Best Cenote Caves in Tulum: Swim in Underwater Mexico

Looking for the best cenote caves in Tulum?

Swimming in a lake, pool, or ocean? Everyone’s done that. Not everyone has visited the Riviera Maya and been in a cenote.

Mexico’s Tulum holds some of Central America’s most unique, incredible cenote caves.

Cenotes are fascinating natural wonders located throughout the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. They’re a complete game changer when it comes to cooling off in hot, humid climates.

Swimming, snorkeling, or scuba diving in one of the more than 6,000 cenotes along the Riviera Maya can be an exhilarating and unforgettable experience. 

They range from simple cenotes surrounded by greenery to cenotes fit for an Instagram post. With stunning blue skies and lush foliage echoing around dreamy wading pools.

We rode our motorcycles through Mexico, exploring 20 of the 32 states and some of the best cenote caves the country has to offer.

Here are some of the best cenote caves in Tulum.

Best Cenote Caves in Tulum

With more than 6,000 cenotes along the Riviera Maya, there’s something for everyone.

The cenotes near and around Tulum are second to none in beauty, lush greenery, and vivid wildlife.

Here are some of the best cenotes in the area.

El Gran Cenote

Since El Gran Cenote is a group of cenotes rather than just one, you’ll find plenty of space to experience the cenote how you want.

The beautiful blue water, tropical fish, and awesome surrounding boardwalk make the Gran Cenote one of the best natural attractions in Mexico’s Riviera Maya.

The grass surrounding El Gran Cenote is kept neat, so while nature abounds, you won’t have to sunbathe in overgrown weeds.

Iguanas populate the area, so go ready to see a few in action. 

El Gran Cenote is one of the more popular in the area, so be prepared for a crowd or get there by 8:00 am when it opens for a shot at some solitude. 

Booking Gran Cenote tours can be helpful so you can experience the best parts of the cenotes, get included snorkel gear, and have the option to get photos of yourself.

Check out the different types of tours available here.

Off the main road 109 Tulum, El Gran Cenote sits just 5 km from the center of town. 

Cenote Calavera

“Calavera” means “skull,” so don’t be surprised when you get there to see what looks like eyes and a mouth on the rock surface.

These three holes sit over Cenote Calavera, a semi-open cenote with clear, deep water perfect for swimming or diving.

Swimmers can enter the water via a wooden ladder, a rope swing, or simply leaping off the edge and into the water. 

Cenote Calavera is relatively quiet, especially in the morning. You’ll have to pay cash only at the entrance, and the chances are high that you’ll miss it the first time you try driving to it.

Following signs toward Coba on 109 Tulum, look for the sign on the right side of the road that reads, “Cenote.” Then enjoy your adventure.

Cenote Calavera is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Cenote Carwash

As it was once used as a place for locals to wash their cars, Cenote Carwash doesn’t have the most imaginative name.

Still, it does have water up to 50 feet deep and access to underwater caves. 

It’s a relatively small cenote and has a five-meter platform to plunge into the water.

Once you pay the 300-peso entrance fee, enjoy swimming, diving, and interacting with the restaurant staff nearby. Expect to see lots of fish and turtles in the water and the occasional cave divers.

Open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; Cenote Carwash is on the main road toward Coba.

Cenote Zacil Ha

Next door to (and smaller than) Cenote Carwash is Cenote Zacil Ha, the closest to a swimming pool you’ll find. It’s shaped like a pool and even has ladders for stepping into it.

You’ll also find zip lines for more adrenaline-pumping entrance methods.

The water is crystal clear, but if you’d rather swim in an actual swimming pool, there are a couple on-site, plus a restaurant.

Admission is roughly equivalent to $10 US, and cabins are available for overnight stays.

Lots of little fish will join you in your swimming, even if you brave a swim into the underground cave.

Cenote Cristal

The 150-pesos entrance fee gets you into Cenote Cristal and the neighboring Cenote Escondido, so it’s a bargain.

The cenote has three different entrances to the water, so you can jump, walk, or slide in. You’ll also find a guide rope strung across, ideal for less-confident swimmers. 

Expect tall trees and thick vegetation. Cenote Cristal is a good look at what the untamed wilds might look like. And you can take it in on a hammock by the water if you’re not leaping from the 12-foot diving platform.

Open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm; Cenote Cristal gets more crowded as the day goes by, so for more private time, get there early. Find this cenote 3 km south of Tulum.

Cenote Pet Cemetery

With its spooky name, Cenote Pet Cemetery might weird some people out, but adventure-seeking swimmers have nothing to worry about.

Discovered in the late 1980s, this closed cenote still has many wonders to explore, but a guide is required for:

• Swimming
• Snorkeling
• Diving

The cenote gets its name from the weirdly large amount of animal bones found in the silt at the bottom. And snorkelers and scuba divers can uncover fossils and bones.

You can also find living bats, fish, and birds aplenty, and extensive and beautiful orchids in season.

What you won’t find is an on-site restaurant, though there are restroom facilities and a couple of eateries nearby. 

Cenote Pet Cemetery operates from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and sits 12 km north of Tulum. Admission is about $25 US.

