Ek Balam is located roughly 30 minutes by car from Valladolid, around 2 hours from Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and Merida. 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? Its not only one of the top restaurants in Valladolid, but your cenote entrance ticket will come free with the purchase of a meal. Since most people come to the cenote after visiting the ruins, they want to change clothes. Click on a star to rate (you can leave feedback after clicking submit).
We typically focus on travel in the USA and Europe (especially in our beloved Italy), but feature destinations across the world! There were only about 15-20 other people at the site with us, and there were plenty of moments we were completely alone with the ruins. When you compare this price to the popular Tulum ruins, which clock in at an 80 peso price tag, Ek Balam is comparatively expensive! I recommend timing your visit to Cenote Zaci for lunch at the nearby Restaurant Zaci. ), How to Actually Enjoy Summer in Venice (13 Important Tips! Tips for Visiting Cenotes from Valladolid. Honestly, I did find the buffet a little paltry (especially given the price). If you are traveling by yourself, you can pay 70 pesos for the entrance and walk to the cenote. ), How Choosing a Life of Travel Changed Everything, If youd like to consider driving to Ek Balam, we recommend searching for rental cars through. Conveniently located just a five-minute walk from the city square, Cenote Zaci is a gorgeous oasis offering a relaxing way to quickly retreat into a bit of nature. On the path to the entrance, you might be flagged down by other tour operators selling everything from ATV rides to ziplines. Book your guided day trip toEk Balam today! Mexicos Yucatan peninsula is famous for its cenotes, covered or partially open swimming holes fed by underground springs. If it were closer to Valladolid, this cenote might just top this list. Plus, perhaps because of the (relatively) high entrance cost and distance from Valladolid, we even had the cenote all to ourselves! Thats it for this guide to the best Valladolid cenotes! Today, only a small portion (about one square mile) of Ek Balam is excavated, including the impressive El Torre pyramid. All rights reserved. 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.
Cenote Saamal is located in Hacienda Selva Maya, which features solid facilities with lockers and outdoor showers. 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. 
Just aim for something comfortable to wear, not flashy, and medium-sizedwe used aNorthface Jester backpackfor years and loved it as well. When scrambling up 30 meters of sometimes slippery steps to reach the top of El Torre, youll be glad you have them! Valladolid is the largest town nearby and a colonial gem that makes for a good base to explore the area. Open Cenote Near Chichen Itza Mayan Ruins, Google Maps | Distance from Valladolid: 38 km | Entrance: 80 pesos | Hours: 8 am 5 pm daily. Be sure to protect yourself from the sun! While honestly not the most beautiful of the cenotes near Valladolid, you cant argue with the convenient location. The cenote itself is deep. Since then, I have visited 50+ countries on 5 continents and lived in Portugal, developing a special love of traveling in Europe (especially Italy) along the way. There is one rope swing where you can drop into the water. Weve driven all over the Yucatan peninsula and find the driving extremely easydefinitely easier than driving most places in Europeand tons of fun. But, if you dont mind the drive, its well worth a visit! The walks to and from Ek Balam and Cenote Xcanche are fairly shaded, but the ruins themselves are primarily in direct sunlight. There are other packages which include the one zip line across the top and rappelling. You just have to time your visit for the early morning or late afternoon, when the tour buses arent at Cenote Ik Kil. Your email address will not be published.
