Snorkeling with Turtles at Akumal and Tulum Ruins

★★★★★★★★★★ 3.67 (3 reviews)

Free cancellation

1/11

Duration8h

GroupUp to 50

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Swim alongside turtles in clear water, then walk through a Mayan port city built on a cliff.

This full-day snorkeling and archaeological tour from Riviera Maya, Tulum or Cancun combines two stops: a guided snorkel at Akumal beach where you'll see turtles, colorful fish and corals, then skip-the-line access to Tulum's ruins with a local guide explaining the Mayan civilization. The tour includes snorkeling gear, a safety briefing, buffet lunch, and hotel pickup from most hotels (Tulum hotel guests meet at a designated point). You'll arrange your exact departure time with the operator, and a mandatory government fee of 750 MXN per person is payable in cash on the day.

Step-by-step itinerary

Snorkeling and Tulum Ruins Tour

Travel to Akumal Beach
Receive safety briefing
Gear up for snorkeling
Snorkel with turtles and marine life
Travel to Tulum Archaeological Site
Guided tour of Tulum ruins

The Experience

Your morning starts with a pickup from your hotel or meeting point, heading straight to Akumal beach. Mornings offer the best chance to spot turtles in their natural habitat. Once you arrive, your guide gives a safety briefing, you gear up with snorkeling equipment, and you enter the water to see turtles gliding through clear shallows alongside colorful fish and coral formations. The snorkel lasts as long as the conditions and your comfort allow—this is the time to move at your own pace in the water while the guide stays with the group.

After Akumal, you head to Tulum Archaeological Site. Skip-the-line entry means you walk past the queue at the gate and go straight in with your guide, who teaches you about the Mayans as a civilization—their knowledge, their findings, their understanding of the world around them. You'll visit the castle, the observatory and the main temples. Tulum was a port city of significance, and the ruins sit on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean, which the guide will explain as you move through the site.

Buffet lunch is included partway through the day. Bring swimwear, a towel, a change of clothes, sunscreen and insect repellent; the operator will tell you the exact meeting time once you book. The tour runs about eight hours total. Note that a mandatory government surcharge of 750 MXN per person (covering park fees, the Tulum archaeological fee and natural reserve tax) is collected in cash on the day of the activity—this is separate from your tour price.

What’s included

Snorkeling gear and a safety briefing at Akumal.
guided snorkel with turtles, fish and coral.
skip-the-line entry and guided tour of Tulum Archaeological Site.
buffet lunch.
hotel pickup and drop-off from most Riviera Maya and Cancun hotels (or meeting point transfer for Tulum hotel guests).

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyNot for heart conditionsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Cancun Travel Experience

Is this one for you?Choose the morning departure if you're staying in Riviera Maya or Cancun and want the best light and turtle activity at Akumal—the fixed schedule keeps both snorkeling and ruins inside one full day without you arranging transport between them. If you're based in Tulum, the meeting point option works the same way, just without the hotel pickup leg.