You can get to Valladolid by renting a car and driving, taking the ADO bus, or via tour. The main feature here is the (artificial) waterfall, which adds to the ambiance when youre swimming in the cenote. The climb up is steep and tested my fear of heights quite a bit, but the views from the top are well worth the effort. Dont miss a chance to go swimming in Cenote Xcanche! For more about visiting Cenote Hubiku, see our article here. I use and love World Nomads personally, but be sure to compare policies! The cenote itself is deep. It is also one of the top four most visited Mayan ruins from the Riviera Maya. There is a buffet in a separate building nearby, though personally, Id recommend the option they give to take a hut by the swimming pool and just order food and drink directly.Cenote Oxman itself is a beautiful cenote partially covered and sunken pretty deep in the crowd. Nate Hake is a digital nomad from Denver, Colorado who has been traveling the world full time since 2016. Heres what you need to know! Opening a business in Playa Del Carmen -is it for you? We personally drove to Mexico from Valladolid (though heres a very important tip if you choose this route: rent your car before arriving in Valladolid!) Near the entrance, there are booths available selling drinks and snack food. We recommend having at least 600-700 pesos/person on hand when you arrive, especially if you also plan to visit Cenote Xcanche and/or eat lunch on site. Around 45 structures have been mapped, and around 1 square mile (of approximately 12 square kilometers) of the city can be explored today. If youre visiting Valladolid from Cancun, check out this highly rated cenote tour from Viator. The restaurant is on the north end of Temozon and has a large palapa roof. But considering just how beautiful the cenote is, and how modern the facilities are, Cenote Chukum is for sure one of the best Valladolid cenotes! Open Cenote Near Chichen Itza Mayan Ruins, Google Maps | Distance from Valladolid: 38 km | Entrance: 80 pesos | Hours: 8 am 5 pm daily. Cenote SAC-AUA is one of the more unique cenotes to add to your Yucatan itinerary. If youre staying on the Riviera Maya, a taxi will set you back a pretty penny, but is technically still an option (though not one wed recommendat that point, youre better off with a tour). Xcaret discounts, sales coupons and ways to save money on your trip! There are male and female changing areas with lockers, but you need to bring your own lock. Though you can swim in Cenote Suytun, just be aware this is really more of a photo spot than anything else. Google Maps | Distance from Valladolid: 5.4 km| Entrance: 80 pesos for adult & 50 pesos for children | Hours: 9 am 6 pm daily. Fast forward all the way to the 1980s, and excavations began in the city. Google Maps | Distance from Valladolid: 29 km | Entrance: 190 pesos for entrance to cenote, cave, and kayak | Hours: 8 am 5 pm daily. Here are my 11 favorite cenotes to visit in the Valladolid area: Disclosure: Travel Lemming is an independent reader-supported blog. There are just a couple of openings in the ceiling, where the light shines through to illuminate the clear water inside. You just have to time your visit for the early morning or late afternoon, when the tour buses arent at Cenote Ik Kil. There are changing rooms, optional life jackets available for an additional 30 peso rental, and a platform where daring adventures can jump into the water below. There is a large platform for entering the cenote, so its one of the better options if youre visiting with kids. Most open cenotes though have more opaque water since leaves and dust fall into them. Most cenotes require the use of life jackets, and personal flotation devices are a good idea even when they dont in order to minimize your risk. Its very easy to access and not far at all from the parking lot! If you want something a bit more secure, though, there are lockers near the showers. Most of the cenotes offer free parking, the roads near Valladolid are wide and well paved, and using a car will give you the freedom to time your trip to avoid the crowds. Its a reasonably large open cenote that can make for a great way to cool off after a hot morning spent exploring the ruins. As an Amazon Associate, Our Escape Clause earns from qualifying purchases. If youre staying in Valladolid itself, there surprisingly arent many cenote tours to choose from. If youre visiting Valladolid, then hitting a few cenotes is an absolute must-do thing for your itinerary. If you are traveling by yourself, you can pay 70 pesos for the entrance and walk to the cenote. If you want to sample some local specialties, Carnes Concepcion is one of the best places. It was at its height from roughly 770 to 840 CE, and was the home of around 20,000 people. Plus, the stalactites that dangle from the cave roof are pretty dramatic! Wondering what to bring with you when heading out on a day trip to Ek Balam and Cenote Xcanche? Purell Hand Sanitizer We carry this everywhere, and never been sorry to have it floating around in our day bag. Although you might be on a self guided trip and have time to visit the two during your time in the area. Want to avoid dealing with logistics but still see the best of Ek Balam and Cenote Xcanche? He has traveled to 65+ countries across six continents around the world and writes about emerging travel destinations at TravelLemming.com. Ek Balam ruins are one of the popular sites that people visit in the Yucatan Peninsula. We typically focus on travel in the USA and Europe (especially in our beloved Italy), but feature destinations across the world! On the path to the entrance, you might be flagged down by other tour operators selling everything from ATV rides to ziplines. When visiting, people also can visit the cenote that is nearby. Wild and wonderful, Cenote Xcanchesometimes referred to as the Ek Balam Cenote because of its very close locationis among our favorite cenotes in the Yucatan peninsula. While the above are my top 11 recommendations, there are so many amazing cenotes in Valladolid to consider. Truly, visiting Ek Balam is absolutely worth the entrance fee. Valladolid is a charming colonial town just about 30 minutes south of Ek Balam. Ek Balam is located roughly 30 minutes by car from Valladolid, around 2 hours from Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and Merida. You still are able to visit this cenote yourself if you like. Bathing Suit Dont miss a chance to go swimming in Cenote Xcanche! One of the newest cenotes to open in the Yucatan, Cenote Chukum is one of the most beautiful cave cenotes Ive seen in all of Mexico. For 250 pesos, we got admission, a buffet, lockers, plus life jackets (which are mandatory). It is a much more tranquil place, then the Ek Balam cenote.
