Snorkel Chinchorro

The Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve, an atoll located about 30 km from Mahahual, offers the best snorkeling in Mexico. Expeditions to Chinchorro are very special because there are no trips every day, and they are subject to, first, by the weather -it is important that sea conditions are good- and, second, by the number of people -a minimum group of eight snorkelers is needed-.

The atoll is famous for its black coral, nurse sharks, turtles, crocodiles, lobsters and pink snails, but also has archaeological sites in the form of wrecks. A submerged cemetery that hosts a total of 70 historic shipwrecks from the sixteenth century to the present. Wreck expeditions only take place in summer and on specific dates.

There are only a very few boats in Mahahual that have permission to operate in the Chinchorro Reserve. Pepe Dive Mahahual, which belongs to the Cooperativa Turística Paraíso del Caribe, has two of these boats that alternate their trips according to the needs. One of them, the Gran Kraken, with a capacity of 20 people, is the largest and most comfortable of those that operate in the atoll.

The operation starts at 8 am at Pepe Dive Mahahual’s facilities. The clients must have already completed all the paperwork the day before the trip: signing of liability papers; certifications verification; equipment testing; payment of the tour, etc. On the day of the trip, only the environmental fee ($362 mxn per visitor) for the conservation of the park must be paid in cash before boarding.

The trip to the atoll takes between one and a half and two hours, depending on sea conditions. Upon arrival at the reserve, the first snorkel takes about an hour. After this first activity, the boat sets off again and you will visit Cayo Centro Island, in the heart of the reserve, where you will have time to eat a lunch of sandwiches and fruit and walk around the islet to observe the crocodiles and giant iguanas. It is important to know that we are the only authorized operator that maintains the visit to the island, something that we consider a must for any tourist visiting the Reserve for the first time.

After the tour of Cayo Centro, we go back to the boat and  to another reef spot for the second snorkel of the day, after which, and after a snack with some local fruit, we return to Mahahual, where we would be arriving between 16 and 17h.

Read more about biosecurity measures for visitors to Banco Chinchorro.

   Snorkel tour at Banco Chinchorro: $2,700 MXN
(With promo price with cash payment: $2,500 MXN)