Centro Ecologico Akumal
Centro Ecologico Akumal
Centro Ecologico Akumal
4.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
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4.5
504 reviews
Excellent
316
Very good
117
Average
31
Poor
17
Terrible
23
cmittermeier
Nanoose Bay, Canada10 contributions
Jun 2022
I was there when it all started in 1992 and returned just a year ago to visit it again. The place is much larger but the ethos remains the same. Protecting nature starts with learning about it.
Written February 8, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amy M
San Pedro, Belize145 contributions
Jan 2020
The cenotes and snorkeling were wonderful as was the tour of TULUM ruins. Can't wait to go back to the hotel district of TULUM itself. Wonderfull people, very hospitable and friendly and the food, so fresh and tasty!
Written December 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael T
Mississauga, Canada94 contributions
Jul 2019 • Family
Love the way the government protects this area. The coral reef to returning and so our numerous fish. Lots to see in term of wildlife.
Written July 15, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wbgb
Brookfield, IL269 contributions
Jun 2019 • Couples
wounderful group that surveys counts turtle nests provides important information regarding turtle breadings and hatchlings Donate to their cause!!
Written June 9, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kp1111111111
2 contributions
Mar 2019 • Solo
Great guides. The water clarity in the Yucatan is amazing. I saw three sea turtles and a few sting rays, but not a ton of ocean life otherwise.
Written March 26, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Turnbull61
Maidstone, UK22 contributions
Sept 2018 • Couples
Lovely clean beach, very good quality equipment, guides who are knowledgeable and give you a good experience without causing any stress to the animals. Worth a visit.
Written September 28, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
fryme3
Phoenix, AZ3 contributions
Sept 2018 • Couples
The best area in the bay that has sea turtles, large fish, and big reefs is CLOSED for snorkeling. There are three RED sections next to each other that are roped off with buoys. Around the RED sections are roped-off GREEN lanes that the Dive Center uses for tours ($45), but they are CLOSED as well. If you enter the CLOSED area, staff in kayaks, boats (from Dive Center), and walking the beach will yell and whistle at you until you leave.
The Dive Center takes people snorkeling “tours”(floating with life jackets) between the CLOSED area and the outer reef, west of the boating lane in a fairly small area where the water is about 16 feet deep. The CLOSED area is where most of the sea grass grows that the turtles eat. In the past, too many people uprooted the sea grass and beat up the reef so the area has been CLOSED for a few years. Based on the size and location of the concrete anchors, chains, and ropes for buoys and signs (on the beach), it looks like 50% of the bay will be CLOSED for a very long time.
Snorkeling west of the CLOSED area is nice and there are a few smaller reefs, but very few turtles and mostly smaller fish.
The current in the bay is soft until you get near the outer reef. The water was very warm. Average depth west of the CLOSED area is about 7 feet all the way to the outer reef. The Dive Center (50 yards west of the Dive Shop) runs snorkeling tours inside the bay and rents equipment/life jackets. The Dive Shop (polite, relaxed staff) runs scuba dives outside of the bay. My wife did a deep dive for $50 with the Dive Shop and had a great time. The majority of the scuba dives are within 10 to 20 minutes outside the bay. Visibility in the bay was 40 feet, after you get 50 yards out from the beach. My wife said visibility was 80 feet outside of the bay.
The Dive Center takes people snorkeling “tours”(floating with life jackets) between the CLOSED area and the outer reef, west of the boating lane in a fairly small area where the water is about 16 feet deep. The CLOSED area is where most of the sea grass grows that the turtles eat. In the past, too many people uprooted the sea grass and beat up the reef so the area has been CLOSED for a few years. Based on the size and location of the concrete anchors, chains, and ropes for buoys and signs (on the beach), it looks like 50% of the bay will be CLOSED for a very long time.
Snorkeling west of the CLOSED area is nice and there are a few smaller reefs, but very few turtles and mostly smaller fish.
The current in the bay is soft until you get near the outer reef. The water was very warm. Average depth west of the CLOSED area is about 7 feet all the way to the outer reef. The Dive Center (50 yards west of the Dive Shop) runs snorkeling tours inside the bay and rents equipment/life jackets. The Dive Shop (polite, relaxed staff) runs scuba dives outside of the bay. My wife did a deep dive for $50 with the Dive Shop and had a great time. The majority of the scuba dives are within 10 to 20 minutes outside the bay. Visibility in the bay was 40 feet, after you get 50 yards out from the beach. My wife said visibility was 80 feet outside of the bay.
Written September 17, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
abbey-7
Surrey65 contributions
Aug 2018 • Family
A great experience for us 6 accompanying the conservation team on a beach walk along Akumal bay. It started with a small presentation in the HQ which was informative and interesting. We were so lucky to see a momma turtle come up and lay eggs on the beach and go back into the sea.
A truly amazing experience to witness and my kids thought so too.
We were pretty exhausted when it finished at 1:15 and had to wait 15 minutes for a taxi but it was soooo worth it and Rosita was great and her passion for turtles came across in her words and actions
A truly amazing experience to witness and my kids thought so too.
We were pretty exhausted when it finished at 1:15 and had to wait 15 minutes for a taxi but it was soooo worth it and Rosita was great and her passion for turtles came across in her words and actions
Written September 7, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
themilnes
London, UK55 contributions
Aug 2018 • Family
Whilst staying in Akumal I read about this organisation, CEA, that are working hard to save the turtles...as well as other wildlife in the surrounding area. We occasionally saw their volunteers patrolling the beaches at night and then when someone mentioned that they sometimes do night-time walks where they will tell you about their turtle conservation work and then take you out to hopefully see mother turtles laying eggs on the beach or baby turtles hatching, well, I just had to do it!
