One of our main purposes for this trip was to reveal the best cenotes to visit in Yucatán and Quintana Roo, but the idea lasted a second. Did you know that in Yucatán alone there are more than 6,000 cenotes!? It’s insane… Nevertheless we stopped by a few, all different from one another, and picked out our favorites. We’ll be adding more to the list as we discover the rest, but for now these are a total MUST.
Mayans knew that near every Alamo tree there’s always a cenote waiting to be discovered. Blue cenotes would be used as a bathing area for priests and high ranks to connect with their gods, while green cenotes were known to be a window to the underworld.
Cenote Zací
Valladolid, Yucatán
This is what it’s known as an open cenote. The roof of what was once a cavern collapsed and left a 45 meters wide ‘public pool’ (although back in Mayan times only priests and high ranks could bathe in it).
The beauty of this cenote is that, unlike all the others, it’s conveniently located right in the center of the city. Plus, you are allowed to jump from various heights (depth goes from 30 to 100 meters) and it has a regional cuisine restaurant with amazing cochinita pibil.
Price: $30 mxn per person. If you eat at the restaurant, you don’t pay the entrance fee.
Open hours: 08:00 – 18:00
Cenote Saamulá
15 min from Valladolid, Yucatán
Now you’ll get to see what a closed cenote looks like. Much colder than an open one, but you have a better view of the cavern’s stalactites. If you stay still, you’ll feel the garra rufa fish (the specie used in fish foot spas) sucking up your feet and legs.
Price: $125 mxn per person for two cenotes, Saamulá and X-Kekén
Open hours: 08:00 – 18:00 (ticket office closes at 17:30)
Cenote X-Kekén
15 min from Valladolid, Yucatán
Even colder than Saamulá, but it’s also the most picturesque one due to its giant stalactites and stalagmites and the dramatic effect of having only one small ray of sun coming in.
According to the locals, a family discovered this cenote after following their pig –who kept coming home wet and covered in mud. Kekén is the Maya word for pig.
Price: $125 mxn per person for two cenotes, Saamulá and X-Kekén
Open hours: 08:00 – 18:00 (ticket office closes at 17:30)
Casa Cenote or Cenote Manatí
10 min from Tulum, Quintana Roo
It’s more like a 250m river surrounded by beautiful mangroves, which you can explore with snorkel or scuba equipment (you don’t need any certification and can have a quick lesson right there: sometimes, having things done the ‘Mexican way’ has its benefits… LOL).
Don’t forget to visit Panchito! A 1m long crocodile that hangs out at the end of the river. Is it real? It looked very real and according to our guide it is, but we preferred not to find out…
The only difference between the guided and non-guided tour is that with the first one you’ll be able to dive under a tunnel of mangroves (20m with a pause to breathe in between).
Price: $125 mxn per person / guided tour: $400 mxn per person
If you don’t have a goPro and want videos and pictures taken, there’s a guy there called Oswaldo that charges $400 mxn for 30-40 pictures approximately.
Open hours: 08:00 – 18:00
Cenote Dos Ojos
15 min from Tulum, Quintana Roo
An amazing experience, although probably not suitable for claustrophobics. Here, you’ll be able to swim across three different caverns, all connected to each other. A magical tour that looks like an underwater version of Avatar. The only downside is that guides rush the tour, so you have to take it all in very quickly.
Be careful with your head because low rooftops with sharp stalactites are no joke, we left a couple of neurons back there. And if you can and know how, choose scuba diving over snorkeling. Underground rivers must look amazing.
Price: $600 mxn per person. The ‘all included package’ for 600 pesos that the vendors outside the park offer you it’s exactly the same as if you pay the entrance fee of $350 and then rent the equipment for $250. This includes guided tour around 3 cenotes, wetsuit, life jacket, flashlight, and snorkel equipment.
Open hours: 09:00 – 17:00
Have you been to these or other cenotes? We’d love to know!

Useful information
- Wear only biodegradable sunscreen.
- Don’t forget your towel and flip flops. And your goPro, if you have one!
- Keep your things in a bag, because bats tend to choose clean surfaces as their bathroom spot.
- Carry cash.
- If you have snorkel equipment, pack it.
- The most IMPORTANT: visit on a weekday. Weekends are so packed, the water looses its beautiful blue tones.
Saamulá & X-kekén
-You can rent a life jacket for 20 pesos. Even though both cenotes share the same entrance and are just a couple of meters away from each other, they are run by different groups so you’ll have to rent the jacket twice.
-You’ll have a guide assigned at the entrance, but the tip is completely optional. We gave him $100 pesos for taking care of our cameras while we enjoyed swimming.
-Our guide told us not to buy the ticket that included buffet: “not good and expensive”. Instead he recommended a taco stall inside the ‘park’ between Saamulá and X-kekén.
Where we stayed
Quintana Roo: You’ll be out most of the day, so we highly recommend something affordable, preferably near Tulum. We booked this hotel.
Yucatán: the most centric town is Valladolid (near the famous pink lagoons, archaeological sites and these cenotes). Our hotel was walking distance from town’s center and Cenote Zací. Not the prettiest, but it was very affordable. Made our reservation here.
