Akumal

One of the outhernmost resorts in the Riviera Maya, Akumal is a wonderful day trip for those who want to explore the Mexican Caribbean outside of Cancun. If we don't count the Maya, Akumal is the coastal development with the most seniority. The last beach on our dream beach rout, it is the most populated of the three.

To get to Akumal from Cancún, take carretera (highway) 307 south 65.5 mi/105 km. Yalku, the second of our beaches, is located just two km away, and can be reached from Akumal by boat. Akumal is a Maya word for "Place of the Turtles". The name is thought to derive from the thousands of turtles that come here to lay their eggs each spring.

These endangered sea turtles also use the beach as a breeding groud from May to October. Popular on account of its lovely sheltered bay, Akumal has expanded so much in the last few years that are now many turnoffs leading to it from the highway running along the coast. If you're looking for a Caribbean hideaway with many of Cancún's amenities, but on a smaller scale, then this is the place to go. For water sports enthusiasts, Akumal is a dream come true.

The beaches are beautiful, and the calm waters of the bay are perfect for snorkeling; the reef is just offshore. Beyond the coral wall, in deeper water, there are a series of submarine ridges honeycombed with caves and separated by canyons.  Keen divers consider them some of the finest in the Mexican Caribbean for their colorful marine life, and giant sponges in hues like hot pink and florescent orange light up the ocean as they swim. 

There is an exquisite sea-fan-and-brain-coral garden located a just a few dozen yards offshore in about six to seven feet of water, and if you're interested in sport fishing, ask the local divers to recommend a guide; they know the subterranean waters like the back of their hands. Divers may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of loggerhead, green and hawksbill turtles during immersion at local reefs.

Some sights however, are almost guaranteed: all of the coast along the Riviera Maya (the Mexican Caribbean) is near the Great Maya Barrier Reef, which shelters over 500 different species of tropical fish within swimming distance of shore. One of Quintana Roo's very few cave diving operations works out of Akumal's; indeed Akumal's reefs were the first to be explored in the area, and for many years this little village was the headquarters of CEDAM, the mexican dive exploration association.

 

CEDAM divers participaded in the Matanceros exploration and recovery project.  The Matanceros was a Spanish galleon that foundered on the offshore reef in 1741. Relics from the wreck are now displayed in the Nautical Museum at nearby Puerto Aventuras, where the CEDAM headquarters is now located. In the summer, guests sometimes spot giant sea turtles that make their way up the beach to did holes in the sand, fill them with eggs, cover the holes, and drag themselves back into the sea. Another attraction at Akumal is the statue of the spanish sailor Gonzalo Guerrero, dressed as a Mayan warrior, that stands guard over the bay.

It is a potent reminder of the fascinating history of the Mexican Caribbean as the zone where the first contact between European and indigenous people took place. Gonzalo Guerrero is called the father of the first Mestizo (the first Mexican of mixed European and native blood). Akumal also has hotels, condominiums, bungalows, and restaurants, ¡¡¡Happy diving!!!

 

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