I got in touch with them on Facebook (they were quite responsive) and arranged, for a relatively small donation, for the 4 of us to do the night walk. We met near their offices - which we found quite hard to locate - and were given a really informative and interesting talk about turtles in general as well as those in Akumal. We were also told lots about the conservation efforts in Akumal and what the CEA are doing to look after the turtles.
We were given a few ground rules for our walk and set off along the beach. We walked for a while, sometimes with stops whilst the lady dealt with work-related issues or spoke to night-time beach-goers to make them aware of the needs of the turtles. Just because we were with her didn’t mean that she wasn’t still working! After an hour or so we finally got to see a mother turtle heading up the beach to try to find a suitable nesting spot and, over the course of another couple of hours we were lucky enough to see 2 more. There were no babies hatching that night, (or at least there weren’t before our kids flagged and we had to call it a night), but we had a lovely, scenic walk and felt privileged to have witnessed mother turtles out on the beach. Obviously sighting are not guaranteed - this is nature that we’re dealing with, after all!
It was great to see first-hand what this hard-working and dedicated group of people are doing to try to conserve the amazing natural environment at Akumal and we will definitely continue to support their efforts. I understand that there are some political issues and that not everyone is happy with the restrictions that have put in place to try to protect the reef and the turtles’ nesting places but they are just doing their best...
I got in touch with them on Facebook (they were quite responsive) and arranged, for a relatively small donation, for the 4 of us to do the night walk. We met near their offices - which we found quite hard to locate - and were given a really informative and interesting talk about turtles in general as well as those in Akumal. We were also told lots about the conservation efforts in Akumal and what the CEA are doing to look after the turtles.
We were given a few ground rules for our walk and set off along the beach. We walked for a while, sometimes with stops whilst the lady dealt with work-related issues or spoke to night-time beach-goers to make them aware of the needs of the turtles. Just because we were with her didn’t mean that she wasn’t still working! After an hour or so we finally got to see a mother turtle heading up the beach to try to find a suitable nesting spot and, over the course of another couple of hours we were lucky enough to see 2 more. There were no babies hatching that night, (or at least there weren’t before our kids flagged and we had to call it a night), but we had a lovely, scenic walk and felt privileged to have witnessed mother turtles out on the beach. Obviously sighting are not guaranteed - this is nature that we’re dealing with, after all!
It was great to see first-hand what this hard-working and dedicated group of people are doing to try to conserve the amazing natural environment at Akumal and we will definitely continue to support their efforts. I understand that there are some political issues and that not everyone is happy with the restrictions that have put in place to try to protect the reef and the turtles’ nesting places but they are just doing their best...
Written September 5, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dtannerea
Roanoke, VA16 contributions
Jul 2018 • Couples
My best wishes to these people. The are working hard to save the turtles. We went by their offices and talked with Amanda about the turtles. I could not believe it when she said that only 1 in 1,000 baby turtles survive to adulthood. They need our help and support. We were able to snorkel with them and it was just so great watching them. I hope and pray that the work of this group will enable the turtle population to increase.
Written August 16, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Leandro Ariel L
Lanus, Argentina
Hola buenas tardes queria saber como puedo solicitar qe me lleven unas ramas de un arbol qe podé vivo en remedios de escalada muchas gracias
Facku Gaxiola
Tijuana, Mexico31 contributions
Alguien sabe cual es la temporada para liberar tortugas?
Anarela O
2 contributions
Hola! Para ver las tortugas es necesario pagar 35 dolares? O desde la playa publica ya se observan?Gracias!
Al sagra A
Barcelona, Spain44 contributions
Si no te llevan en barca no se ve nada
Noni C
Lanus, Argentina184 contributions
hay fotografos para contratar y q te saquen las fotos con las tortugas??
jjml2015
Móstoles, España253 contributions
Yo no vi fotografos alli, lo que si si tu tienes camara el guia te podria sacar alguna foto.SINO llevas guia no te dejan nadar y bucear cerca de donde estan las tortugas.
Noni C
Lanus, Argentina184 contributions
vamos a ir en octubre . hay tortugas en esa epoca???
jjml2015
Móstoles, España253 contributions
no estoy seguro pero los guias que hay alli si lo saben, pienso que si, porque estan pastando en el fondo de la bahia, no obstante el pueblecito de akumal merece una visita y la playa esta muy bien.
catherine110211
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
bonjour! est-ce que le mois de décembre prochain est propice a nager avec les tortues? le site est fermé?
Gerardo S
Mexico City, Mexico98 contributions
hola si haces caso de las indicaciones de profepa el lugar esta cerrado por protección a las tortugas!
sin embargo hay personas que van a los extremos para nadar con ella pero eso ya es bajo tu propio riesgo! saludos
Michele G
Portsmouth, UK48 contributions
Hi I was in playa del carmen end Feb thro to 1st week in March and wanted to visit this beach but was told it was closed off to the public to protect the turtles...does this happen often? I'm coming back out same time next year and would love to visit this beautiful beach.
EmmaMaryBrown
Howden, UK8 contributions
I think it's the time of year you are going because it's breeding season.
We went early October and there were no restrictions.
gaiailan
Livorno, Italy10 contributions
Salve verremo a febbraio con 2 bambini e vorrei sapere se sarà possibile vedere la schiusa delle uova di tartaruga :) grazie
gaiailan
Livorno, Italy10 contributions
Ti ringrazio delle info :) ultimamente mi sono documentata un po' e ho qualche dubbio sull'etica di questa riserva..
Djbubblz
Calgary, Canada50 contributions
Thanks for your review Sandra....headed that way in a couple of weeks. Was this a particular organized event at Centro Ecologico Akumal?
Michael
26 contributions
I would love to help you, but I don't know what event is being discussed here. I know that CEA organizes a lot of events throughout the year.
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