Hi Virginia! We have been to the Tulum area many times and it is beautiful. You can swim in the ocean there and the beach is beautiful with soft white sand. The water is clear and turqoise but there are waves and no reef to swim out to. If you want to snorkel you would have to drive to Akumal, Tankah Bay, XelHa or to one of the many cenotes for some cave snorkeling. If you want to be close to good snorkeling, swimming some restaurants maybe you want to stay in Akumal. It is quiet there with a very nice beach and the snorkeling straight out from the old Spanish Canons is very good. We are going back to Belize in June but we are also planing trip number 10 to the Mexican Carribean in September. We love both places but did invest in Belize because we don't trust the Mexican government. They also allow to much environmental destruction which we have a big issue with. But than again Belize is great!!! Maybe you need to make 2 trips this year.