Currently there are 431 known species of turtles worldwide. The hawksbill sea turtles, green sea turtles (also known as white turtles), and Caguuama turtles are the most common ones found in the Riviera Maya. Some of Laúd turtles have been spotted very rarely. The Laúd turtle is the largest living turtle species and can grow up to 2.5 m and 700 kg. Unlike most of its conspecifics, it does not have a back shield made of horn scales, instead its it has bone armor surrounded by leathery skin, which is why it is also called leather-back turtle. All representatives are cold-blooded, egg-laying reptiles that feed mainly by sea grass.

Here on the Riviera Maya you can marvel at these beautiful marine life in their natural environment. They can be found for example, in the Sian Kaan nature reserve or in Akumal. Akumal means "place of the turtles" in Mayan language, which is totally true. Here you can find numerous turtles and snorkel or dive with them. They grow up to 90 centimeters ans 75 kilograms. You can observe these  fascinating creatures especially well in the morning when there are not so many people at the beach. Between May and September they nest along the Riviera Maya and of course also in Akumal. The females lay between 80 and 150 eggs in the warm sand three to five times a year. It takes 57 up to 64 days for the hawksbill turtles to hatch. The temperature is decisive for the sex of the turtle. At high temperatures mostly females are born and at lower temperatures mostly males are born. That is why also the global warming has devastating consequences for turtles. In Australian population it could be shown that, because of the global warming, on one male turtle came 116 females.  It can be assumed that there will be no different for the local turtles. 

The green sea turtle can live 40 up to 50 years and can orient itself on the earth's magnetic field. At the age of 10 to 15 they become sexually mature and, thanks to their sense of direction, find their place of birth again after years for laying eggs.

Both species are now endangered. They were hunted for a long time ans are still being hunted for their meat, eggs or even their shell. Although turtles' meat can be poisonous if they have eaten poisonous marine life or plants, their meat is considered as a delicacy in many cultures. The shell is used, for example, for art or jewelry and is very popular. Both species are now threatened with extinction and the green sea turtle has been under international protection since 1988. So in Akumal, too. Volunteers and organizations try to protect the animals and also their nests. They pay attention to the correct handling of the tourists with the animals. The natural habitat of the turtles must bee preserved in order to save them for extinction. Even at a distance from the animals or from the boat, they are wonderful to look at and definitely a highlight of every holiday.

There is nearly nobody, who does not love them: dolphins! Ans almost everyone saw at least one episode of 'Flipper' in their childhood and wished they have this clever marine mammal for their best friend. When we meet them in the wild on our tour through the Sian Kaan nature reserve or (with luck) on the way to Holbox, some guests are so touched that they actually have tears in their eyes. No wonder, an encounter with these wonderful creatures is really unique! And so we hear a collective 'Oh!' every time when the animals voluntarily approach the boat and accompany us for a while. You almost get the impression that they are just as curious about us as the other way around!

Dolphins belong to the toothed whales and are therefore mammals that live in the water. They are the most diverse and largest family of whales and are common in all seas. We mainly see the so-called bottle-nosed dolphins here. In contrast to 'Flipper', the bottle-nose dolphin are a little bit calmer, not great jumping artists, and their nose is - as their name says - a bit rounder than other dolphin species. With their specially shaped snouts, they look like they are constantly smiling. This characteristic also makes them so attractive to all of us, and quite involuntarily everybody smiles while seeing them.

Dolphins are one of the most intelligent animals. That's because of their brains, which are big and with a real cortex. Many scientists have the opinion that dolphins does not only have a high mental capacity, but also an emotional intelligence and are therefore able to feel suffering and grief - for example because of pain, imprisonment or loss. They are very social beings, who usually live together in groups and have complex communication skills. They communicate within the group by clicking, whistling or chattering noises. But they also communicate trough physical contact. Moreover, they are able to perceive their environment trough echolocation.

