John

<BR>Hi: <BR> <BR>My wife 3 boys and I are looking for a vacation that is safe, relatively inexpensive, and has good snorkeling from the beach. We saw that someone had been to Akumal and number of years ago and had a good snorkeling experience. Is this still the case and how would you rate the area as compared to St. John USVI or the BVI's. Also do you have any favorite beaches, snorkeling spots, or places to stay. Your advice will be greatly appreciated. <BR>

Jennifer

I went to Akumal about 4 years ago during a study abroad trip. From what I remember the beaches, water and surroundings were very nice, but there isn't much to do. I think there are only a couple of hotels and you are pretty much confined to them b/c there really isn't much of a town. After dark it is very very quiet!I haven't been to the other places you have mentioned. Cozumel is very nice, great snorkeling, and Mexico is always a bargian! good luck!

Jennifer

I went to Akumal about 4 years ago during a study abroad trip. From what I remember the beaches, water and surroundings were very nice, but there isn't much to do. I think there are only a couple of hotels and you are pretty much confined to them b/c there really isn't much of a town. After dark it is very very quiet!I haven't been to the other places you have mentioned. Cozumel is very nice, great snorkeling, and Mexico is always a bargian! good luck!

jayne

I tried posting a lengthy reply twice last Friday, but it wouldn't go through. If this goes through, I'll try again.

jayne

Looks OK now. <BR> <BR>My husband, daughter (she was 13 at the time) vacationed in Akumal in Dec. 96. The whole area is filled with extremely beautuful white sand beaches and turquoise water with generally good snorkeling (Ithink this varies with weather and reef conditions). You can find good to excellent seafood palapa restaurants on many of the beaches--eating garlicky seafood, salsa cruda and drinking maragaritas while watching the waves is pretty wonderful. We also had a very enjoyable day at an outstanding snorkeling lagoon/park which is great for kids (I can't remember the name but if you're interested inthis or other names,please e-mail and I'll look it up). Also enjoyed snorkeling in cenotes, underground rivers, very quiet and mysterious. <BR> <BR>Akumal is very small and quiet,but was in the midst of lots of development, so it may be more active now. there were a number of good restaurants and are probably more now. Other than that, no nightlife, unless we missed it. We didn't find it particularly inexpensive, but then we've never been to Caribbean islands. Our condo was great, and we paid about $1400 for the week. There wasn't a great variety of choices when we were there; the new building seemed to be other expensive condos and resorts. <BR> <BR>My daughter was pretty bored after a few days. The highlight of the trip for her was going into Playa del Carmen one evening and getting her hair braided. The area certainly has more to offer in the way of relaxation and beauty than excitement or variety. <BR> <BR>As I said, I'd be happy to look up names of beaches, condos, etc if you're interested. <BR>

Doug

Just got back from akumal on Sunday, we stayed at Hacienda De Las Tortugas. The snorkeling from the beach was amazing. We saw many corals, fish, nurse sharks, lobster, baracuda. The lagoon for snoekeling is called Yal Ku, only a short walk from the condo it cost $5/person and the snorkeling was great. You may want to try Vista Del Mar Condos they were a little nicer than the ones we stayed at and just down the beach. We tried every restaurant in the area with the exception of Que Onda they were all excellent. If you want more info I rented My condo thru Juan Ojeda at yucatantravel.com. You can also take a look at locogringo.com.