Hi,

Our family of 4 (2 parents and 2 adult daughters) are going to Alumal in February. We all love anorkeling and are bring our own gear. I've read that we should avoid oily sun tan lotion in that it is considered dangerous for the reefs. Wearing a tee shirt was suggested, but I wanted to know if there anything else that one can use or wear that is protective? A shirt doesn't cover the neck, back of legs, or other parts of the body and we are concerned about getting burned. We want to be environmentally appropraite, but still safe in the sun.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Margret

Oops- my typing is awful- of course, I meant Akumal and that we love snorkeling.

-M

I suggest you get a "rash guard". it is used by surfers and come in short and long sleeve. They have a SPF of at least 50 ( be sure to check label as there are knock offs that don't). these can be found at most places that carry swimwear and on internet These are made to fit snuggly . Also i have found that clear zinc w/ SPF 45 does very well on face, ears ,etc. This can be found @ WalMart . Made by Ocean Potion.
Hope this helps
Hope this helps

Be careful! People in our group were burned on their backs after snorkeling last year. Re-apply the biodegradable frequently. The combination of the sun and the reflection of the water is incredible. You can still get a burn through normal t-shirts. I was okay except for the top of my head where my hair was parted. Embarassing a week later when it started to peel and I looked like I had a terrible case of dandruff. And by the way, if yhe girls get their hair beaded watch the areas between the sections of hair, also prone to burning.
Akumal is beautiful and the snorkeling was fantastic. We saw several giant sea turtles.
Have fun

We snorkeled for over 3 hours, and used tee shirts - we were fine. However you can buy biodegradeable lotion at many shops in the area.

Does anyone know if the biodegradable lotion is available in the States? I never knew that regular lotion was not biodegradable. I gather that clear with a SPF of 50 zinc is OK. I'm just trying to figure out what is OK and what isn't and under what circumsatnces one has to be careful. Thanks.

The rash guards sold by Coolibar are wonderful. Get the long-sleeved top and shorts. You will save yourself so much pain, and be environmentally sensitive, too. You also don't have missed spots and don't have to keep reapplying.

www.coolicar.com
The tops tend to run large.

Also- the rash guards are lightweight and dry quickly. Have you ever tried to dry a saltwater wet T-shirt quickly? It doesn't work. The synthetic dries in an hour or two. I always have one around as a swimsuit coverup if I'm at the beach, in case I've had too much sun, or if the wind comes up. I always have a top and bottom set for snorkeling. I'm fair, I wear the long-leg bottoms, but the shorts are great, too. It's not hard to get lots of sun in the Yucatan, it's harder to avoid bad sunburns.

Ag - don't you mean www.coolibar.com?

Oops, yes, thank you BetsyG. I thought I had proofread, but missed it:

www.coolibar.com

I know some people don't want to miss getting suntanned, etc. However, I find that it is not hard to get too much sun. I like Coolibar's long-sleeved zip tops because I can avoid the unpleasant back of neck sunburn, fried cleavage sunburn, and forearm sunburn that I end up getting with T-shirts. I always notice that seems to age people is bad sunexposed skin in the upper chest, so I always try to protect that area. You can have a lovely sunprotected face, but that brown, shiny, wrinkly neck and upper chest really make you look bad.

you can buy the approved lotion at xel-ha, yal-ku which is in akumal and is fabulous, x-caret and probably other places once you get there. it doesn't really cost much more. i researched hard on something i could buy here and take with me but with no success. kiss my face said there's was ok, but when i read the label it contained a number of the unacceptable ingrediants. i do not believe zinc, invisible or not,is on the acceptable list at all!!

Thanks so much for all your help. I need to protect my right arm due to lymphadema, and the long sleeve shirt from coolibar.com seems perfect. I did a search on the web and found other sites. Some have considerably cheaper shirts and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with other brands. It's not that I am unwilling to spend the money for the shirt, but am curious as to the differences. Also, are the shirts warm to wear out of the water? Woudl they offer good prtotection walking the beach, for example?

Again, thanks. Fodors to the rescue, as always!

There are several websites that sell sun-protective clothing. I think you need the ones that really are sun-protective, and not just synthetic tops. I know Coolibar's are. They are very lightweight, and are comfortable to wear out of the water on the beach. I don't find them hot at all. They are just as sun-protective out of the water on the beach, and look quite good. I like the Azure color (on the model in the photo, and the Lilac)

Whichever brand you go with, I'd recommend the zip-front rather than the pullover.

When my husband and I travel there we always take biodegradable sunscreen that doesn't have any chemicals in it and is safe for the eco-system. The best we've found is Mexitan and it's available from www.mexitan.com and we've been very pleased with their prompt service. The sun is very intense, though, and sunscreen needs to be re-applied frequently when snorkeling or swimming.