Dolphins are fast swimmers, who can reach a speed up to 55 kilometers per hour and need space to live and for finding food. They live therefore in a perfect habitat in the near endless oceans. In addition to the freedom to swim long distances, this also enables them to dive into deeper (cooler) water. Yes, dolphins need shade! Their skin is sensitive, and excessive sunlight or even drying out of the skin, is very dangerous for them. A small pool in which dolphins are still around the world can therefore never have the standards of a sea, prevents their social and hunting behavior and is harmful to their health. Contact with human skin and their bacteria is also not healthy for them and can cause skin diseases.

Dolphins sleep by letting one half of their brain fall asleep. The other side stays awake! This allows them to keep breathing. In addition, one eye stays open while sleeping. So they can watch their surroundings and possible attackers.

Like all whales, dolphins only give birth to one cub at a time. The gestation period is on average one year, but varies between different species. Some of the calves stay with their mothers for up to six years, but start to look for food for themselves within a few months. The babies of the bottle-nosed dolphins stay around 22 months with their mothers. (Incidentally, after conception, the father runs away as soon as he had fun..) Well, not everything is romantic as we imagine in the dolphin world ;-)

One could talk and write for hours about these fascinating animals. Or you can take a look at them - where they should be: in the open sea - for example on our Sian Kaan tour. In any case, we think they are most beautiful in the wild and free.

Agoutis look like a large, long-legged guinea pig. The South American rodents are able to run very quickly and are pure herbivores. They can be found all over the Yucatán Peninsula and in many hotels. They can live up to a maximum of 20 years. The hind legs are significantly longer and have four toes, against to the front legs with three. They are brown to reddish in color and white to yellow on the belly. The large head has small, round ears and large eyes. They can get quite large and measure 42 to 62 cm from their nose to the bottom. Their weight rages between 1.5 to 4 kilograms. The tail is just a small stub.

In addition to the South American coati, the white-nosed coati and the Nelson coati belong to the coati genus. They are between 40 and 70 cm long and can get up to 18 years old. They belong to the order of predators, but are usually not dangerous and leave people completely alone. On the contrary, in many hotels they come very close to people because of feeding. But be careful: they are able to bite hardly and should never be fed!

Mexico is the world's number one in aspect of reptile species. Iguanas, such as the black iguana, are particularly common in Mexico. They usually hide in crevices in rocks. However, you can discover them nearly everywhere in the heat in many hotels and also in the Mayan temples. Especially in Tulum there are very many of them. In terms of color, they adapt perfectly to their stony surroundings. They are usually quite shy, so you should not approach them to quickly. They should also not be fed under any circumstances and they are able to bite hard. There are many different types of iguanas, all sizes and colors living on the Yucatán Peninsula.

The whale shark season starts here in the region from mid-May and ends in mid-September. There is hardly a place on earth where the animals can be observed better than in Mexico. The gentle giants appear in hundreds on a good day between July and August on the water surface near the islands Contoy, Holbox and Mujeres. The area between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean is said to be one of the richest feeding places in the world. Huge amounts of plankton come up to the surface from the cold regions of the Atlantic and many animals come to eat: marlins, tuna, dolphins, sardines, sharks, manta rays and whale sharks. They have become one of the greatest attractions in the Mexican Caribbean. They are often called 'dominos' because of the white dots on their back. They grow up to 16 m long and are loners. Their habitat are the world's tropical seas and they feed on plankton and fish eggs. In August 2009 the largest concentration of almost 420 animals was recorded during a flight over the region. The fish are very benevolent and cannot be stopped from eating by individual snorkelers. However, many boats and swimmers can disturb the animals' feeding and they submerge. Inadequate nutrition prevents animals from growing and reproducing. Therefore, licenses for boats and excursion participants are severely limited and precise rules of conduct for tourists while snorkeling must be observed.

The brown pelican is a large water bird that can reach a wingspan of up to 2m with a body length of up to 1.37m. They are born completely white and do just become brown or gray when they are fully grown young animals. The males have a more specific color on their head of brown and white. The animals can be observed very well, especially in the Sian Kaan nature reserve and also on Holbox. They dive into the water while swooping down to catch fish. Groups of flying animals form a row or a V-formation. You can also often see these animals on the hotel beaches.

