Akumel trip report

I am usually a lurker here, but thought I should do this trip report
because not many people go to Akumel and there have been some questions
about the area lately. Akumel is a tiny suburb about 60 mile south of
Cancun and south of Playa del Carmen in the Riviera Maya. It is opposite
the south end of Cozumel. It is definitely quiet and laid back. I stayed
at Villas DeRosa http://www.cenotes.com and dove with them. I choose
Akumel because I could get free America West tickets to Cancun and
didn’t want to take the ferry to Cozumel. I thought I would try
something new. My local dive shop got me a good package deal that
included airport transfers.
The resort was very good. I had a hotel type room, but most rooms were
large suites facing the ocean. They have a bar and a restaurant. The
restaurant had a small menu, but the food was excellent. The staff was
excellent. The only bad part was that this place is very isolated. No
other restaurants or anything else around within walking distance except
a minimart. If you want a quiet place, this is it.
The dive operation is Aquatech and was good. They use a panga type boat
(not my favorite, but understandable here). The deep dives are a 5 - 6
minute boat ride straight out from the beach. The dive sites fan out
across the bay. There are at least a half dozen different sites within a
5 minute ride and more in the adjacent bays. The shallow dive is a two
minute ride in half way to the beach. The sites are mostly all finger
and canyon type sites, no walls.
For three of my five days diving, it was just me and the dive master. I
love those. The other two days there was one, and two, other divers. All
the dive sites were similar and among the healthiest corals that I have
seen. There were some of the best soft coral and sponges, and biggest
stands of elkhorn coral. Lots of small fish at all the sites. I didn’t
see much in way of large pelagics- one turtle, one barracuda and two
stingrays. It is difficult to describe but the fish weren’t as skittish
as I have seen elsewhere. I took my first good photos of queen angels
and rock beauties. They never stood still before. I am sure it is
because there is so little dive pressure. In all, I have photos of five
different angel species. I have my dive pictures posted at
http://www.public.asu.edu/~elliotg/
I took one side trip for an afternoon to the Mayan ruins at Tulum. It is
a 15 minute drive from the resort. Tulum is not much compared to
Chitzen-Itza or Uxmal, but it is the only Mayan ruins on the coast and
is really photogenic. I have a couple of those picture on the web site also.
Elliott Goldstein

Elliott S. Goldstein
School of Life Science
Cellular, Molecular and Bioscience Program
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85287-4501
phone: 480-965-7176
fax: 480-965-6899
e.goldstein@asu.edu

"Elliott Goldstein" <e.goldstein@asu.edu> wrote in message
news:c1o5p4$429$1@news.asu.edu...
> I am usually a lurker here, but thought I should do this trip report
> because not many people go to Akumel and there have been some questions
> about the area lately. Akumel is a tiny suburb about 60 mile south of
> Cancun and south of Playa del Carmen in the Riviera Maya. It is opposite
> the south end of Cozumel. It is definitely quiet and laid back. I stayed
> at Villas DeRosa http://www.cenotes.com and dove with them. I choose
> Akumel because I could get free America West tickets to Cancun and
> didn’t want to take the ferry to Cozumel. I thought I would try
> something new. My local dive shop got me a good package deal that
> included airport transfers.
> The resort was very good. I had a hotel type room, but most rooms were
> large suites facing the ocean. They have a bar and a restaurant. The
> restaurant had a small menu, but the food was excellent. The staff was
> excellent. The only bad part was that this place is very isolated. No
> other restaurants or anything else around within walking distance except
> a minimart. If you want a quiet place, this is it.
> The dive operation is Aquatech and was good. They use a panga type boat
> (not my favorite, but understandable here). The deep dives are a 5 - 6
> minute boat ride straight out from the beach. The dive sites fan out
> across the bay. There are at least a half dozen different sites within a
> 5 minute ride and more in the adjacent bays. The shallow dive is a two
> minute ride in half way to the beach. The sites are mostly all finger
> and canyon type sites, no walls.
> For three of my five days diving, it was just me and the dive master. I
> love those. The other two days there was one, and two, other divers. All
> the dive sites were similar and among the healthiest corals that I have
> seen. There were some of the best soft coral and sponges, and biggest
> stands of elkhorn coral. Lots of small fish at all the sites. I didn’t
> see much in way of large pelagics- one turtle, one barracuda and two
> stingrays. It is difficult to describe but the fish weren’t as skittish
> as I have seen elsewhere. I took my first good photos of queen angels
> and rock beauties. They never stood still before. I am sure it is
> because there is so little dive pressure. In all, I have photos of five
> different angel species. I have my dive pictures posted at
> http://www.public.asu.edu/~elliotg/
> I took one side trip for an afternoon to the Mayan ruins at Tulum. It is
> a 15 minute drive from the resort. Tulum is not much compared to
> Chitzen-Itza or Uxmal, but it is the only Mayan ruins on the coast and
> is really photogenic. I have a couple of those picture on the web site
also.
> Elliott Goldstein
>
In case people are doing a search, it is spelled Akumal. My wife and her
girlfriend do a girl's week off each year (let's me off the hook for my
Alaska fishing trip) in Mexico, Costa Rica and the like. Their favorite
spot is Akumal for its laid back character, great beaches, snorkeling, and
sea turtles. Sounds like he diving is equally nice.

Buck