Tulum Cenotes

The best cenotes for swimming &

snorkeling

Mexico › Tulum › Best Cenotes

Updated: August 3, 2021

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Biking in Tulum
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Cenote Cristal is one of the best cenotes in Tulum

and one of the closest to the pueblo.

What is a Cenote?
Cenotes are limestone sinkholes filled
with fresh water, formed when bedrock
collapses and exposes groundwater
below. Most of the Yucatan’s 6000
cenotes are small, underground, and
inaccessible, though a notable number
are large enough to swim, snorkel, or
dive in. Many are crystal blue and open
to the air, while others are accessible by
stairs leading down into caverns and are
connected to large underground river
systems. If you do only one thing during
your time in Tulum visit a cenote.

Dos Ojos (Two Eyes) is the most famous cenote,

made up of 5 cenotes including the its namesake
cenotes: the Blue Eye and the Black Eye.

Tulum Cenotes: Tips &

Advice
Most cenotes have a charge of 80 to
150 pesos to enter and offer lockers,
restrooms, and snack bars. Just
take a towel, taxi money, and
snorkel-mask (optional), and you’ll
have an amazing time at any of
these cenotes.
Getting to cenotes by bike is easy
from Tulum. Pedaling 10 to 30
minutes north from the pueblo along
Avenida Coba takes you past
Cenote Zacil-Ha, Cenote Car Wash,
and Gran Cenote to name a few.
Cycling 20 minutes west along the
main road through the pueblo
Carretera Cancun-Tulum (aka
Carretera Cancun-Chetumal) leads
to Cenotes Cristal y Escondido; 15
more minutes leads to Kaan Luum
Lagoon. Heading east along the
same road leads to Caleta and
Cenote Tankah in 15 minutes and
Casa Cenote in 30 minutes. If you’re
staying in the beach zone, visit
Virgin Cenote at Clan-Destino
restaurant in the heart of the Middle
Beach Zone, offering free entrance
to the cenote for patrons. These are
all open-air cenotes, cheap to enter,
no guide required.
Some of the farther-flung cenotes
(some of which are part of
underground cave systems) are
easily accessible by driving or taxi.
These include Cenote Dos Ojos,
Cenote Sac Actun, Jardin del Eden,
Cenote Azul, Yal Ku Lagoon, and
the Cobá cenotes Choo-Ha,
Multum-Ha, and Tamcach-Ha. Taxis
in Tulum do not use meters; instead,
they charge a flat rate based on
what zone they travel through.
There is no Uber in Tulum.
Reaching most of these should cost
between 400 and 600 pesos. It is
best to have the driver wait for you
at the cenote to take you back,
rather than standing on the highway
trying to flag one down. The open-
air cenotes and Cobá underground
cenotes are cheap to enter and
don’t require a guide. The cavern
cenotes Dos Ojos, Sac Actun, and
others listed in the article below will
require a guide and gear, and cost
400 to 600 pesos to enter.
Do not wear sunscreen. Cenotes
are fragile environments
interconnected by underground river
systems. The chemical agents in
sunscreens, even the biodegradable
types, can cause irreparable
damage to the already threatened
ecosystems here. Many cenotes
have showers near the entrances,
where guests are required to rinse
before entering the water.
You can easily visit cenotes on your
own, but if you don’t want to worry
about arranging transportation, I
highly recommend this cenote and
snorkeling tour with hotel pickup and
drop off.

Scuba lessons at Casa Cenote.

Tulum’s Best Cenotes –

Video

Tulum's Best Cenotes

01:47

Tulum Cenotes and

Lagoons

1. Cenotes Dos Ojos •

Tankah, northeast of Tulum
• $$$

Dos Ojos (Two Eyes) is the most

impressive cenote group in Tulum,
named for its two largest cenotes, the
Blue Eye (a sparkling, open-air cenote)
and the Black Eye (a pitch-dark cavern
with stalactites and stalagmites; you’ll
need a guide and a flashlight to see this
one). Dos Ojos is a flooded cave system
with 5 cenotes total and connecting with
Sac Actun (more info on Sac Actun
below). Public access is available for its
2 open-air cenotes for 350 pesos
(definitely on the high end for cenote
rates), while its 3 cave cenotes require a
guide (rates vary, but it’s worth the
price). Experienced divers can also set
up scuba tours through parts of Dos
Ojos inaccessible to swimmers and
snorkelers. • Map

2. Cenote Zacil Ha •
Avenida Coba, northwest
of Tulum • $

Popular with local families, Zacil Ha is a

small, open-air cenote with a zip line,
diving platform, and 2 pools. The cenote
is only about 3 meters deep, but the zip
line is what keeps people coming back
(it’s just 10 pesos a zip). There is a
small, affordable snack bar on site, but
most local families bring their own
picnic. At 80 pesos to enter, this is
among the cheapest cenotes to visit. •
Map

3. Jardin del Eden Cenote •

Xpu Ha, northeast of Tulum
• $$

Enormous, open-air cenote in the jungle

with emerald-sapphire water. Jardin del
Eden has a cliff at one end topped with
a diving platform, and toward the center
is a group of flat rocks just beneath the
surface of the water (formerly the roof
when the cenote was inside a cave),
where people tend to sit and hang out.
Visibility is excellent and many people
bring their masks to snorkel (though
there is not much aquatic life to see
here), while divers visit to explore the
cenote’s deep underwater caves. There
are restrooms, life jacket rentals, and a
small snack bar here. Entry is 200
pesos. • Map

