Playa del Carmen is definitely a travel destination where you can enjoy the nature at its best. Sure there are lots of top class resorts and beautiful restaurants and trendy shops you can check out and that's totally ok, but it's all surrounded by nature.
Playa del Carmen Snorkeling is something you definitely have to do. Right in front of Playa del Carmen there are beautiful reefs you can visit and colors are amazing. One thing about Snorkeling in Playa del Carmen is that there may be lot's of traffic with boats for different tours...
That's why we'll tell you where you can go Snorkeling around Playa del Carmen.
Snorkeling in Puerto Morelos.
Well, not only for that, Puerto Morelos is really close to Playa del Carmen and it's known as the entrance to the Riviera Maya, by close we mean only about 20 minutes by car, of course always depending on traffic conditions. Snorkeling in Puerto Morelos is amazing because you'll see a lot of marine life and lots of colors in the coral reef, all of this because Puerto Morelos has a National Marine Protected Park and fishing and motor sports are not allowed in a big area.
If you are lucky you'll see some turtles, rays, nurse sharks, which are not dangerous at all, lots of parrot fish and more.
Puerto Morelos is really nice, it used to be a fisherman town and now is more like a tourist town still keeping its local sensation.
Puerto Morelos is actually the place where the Riviera Maya Snorkeling takes place and it's about 30 minutes from Cancun and 30 minutes from Playa del Carmen, right in between.
Snorkeling in Akumal.
Akumal is a beautiful bay in the Riviera Maya only 30 minutes from Playa del Carmen and it's a gorgeous place to see turtles and lots of fishes, but especially turtles. These beautiful dosil animals will welcome you and swim around you here, but be sure not to disturb them since this is some of the reasons why the entrance to Akumal bay wants to be restricted since sometimes tour operators will bring big groups of people to see the turtles.
Make sure you take some time to visit Akumal when you are visiting the Riviera Maya since its a place that's worth it.
Snorkeling in Xcacel-Xcacelito.
Xcacel is a protected beach where turtles comes to nest once a year, the area is a big double-bay protected by a small reef that's reachable from the shore (swimming). This is a perfect place for people that want to go Snorkeling solo and are beginners, the waters are shallow and you can see lots of fishes and some coral formations. Currents are not strong and there a lots of places you can actually reach the bottom while being standing.
In order to enter Xcacel you should go early since there is a restricted number of people allowed per day and you can bring your umbrella and shares or look for a spot below the palm trees but make your you pick all your trash and if you see some trash on the beach help the locals and pick it up.
Snorkeling in Paamul.
This is another place you can visit in the Riviera Maya for Snorkeling. Paamul is something like a mix, it used to be an RV Park, and still is but the people here actually live onsite full time now...
Paamul is another small bay in the Riviera Maya and it's beautiful. There is a small reef you can visit by yourself by snorkeling from the shore, there are also some rocks where animals and fishes go hide and it's here where you can see them. It's not a big reef to snorkel so don't expect the huge reef, but it's a really nice experience!