Where: Akumal Beach/ Quintana Roo / Mexico

When: February/2015

Water temperature: warm

Visibility: Average (about 8 meters)

Main attractions: Turtles

Duration: approximately 30 minutes

Akumal is located 100 km south of Cancun, it is situated between Riviera Maya and Tulum, so it is not too far from many Parks and attractions on Quintana Roo. It can be reached by day trips from Cancun to Tulum area (that was my case), by rented car or even by staying in Akumal accommodations.

Here is the map:

By the time I went (2015), there was a notice warning about the need for biodegradable sunscreen when entering the water (it is a noble attitude, since the regular sunscreen are known for the damage to corals). And many more places in Quintana Roo region also adopted the same measure. The beach is beatiful and I found it clean, there were some algae on the shore, but no big deal:

Akumal in the Mayan language means “Land of Turtles”, and it really worth its name. There is a permanent population of turtles there, mostly by the green sea turtle. You can find them eating sea grass, going on the surface to breath, and… basically that. But it is great seeing them on their natural enviroment.

The place where we snorkeled was mostly sandy with some sea grass (as seen on the photograph up here). There was some bleached corals, some brain corals, few purple sea fans too. The visibility was OK, but the sandy bottom can make the water cloudy (do not expect crystal clear waters).

And about the marine life:

Bent Sea Rod _ Plexaura flexuosa

This was the most common coral I saw there, looking like tree branches.

Grooved Brain Coral _ Diploria labyrinthiformis

Beautiful brain coral, very nice maze pattern.  I was using a life jacket at that time (just starting to snorkel, so I did not dive in to take a closer look at that time..)

Purple Sea Fan _ Gorgonia ventalina

Common on the Caribbean Sea, the branches are oriented by the currents to collect the most plankton as possible. Beautifull purple color.

Yellowtail Parrotfish _ Sparisoma rubripinne

The yellowtail is a little pale in this photo, it probably is a young adult.

Stingray

This ray has a more round body compared with the southern stingray. They are common in the Caribbean Sea, but difficult to decide at what species does it belongs to.

Green Sea Turtle _ Chelonia mydas

Here is the star of Akumal! We entered the water and I confess beying kinda worried if i would manage to see one. But I saw, and it was 6 as I remember.

There are some turtles that return every time to this spot to lay their eggs.  Some are big adults specimen.

As you see on these not filtered photos, the visibility was not the highlight of the place. I do not know if there is any other place where it gets less cloudy. But where there is sand and grass is the place where the turtles like to be…

Overall: The chelonians are there, just look where there are groups of people and you will find them. Another good tip is to look to surface in the search for some turtle heads emerging and then follow them.

A great place to see the peaceful reptiles swimming. I remember having a great time there!