Akumal Bay

Sheltered bay where you can snorkel with green sea turtles

Akumal Bay is a wide, sandy-bottomed half-moon protected by a long reef that breaks most of the Caribbean swell. The water is shallow — much of it waist-deep — and the snorkelling starts a few metres from the beach. Sea turtles, rays, parrotfish, and the occasional small barracuda all show up regularly.

Since 2017, swimming with the turtles requires a permit, a guide, and a strict no-touching rule — buy the wristband from the village information point or one of the dive shops. The rest of the bay, beyond the marked turtle zone, is free to enter and still has excellent snorkelling along the reef. Bring reef-safe sunscreen; chemical-based blockers are banned.

things to do sight swimming
A story
Akumal Bay is one of the most reliable places in the world to swim with wild green sea turtles. The turtles come in to feed on the seagrass beds in the shallows, and on a good morning you may find yourself sharing the water with eight or ten of them. The bay was so heavily snorkelled by the mid-2010s that the federal authorities now require a guide and a wristband for the turtle zone.