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Akumal Bay · Tulum · Riviera Maya
Akumal Turtles
Snorkel beside the green sea turtles that graze the seagrass of Akumal Bay, on the guided swim the refuge rules require, then the Tulum ruins and a swim in a cenote, in one day with pickup from Riviera Maya hotels.
- 4.6 / 5 345+ Reviews
- 8 hours Duration
- 6 Swimmers at most with each guide in the turtle circuits
- 9 to 5 Turtle circuit hours, in daylight only
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
What the Turtle Day Covers
The Akumal turtle swim with a guide, the Tulum ruins and a cenote, with lunch and the ride from your hotel.
Highlights
- Snorkel with the sea turtles of Akumal Bay with a guide
- Walk the Tulum ruins above the Caribbean with a guide
- Swim in the open water of Cenote Mariposa
- Buffet lunch, life jacket and locker included
- Pickup from most Riviera Maya hotels
What's Included
- Round-trip transport from most Riviera Maya hotels
- A guide
- Entry to Cenote Mariposa
- The guided snorkel in Akumal Bay
- Life jacket and locker
- Buffet lunch
- Two bottles of water
Good to know: The Tulum site, park and government fees, US$40 an adult and US$20 a child, are paid on the day; Mexican nationals with an INE card pay less. · Your pickup time comes by email from the operator and is earlier than the start time on your ticket. · The tour runs rain or shine. · Not suitable for children under 3. · No luggage, large bags or drones. · Not suitable for: Children under 3 years · Not Included: Drinks with lunch, Admission and taxes, New Tulum Entry through Parque del Jaguar, Tulum archaeological site, Parque del Jaguar, Cenote's park and government fees: 40 USD per adult / 20 USD per child, Reduced fees may apply for Mexican nationals with valid INE ID
How the Day Runs
Pickup in the Riviera Maya, three stops down the coast, and back to your hotel in the evening.
Pickup in the Riviera Maya
A van collects you from most hotels in the Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen included. The operator emails your pickup time, which is earlier than the start time on your ticket.
The Tulum Ruins
About two hours at the walled Maya city on the cliff above the Caribbean, with a guide. The site and park fees are paid on the day.
Cenote Mariposa and Lunch
A swim in the open water of Cenote Mariposa, then a buffet lunch; about two hours in all.
The Turtles of Akumal Bay
About an hour and a half at Akumal, snorkeling with a guide on the buoyed turtle circuit in a life jacket, then the drive back to Playa del Carmen.
Photo Gallery
Akumal, Tulum and the Cenote
The turtles, the ruins and the cenote.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Select your preferred date and time. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
Plan the Swim
The Rules, the Road and the Season
What the refuge rules say, going on your own, getting there from Cancun, Playa del Carmen or Tulum, turtles with cenotes, when to go and what to bring.
Prices are each page's featured tour: GetYourGuide checked October 2026. Listing prices are per person, adult fare.
Four Ways to Swim with the Akumal Turtles
Every one of them puts a guide in the water with you, as the refuge rules require. Prices from the listings, with the month they were checked.
| Feature | THIS PAGE Turtles, Tulum and a cenote | The swim on its own | Tulum, turtles and a cave cenote | Private swim, biologist guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What You Pay | From $87 per person (checked October 2026) | From $34 per person (checked October 2026) | From $129 per person (checked October 2026) | From $60 per person (checked October 2026) |
| Paid on the Day | Tulum site, park and government fees: US$40 an adult, US$20 a child | Nothing listed; lockers are extra | The marine conservation fee and the Tulum park fee are not included | Nothing listed; parking if you drive |
| Time | 8 hours | 1 hour 30 minutes | 8 hours | 1 hour |
| In the Water with the Turtles | About an hour and a half | About an hour, after a safety briefing | About 90 minutes | About an hour |
| Getting There | Pickup from most Riviera Maya hotels | Your own way to Akumal | Pickup from Cancun, Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya | Your own way to Akumal; two adults at least |
| Best For | The turtles, the ruins and a cenote in one day | Staying near Akumal, on a budget | The same three sights with a cave cenote | A private group with a biologist |
| Check dates | See the swim | See the cave cenote day | See the private swim |
Other Ways to Go
More Ways to Swim with the Akumal Turtles
The swim on its own from Akumal beach, private swims with photos, a day from Cancun, the turtles with cave cenotes, and Tulum's own turtle snorkel by boat.