Cenote Dos Ojos

This famous cenote opens from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and can get pretty crowded. With a name like “Dos Ojos,” it comes as no surprise to find two sinkholes resembling eyes.

They’re connected by an underwater tunnel, so Cenote Dos Ojos appeals to swimmers, snorkelers, and scuba divers.

At a depth of more than 300 feet, the underwater tunnel at Dos Ojos is the deepest known of its kind.

If you need snorkeling equipment, it’s available to rent for 100 pesos, and that’s on top of the 200 peso entrance fee. 

Expect lush vegetation, tons of tiny fish around you as you swim, and snorkelers and cave divers everywhere at Cenote Dos Ojos, located 22 km north of Tulum.

Find a couple of restaurants nearby, but nothing on-site.

Cenote Sac Actun

All the cenotes in the Tulum area are part of the Sistema Sac Actun (“White Cave System”), which constitutes the longest series of underwater caves in the world.

Cenote Sac Actun is an integral part of this system, and it’s a bit farther from Tulum than others— about a 30-minute drive west.

It’s mostly renowned for snorkeling and diving since it’s a wetsuit kind of place. The waters of Cenote Sac Actun are chilly.

Cenote Sac Actun may be a little pricey for casual swimming, as the entrance fee is $35 US between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm.

But for that, you get access to wondrous underwater rock formations.

Scientists and explorers have unearthed many fossils dating back thousands of years from this spot, so you never know what you might find in its 300-foot-deep waters.

Cenote Casa Tortuga

Another 9-5 cenote, Cenote Casa Tortuga, sits 15 minutes north of Tulum and consists of a few different cenotes. So you can plan to spend more than just a couple of hours here. 

You’ll swim and snorkel amid lots of vegetation, and you won’t have to look hard for small fish, sea turtles, and bats.

Nearby lodging and dining options allow for a multi-day stay if you like.

You can book a tour from Playa del Carmen ahead of time that includes snorkel gear, masks, and life jackets. It also includes bottled water and lunch!

Swimming in its crystal clear waters, surrounded by lush greenery, you can’t help but be enchanted by the cenote’s natural beauty and magical energy.

Check out the mesmerizing play of light from the sun’s rays streaming through the opening while you relax in the freshwater.

Cenote Escondido

This large cenote, though next to Cenote Cristal, is hidden by tons of vegetation, so it feels like one of the more remote cenotes.

It’s south of Tulum, but it’s hard to find, hence the name, since “escondido” means “hidden.” 

Once there, though, you’ll find clear water filled with lots of curious fish. So snorkeling is terrific here, and as it reaches 60 feet deep in places, there’s lots of water to explore.

It’s also more than 100 feet wide, so it’s hard for Cenote Escondido to feel crowded.

Cenote Angelita

Cenote Angelita is a cenote for dedicated and experienced divers.

Why “dedicated”? You’ll drive south of Tulum for about 16 km, but then you’ll face a five-minute walk through the jungle to get there.

Five minutes doesn’t seem like much, but hauling your scuba gear through the jungle can make it more difficult.

Open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Cenote Angelita is surrounded by jungle vegetation.

Still, the real draw is the underwater formations that extend past the recommended diving depth of about 60 meters.

That will be more than enough to experience the dead trees littering the dive area. 

More than just a halocline, the point where saltwater and freshwater meet is marked by a hydrogen sulfide layer that makes this dive truly surreal. 

Casa Cenote

Located 20 minutes northeast of Tulum along Tulum Beach Road, Casa Cenote is a less-traveled cenote.

After paying the small entrance fee, you can rent snorkeling gear for more than twice that, so consider bringing your own. 

This location is a swimming and snorkeling cenote, as it’s not even 20 feet deep. That said, it’s ideal for people going on their first scuba dive. You may encounter divers here during its 9:00 am to 5:00 pm operating hours.

You’ll probably encounter Panchito, the crocodile, an apparently friendly creature that has become the star of several viral videos.

Maybe don’t pet him, but he seems to enjoy peacefully swimming alongside his fellow human cenote-goers. 

Snorkeling tours are available, or you can explore on your own. Casa Cenote is the largest open cenote in the area— almost three football fields long!

Cenote Kaan Luum

Plan for at least half a day at Cenote Kaan Luum, which opens from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

It is a unique cenote located in the middle of the Laguna Kaan Luum. 

At the lagoon, you can swim in waters within the Mayan jungle or head for the lagoon’s center for a 200-foot drop into the deep cenote, which is reserved for divers. 

It’s a 15-minute drive south of Tulum near the Sian Ka’an reserve entrance, and it costs around 15 USD to get into this area.

Cenote El Pit

Located 3 km past Cenote Dos Ojos, Cenote El Pit is a semi-open cenote, but just barely.

The small opening through which you access it is tiny compared to the enormous underwater diving area. 

To get there, you’ll go past Dos Ojos and look for the El Pit sign. 

This cenote is a deep-water dive, so it’s not for first-timers, swimmers, or snorkelers.

But accomplished divers will experience an exhilarating cave-style dive down to 120 feet in one of the best cenotes in Tulum. You’ll experience a hydrogen sulfide layer at about 70 feet.

