michele_duggan

Hi. I'm staying in Playa del Carmen October 2nd. Due to time constraints, I need to select one snorkeling destination. I'm trying to choose between Akumal and Puerto Moreles for snorkeling. I would think that snorkeling would be better around Puerto Moreles since it's a national park and the coral more protected and part of a large reef. But this doesn't appear to be true because I can't find much information on the snorkeling??? There's much information out there about Akumal. In my experience, the best snorkeling has been in places with less snorkelers and more live coral. Since Akumal is such a big snorkeling destination, I was wondering if most of the coral is dead from all of the activity?
Can someone please tell me what they would recommend? I was hoping to hear from someone that has snorkeled both sites and can compare the two. To give some background, I've snorkeled St. Thomas, St. John, Bahama's, Florida Keys, Cancun, and Caymen.

Thanks so much!

qwovadis

Akumal is a much easier snorkel, being that the reef is very close to the shore and you can go out on your own. In Puerto, the reef is a long swim out.Puerto is a little better once
you get there.You might also check out www.xel-ha.com amazing

kja

qwovadis wrote: "In Puerto, the reef is a long swim out." But one can hire someone to take you there by boat. Typically, he will take you to two different parts of the reef, spending about 40 minutes at each place, and will have all the equipment you need. If I recall correctly, the cost in April 2008 was about $25. I haven't snorkeled at Akumal, so I can't compare the two.

michele_duggan

Hi. Thanks so much for your reply! I'm going to compare the costs to do Akumal and Puerto. If it's the same price, I'll do Puerto Moreles based on your recommendation. We would take a boat out.. When I'm not on a budget, I definitely want to experience xel-ha. My friend went and loved it too!

RAC

We're going this December, and are planning to do both for different reasons (I know that doesn't help you all that much since you're going in October.)

We're also doing Yal-Ku lagoon near Akumal, which is supposed to be better than Xel-Ha if you're just going to snorkel (again, this is just what we heard/read).

We booked Edventures for the Dos Ojos Cenotes/Akumal/Yal-Ku snorkeling and Ecab tours for the Puerto Morelos snorkeling.

kja

I'm not sure you need to book in advance to snorkel in Puerto Morelos. When I was there, one could simply go to a kiosk by the pier where those who are authorized to take people out to snorkel awaited clients.

michele_duggan

So I finally found some good info in the internet by googling. The reef in Puerto Morelos is called the Great Mayan Reef or the Mesoamerican reef. I'm definitely choosing to go there. I wish I had time to go to Yal-Ku lagoon too because it does look pretty and unique and has turtles. We are only staying 4 nights and are seeing Tulum, cenotes, and the monkey preserve already. In Puerto Moreles, I'm going to just walk up and haggle with the different vendors to get someone to take us out. I read that there are tons of boats that go out. Since the reef is huge, I wonder if the boats bring you out to different spots during the day to preserve the coral. Oh well, I'm not expecting much so hopefully it will be good... I snorkeled around Cancun and it was horrible.

RAC

You could easily do all of those in four days. For instance, we're doing the cenotes, the monkey sanctuary, Akumal bay, and Yal-Ku all in one day as part of our tour. We're doing the Puerto Morelos snorkeling another morning.

kja

I believe the entire reef along the Yucatan and on through Honduras is the Mesoamerican Reef, with Puerto Morelos being near its northern edge.

"I wonder if the boats bring you out to different spots during the day to preserve the coral." Maybe - they do effectively control traffic through the area, which is a national park because (as I understand it) the city wants to protect the reef. And whether snorkeling there or elsewhere, it is a good idea to avoid touching the reef or otherwise doing anything that can damage it. When I was there, I was taken to two places that differed in what I saw and experienced: the water in one area was quite calm, the other was a place where the tide was bringing colder water in through the reef to a shallower, warmer area. (Experiencing that required being there at the right time for the tide.) I suspect guides consider various things when selecting the two places to visit. Too, the guides appeared to try to keep a bit away from each other to give their clients more privacy.

michele_duggan

All, I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Playa. I will be sure to update you all when I return. thanks so much!!!! Michele

sassy_cat

Looking forward to your update as we'll be there in November.

We've snorkeled at Yal-Ku and Akumal before. You don't need a boat to take you out in Akumal but it's a rocky entry on Half Moon Bay.

ktmedm

My husband and I were in the area of Puerto Morelos in early Sept. & we snorkeled the reef in PM. There is a lot to see. Numerous types fish, corals, eel, barracuda & stingrays we even saw a turtle. It's beautiful! We hired a boat for just the 2 of us for 3 hours. We didn't pay but $20 plus tip.

Of course, Akumal Bay is where the turtles are. They will swim with you but DON'T touch them. You will still see fish, barracuda & stingray. You just don't have to rent a boat. We have our own snorkel equipment so we grab our cameras & go!

michele_duggan

Ok all. I just got back last night. It was incredible! I forgot to put above that I've snorkeled Maui and the big island as well. So the answer to my question is that you can't pick one place to snorkel. You have to snorkel both Yal-Ku lagoon and Puerto Morelos. We didn't have time to do the Half Moon Bay too. It was very rough. They are both very different and both incredible. The Yal-Ku lagoon was the most unique snorkeling that I've ever done. Believe it or not, the snorkeling in the Riviera Maya was some of the best that I've done. It was comparable to St. John. I was dying to go snorkeling in the reefs in front of the ruins in Tulum but it was too rough out there. The next time I would like to stay in Akumal to be closer to the ceynotes and all the incredible reefs around Akumal and Tulum. 4 nights was not enough time. I really needed 6 nights to see everything and relax. Oh well, next time. I am hoping to go back in February. I need to look up all of the kinds of fish that I saw and I will update you. Oh by the way, if you like monkeys, you have to go to the jungle place. They play with you. It's wonderful!

sassy_cat

thanks michele.. glad you had a great time.

We've found the ocean near the Tulum ruins rough too.. great for body surfing but not the ideal environment for snorkeling.

Christina

So where did you stay in Playa and what group did you use for the snorkeling in Puerto Morelos? I'm planning a trip now so am interested.

michele_duggan

Hi Christina. Sorry so late with my response. I don't get emails with questions for some reason. I stayed at the Iberostar Tucan in Playa del Carmen. It was awesome. I'm giving you the link to my writeup on trip advisor. If you love a jungle feel and the outdoors, I recommend it. Be sure to ask for a eggcarton for your bed though. It's beyond firm. I wouldn't book anything for snorkeling. You just have your taxi which should be $35 round trip from Playa del Carmen to take you to the pier in Puerto Morelos. There are several boats on the pier and you can haggle for a good price. You can see the reefs from the shore. It shouldn't be more than $25 a person for 2 hours.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...ECK_RATES_CONT

Christina

thanks for the info, I was really looking for a place closer to Puerto Morelos as I've stayed in PDC a couple times and want a change. I know what you mean about the bed thing, every bed I've had in Mexico has been like a piece of concrete, and I've stayed in several hotels in Puerto Vallarta and PDC (from 2* to 4*). I think it is just a Mexican thing. I'm not finding what I want in Puerto Morelos, though, so maybe I'll check out that place.

cantin2

We've been to Yalku Lagoon and really enjoyed it....very natural and simple....bring your own gear. The gardens are beautiful with sculptures - Only about $5 or so entrance fee.....bring your own lunch if you want...
Lots of fish - just a quiet exhilarating experience - not many people around. No beach - mostly rocks and a few benches. Plan on spending about two hours.
Then you can go on to Akumal - have some lunch and swim with the turtles.