Google Maps | +52 985 856 0721 | Entrance: 30 pesos or free with meal purchase | Hours: CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS AS OF FALL 2021. Google Maps | Distance from Valladolid: 17 km | Entrance: 100 pesos | Hours: 9 am 5 pm daily. After you travel down the trail to the cenote you know you have arrived when you see this sign. If you click through a link on Our Escape Clause, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Never fear, because Im a Valladolid travel expert. Overall, Cenote Oxman is a great choice if you also want the benefit of the swimming pool, the large hammocks, and the decent drinks from the bar. You might miss this town if you blink, but there are a few little things of note here. Managing your own trip to Ek Balam will add lots of flexibility to your day, and be far less stressful than worrying about picking up a taxi after you explore, too. Bug Spray Heading into the jungle to explore Mayan ruins practically guarantees a few mosquito bites, but you can avoid the worst of it with bug spray! The buffet was quite expansive and surprisingly delicious. It is only possible with a car since there is no public transportation options available nor taxi. If you dont want to visit the cenote here at Ek Balam there are some other options nearby. We chose to have lunch onsite when visiting Cenote Xcanche, in large part because all of the swimming left us starving. There are other options that include bike rental or the tricycle taxis. Most cenotes that you can swim in are privately owned and carry some sort of entrance fee, though often this is a relatively small fee of as little as 30 pesos ($1.50 USD). If the thought of driving in Mexico scares you, another way to visit many cenotes in one go is to join a guided tour to various cenotes. But its worth the drive and, as Cenote Secreto Mayas name suggests, its a bit of a secret still you wont have compete with as many crowds. This cenote is a little further off the beaten path, but work taking the time to get there. ). When you compare this price to the popular Tulum ruins, which clock in at an 80 peso price tag, Ek Balam is comparatively expensive! We also have a guide to great restaurants in town. Just aim for something comfortable to wear, not flashy, and medium-sizedwe used aNorthface Jester backpackfor years and loved it as well. To get into the water, there are stairs to the water. But Ive been several times, and it always has a fun party vibe. The menu was limited, but the food was excellent and prices great (80-100 MXN, or between $4-6 USD) for a mealwe paid less there than at an average restaurant in Valladolid. The crowd loves cheering as people take turns on the rope swing! Google Maps | Distance from Valladolid: 6 km | Entrance: 150 pesos, or 250 with buffet | Hours: 9 am 5 pm daily. Road bike rentals and pedicabs are easy to come by, though. In all Cenote Samula was my least favorite of the two, though that may have been because there was a very upset child swimming whose cries echoes through the cave walls. Valladolid is the largest town nearby and a colonial gem that makes for a good base to explore the area. Cenote Zaci is a large open cenote that is partially open to the sky. Its one of the easiest cenotes to access, as the stairs down to the surface are well paved. There are areas that are dry and fairly easy to keep your eye on. Cenote Xcanche is a deep cenote. Thank you! Comfortable Day Bag We currently usePacsafes sleek anti-theft backpackand love it, but if you dont want to shell out the cash for this trip, thats totally understandable. There is an easy-to-use, expansive parking lot onsite that you can use for access to both the ruins and the cenote. Theres plenty of parking, an adjoining restaurant, Mayan performers, and decent facilities. Though divers have reported seeing a crocodile in a cenote near Akumal, this is an extremely rare occurrence and most Mexican cenotes including all cenotes near Valladolid do not contain crocodiles. It is about 12 feet (4 meters) off the water. If it were closer to Valladolid, this cenote might just top this list. Known as El Torre, or The Tower, this structure is one of the largest Mayan ruins to be found on the Yucatan peninsula. Here they are: This cenote is popular with many tours to Ek Balam because it is just off the road and is set up for a lot of tourist per day. ), 15 Incredible Books About Iceland (To Read Before Visiting! You can even imagine being back in time with the same corn fields planted by locals nearby. mayan sketchers There is one rope swing where you can drop into the water. The lockers and showers are new and spacious, there is plentiful parking, and the cenote itself has a zip line and even a kayak you can take out into the cenote. With that said, the Yucatan peninsula is home to literally thousands of cenotes, located in everything from schools to Costco parking lots, so it is possible to find some cenote without an entrance fee. Some links throughout this site are affiliate links. Once a thriving Mayan city, construction began on Ek Balam as early as 300 BCE, and the city was potentially occupied as late as 16th century CE. Here is everything you need to know about visiting the cenote and options. Even if youre not sure if you want to swim, we recommend bringing itafter sweating through your Ek Balam tour, you might be glad you have it. How to find it and rekindle your small town love, No more Covid-19 test for most arrivals in the United States, Masks are now voluntary in the state of Quintana