The dinner-plate sea star, and the one rule that matters

The cushion sea star is a slow, heavy animal that creeps along the seafloor on hundreds of tiny tube feet. Those feet are also how it takes in oxygen. Lifted into the air, it begins to suffocate within seconds, and the damage is often fatal even if it looks fine when you put it back. The trip out of the water for a photo is the single most common way a healthy sea star dies.

So the rule is simple, and it works better if you give the child the job: the camera goes underwater, not the animal. A cheap waterproof phone pouch turns this from a disappointment into the best photo of the trip.

Mangel Halto is the place to look. It is a mangrove-lined stretch on the calm south coast near Savaneta, with shallow, sheltered, clear water and easy entries from wooden docks and steps. There are shade palapas and it is much quieter than the hotel beaches. The shallow inner flats suit young children and beginner snorkelers; the drop-off further out is for stronger swimmers.

Watch for boat traffic in the channel, wear water shoes over the rocky and mangrove-root sections, and go in the morning when the water is at its clearest.