Chasing Sea Turtles in Costa May, Mexico

Before I get into it, you’re not supposed to chase sea turtles. I’ll explain later.

My family and extended family went on a Royal Caribbean cruise over the holidays. One destination was Costa Maya in Mexico. After we disembarked from the ship, we hailed a taxi to take us to the Chunky Monkey in Majahual, Quintana Roo.

Chunky Monkey is a family-owned business that offers a wide variety of tours and a beach side spot to grab food, drinks, and sunshine. The food is delicious and the drinks are huge, which makes it a perfect spot to spend the day.

We reserved a snorkeling sea turtle excursion before arriving and once we arrived, we grabbed a beachside table and set up our stuff along the water. It was a beautiful day, which was a respite from the rain we encountered throughout our cruise. After having a drink, our boat arrived for the excursion.

Out of our group that went to the Chunky Monkey, only 4 of us went on the sea turtle excursion; myself, my two youngest kids and their mom. It was a nice little group that went out. Soon after we boarded the boat, the youngest kids put on life jackets (much to the dismay of my 10-year-old). Our dive guide told us that there’s always a chance that we might not get to see a sea turtle, but he would do his best to find them. After anchoring, we jumped overboard in search of turtles.

The water was choppy, which made it hard for my 7-year-old to breathe through the snorkel, so she had to go back to the boat where she waited with the captain. The rest of us swam around in search of sea turtles. Our dive guide was fantastic and located a sea turtle quickly. I love turtles, so it was wonderful to see one swimming around. I dove to get close to the turtle and get a good look. On one of my dives to up close, the sea turtle swam away. As I followed him, the guide tapped me on the foot to come up. When I got to the surface, he informed me we’re not supposed to follow turtles. If they want to get away, we need to let them.

After meeting the turtles, we went back to our spot at the Chunky Monkey and ate tacos and drank margaritas. The kids swam in the ocean while the rest of finally enjoyed the sun that we so badly desired before the cruise. Visiting the Chunky Monkey was my favorite day of vacation. The Chunky Monkey has a wide variety of excursions. Check out their list here.