Guide · 2 min read
Responsible Snorkeling in Cancún: The Reef Rules
The sea between Cancún and Isla Mujeres is a national park. Which sunscreen to use, why the coral is never touched and what the park asks of everyone in the water.
By Alfonso G · Published
- Sunscreen
- Biodegradable only
- Distance
- 2 meters from the coral
- In the water
- Life jacket or waist float
- Wildlife
- No feeding, no chasing
Why it matters
The Costa Occidental de Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancún and Punta Nizuc National Park protects the reefs off Cancún. Green, hawksbill, loggerhead and leatherback turtles live there, all of them endangered.
The rules in this guide come from the park's management program, published in Mexico's Diario Oficial de la Federación on August 2, 2016.
Sunscreen
Inside the park, only biodegradable sunscreen or tanning lotion is allowed. Everything else is banned.
Don't touch, don't stand
Standing on the reef, holding on to it or touching it is banned, and so is dragging gear over the coral. In the water you keep at least 2 meters from the coral formations.
Look from a distance: 2 meters from the coral.
A life jacket or float for everyone
When snorkeling in the park, everyone wears a life jacket or a waist float. Only guides may swap it for a wetsuit or a ring buoy. Each guide takes 12 people at most.
Turtles and fish
Feeding, chasing or harassing any animal in the park is banned. If you see a turtle, let it go on its way.
The wristband
Whoever takes you into the park pays the access fee and gives you a wristband, which you wear in sight the whole time you're inside.
Questions we get
- Which sunscreen can I use?
- Biodegradable only. The park's management program bans the rest.
- Do I have to wear a life jacket?
- Yes. When snorkeling in the park, everyone wears a life jacket or a waist float.
- Can I touch a turtle?
- No. The management program bans feeding, chasing or harassing the park's animals.
