Yesterday, I spent an incredible day at Akumal Playa, a beautiful beach near Playa del Carmen that’s famous for its sea turtles and clear turquoise water. It was one of the best nature experiences I’ve ever had.
There are two main ways to access the beach. The usual way and the Lol-ha restaurant. If you enter from the tourist way, you have to pay for parking and for beach access but we had parked at Lol-Ha so that we didn’t have to pay any parking fees, which also gave us free beach access. We had to pay 600 pesos as a deposit that we got when we paid our check, after we ate. Actually, we learned about the secret Lol-ha local access from ChatGPT which saved us about 100 pesos per person plus the extra for parking. Right as we reached, our adventure began.
When we first arrived, we (me and my dad) decided to go snorkeling on our own, without a guide. The water was calm and crystal clear, and as I floated above calm sea grass, I spotted a sea turtle gliding gracefully through the water. It felt surreal to see one so close, swimming in its natural habitat. It ate some food on the bottom of the ocean and rose for some air. Just as I saw it, the turtle disappeared into the turquoise ocean After snorkeling, I went for a short hike nearby and found a couple of abandoned houses hidden by trees and vines. The properties were beautiful and there was cool art around it. The area had a mysterious but exciting feeling, and I also noticed some really cool rock formations along the way. They looked like fossils of animal shells. After we discussed it, I wanted to see more turtles so we joined a private tour which is about 300-400 pesos per person.
Later in the day, I joined the official snorkeling tour, which turned out to be even more amazing than I expected. This time, I saw six turtles in total, including two adorable tiny baby turtles. One of them came up for air and actually stared right at me before swimming directly under my arm. It was such a special moment that I’ll never forget. We also spotted three rays gliding across the sand, one of them was a tiny baby ray that was super small. We even saw a bright orange starfish resting on the ocean floor.
Overall, my trip to Akumal Playa was unforgettable. I got to explore both the land and sea, see amazing sea life up close, and enjoy great food right on the beach! It reminded me how incredible nature can be and if you visit, I hope you experience the surreal Akumal too!
I am 8 and 1/2 years old, I love adventures and dangerous things, I have a 
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