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?
Most of the rules are the exact same rules that have been in place until they revoked them a short time ago. I think it is too many people in general and groups should be limited to no more than 6 people and no longer than the morning hours. This section of beach is not a large area. You have three resorts here and with the abundance of guests that’s a lot of people already and than you add in the tour group it is simply too many. I realize that this could impact the livelihood of the area tour group operators but, it impacts the turtle and the ocean life and if you keep trampling their home eventually there will not be a home to see. It is simply too many and having seen the amount of tour groups it’s not great for guests either.
Good points.