The Responsible Way to Swim and Snorkel with Akumal Turtles

Snorkeling with the Akumal turtles is considered a bucket-list activity along Mexico’s Riviera Maya. There are few places in the world where you can so reliably see and snorkel with wild sea turtles, all year round.  However, Akumal is suffering from overtourism and profiteering, turning what should be a serene opportunity to respectfully observe wildlife in its natural habitat into a circus sideshow of disruptive, expensive, unethical group snorkeling tours. In this guide I’m going to talk about how I snorkeled independently with sea turtles in Akumal, and how you can do the same.

Before I visited Akumal, I assumed that joining an organized snorkeling tour would be the most ethical and responsible way to see the sea turtles that live in the bay. However, on my first day in the resort town I quickly realized that the tour groups were full of too many people, swimming (or just flailing) too close to the turtles, and spending too much time encircling them.  I decided to only snorkel independently in Akumal, even if that meant seeing fewer turtles.

Fortunately, once I figured out where the turtles like to eat (and where they go to escape the crowds of tour groups) I saw sea turtles every time I snorkeled in Akumal, for several days straight.  I was able to spend more time observing the turtles from a respectful distance, and usually never had to share “my” sea turtle with anyone else. Don’t be fooled by the people selling tours – going out by yourself is the best way to see turtles in Akumal.

Akumal is the Land of Turtles

Mayan people have lived on the Yucatan peninsula for more than 4,000 years.  In the Mayan language, Akumal means “Land of the Turtles”. Today, approximately 1,000 turtles consider Akumal their nesting grounds.  However, the local sea turtle population is faced with increasing threats including overtourism, climate change and pollution, so locals and tourists have to work together to protect and preserve the land of the turtles.

The 4 Different Types of Akumal Turtles

In total, there are seven species of sea turtles that live around the world. Of those seven sea turtle species, four can be found in Akumal, Mexico.

Green Sea Turtles

Green sea turtles can be found all around the world.  They are mainly herbivores, so they are attracted to the sea grass that grows on the bottom of Akumal Bay. It is their grassy diet that gives green sea turtles their unique bright green color. Green sea turtles can be up to five feet in length and weigh nearly 700 pounds.

Hawksbill Turtles

Much smaller than green sea turtles, hawksbill turtles rarely exceed 150 pounds in weight and 2.5 feet in shell diameter. They are critically endangered because some cultures eat the turtle meat, while others use their shells to make jewelry or home decor.

Loggerhead Turtles

Named after their large, wide heads and strong jaws, loggerhead turtles can be found in warm waters around the globe. Unlike green sea turtles, loggerheads are carnivores that feed on fish and crustaceans. Young hatchlings feed on tiny sealife that lives in sargassum seaweed (which is abundant along the Riviera Maya).

Leatherback Turtles

As old as the dinosaurs, leatherback turtles are the largest sea turtles on the planet. Adults can reach lengths of more than two meters and weigh more than 700 pounds. As their name suggests, leatherback turtles have a soft shell that feels leathery. Leatherback turtles are critically endangered due to human activity; artificial lights along the beach confuse new hatchlings and cause them to crawl into urban areas instead of heading out to sea.

How to Access the Beach in Akumal

I was staying at Akumal Bay Beach & Wellness Resort, so I was able to snorkel directly in front of the hotel.  However, if you’re coming from another city or town along the Riviera Maya, you’ll need to find a way to the beach. In Mexico, all beaches are public. However, the access routes to the beaches have been bought and privatized, making it nearly impossible to access the supposedly-public beaches.

If you are arriving in Akumal by car, you will have to pay for parking. There is a parking lot as you enter town – the price is the price and it’s not negotiable. Expect to pay either 100 pesos or 150 pesos to park all day.

If you’re coming by bus or collective, it’s about a five-minute walk from the highway to the beach entrance points.

Like I said, Mexico has allowed their beach access points to be privatized. However, you have a lunch or dinner reservation at Lol-Ha Restaurant, right? 😉  So you’re going to go to the lobby entrance of the Hotel Akumal Caribe and walk confidently through their reception to make your lunch reservation. 😉 If anyone stops you, look surprised and say, “Lol-Ha? Restaurant?” and point towards the beach.  And silly you, if you happen to get there a bit too early for your meal, then maybe you’ll have time to take a peek at the beach.

Snorkeling in Akumal

As part of the federal government’s initiative to protect Akumal’s sea turtles (and to pad the wallets of local “tour guides”), a number of rules and regulations have been put in place. The one that is mostly likely to affect your snorkel experience is the restriction on independent snorkeling more than 150 feet from shore. As per local law, if you want to swim out further than 150 feet, including into what is known as the “snorkel circuit”, you need to be with a licensed tour guide and wearing a life jacket.

The snorkel circuit is aggressively patrolled by security guards who claim to work for the government. It’s hard to believe that their focus really is on conservation when you see them ignoring the hoards of tourists floundering in the water, with more tourists per guide than is supposedly permitted, and not practicing basic snorkel safety like staying horizontal and leaving distance between yourself and the animals. They also don’t seem to care about the people throwing their cigarette butts on the beach, or the boats emitting noise pollution meters from the turtles. To an outsider, it looks like they are protecting the tour guides’ income more than the natural ecosystem.