Never fear, because Im a Valladolid travel expert. Learn how your comment data is processed. If youre a budget traveler staying in Valladolid, though, they can be a great optionespecially since the collectivos that head to Ek Balam arent 15-passenger vans like in many areas, but compact cars. This place is on the south end of town as you enter, it will be on your left. You can get a combined ticket to enter both cenotes, though annoyingly you have to separately rent a life jacket at each. Here is everything you need to know about visiting the cenote and options. Hat + Sunglasses Be sure to protect yourself from the sun! Getting Mexico travel insurance is just the sensible thing to do. What did you like about this post? The distance from the place where you pay to the cenote is 1.5 km ( almost a mile). Owing to its location smack in the middle of the Yucatan peninsula, Valladolid is pretty easy to access from Merida or the Riviera Maya. Plus, Hacienda Chukum offers the most modern facilities of any cenote Ive visited near Valladolid. The Ek Balam cenote is officially called Cenote Xcanche. There is an easy-to-use, expansive parking lot onsite that you can use for access to both the ruins and the cenote. Near the entrance, there are booths available selling drinks and snack food. Around the cenote you will find a large restaurant that offers buffet service, a touristy Mayan village and super touristy Tequila tasting. There is also a zipline available for an extra fee. Your best bet is to join this cenote bike tour, one of the few running directly from Valladolid to the nearby cenotes. If youre visiting Valladolid, then hitting a few cenotes is an absolute must-do thing for your itinerary. What I love about Cenote Oxman is that its located in a hacienda featuring a nice pool, bar, and several little cabana huts. Around 45 structures have been mapped, and around 1 square mile (of approximately 12 square kilometers) of the city can be explored today. Want to avoid dealing with logistics but still see the best of Ek Balam and Cenote Xcanche? There is a wooden walkway around the cenote with a few places to set things down. The entrance fee is cash-only and there isnt an ATM onsite, so be sure to come prepared! It is about 12 feet (4 meters) off the water. 
Truly, visiting Ek Balam is absolutely worth the entrance fee. 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. Dont miss a chance to go swimming in Cenote Xcanche! 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. Cenote Samula is one of two underground cenotes near Valladolid that together make up the Dzitnup cenote complex, along with Cenote Xkeken. There are so many incredible and affordable hotels in Valladolid to choose from, most of them locally owned. You can either take bikes or take the tricycle taxi if you dont want to pedal yourself. Heres everything you need to know before visiting these beautiful locations in Mexico for yourself! Cenote Ik Kil is definitely the most crowded of the cenotes near Valladolid, owing to the fact that many Chichen Itza tours stop here and unloaded hordes of visitors coming up for day trips from Cancun or from Playa del Carmen to see the famous Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. But, if you come in the late morning before the tour buses roll in, its probably the most beautiful cenotes to swim in. 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. 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). Stairs have been built that lead you down to the water here at Cenote Fantasma. The cenote itself is stunning. The restaurant is on the north end of Temozon and has a large palapa roof. The entrance booth is located just past the first grouping of souvenir stalls that you pass after buying tickets for Ek Balamor theres a more direct path you can take from the parking lot, too. Nestled in a quiet corner of Mexicos Yucatan peninsula, far away from the crowds of Chichen Itza and the Riviera Maya, sits the stunning Mayan city of Ek Balam and its gorgeous next-door neighbor, Cenote Xcanche. There are two sets of stairs that descend into the cenote, one being much steeper than the other. I hope it helps you to find a relaxing cenote to swim in, and I hope you love Valladolid as much as I do. We saw more than a few fish swimming in the waters. If you are visiting the Ek Balam ruins you might also like to read our guide to the best hotels in Valladolid to stay in. The typical way to handle your belongings at Xcanche appeared to be just finding a dry place along the edge of the cenote and shoving your items to the side therenot unlike many other cenotes weve visited! Known as El Torre, or The Tower, this structure is one of the largest Mayan ruins to be found on the Yucatan peninsula. Wondering what to bring with you when heading out on a day trip to Ek Balam and Cenote Xcanche? If youre staying in Valladolid itself, there surprisingly arent many cenote tours to choose from. There are just a couple of openings in the ceiling, where the light shines through to illuminate the clear water inside. Cenote Xcanche is a deep cenote. We chose to have lunch onsite when visiting Cenote Xcanche, in large part because all of the swimming left us starving. 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. For more information, check out my guides to how to go to Valladolid from Cancun and from Tulum. Theres plenty of parking, an adjoining restaurant, Mayan performers, and decent facilities. For 250 pesos, we got admission, a buffet, lockers, plus life jackets (which are mandatory). The crowd loves cheering as people take turns on the rope swing! This is a large cave cenote, with a small opening to the sky above. 
