Akumal Bay snorkeling tour groups are once again allowed to enter the water to swim with the turtles under the following conditions:

• maximum of 12 tourists p/each tour provider (wasn’t that the rule before the tour group ban which wasn’t obeyed?)
• each tour group entering the water can only have a maximum of six people at one time for 65 minutes
• tour groups are only allowed to swim in specific areas (I imagine they are the same roped-off/buoyed areas already in place)
• tour groups can only be in the water between the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• all tourists/those entering the water must wear biodegradable sunscreen
• all snorkelers must stay a minimum of 10 feet away from turtles at all times
• there is a maximum observation time of five minutes if you are close to any turtle
• no touching, feeding, or harassing the turtles at any time
• no removal of coral or other aquatic specimens
• life vests are required (I’m assuming there is still a “no fins” requirement but I will double check)
• turtle tours are cancelled for Mondays

The five-minute maximum observation time should be interesting to see enforced, otherwise the rules are to be expected given the current limitations.  I wonder if the snorkeling groups will again come in from elsewhere in larger groups as they did last time?  What do you think of these rules?