A unique feature of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, cenotes are sinkholes that occur when bedrock limestone collapses and exposes the groundwater beneath. The cenotes have served as crucial sources of drinking water in the area for centuries. The ancient Maya believed the cenotes were gateways to the underworld, and used many for sacred rites, as well as water sources.
There are over 2,000 of these cenotes, all connected via an underground river, which begs the question: how to choose?
Although there are incredible, unique cenotes all over the Yucatan, today we’re going to focus on the best cenotes near Tulum. Tulum is one of the hottest spots to visit on the Yucatan, and, in addition to cenotes, is unmatched with its ruins, reefs, and beaches.
I’ll be straight with you—this was a tough list to make! There are so many awesome cenotes, even narrowing it down to just the Tulum area. But, out of the approximately 250 cenotes in Tulum, I chose 16 of my favorites that you should definitely visit when you’re in Tulum.
Whether you want to zipline into the water, picnic with your family, or dive into the depths, we’ll find the best cenotes in Tulum for you! Just remember to abide by the rules of the cenote you visit, as they are delicate ecosystems.
Table of Contents
1. Gran Cenote
Name | Gran Cenote (Big Cenote)
Distance from Tulum | Around 5 km/9 minutes
Cost | 500 MXN/$25, includes snorkeling gear & life jacket
Just three miles from downtown Tulum, Gran Cenote is one of the most-visited cenotes in Tulum (and in Mexico). This open-air cenote is a great place to snorkel with sea turtles, and as it has several shallow areas, it’s a good spot for families, too.
Gran Cenote is actually several cenotes that are connected via wooden walkways. The water is so clear, you can see fish without even snorkeling or diving (although it’s a fantastic place to do both).
2. Dos Ojos
Name | Dos Ojos Cenote (Two Eyes Cenote)
Distance from Tulum | 22 km/30 minutes
Cost | 350 MXN/$21, includes (mandatory) life jacket, cheaper if you pay in cash & with pesos
Dos Ojos Cenote is a half an hour outside of Tulum, but worth the trip! It consists of two cenotes connected via a passageway. One cenote is more open-air (and more popular) while the other is much more cave-like (including the occasional bat).
Both boast incredible, crystal-clear water and great snorkeling and diving opportunities.
3. Cenotes Yaxmuul
Name | Parque de Cenotes Yaxmuul
Distance from Tulum | 16 km/15 minutes
Cost | Starts at 650 MXN/$35 for a tour
Parque de Cenotes Yaxmuul is located about fifteen minutes north of Tulum. The park is best accessed via a tour, so you can take part in the traditional Maya ceremony at one of the cenotes, before rappelling down into another underground cenote for some swimming.
4. Casa Cenote
Name | Casa Cenote, Cenote Manati (Manatee) or Cenote Tankah
Distance from Tulum | 11 km/19 minutes
Cost | 150 MXN/$8
Casa Cenote is located about twenty minutes away from Tulum and is notable for its proximity to the beach. A cenote that basically backs up the beach? Hello, paradise!
Although a family of manatees used to live here (hence the name), now it’s home to a crocodile named Panchito. Casa Cenote is a great place to learn scuba since it’s so shallow!
You can also snorkel, of course, as well as paddleboard or kayak. Stop by the Casa Cenote Hotel, right on the beach, for a drink after you explore.
5. Cenote Angelita
Name | Cenote Angelita
Distance from Tulum | 16 km/20 minutes
Cost | 300 MXN/$14 for scuba diving; 100 MXN/$5 for swimming
Cenote Angelita, about fifteen minutes south of Tulum, is one of the best cenotes in Tulum for diving due to its very unique cloud of hydrogen sulfide that always hovers around 30 meters deep (around 90 feet).
As tree trunks and roots protrude from this cloud into clearer waters of the cenote, you dive down into what appears to be a misty, foggy forest. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, for sure (and also, for advanced divers only).
6. Cenote Calavera
Name | Cenote Calavera, or the “Temple of Doom”
Distance from Tulum | 3 km/7 minutes
Cost | 250 MXN/$12
If you know any Spanish, you may find the idea of the Cenote Calavera to be a little eerie (calavera = skull). It’s also called the “Temple of Doom,” if being named after a skull wasn’t creepy enough.
Cenote Calavera has three openings into the watery cavern, which gives it the appearance of a skull. In addition, an ancient human skull was found in its depths once upon a time, which is how it got its name.
Once a hidden gem, Cenote Calavera is very picturesque (read: Instagrammable) and it’s officially discovered. Still, it’s so beautiful and so easy to visit from Tulum!
7. Cenote Carwash
Name | Cenote Carwash or Cenote Aktun Ha
Distance from Tulum | 9 km/13 minutes
Cost | 300 MXN/$16
Cenote Carwash is another name that doesn’t exactly bring to mind a beautiful, jungle-surrounded swimming hole. But, that’s exactly what it is!
Cenote Carwash, one of the best cenotes in Tulum, is completely open-air and therefore is much more pond-like. Cenote Carwash is also home to caves that scuba divers love to explore.
Once upon a time, Cenote Carwash was used by travelers on the nearby road as a spot to actually clean off their cars. Nowadays, no one is allowed to drive their cars in, which is good for you, as it’s a fab place to explore.
8. Cenote Pet Cemetery
Name | Cenote Pet Cemetery, or Cenotes Sac Actún
Distance from Tulum | 23 km/33 minutes
Cost | 450 MXN/$25 (includes snorkeling gear; extra for a guided scuba tour)
A cenote named after a place where you bury dead animals doesn’t exactly inspire swimming. However, the Pet Cemetery or Sac Actún is named after the many animal bones that have been found deep in the cave, including mammoth bones.
