The Akumal Turtle Rules
The Akumal Bay turtle rules from the refuge's protection programme: a certified guide, two buoyed circuits, life jackets, sunscreen, hours, limits and the fee.
You can swim with the turtles in Akumal Bay only on a guided snorkel: a certified, authorised guide, at most six swimmers per guide, inside one of two circuits marked with buoys, between 9 am and 5 pm, with a life jacket, mask, snorkel and short fins. No touching or feeding, at most five minutes with any one turtle, and no sunscreen that is not biodegradable. Those are the rules of the Bahía de Akumal refuge, set by its protection programme in Mexico’s official gazette in October 2017. The beach is public; the turtle zone is guided only.
Where the rules come from
Akumal Bay sits inside a federal marine refuge for protected species, the Área de Refugio para la Protección de Especies Marinas “Bahía de Akumal”. It was created by a decree published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación, Mexico’s official gazette, on 7 March 2016, and covers about 1,653 hectares of sea from San Miguel to Xcacel; the turtle bay itself is a 116-hectare part of it. It protects three sea turtles, green, loggerhead and hawksbill, along with corals, mangroves and seagrass. CONANP, the national protected-areas agency, runs it, and PROFEPA, the environmental prosecutor, enforces it with the navy.
The visitor rules are in the refuge’s protection programme, published in the gazette on 6 October 2017. No later change to them had been published when this page was checked in October 2026.
The rules, one by one
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Guided tours only | The turtle swim is allowed only on guided tours by operators authorised by SEMARNAT, the environment ministry, with a certified guide, preferably from the local community. Private visitors need a certified guide too. |
| Two buoyed circuits | You swim Circuit 1 (about 1,120 m, 55 minutes a group) or Circuit 2 (about 1,550 m, 65 minutes). Swimming, boats, kayaks and paddleboards are not allowed in the water the circuits enclose or in the strip set aside for turtles and seagrass. |
| Six plus the guide | At most six swimmers in a group, plus the guide, and 10 m between groups. |
| A daily cap | Up to 256 people a day on Circuit 1 and 300 on Circuit 2. |
| 9 am to 5 pm | In daylight only, and not when the wind is over 25 km/h. |
| Life jacket, mask, snorkel, short fins | Compulsory for every tourist and every guide. The life jacket must stop you going fully under; a waist or arm float does not count. |
| Hands off | Touching, feeding, chasing or disturbing any wild animal is prohibited, and so is touching or standing on coral. |
| Five minutes per turtle | You may watch any one turtle for up to five minutes. CONANP also asks swimmers to keep at least 3 metres behind a turtle and to stop if it moves away fast. |
| Sunscreen | Sunscreen and tanning products that are not biodegradable are banned in the bay. |
| In and out on foot | You walk into the water from the beach and out again slowly and quietly. |
| Litter | Everyone takes their own rubbish away. |
From the protection programme (DOF, 6 October 2017) and CONANP’s notice when the swim reopened in April 2017.
Two rules surprise people. Fins are compulsory, not banned: the programme lists short fins with the mask and snorkel. Tours differ in what they hand out, so ask your guide. And biodegradable sunscreen is allowed; the ban is on the rest. Many guides ask for none at all, which is why a rash guard is the easy answer.
Why the rules are this strict
The rules followed a crowding problem. In July 2016 PROFEPA opened 20 legal procedures against agencies selling turtle swims without authorisation, and in February 2017 it suspended the turtle swim after counting 3,617 tourists in it between 3 and 22 January, double the number allowed. The swim reopened on 7 April 2017 with 30 operators authorised by SEMARNAT, and the October 2017 programme fixed the circuits, the group size and the daily cap. In the first months of 2017 PROFEPA counted 96,945 visitors to the bay in 129 days.
The fee
CONANP collects a federal fee from visitors on the Akumal turtle swim, under the Caribe Mexicano biosphere reserve. Under the Ley Federal de Derechos it is MXN 125 a person a day for 2026. Tour listings put their own figure on it, often in US dollars and sometimes bundled with other entries, so read what your ticket includes. The Tsuuk Akumal park, the private park that runs the main gate to the beach, charges foreign visitors US$7 to enter, on its own price list (checked October 2026); that is a separate charge.
The guided swim is how you go
There is no legal way to swim the turtle circuits on your own, so the choice is which guided swim. All of these start from Akumal beach and lend the life jacket and snorkel:
Akumal Turtle Swim with a Licensed Guide and GoPro Photos
A licensed local guide, a 15-minute briefing, then about an hour on the protected circuit. Park wristband and GoPro photos included.
Check dates →Akumal Turtle Swim with a Local Guide
About 75 minutes with a local guide for your group only, beach access and environmental fees included.
See the private group swim →Private Akumal Turtle Snorkel with a Biologist Guide
Marine Life Akumal MX's private hour with a guide who is a divemaster and a biologist, park fee included, two adults at least.
See the biologist 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.
Where the circuits are
The programme places a permanent group of turtles feeding on the seagrass in the north of the bay, which is why the circuits are where they are. The swims start from Akumal beach; Half Moon Bay and the Yal-Ku lagoon to the north are outside the turtle circuits.
Good to know
- Tell the guide before you start if anyone in your group cannot swim; the life jacket keeps you up, but the guide plans around it.
- Visits to the refuge are at your own risk: the programme says CONANP is not responsible for injury or loss.
- Getting to the beach without a tour, the gate and the public access: see Akumal without a tour.
- What to wear instead of sunscreen: see what to bring.
More 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.
The Turtle Circuit with a Licensed Guide
Akumal Mayan Trips' hour on the protected circuit from Akumal beach: park wristband, life jacket, mask and snorkel, and GoPro photos included.
See dates