I can’t support these tours and I can’t recommend that you take one.  Honestly, I could probably make money by referring you to a specific tour company but the whole industry feels so exploitative that the thought didn’t even cross my mind. If you want to do a tour just show up and speak to any of the dozens of touts on the beach who are selling guided tours.

Theoretically, snorkeling tours are not permitted on Mondays. However, it is apparent that profit comes before preservation and you’ll likely see as many swimmers out on Monday as any other day of the week.  I’ve also been told that the beach is closed for all of February and September, but as I’ve spoken to people who snorkeled there in February 2024 I believe that may only apply to the snorkel circuit area, but not independent snorkelers.

How to Snorkel with Sea Turtles in Akumal without  a Tour

Let’s get to the good part. Here’s how you can snorkel with sea turtles in Akumal without a tour.

Once you’ve reached the beach (see above) you’ll want to turn to your right (when you’re facing the water).  Follow the beach past the small rocky outcrop, past Secrets Resort to the boundary that separates Secrets Resort from Akumal Bay Beach & Wellness Resort.  The first 20 meters in from the high tide line (not the low tide line) are public, so you can put your bags down on the sand (not on either resort’s chairs) and put on your snorkel gear.  I recommend a mask, snorkel and water shoes, but not fins as they’ll kick up too much sediment in the very-shallow water.

From this point, swim straight out until you hit the line of buoys. Don’t go past it (you’ll catch the ire of the Angry Kayak Men) but spend a few minutes swimming around, looking for areas with shallow sea grass. This is the ecosystem where turtles prefer to feed.

If you don’t spot turtles right away, swim along the buoy line back towards Secrets Resort. There is a place where two lines meet and form a T-shape; I saw turtles every time I swam here.  This is what I would call the “golden square”, between the beach, the buoy lines, this T-intersection and the border between the two resorts.

Aside from sea turtles, you can expect to see a wide variety of tropical fish and corals (although, as with all coral reefs on the planet, climate change has bleached the coral and it is no longer vibrant in color). I also saw small eagle rays each time I went swimming; it’s good to shuffle your feet as you walk into the water because they’re often in the sand right at the shore line. The water is clearest in the morning, but by evening the countless tour groups of “snorkelers” have kicked up so much sand in the bay that visibility becomes quite limited.

How to Photograph Sea Turtles in Akumal

To capture these photos of Akumal turtles in the water of Akumal Bay, I used a GoPro Hero 12 camera and the optional floating handle.  Unlike my old GoPro that required a separate underwater housing, the Hero 12 is waterproof to 33 feet (equivalent to 10 meters).  This makes it perfect for snorkeling, and you only need to upgrade to the underwater housing if you have scuba diving on the itinerary.

Rules for Swimming with Sea Turtles

Akumal turtles are protected by Mexican federal law. It is illegal to touch, disturb or harass the sea turtles in Akumal (or anywhere else in Mexico). As well, the following rules help keep you and the sea turtles safe:

• Skip the flippers and fins – they kick up sand and sediment from the bottom of the bay.
• Remain horizontal and avoid standing in the sea grass or on any coral formations
• Do not dive under the water in the snorkeling circuit
• Maintain a distance of three meters (10 feet) from the sea turtles
• Don’t surround a turtle from all sides. Stay in a semi-circle formation so it can swim away.
• After you’ve observed a turtle for three minutes, swim away.
• Stay still and quiet if you are on the surface when a turtle comes up for air nearby.
• Reduce sunscreen runoff by covering up with a wet-suit or rash guard instead of chemical sunscreens.

I actually had a run-in with an overly-inquisitive sea turtle in Akumal, as you can see from the photo above!  I was watching a sea turtle on the sea floor, about three or four meters in front of me, and I didn’t notice that one of his friends had come to say hello!  He mistook the strings on my bikini for sea grass and tried to nibble on them, all the while I panicked because I didn’t want to touch a wild animal (I understand the rules!).  I eventually had to gently redirect him away, but even then his preferred escape route was directly between my legs, which is a story for another day!

Rules for Sharing the Beach with Sea Turtles

In addition to respecting the sea turtles when you’re swimming and snorkeling, it’s important to respect the sea turtles who venture onto the beach during nesting season (May to November).

• Avoid the beach from 9:00 pm to 5:00 am, as this is when the turtles come ashore to lay eggs and when their eggs hatch.
• Do not use flash photography or flashlights at night. If there is an emergency on the beach, use a flashlight with a red filter.
• Turn off the exterior lights in your accommodation at night and close the curtains if you have interior lights turned on. Baby turtles mistake artificial lights for the moonlight reflecting off the water, which causes them to go into human habitats instead of joining their parents in the sea.
• Never leave food or garbage on the beach.
• Keep your distance from any marked turtle nests. If you find an unmarked turtle nest in the sand, inform the management of the nearest property and/or the Centro Ecologico Akumal.

Have you ever been snorkeling with sea turtles (or other beautiful sea life)?  Let me know in the comments!

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