Roo. Getting Mexico travel insurance is just the sensible thing to do. If you are looking for a good restaurant, Restaurant Temozon is one of the best in town. Boasting vivid water, tree roots that snake down the deep, stone walls, rickety wooden staircases, a wooden swing bridge, and iguanas that like to scitter along the walls, it is truly something special. But dont let Ik Kils popularity deter you from visiting! The Dzitnup complex is located close to Hacienda Selva Maya, and so a lot of tourists come through these popular cenotes. There is so much to see and discover. If youd like to consider driving to Ek Balam, we recommend searching for rental cars through Discover Cars, which will search multiple companies for your dates to find the best combination of price and rental inclusions for your trip! This tour covers your transportation from Cancun, tickets to Ek Balam and a cenote (though not Xcanche), and a guided tour, and is a good option. This can be a good place before or after a visit to Ek Balam. You just will need to drive here since there is no public transportation. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. This is to help protect the fragile ecosystemsimilarly, you should not wear sunscreen or bug spray into the cenote (or any cenote, though some are better about enforcing the rule than others). The water has a darker hue to is not a crystal clear water cenote. ), 25 Wonderful Destinations for Winter in Europe (Sun, Snow, or Christmas! There are so many incredible and affordable hotels in Valladolid to choose from, most of them locally owned. Parking is free, technically speaking, and there are even signs saying so, but there will be people around who will watch your car and expect a small tip in return. Your best bet is to join this cenote bike tour, one of the few running directly from Valladolid to the nearby cenotes. Personally, I really think Valladolid deserves at least one night to experience it fully. 
Generally speaking, these tours will reach Ek Balam in the mid-morning, visit the site, and then take people over to Cenote Xcanche, so mid-morning and mid-day are the most crowded times to visit. Your email address will not be published. Cenote Suytun is undeniably the most beautiful cenote in the Valladolid area, though be advised that sometimes the line on the stairs to take a shot can back up during peak periods. Honestly, I did find the buffet a little paltry (especially given the price). Mexicos Yucatan peninsula is famous for its cenotes, covered or partially open swimming holes fed by underground springs. You can find excellent car rental deals by searching the Discover Cars search engine, which lets you compare lots of different agencies and their reviews (Mexican rental car agencies are known for shady practices, so pay close attention!). Before you go, be sure to check out my mega guide to Valladolid Mexico its filled with tons of useful information! We found that most of the structures in Ek Balam were able to be at least partially climbed, and the various viewpoints provided great angles to admire the rest of the city. Weve driven all over the Yucatan peninsula and find the driving extremely easydefinitely easier than driving most places in Europeand tons of fun. Despite being a fit further away from the popular Riviera Maya destinations of Cancun, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen than Chichen Itza or Coba, Ek Balam is still very simple to access. Heres everything you need to know before visiting these beautiful locations in Mexico for yourself! Towel If you prefer not to drip-dry (or collapse into a hammock for half an hour to dry) after visiting Cenote Xcanche, youll want to be sure to throw a towel into your day bag. What to Know About Visiting the Ek Balam Ruins, All About Cenote Xcanche (AKA the Ek Balam Cenote), What to Pack for Ek Balam + Cenote Xcanche, 101 Best Short Travel Quotes (+ Caption Ideas! Gourmet taste and local prices at Calamar de la 10 Restaurant, May 2, 2022 in Everything Beyond Playa //, Daytrips, tours, activities and excursions, Contact email information for EverythingPlayaDelCarmen.com website, Things that are new or changed in Playa Del Carmen July 2022, Do you miss the old Playa? The cenote itself is large and mostly enclosed. The entrance fee is cash-only and there isnt an ATM onsite, so be sure to come prepared! Eventually, Ek Balam receded into the jungle, and large pockets of its story remain unknown. Taking a tour is the perfect solution: with a tour, your day is virtually guaranteed to run smoothly, people who know exactly where theyre going will be in charge of your transportation, and youll have a guide to show you the best of Ek Balam. Google Maps | Distance from Valladolid: 28 km | Entrance: 70 pesos | Hours: 8 am 5 pm daily. You can find literally thousands of cenotes in the peninsula, but many of the best are the cenote near Valladolid, Mexico.
Cenote Xcanche is one of those places where its easy to understand why the Mayan religion purports that cenotes are the entrance to the underworld. Thats it for this guide to the best Valladolid cenotes! Many tourists choose to just visit Valladolid as part of a day trip from Tulum, Playa del Carmen, or Cancun, often in combination with a tour to Chichen Itza. Cenote Fantasma (or Cenote Ghost as it would be in English) is a relatively newly opened to the public cenote. 
Just see our clickable map below for more ideas. Tips for Visiting Cenotes from Valladolid. 
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