JUST THE TURTLESAkumal Turtle Swim with a Licensed Guide and GoPro Photos
Akumal Mayan Trips' hour in the water with a local licensed guide on the protected snorkeling circuit of Akumal Bay, after a 15-minute safety briefing. The wristband entry to the Tsuuk Akumal park, mask, snorkel, life jacket, restrooms, showers and GoPro photos are included; you make your own way to Akumal, and lockers are extra.
YOUR GROUP ONLYAkumal Turtle Swim with a Local Guide
A local guide on Akumal beach takes your group alone into the bay for about 75 minutes of snorkeling with the turtles, with the beach access and environmental fees, snorkel gear, insurance, a locker, restrooms and showers included. You make your own way to Akumal.
A BIOLOGIST GUIDEPrivate Akumal Turtle Snorkel with a Biologist Guide
Marine Life Akumal MX's private hour in the water in Akumal Bay with a guide who is a certified divemaster and biologist, on the official circuit, with the park access fee, life jacket, snorkel gear, lockers and showers included. Bookings start at two adults; you make your own way to the Tsuuk Akumal park entrance.
RUINS, TURTLES, CAVETulum Ruins, Akumal Turtles and a Cave Cenote in One Day
Ocean Tours Mexico's eight-hour day with hotel pickup from Cancun, Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya: a guided visit to the Tulum ruins, about 90 minutes snorkeling with a guide among the sea turtles of Akumal Bay, then a swim and snorkel in a cave cenote, with a taco lunch, life jackets and snorkel gear included. The marine fauna conservation fee and the Tulum national park fee are not included.
FROM CANCUNTulum Ruins, a Cenote and the Akumal Turtle Swim from Cancun
EKINOX TOURS' ten-hour day by air-conditioned bus with pickup in Cancun and Puerto Morelos: the Tulum ruins with a guide, a swim at the Mariposa cenote in Canamayte park with a buffet lunch, then about an hour snorkeling with a guide at Akumal beach, life jackets and lockers included. The Tulum site, park and government fees, US$40 an adult and US$25 a child, are paid on the day.
TURTLES AND CENOTESAkumal Turtles and Cave Cenotes, Small Group from Cancun
Blue Caribe's five-hour small-group trip for up to 16, with hotel pickup: a guided snorkel with the turtles in Akumal Bay first, then three cenotes at Yax-Muul park, including a cavern, with snorkel gear, life vests, water and snacks. A government marine tax of US$20 and an operation fee of US$15 a person are paid on the day; pickups from Cancun run on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The Guide
The Turtles of Akumal Bay, and How You Swim with Them
What the refuge rules ask of you, what you see in the water, which trip fits, what you pay with the fees, and when to go.
Akumal Bay is a small, sheltered bay on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, about 37 km south of Playa del Carmen, where green sea turtles graze on beds of seagrass a short swim from the beach. Since 2016 the bay has been part of a federal marine refuge, and its rules allow the turtle swim only with a certified guide, inside two buoyed circuits, in a life jacket. So the way to swim with the Akumal turtles is a guided snorkel: on its own from the beach, or as part of a day trip that adds the Tulum ruins and a cenote.
The short answer
For one trip that does it all, take EKINOX TOURS’ day from the Riviera Maya to Tulum, a cenote and the Akumal turtles, sold on GetYourGuide as From Riviera Maya: Tulum, Cenote, & Akumal Turtle Swim Trip. A van collects you from most Riviera Maya hotels, Playa del Carmen included; you walk the Tulum ruins with a guide, swim in Cenote Mariposa and eat a buffet lunch, then spend about an hour and a half at Akumal snorkeling with a guide among the turtles, life jacket and locker included. It costs from $87 in current promotion (usually $108) a person, with 345 reviews (checked October 2026). The Tulum site, park and government fees, US$40 an adult and US$20 a child, are paid on the day.
Check dates for the turtle day
If you are staying in Akumal or nearby and only want the turtles, the swim on its own costs far less: see the cards below.
Pick your trip
Tulum Ruins, a Cenote and the Akumal Turtle Swim from the Riviera Maya
The Akumal swim with a guide, the Tulum ruins and Cenote Mariposa with lunch, in one day with hotel pickup in the Riviera Maya.