To enter Ek Balam, youll need to pay 413 pesos (around $22 USD)/person. Google Maps | Distance from Valladolid: 6 km | Entrance: 150 pesos, or 250 with buffet | Hours: 9 am 5 pm daily. You walk down a winding staircase, put on the mandatory life jacket, and then can either ease into water or grab the rope swing and jump right in.Cenote Oxman is not the largest Valladolid cenote on this list, and so even with fewer swimmers, it can start to feel a little crowded inside. Fast forward all the way to the 1980s, and excavations began in the city. 
Id suggest coming in the morning, taking a refreshing swim before it gets crowded, then hitting the buffet afterward. But dont let Ik Kils popularity deter you from visiting! ), 15 Incredible Books About Iceland (To Read Before Visiting! 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!) Though you can swim in Cenote Suytun, just be aware this is really more of a photo spot than anything else. There are several options for entrance fees for the cenote here. 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. What makes this cenote special is that it is enclosed, has beautiful stalagmite and stalactite structures and crystal clear water. (+ Tips! There is a large platform for entering the cenote, so its one of the better options if youre visiting with kids.
If you want to sample some local specialties, Carnes Concepcion is one of the best places. If you dont want to visit the cenote here at Ek Balam there are some other options nearby. Although you might be on a self guided trip and have time to visit the two during your time in the area. Here are my 11 favorite cenotes to visit in the Valladolid area: Disclosure: Travel Lemming is an independent reader-supported blog. Heres what you need to know! I use and love World Nomads personally, but be sure to compare policies! The cenote itself is large and mostly enclosed. I am going to have to visit here when I go to Ek Balam. There are no shallow areas for young children. 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. 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. If youre headed to Ek Balam, considering adding in a stop to Cenote Hubiku along the way. Plenty of Water We recommend a reusable water bottle paired with a SteriPento cut down on plastic use when you can, but if youre running low, bottled water is also sold onsite. 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. Just see our clickable map below for more ideas. It is also one of the top four most visited Mayan ruins from the Riviera Maya. ), 13 Minimalist Traveling Tips for Living Out of a Backpack, 10 Things We've Learned About Love As A Full-Time Travel Couple, 25 Reasons You Should Try Backpacking Mexico Next, How to Visit Becan, A Delightfully Offbeat Mayan City, How To Visit the Pink Lakes of Las Coloradas, Mexico, The Ultimate Mexico & Central America Packing List, 8 Majestic Waterfalls in Mexico (That You Should Definitely Visit! 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. If you click through a link on Our Escape Clause, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Check out my full guide to the best Valladolid hotels to find the right one for you! 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. Eventually, Ek Balam receded into the jungle, and large pockets of its story remain unknown. This is the other Dzinitup cenote, and Cenote Xkeken is definitely my favorite of the two. We mainly recommend taking the package with bike and cenote combined. If youre physically able, its definitely a unique experience! Best Cenote to Avoid Crowds (Underground Cenote), Google Maps | Distance from Valladolid: 10 km | Website | Entrance: 200 pesos for a ticket, lockers, and lifejacket, or 500 pesos with buffet | Hours: 9 am 5 pm daily. 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. At times, Cenote Saamal can attract just a few too many tourists for my taste. Note that Cenote Xcanche does carry a separate entrance fee from the Ek Balam ruins. 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. 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. Driving through town, you will notice many places selling both. In May 2016, I left my suburban life in the USA and became a full-time traveler. If you have extra time to visit more, here are a few other Valladolid cenotes to add to your list: The best way to visit the many amazing cenotes near Valladolid is to rent a car in Cancun or Merida upon arrival and drive yourself. Google Maps | Distance from Valladolid: 8 km | Entrance: 80 pesos for adult & 50 pesos for children | Hours: 9 am 5 pm daily. Posted in Cenotes, Mayan Ruins // 1 Comment.