Playa del Carmen · AKUMAL SEA TURTLE SNORKELING
56 reviewed
Akumal means the place of the turtles, and they still graze the seagrass a short swim from the beach. Ranked below are the best sea-turtle snorkeling trips: which include a cenote, how big the groups run, and which give you the calmest water and the best odds of a sighting.
Early-morning snorkeling at Akumal for sea turtles, then a guided swim in the Yucatan’s Yax-Muul cenote. Value, gear, and timing.
“Take a waterproof camera. I’d do it again. Sea turtles and the cenote all in one trip ! Hope that’s how you spell it. Lol”
Tulum ruins plus Akumal turtle snorkeling and a cenote swim in one long day, with hotel pickup, tacos, and reef-friendly rules.
“This trip was amazing. There was just the right amount of time at the ruins of Tulum, the snorkeling with sea turtles was fantastic- they take you out on a boat and then you slowly snorkel back in together as a group. We not only saw, but stuck around and watched at least 5 turtles. The tour guide even towed me with my two year old on a float to help support him so that I could snorkel the whole time instead of trading out with my husband. And then the Cenote was an organized snorkel around a circular cave. It was so much more than I pictured when I…”
Swim a Tulum cenote, snorkel with sea turtles in Akumal, then unwind at a beach club with lunch and included gear.
“The can that we were travelling in broke down twice on the way there. The driver (Ricardo) and the guide ( Henry ) were very good. If you have a moustache beware your snorkeling mask may not fit. Consequently the snorkeling part was a bust for me. The Cenote part of the trip was super Interesting however the pictures that they offered you to purchase at the end you had to buy all of them at 120$ US dollars . You couldn’t just buy a certain package for a reasonable amount. There loss because we would have purchased something reasonable.”
Tulum Ruins, Cenote Nohoch Nah Chich swim, and Akumal sea turtle snorkeling in one day from Playa del Carmen with guides and lunch.
“Tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. She spoke great English and organised a guide for the Ruins part to speak both German and English (due to having some people from Netherlands etc. in our group). She clearly knew a lot about the culture, species and traditions. She answered all the questions asked and shared interesting facts about the ecosystem in the caves. She briefed the group at all times what's in the itinerary and kept us posted about timings etc. Lunch was also amazing! Highly recommend this tour if you're interested in the culture and aren't afraid of the dark (haha!). The cave/cenote was absolutely beautiful but the snorkeling…”
Private Tulum ruins, turtle snorkeling in Akumal, and cenote cave swimming from Playa del Carmen with breakfast-to-lunch convenience.
“JP , our guide, made this private tour a great one. Alphonse, our driver, was wonderful as well. I would not hesitate to book this again. We did the ruins, snorkeling with the turtles, and the cenote with lunch and everything was top notch.”
Tulum in one day: ruins, cenote swim, sea turtle snorkeling in Akumal, plus beach club lunch—round-trip transport and gear included.
“This was an A+ experience. Very much worth your time and money. Our guide Michael and driver Omar were so knowledgeable and helpful it really made a difference in our experience”
Private snorkeling in Akumal with sea turtles, provided gear, and beach fees included. Spend 1h15 at about 2 meters depth.
“Very fun! Saw a total of 8 turtles. Instructor was very patient and gave good instructions for us beginners.”
Playa del Carmen private tour with guaranteed turtle sightings, snorkel gear, and a cenote swim, plus hotel pickup and snacks.
“This tour was full of incredible memories from start to finish. Rachelle was the very best guide and we loved the photos that Luisa took for us. Everyone went above and beyond to make it a great experience. The food was amazing and rachelle was so friendly and knowledgeable. We saw multiple sea turtles. One of the turtles was so close to me coming up to the surface I almost got a kiss. 😂 Our driver Esdras was very good also. Highly recommend!”
Private snorkeling in Akumal Bay with green turtles in a protected circuit, led by Darwin and Marlene, 1-hour swim plus optional photos.
“Our family had an amazing experience. We had 2 extra guests than originally planned. Darwin and Marlene were more than accommodating. We seen several sea turtles among other sea life. They took pictures as well as videos of everyone with their GoPro and shared them with us at no extra cost.”
10-hour Tulum ruins, cenote swim, and Akumal turtle snorkeling with hotel pickup, lockers, and vests included.
“A brilliant day of Mayan history at the unique Tulum site. This was followed by a short trip to Canamayte Cenote and eco park. A satisfying lunch, consisting of a variety of salad, tacos, grilled meat and veg, including a choice of a couple of desserts, was followed by around an hour of swimming in one of the two Cenotes. After this we headed to Akumel turtle sanctuary where we spent around 30-40 minutes snorkeling with guides amongst turtles and the odd stingray. Our tour guide (Mildred - Millie) was excellent. She kept us informed throughout the day and her Mayan knowledge was exemplary. Drinks were provided to us on…”
Private Tulum and cenote day from Playa del Carmen: early ruins entry, a cenote swim choice, and shore snorkeling with sea turtles.
“The travel guide was very knowledgeable, and her English was impeccable. Communication is very important to understand the tour and history. Highly recommend.”
Akumal sea turtles plus a four-cenote swim day in Riviera Maya. Small-group tour from Playa del Carmen with snorkeling gear included.
“We originally had this tour scheduled, but not enough people were going on this so it was canceled the night before. Luckily the tour company contacted me and gave me an alternative tour for that day. We went to a cave cenote and swam with turtles. It ended up being a great day. Our tour guide, Jorge, was amazing! Super entertaining and really funny. Our driver was awesome too!”
Private Akumal turtle snorkeling with GoPro photo session in a protected circuit, plus national park facilities after the swim.
“This was great. Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable and patient. My son was uncomfortable wearing snorkel equipment and our guide was patient and supportive with him as he tried to get him more comfortable and eventually wound up pulling him along on a flotation device. The fee includes entry fee to the beach and a locker (be aware that the fee is not included in some of the other options available on this site). If you have a car, parking is 100 pesos extra. We saw 4 turtles, a ray, and a bunch of tropical fish. It was great”
Tulum cliffs, cenote swimming, and Akumal turtles in one Riviera Maya day. Guide, lockers, vests, and lunch included, fees extra.
“Beautiful experience, I recommend without hesitation everything was perfect Recommendation, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, water shoe, jersey and towel of course. An experience we will never forget thank you ❤️Auto-translated”
Private Tulum, Cenote Taak Bi Ha, and Akumal turtle snorkeling from Playa del Carmen, with early ruins, included tickets, and lunch options.
“The day is yours to spend time as you wish. Our tour operator Ivan was amazing. He kept our family laughing. We enjoyed his professionalism, kindness, patience (to one in our group that needed assistance) and his all around friendliness. He made our day fabulous!”