Check dates →Akumal Turtle Swim with a Licensed Guide and GoPro Photos
An hour on the turtle circuit with a licensed guide, from Akumal beach. Park wristband, life jacket and GoPro photos included; you get yourself to Akumal.
See the swim →Tulum Ruins, Akumal Turtles and a Cave Cenote in One Day
Ocean Tours Mexico's day: the Tulum ruins, about 90 minutes with the Akumal turtles and a cave cenote, with a taco lunch and pickup from Cancun or the Riviera Maya.
See the cave cenote day →Private Akumal Turtle Snorkel with a Biologist Guide
Marine Life Akumal MX's private hour in the bay with a guide who is a divemaster and a biologist, park fee included. Two adults at least.
See the private swim →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked October 2026; Viator checked October 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
What the rules ask of you
The rules come from the protection programme for the Bahía de Akumal refuge, published in Mexico’s official gazette on 6 October 2017 and enforced by CONANP, the national protected-areas agency, with PROFEPA, the environmental prosecutor. In plain terms:
- A certified guide, always. The turtle swim happens only on guided tours run by authorised operators, with a certified guide in the water with you. That applies to private visitors as much as to tour groups.
- Two buoyed circuits. You swim the turtle circuits marked with buoys, at most six swimmers plus the guide, for about 55 or 65 minutes depending on the circuit.
- Life jacket, mask, snorkel and short fins. Compulsory for everyone, guides included; a waist or arm float does not count as a life jacket.
- 9 am to 5 pm, in daylight. The swim stops when the wind is over 25 km/h.
- Hands off. No touching, feeding or chasing; at most five minutes with any one turtle, and CONANP asks swimmers to stay at least 3 metres behind a turtle.
- No ordinary sunscreen. Sunscreen that is not biodegradable is banned in the bay.
The Akumal turtle rules guide has the detail, the daily limits and what happened when the bay was overrun.
What you see in the water
Three sea turtles use the refuge, green, loggerhead and hawksbill, and the refuge rules describe a permanent group of turtles feeding on the seagrass in the north of the bay. The ones you swim beside are mostly green turtles: Centro Ecológico Akumal, the bay’s conservation group, judges the green turtles in its videos to be juveniles of about four or five years. You float at the surface while they crop the seagrass below you, rising every so often to breathe.
Rays and reef fish share the bay. Mexico lists all three turtles as endangered (NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010); on the global IUCN Red List the green turtle moved from Endangered to Least Concern in October 2025, while the hawksbill is Critically Endangered and the loggerhead Vulnerable.
Where Akumal is
| Place | What it is | Trip for it |
|---|---|---|
| Akumal Bay | The turtle bay, with the two buoyed snorkeling circuits | The swim on its own |
| Akumal beach | Where the guided swims start, behind the Tsuuk Akumal park gate | Swim with park entry |
| Half Moon Bay | The next bay north of Akumal Bay | - |
| Yal-Ku lagoon | A lagoon where fresh and salt water meet, north of Half Moon Bay | Turtles and Yal-Ku with lunch |
| Akumal village | The town on the inland side of Highway 307 | - |
Akumal is about 90 km from Cancun airport, 37 km from Playa del Carmen and 27 km from Tulum, all on Highway 307. The Akumal from Cancun guide sets out the trips and the drive.
What it costs, with the fees on the day
| Trip | Listing price | Paid on the day |
|---|---|---|
| Turtle swim with GoPro photos, 1 h 30 (Akumal Mayan Trips) | From $34 in current promotion (usually $40) | Lockers, if you want one |
| Turtle swim with Tsuuk park entry (Amigo Tours LATAM) | From $45 | Nothing listed |
| Turtle swim with a local guide, 75 min | From $43 | Parking, if you drive |
| Tulum, cenote and turtles from the Riviera Maya (EKINOX TOURS) | From $87 in current promotion (usually $108) | Tulum site, park and government fees: US$40 an adult |
| Tulum, turtles and a cave cenote (Ocean Tours Mexico) | From $129 | The marine conservation and Tulum park fees |
Listing prices: GetYourGuide checked October 2026; Viator checked October 2026. The charges on the day are those each listing states.
Two official figures sit behind those charges. Mexico’s federal fee for visiting the protected area is MXN 125 a person a day for 2026, under the Ley Federal de Derechos; many tours include it and some collect it on the day, so check your ticket. The Tsuuk Akumal park, the private park that runs the main gate to the beach, lists entry for foreign visitors at US$7 (checked October 2026).
