal, a small hotel located about 10.minutes away from the town. They suggested getting to town early as the turtles would be closer to shore and it would be less crowded. We arrived about 8:00 and were nearly done when the influx of cruise ship passengers began to arrive.
There is no cost if you have your own snorkel gear. Just suit up and jump in! If you need equipment or would like to SCUBA dive there is a dive shop right on the beach that you can rent from ao plan a dive with.
It was probably about a 50-yard swim out to where the turtles were. You have to be careful when among the turtles as they are very active, constantly moving about eating grasses from the sea bed then surfacing for air. I was able to follow some of them and got some excellent photos.
After two hours snorkeling and lunch we headed about a mile further through the town to the Yal-Ku lagoon. I belive the admission fee was $15 with an additional fed fir gear rental if necessary. You can also rent a cabanna for the day if you wish.
The lagoon is very large and had excellent snorkeling. The waters were generally calm until you got closer to the ocean. We had a great day with our grandson. The combination of swimming with the turtles and lagoon makes an excellent full day adventure and I would highly recommend this if you are in the area.