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If you are on your own way or have already taken a trip to the beautiful beaches of Florida or Mexico this month, you couldn’t have timed your vacation better.
Travelers fork over huge amounts of money to visit the best beaches, but sometimes Mother Nature has other plans.
Hurricanes or untimely rain are one thing, but icky, smelly sargassum can ruin the whole vibe of a picture-perfect sunny beach getaway.
Bits of seaweed are bound to wash up from time to time, but sargassum is an unsightly brown seaweed that tends to be more like an aquatic invasion.
For those planning on heading to Florida or Mexico, experts from the University of South Florida (USF) have been monitoring the sargassum blooms and providing reports each month.
Popular Beaches Affected This Spring
Whether you’re packing a passport or not, some of the most popular beaches this spring are expected to see brown goop wash ashore.
Spring Breakers, in particular, always seem to have Florida and Mexico at the top of the list and that’s exactly where tourists are being warned about.
As the giant blobs of sargassum make their way to land through the Caribbean, travelers still have time to alter their plans or, at the very least, change their expectations.
Florida is expected to be directly impacted by April, according to USF. Although, southwest Florida, including the Keys, may not see sizable amounts until late April or May.
Cancun, for example, has already been hit earlier than expected.
Mexico’s top beach destination has some of the most out-of-this-world blue waters imaginable, and it is close to the States.
Given it’s the most popular international vacation spot for Americans to visit, many will surely be disappointed with the eyesore of sargassum ruining their ocean views.
Even though beaches are being impacted, sargassum is no stranger to Mexico’s shores; Tulum and Playa del Carmen are always affected, too.
The Good News
This isn’t the first rodeo for these destinations. When spring arrives, somebody somewhere across major beach destinations is preparing for worst-case sargassum scenarios.
As these vacation spots thrive on tourism, it’s not like they want to deal with the bad press of ugly, stinky beaches.
While there doesn’t seem to be a bulletproof solution, there are some strategies being implemented, including the installation of barriers and cleanup crews.
Even the Mexican Navy is getting involved to better protect beaches to give tourists the best possible vacation experience.
Sargassum arriving on popular beaches is inevitable, but the good news is substantially less is expected to arrive this spring than previous years.
Experts Continue To Monitor Sargassum Movement
Each destination handles sargassum invasions their own way, but experts will continue to monitor its movement across the ocean and update accordingly.
Until then, it’s wise to check the latest reports on whichever destination you’re planning a beach trip to and temper expectations just in case.
Mother Nature is undefeated, after all. For now, the biggest blooms seem to be expanding through the East Atlantic and Caribbean Sea, which just so happens to have some incredible beaches in its path.
USF has issued some very insightful reports, but the March bulletin has not yet been issued.
What About The Gulf?
Florida may be super popular but the U.S. is home to some awesome beach getaways, including Florida’s neighbor Alabama, which is surging in popularity already.
The latest reports show minuscule amounts of sargassum in the Gulf of Mexico, where there are many beach vacation destinations to choose from.
Of course, there is no guarantee, but this region may serve as a great alternative beach spot. With some highly underrated and super cheap beach getaways, sargassum-free vacations are not hard to find with just a little digging.
As for Mexico, Los Cabos is one of the most popular beach destinations for Americans and not at risk of seeing sargassum given its prime location on the southern tip of Baja.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.