Going on your own
You can get to Akumal by car or taxi, walk onto the beach and swim, but not into the turtle circuits without a guide. The guided swims start from the beach, and booking ahead fixes your time and the price. The Akumal without a tour guide covers the gate, the fees, the colectivo and parking.
When to go
Any month. The turtles feed in the bay all year, and the circuits run from 9 am to 5 pm unless the wind is over 25 km/h. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, and loggerheads nest on Akumal’s beaches mainly from May to July. See the best time to see turtles in Akumal.
Who should pick something else
- You only want the turtles, and you are staying nearby: take the hour on the circuit from Akumal beach, and read what to bring.
- You are in Cancun: the same day runs from Cancun hotels; see Akumal from Cancun.
- Cenotes matter as much as the turtles: turtles and cenotes in one day compares the trips with a cave or an open cenote.
- You want to know exactly what is allowed: read the Akumal turtle rules first.
The Turtles, the Ruins and a Cenote
EKINOX TOURS' day from Riviera Maya hotels: a guided snorkel with the Akumal turtles, the Tulum ruins with a guide, Cenote Mariposa and a buffet lunch. Starting from $87 per person in current promotion (usually $108).
See datesMore Trips with Open Dates
More Akumal and Riviera Maya Trips with Open Dates
Turtle swims, cenotes and day trips with live availability. Times and cancellation terms are on each listing.
Akumal Turtles: Questions
Guides, life jackets, sunscreen, the fees, the best time and getting there.
Yes, on a guided snorkel inside one of the two buoyed turtle circuits in Akumal Bay. The bay is part of a federal marine refuge, the Bahía de Akumal, and its protection programme, published in Mexico's official gazette in October 2017, allows the turtle swim only on guided tours with a certified, authorised guide, in groups of up to six swimmers plus the guide, from 9 am to 5 pm. Green turtles feed on the bay's seagrass all year.
Yes, in the turtle circuits. The refuge rules require a certified guide authorised for the activity for every visitor who swims with the turtles, tourists and private visitors alike. The beach itself is public; the turtle zone is guided only. See the Akumal turtle rules.
The guided swim on its own starts from $34 a person, and the day with the Tulum ruins and a cenote from $87 (checked October 2026). Mexico's federal conservation fee for the protected area is MXN 125 a person a day for 2026; check whether your ticket includes it. The Tsuuk Akumal park, the main gated entrance to the beach, lists entry for foreign visitors at US$7 (checked October 2026).
Yes. In the turtle circuits everyone, guides included, must wear a life jacket that keeps them from going fully under, with a mask, a snorkel and short fins. A waist or arm float does not count as a life jacket. The tours lend all of it.
Not the ordinary kind. The refuge rules ban sunscreen and tanning products that are not biodegradable in Akumal Bay. Several tours ask for none at all, so a long-sleeved rash guard and a hat are the simple answer. See what to bring.
No. Touching, feeding, chasing or disturbing any wild animal in the refuge is prohibited. The rules allow up to five minutes watching any one turtle, and CONANP, the agency that runs the refuge, asks swimmers to stay at least 3 metres behind a turtle.
Any month: the refuge rules describe a permanent group of turtles feeding on the seagrass in the north of the bay. The circuits run from 9 am to 5 pm in daylight and stop when the wind is over 25 km/h, so calm days are the ones to aim for. Loggerheads nest on Akumal's beaches mainly from May to July. See the best time to go.
About 90 km from Cancun airport down Highway 307, about 37 km from Playa del Carmen and about 27 km from Tulum. Day trips from Cancun pair the swim with the Tulum ruins and a cenote, from $87 a person with hotel pickup (checked October 2026). See Akumal from Cancun.
Usually yes, because the life jacket is compulsory and the circuits are in the calm water of the bay. Minimum ages differ by tour, so check the listing before you book. Tell the guide before you start if someone cannot swim; several tours do not recommend the swim to anyone without basic swimming skills.
All three species in the refuge, green, loggerhead and hawksbill, are listed as endangered under Mexican law (NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010). On the global IUCN Red List the hawksbill is Critically Endangered and the loggerhead Vulnerable, and the green turtle moved from Endangered to Least Concern in October 2025.
Still have questions? Email us at info@akumalturtles.com