The oldest human remains in Latin America, “Naia,” have also been found in this cenote (thought to be over 12,000 years old).
And although this may not make you want to swim in there, either, the actual pool where you snorkel is connected to deeper caverns where most of the remains are (that you cannot visit without a guide).
Half-open and half-underground, this cenote is a beautiful and mystical one to visit.
9. Cenote Zacil Ha
Name | Zacil Ha, Zazil Ha or Zacil-Ha
Distance from Tulum | 8 km/10 minutes
Cost | 200 MXN/$10, includes a lifejacket
For a well-developed, family-friendly cenote, Cenote Zacil Ha is hard to beat! With two man-made pools, restaurants, rustic cabins, and even a zipline on site, this cenote is not just a hidden pool in the jungle.
There are lifeguards on site, which is handy because you can literally zipline over the cenote, and even drop in the water from the zipline if you wish.
10. Cenote Corazón del Paraíso
Name | Cenote Corazón del Paraíso
Distance from Tulum | 6 km/8 minutes
Cost | 150 MXN/$8
The cenote Corazón del Paraíso (the Heart of Paradise) is so named because it’s shaped roughly like a heart. This picturesque cenote is an inexpensive, family-friendly option, just outside of the center of Tulum.
The many platforms, including a jumping platform, chairs and snack shacks, and other modern amenities, make this a fun one to spend a few hours relaxing, swimming, snorkeling, and sunbathing.
11. Cenotes Casa Tortuga
Name | Cenotes Casa Tortuga (contains four different cenotes: Cenote Jaguar, Cenote Wisho, Cenote Campana, Cenote Tres Zapotes)
Distance from Tulum | 14 km/20 minutes
Cost | 850 MXN/$45
The Cenotes Casa Tortuga is a nature park around 20 minutes from the center of Tulum. It actually has four cenotes you can visit: Cenote Jaguar, Cenote Wisho, Cenote Campana, and Cenote Tres Zapotes.
Each of the cenotes are unique and beautiful, and the price includes a tour (with a guide) of all four of them and also includes a lifejacket, mask, and fins. There’s a restaurant on site, and several villas if you wish to stay overnight (but those are definitely not included in the price!).
12. Cenote Aldea Zama
Name | Aldea Zama
Distance from Tulum | within Tulum proper
Cost | FREE
Right within Tulum you’ll find a bit of a local secret: the tiny and free cenote, Cenote Aldea Zama.
It can be hard to find and can get crowded with locals (who can blame anyone?) but if you put it in Google Maps and go in the morning, you’ll have this little slice of paradise all to yourself!
It’s right in the center of the Aldea Zama neighborhood in Tulum, and near the Copal Hotel. There are no facilities here, but it is open 24 hours!
13. Kaan Luum Lagoon
Name | Kaan Luum Lagoon, Laguna de Kaan Luum
Distance from Tulum | 16 km/15 minutes
Cost | 300 MXN/$15
The Kaan Luum Lagoon is a little tricky, because it is a cenote even though it appears to be a lagoon (or lake). It’s a huge, open-air cenote lined with piers, hammocks, and swings. For extra, you can rent a paddleboard, or kayak, or pay to fly your drone.
The lagoon goes from shallow to very deep (1-3 feet deep to over 250 feet deep! ), which is easily visible in the gorgeous, contrasting shades of blue.
However, the very deep area is roped off to swimmers, but you can book a diving trip to explore the deepest part of the lagoon.
14. Cenotes Cristal y Escondido
Name | Cenote Cristal or Naharon, Cenote Escondido or Mayan Blue
Distance from Tulum | 4 km/7 minutes
Cost | 120 MXN/$7 for both; 70 MXN/$4 for one
Cenotes Cristal y Escondido are actually two separate cenotes across the road from each other, but since they’re so often visited together, most people refer to them as one. They are also some of the cheapest cenotes in the area, even if you visit both!
With only rustic facilities and paths, these little oases are simple, yet still crystal clear. You can’t dive at Cristal, just at Escondido, but many free-divers practice in Cristal since it’s so clear (obs) and obstacle-free.
15. Cenote El Pit
Name | Cenote El Pit, The Pit
Distance from Tulum | 22 km/30 minutes
Cost | Diving starts at 1300 MXN/$70
If you’re an advanced scuba diver, Cenote El Pit (yes, “The Pit”) will be one of the most unforgettable dives of your life! A small gash in the rainforest floor hides this huge, underground, and underwater cenote.
Timing it during the summer and in the morning, when the sun beams hit the depths just right, is especially otherworldly.
16. Coba Cenotes
Name | Cenote Multum-Ha, Cenote Tankach-Ha, Cenote Choo-Ha
Distance from Tulum | 50 km/45 minutes
Cost | Around 100 MXN/$5 per cenote
Tulum is also known for its ruins (some right on the beach!). Some of the most significant, however, are the ruins of the Mayan city, Coba, about 45 minutes away from Tulum. The ruins cover about 30 square miles and are so worth the trip!
If you do make this journey (and you should), you must stop at the three cenotes near the Coba ruins (of course). Cenote Multum-Ha, Cenote Tankach-Ha, and Cenote Choo-Ha are all easily reached from the main entrance of Coba (easiest by bike, which you can rent at Coba for around 50 pesos).
Conclusion
The cenotes near Tulum and of the Yucatan (a UNESCO World Heritage site, FYI) are a truly unique and magical experience, and one of the many things Mexico is famous for. Visit as many as you can and find your favorite, or share one you’ve been to below in the comments!
And don’t forget, respect the cenote and the cenote will respect you. (Or…something. Just leave no trace, ok?)
