IMPORTANT UPDATE: SNORKEL EXCURSION

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Well the information is in...and before I continue to share this with everyone. Alex, please take a bow for all your work and effort to communicate with not only the tour operator who are on "Manana Time". But also for coordinating with many individuals in our group to get this snorkeling excursion underway. The information is fantastic! Thanks so much!

Although our excursion information is finally confirmed, there are some changes that require your review. The Snorkeling Excursion location is about an hour away from our resort and will now include Playa del Carmen which is one of the largest town next to Cancun on the Riviera Maya. Perfect opportunity to shop or try some delicious local restaurant for lunch. Just so you know a taxi ride to Playa del Carmen will be costly from our resort. Not to mention a bit of drive if you were thinking of visiting this town. Therefore, Alex and I decided our Snorkel Trip would be even better if we could cover "two excursions for the price of one" . So review the details below...and my hope is that Alex doesn't get one call, so we can all go as planned.

We currently have 22 individuals signed up for our Snorkeling Excursion to Yal-Ku Lagoon in Akumal. Sorry to announce that unfortunately our trip has increased in price from my original notification due to the cost of gas, different snorkeling location & accommodation as well as the transportation distance from our resort . IN ORDER FOR THIS TRIP to occur WE NEED A MINIMUM OF 20 PEOPLE.

If after reviewing this excursion information, you still want to go? DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. However, if you are considering canceling please contact Alex no later than 5pm on Wednesday, February 16th. Again we will need a minimum of 20 people for this excursion

to occur.

Further questions? We can assist you, please contact either Alex or myself. My fingers are crossed that this is a GO! Thanks for your immediate attention.

Diana

Excursion 3: Private Group "SNORKELING & PLAYA DEL CARMEN"

Date: Tuesday, March 8th

Time: 8am-2pm

Cost: $65 per person (not including tip for guide)

Trip Schedule (Approximation):

8am Pick-Up, our private group at resort

8-9am Travel Time to Akumal

9-11am Snorkeling at Yal-Ku Lagoon

11-11:30am Travel Time to Playa del Carmen

11:30-1:30am On Your Own in Playa del Carmen

1:30-2pm Travel Time to Resort

2pm Drop-Off at NOW Jade Riviera Cancun Resort

Photo provided by Flickr. bettyx1138

Snorkeling Excursion Update...yes we're trying!

Although details are still in the works. Remember "Manana Time"? Rest assure we will be going Snorkeling! Alex is still awaiting specific response to the details of our snorkel trip. I am working with Alex to make this a better excursion then originally planned. So please be patient and more importantly trust me. I have your back, so relax and just show up!

After researching and attaining information from our guests and tour operator, I made a decision that we will be looking at this snorkel excursion to be a lagoon site verses the open ocean reef, I had originally proposed. There was a number of factors to consider but one of the major one was the opportunity for ALL to participate and two the potential variety of sea life we would actually be able to experience (minus the potential jellyfish/stings).... Yes, the lagoon won!

Our Snorkel trip will be to Yal-ku in Akumal, which is located south of Playa del Carmen. It is a

lagoon with water depth of 6-15 feet. As you can see by the photo provided by LocoGringo.com the lagoon is quite large although in my findings from TravelYucatan.com depending on how fast you swim you should be able to cover the lagoon in 1 to 1 & 1/2 hours.

The excursion will not require a boat trip and there are handy platforms and stairs for us to utilize making it easy for all (yes, I'm not proud...I like this option!) I understand that the grounds surrounding the lagoon is supposedly manicured and has waterfront benches, paths and statues. It was noted that there are larger sea creatures at the entrance of the lagoon by the opening to the sea. Be advised that it is also much deeper there.

The protective rule for this lagoon is that there is no feeding the fish and also NO SUNSCREEN so bring a t-shirt or snorkel shirt to wear if you are sun sensitive.

Alex share this bit of information which she received from the tour operator that might be of interest to you...

Akumal is the only truly ecologically protected area on the coast and the community puts alot of effort into preserving the natural state of Yal-Ku. There is even an organization called Friends of Yal-Ku that monitors the conditions of the lagoon. In any case, compared to any of the cenotes in the area Yal-Ku is definitely cleaner because it has it's own self cleaning system ... freshwater filtered by limestone flows out to the ocean so the water never gets stagnant.

There is more detail on the website Locogringo.com and also Travel Yucatan.com. These two websites have been very helpful resources for me as I too am a newcomer to this region. So here's to the adventure and for those more experienced snorkelers/swimmers still wanting to swim in the 2nd largest reef? You can taxi from our resort to Puerto Morelos towards the pier or head to the local dive shops and they can set you up. We will still have a couple of days to do this.

Just so you know, Alex and I are trying to set-up the possibility to have a no-host stop for lunch or shopping in Playa del Carmen on our way back. Figured this was the perfect opportunity to spend a couple of hours to see what this town has to offer. What more time? You can perhaps share a taxi and go another day. As soon as I receive more updated information , I will announce it here on the blog. So you know the routine...stay tuned!

Yal-ku Lagoon Map provided by Locogringo.com