4. Cenotes Cristal y
Escondido • West of the
Pueblo • $

Though very close to the Tulum pueblo,

these two open-air cenotes with lovely,
clear waters are off the tourist radar, so
they tend to be pretty quiet. Cenote
Cristal is the busier of the two, with a
round shape, a diving platform, and a
few little hangout spots built around.
Across the street, Cenote Escondido is
a long, skinny strip of water teeming with
fish and with a rope swing at one end.
Both cenotes are connected by an
underwater tunnel, though you’ll need
scuba gear to swim its length. 120
pesos includes entry to both cenotes.
Enter and pay at Cristal; park at either
cenote. Don’t confuse Cenote Cristal
with Cenote Cristalino. Though
Cenote Cristallino in Xpu Ha is beautiful,
the operators have made life jackets
mandatory, which takes the fun out of
swimming there. • Map

5. Cenote Azul • Xpu Ha,

northeast of Tulum • $

Cenote Azul is a collection of open-air

pools all connected by a network of
walkways with a few diving platforms
spread throughout. The main cenote is
the deepest, though there are a few
deep pools mixed with mostly shallow
pools radiating out from the central area.
This is a popular cenote for families, as
there are plenty of shallow areas for
younger kids to enjoy. The cenote is
shaded by jungle and rocky shelves
over the water, letting in dappled
sunlight for most of the day. Several flat,
partially submerged rocks offer a perfect
spot to chill in the water while tiny fish
nibble your feet. There is a small store
with snacks and drinks for sale. 120
pesos to enter. • Map

6. Casa Cenote (formerly

Cenote Manatí) • Tankah,
northeast of Tulum • $

This busy cenote is a popular spot for

swimming, snorkeling, and scuba
lessons. What makes Casa Cenote so
special is its mix of freshwater and
saltwater, its lazy-river current (the vast
majority of cenotes don’t have a current
at all), and its abundance of wildlife.
Coati, birds, and butterflies visit its
banks, while tropical fish and blue crabs
flock around the mangrove roots.
Panchito, a solitary little crocodile, lives
near the back of the cenote; he’s never
bitten anyone in all his years living there,
but still, be sure to give him a wide
berth. 120 pesos to enter, no guide
required. There is a security checkpoint
after you turn off the highway on the
road Fraccionamiento Tankah leading to
Casa Cenote. Tell the guards you are
headed to Casa Cenote, and they will let
you pass. There are not many services
here other than porta-potties and life
jacket rentals, but there are a handful of
good restaurants in the area (the best is
Chamico’s, about 2.5 km north along the
beach). • Map

7. Cenotes Choo-Ha,
Tamcach-Ha, and Multum-
Ha • Cobá, northwest of
Tulum • $

On the same patch of land about 6 km

from the Cobá ruins are three
underground cenotes, each with unique
features. Choo-Ha is the most “cavey”
filled with stalagmites and stalactites
and shallow, jewel blue water. Tamcach-
Ha is the largest, deepest, and most
popular with 2 diving platforms set at 5
and 10 meters high. Multum-Ha, the
quietest of the three, is an almost
perfect dome with hanging vines coming
down through a small hole in its top. Life
jackets, showers, and restrooms are
available. The cenotes cost 100 pesos
each to enter. • Choo-Ha Map •
Tamcach-Ha Map • Multum-Ha Map

8. Yal Ku Lagoon and

Cenote • Akumal, northeast
of Tulum • $$

Yal Ku is a large park with a cenote that

flows into a lagoon that flows into the
sea. This the best snorkel spot in the
whole of Riviera Maya (aside from the
coral reef) due to its mix of fresh and
saltwater. Snorkelers will find tons of
wildlife here with the small colorful fish
(angelfish, parrotfish, and more) mostly
near the cenote and mangroves and the
larger fish, barracudas, rays, and sea
turtles near the ocean end of the lagoon.
There are two companies sharing
control of Yal Ku with two different
entrances. The blue and white entrance
(cenote end) is the best for snorkelers,
as they do not require life jackets, but
there are few facilities here and almost
no shade. The pink entrance (ocean
end) offers palapa rentals, a snack bar,
and cabins, but life jackets are
mandatory, even for certified divers.
Once in the lagoon, you can swim to
any part of Yal Ku, no matter where you
came in. Both companies charge 280
pesos to enter and both have snorkel
masks available to rent. • Map

9. Cenote Chaak Tun •

Playa del Carmen • $$$

Two underground cenotes, one with a

hole in the top letting in sunbeams and
dramatic hanging vines, the other low lit
(even pitch black in parts) with
impressive stalagmites and stalactites.
Chaak Tun is available to visit only as a
2-hour snorkeling tour package,
beginning with a shaman’s blessing and
ending with a Maya meal and tequila
with a little hiking and over an hour
spent in the water. Tours in English and
Spanish begin every 30 minutes from
8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; come early or at
the tail end of the day to avoid the tourist
crowds that flock here on day trips from
Cozumel. The 550 pesos admission
includes an enthusiastic guide, all gear,
a wetsuit, and food. • Map

10. Kaan Luum Lagoon

and Cenote • West of
Tulum • $

Kaan Luum is the only spot on this list

that is still more popular with locals than
travelers (though that is fast changing).
This family-friendly lagoon is ideal for
young swimmers with most of it
shallower than 1.5 meters. Its pale jade
water abruptly turns dark blue where a
deep cenote begins. The cenote is also
marked off with a rope and buoys; only
scuba divers are allowed in. Facilities
include a large palapa (where locals
picnic), a pier and group of small
palapas (where everyone hangs out), 2
overwater swingsets, and an outhouse.
100 pesos to enter; to discourage
drones, they charge an extra 150 to
bring one in. • Map

11. Cenote and Caleta

Tankah • Tankah, northeast
of Tulum • $$

This hidden gem offers the best of both

worlds: an open-air cenote in the jungle
and a caleta (small cove) on the beach.
The caleta is a nearly circular cove at