Another main draw is seeing the play of the light beams shining through the cenote opening into the depths.

There’s also the overhanging cavern replete with stalactites.

Entrance fees are usually part of the cost of a dive package. Since this is for advanced scuba divers, that’s about the only way you’ll get into this place for a safe, sanctioned adventure.

Cenote Azul

An entrance fee of $8 US gets you into one of the largest cenotes in the Tulum area, ideal for swimming, especially if you enjoy leaping from cliffs to reach the water.

There’s also a dock for the less adventurous.

There are so many small- and medium-sized fish that Cenote Azul sports a snack shop that also sells fish food.

This open cenote won’t trigger any claustrophobia, and it’s large enough that even at its busiest, it won’t feel all that crowded. 

Parking is free, the snorkeling is top-notch, and the waters are a striking turquoise blue, hence the cenote’s colorful name.

It sits 30 miles north of Tulum on the 307 highway and opens from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.

Cenote Choo Ha

Shallow enough that jumping in is prohibited, Cenote Choo Ha is the perfect cenote for those visiting with little ones.

It’s surrounded by beautiful gardens and is part of a conservation effort to preserve the ecosystem. As such, showering before you get in is a requirement. 

A small entrance fee gets you in to see the stalactites covering the cave roof.

Although it’s almost 60 km north of Tulum on the 307 highway, the beautiful surroundings will reward you for the longer travel time.

And you can enjoy having the place primarily to yourself as visitors are far and few between. 

Want a quiet, peaceful swim? Cenote Choo Ha is a good bet for finding exactly that.

What Are Cenotes?

Cenote caves are Mother Nature’s amazing gift to humankind, emerging from the depths of centuries worth of limestone sediment that form sinkholes filled with crystal clear waters. 

Since limestone can undergo extreme changes due to weathering elements and acidic water, sometimes a stretch collapses, leaving a hole in the ground. 

A cenote can resemble an old-fashioned swimming hole or be an underwater cave.

When the limestone collapses, it opens up to the groundwater under it. It can also fill with rainwater over time.

The result is a Yucatan cenote— an exotic swimming location.

However, the Mayans considered cenotes sacred, as they were sources of water and thought to be passages to the underworld.

Types of Cenotes

There are plenty of unique types of cenote caves in Tulum worth visiting and crystal clear waters to experience.

Ranging from cenotes filled with open natural light to underground cenotes filled with cool water in a natural pool. 

I will break down the different types of cenotes so you can choose the perfect place for your unique travels and adventures.

Open Cenotes

Open cenotes enjoy total exposure to the sky. These were stretches of limestone that completely collapsed.

Leaving a hole in the ground that leads to a pool of groundwater. 

They usually have several areas along their edges where swimmers can relax and stretch out under the sunny skies.

Semi-Open Cenotes

Semi-open cenotes did not undergo a complete collapse, so they feature pools of water under a dome of rock with a small hole in it.

Swimmers can see sunlight and the sky only through a small opening, not unimpeded, like in an open cenote.

The most visually striking thing about semi-open cenotes is how the sunbeams come through the opening and into the crystal clear waters.

Closed Cenotes

Closed cenotes are swimming areas that haven’t undergone the collapses of the other types, so they don’t have any exposure to the sky.

Provided you can get to them, they offer a great place for unique recreational activities.

Still, you’ll have to follow tunnels in underground caves to get to one.

These large swimming caves usually have huge amounts of stalactites and stalagmites.

Dive Cenotes

Diving in a cenote is a form of cave diving, so for safety’s sake, go with a certified cave diver as your guide, or look into cavern diving certification for yourself.

Dive cenotes often consist of sinkholes that have filled. As a result, the groundwater can have two layers to it.

You’ll dive in freshwater down to about 20 feet, but at that point, you’ll reach an area called the halocline, where you’ll find denser, saltier water. It will look something like a mirror as you descend into it.

Tips for Visiting Cenote Caves in Tulum

Vacations take planning to be truly relaxing, so before you head for the best cenote caves in Tulum, make sure you’ve considered everything you’ll need. 

Transport

Public transport and private rentals have pros and cons, but all of them can get you to the cenote of your choice.

If you’re on a dive trip or tour, your transportation will likely be part of the package and not something you’ll need to worry about securing for yourself. 

Otherwise, taxis are widely available out of Tulum, and the taxi drivers, for the most part, know the cenote locations well. The same goes for public buses.

Private rental options include:

• Bike rentals (for the cenotes situated closer to Tulum)
• Colectivos are shared vans— something like a public bus except it’s a minivan
• Hiring a pirate car and driver
• Rent your own vehicle or motorcycle

I strongly recommend renting a vehicle for your journey around the cenotes of Mexico and, more specifically, the cenote caves in Tulum.

We road our 125cc motorcycles through the entire country of Mexico on our journey down the Pan-American highway.

If I did not have my own bike already, I would definitely consider renting a motorcycle. It is the best way to travel around Mexico!

Don’t forget to get vehicle and motorcycle insurance for your ride. Vehicle insurance is required in Mexico.

➤ Get Your Free Quote from Baja Bound