The typical flamingo areas are in the west of the Yucatán Peninsula, in Celestun on the Gulf of Mexico. Nevertheless, you can often see many animals in Rio Lagartos or on Holbox. The best time to see these animals is from March to September. The fragile-looking birds waddle about in the water and sand, searching for food. They are born white and get their pink color from the food they eat - small pink crabs with the dye called carotinoid.

We are getting more and more questions about the algae situation at the Riviera Maya. Therefore we would like to tell you a little bit about it and answer commend questions here.

Where does the Sargassum come from and why has it been become so much during the last time?

Contrary to the popular usage, it is not seaweed but a brown alga - the sargassum. For a long time, scientists did not agree on the origin of the sargassum and there were different theories. In the meantime, the majority are certain that sargassum comes from the so-called Sagasso Sea and is driven towards the coast with the currents. Depending on the season, there were always floods of sargassum, but they came in a manageable amount. In 2015, a so-called El Nino year, there was an increased growth. In 2016 and 2017 the beaches were free of algae again.

A disproportionate growth has been observed for around a year and the sargassum floats with easterly winds to the coasts of Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Florida and other Caribbean destinations. By the way, 2019 was another El Nino year.

Why is it growing so intensely now?

Many experts argue about it. However, it seems certain that the sargassum is blooming due to global warming and the pollution of the world's oceans. Fertilizers that are diverted into the sea from agriculture in South America play also an important role. So we all - in one way or another - contributed to it in some way, because climate, and with it water warming, is a global problem and concerns us all.

What are the effects on nature?

The sargassum has a serious impact on the largest ecosystem we have: the sea and its inhabitants. For example, turtles and small fish get caught in the sargassum carpets and cannot break free on their own.

On some beaches, for turtles it is also difficult to lay their eggs into the sand, as they cannot cross the mountains of the sargassum that was washed up here.

One can only speculate about the long-term consequences.. And tourism in the affected countries have to deal with this new problem.

What is being done about sargassum? And where is it actually going?

In all affected (federal) states there are countless efforts to get the problem under control. For example floating barriers in the sea, which should prevent the sargassum from being flooded. However, there is still no reliable long-term experience of the real success.

The beaches are cleaned - partly manually and partly with machines - so unhindered access to the sea is possible. One problem is that also a lot of sand gets removed by removing the sargassum and the beaches become smaller.

The municipalities concerned deal with the collected sargassum, and we are talking about tons and tons every day, differently. In areas with agriculture and fields, it is partly used as a fertilizer. In states like Quintana Roo, with many tourist resorts, this is not possible because of the huge  jungle areas. That's why it has to be transported away, burned, buried or - and there are always clever minds - used creatively. A house was already build out of it and a Mexican company has launched a shoe that uses sargassum for production.

Scientists of different states work together to find a solution to not let sargassum arise in the first place.

Can I still bathe?

There are days when the sea is wonderful turquoise and days when a lot of algae lays in the beach. Unfortunately, we cannot predict at what time of the year it is more worse or more good. In some bays it is a big problem, in some hotels there are almost nothing. In addition, the hotel employees work around the clock, often by hand, to remove the algae for tourists. So you will still be able to enjoy the sea.

Is there a place without algae? Some alternatives?

Mexico has a lot to offer as a country, not only wonderful beaches, but also beautiful freshwater lagoons, Caribbean islands, tropical animals and Mayan temples. Despite the algae situation, you can spend a wonderful and unforgettable holiday here. On many of our tours you will not see any algae in the water and you will be able to enjoy the day. For example in Bacalar or on Holbox you can experience the perfect Caribbean feeling. Or you can immerse yourself in Mayan culture together with us on our tours to Tulum, Chichen Itza, Coba or EK Balam and refresh yourself in the crystal clear water of the cenotes we visit.

So please do not let your well-deserve vacation spoil! Mexico is always worth a trip and we will do everything we can to fill your days here with unforgettable experiences!