Scuba Diving in Akumal Mexico
March 11, 2009 by cattleto
Filed under Activities, Diving
Whether you’re an experienced diver or wanting to learn the art, Akumal has the perfect ecological setting to view many specimens of great beauty underwater. Akumal is a tourist village located 62 miles south of Cancun, between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, with a small native population of 1,198.
The name “Akumal” means “place of the turtles” in Maya language. Turquoise bodies of water and beautiful, white sandy beaches provide the perfect setting for many sea turtles’ laying grounds.
Akumal was founded in 1958 specifically as a location for scuba divers to see the many species and variety of turtles which call the area “home”. Akumal Bay and Half Moon Bay provide great opportunities to survey the land and underwater life during diving tours and expeditions.
For experienced divers, area dive shops offer a variety of exciting diving trips to the 30 reef sites which include shipwrecks, cenotes and caverns and a huge amount of marine life that you can see. The dive shop makes all the arrangements and you can lease a scuba tank and regulator, mask, flippers and anything else you need. You can reserve an all day diving trip or if you are more adventurous, you can visit the caves, caverns and cenotes that make Akumal unique. Travelers from all over the world come to explore the cenotes and caves of Akumal and this special village is truly a diver’s dream.
Dive shops also have courses so you can get certified to dive in open water. They teach all levels from resort course to advanced cave diving. And what better place to learn to dive than Akumal, one of the best places in the world to go diving? These PADI Certified Instructors will guide you through the process of certification so you can enjoy exploring the wonders of the reef that awaits you in Akumal.
Cavern and cave diving is a popular activity for visitors. These caves are called “cenote”, which means “sacred well” in Maya. Dive packages offer several locations and different depths of diving, group packages, equipment rental and instruction to satisfy varying diver needs.
One of the shallow dive sites which is very popular is Cuevas de Tiburones. This site features reef overhangs which provide an optimum sleeping area for nurse sharks. Las Redes offers an abundance of marine life, schools of fish, barracudas, stingrays, lobsters and sea turtles. Yal-ku is a popular feeding site chock full of Elkhorn coral structures, tunnels and lobster.
Other easy shallow dives are found at Dick’s Reef and Motorcycle Reef. Motorcycle Reef is named so for the 15-year-old motorcycle which is now covered with live coral and plankton that nourishes area ocean life.
Experienced divers can enjoy an afternoon at Tzimin-Ha, which features parts from a 20-foot fishing boat wreck. Dives up to 100’ deep are found at Trigger Fish, which is a favorite deep dive spot for locals. Here, widespread patches of coral contrast with the sandy white floor with many species of tropical fish providing a colorful array of rare beauty.
Xaar Beach and Gonzalo’s Reef offer various types of feeding grounds for several different kinds of sea turtles for a once-in-a-lifetime diving experience. Xaar features reef fingers reaching 30’ up from the ocean floor, as well as turtles, nurse sharks and stingrays. Gonzalo’s Reef is famous for its large and vivid reef fingers; visitors are virtually assured a view of Hawksbill, Green, or Loggerhead turtles which use the area for feeding and lounging.