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The Sea Turtles of Akumal Bay

The name Akumal means “Place of the Turtle” in the Mayan language. Aptly named, you can spot beautiful sea turtles swimming right off of the beach. It is common to see them here, because it is one of the main breeding and nesting grounds in Mexico. Every year, hundreds of sea turtles come to the bay to eat, mate and lay their eggs.

After spending a hot and sweaty morning at the Tulum ancient ruins, a swim in the Caribbean ocean sounded like a dream. Arriving to the beach with soft, white sand and lush coconut trees, we donned our snorkel gear and waited for the boat to take us out.

Snorkeling in a reef right off the beach, we dove right into the refreshing water and began kicking our way through the water. As soon as we got our gear situated and looked around, we were surrounded by gorgeous fish and began observing the reef life.

Moving through the reef, suddenly we spotted a huge sea turtle emerge from under the coral and surface the water. Only a few feet in front of us, we got our first glimpse of the majestic creature.

Just gliding through the water without a care in the world, we tried to keep up with them, while maintaining a safe distance. We were so surprised at how big and close each turtle was to us. In fact, one tried to surface under an unsuspecting snorkeler in our group trying to clean out her goggles. After I warned her that there was a turtle directly under her, a quick look down, she was nose to nose with it.

During our time out in the water, we saw 5 to 6 sea turtles and a ton of gorgeous fish. Scattered throughout, there were lifeguards that would help us spot turtles and other fish, like barracuda.

Recommended Tour

If you are not snorkeling with a tour company or licensed guide, you will be required to stay within the first 150 feet of the shore. However, if you book with a tour company, they will take you further out to the reef, and going out with a tour will increase your chances of finding them.

This is not a sponsored post.

We went with Tulum Ruins and Turtle Swim, and I highly recommend this tour. The tour includes transportation back and forth from your hotel, a bilingual guide, an environmental/history guided tour through the Tulum ruins, food and a snorkel trip to see the sea turtles in Akumal.

For $99 per person, the trip was a great value and provided us with lifetime memories.

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Have You Seen A Sea Turtle?

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