Discovering the Cenote Haven of the Quintana Roo region of Mexico (Puerto Morelos-Tulum-Valladolid-PDC)
One of the bucket list on most (if not all) avid divers has got to be diving in the cenotes! It is a one of a kind experience that cannot be compared to any open water dives. But first off, check your expectation of cenotes diving - you cannot be claustrophobic because at times you find yourself in limited space between formations, you should not be afraid of darkness (technically speaking we did cavern diving so you should be able to still see without light) and be prepared for a totally different experience a very serene calm type of diving.
The quintana roo region of Mexico is well known for the numerous numbers of cenotes and some very famous ones (e.g. Dos Ojos, Zapote, El Pit, Angelita etc). Of course this area is also one of the most touristic parts of Mexico which means it is on average a lot more expensive than other parts of Mexico. And possibly not the real Mexico you are looking for (or think about) - places like Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Cancun (we did not stay there) remind you more of gentrified tourist places with the all-exclusive resorts and hippy cafes than maybe some of the more authentic experiences a backpacker would like to experience in more local Mexican cities (think Oaxaca?) Despite of it all, it is the cenotes we came for, and some Mexican food and the pyramids and we still very much enjoyed our time there.
A note on our trip dates - we went during the offpeak season in October which means everything was still on the cheap side and not fully booked up. Accommodations were cheaper, diving (same price) less crowded so in general you didn't have to pre-book everything in advance.
Puerto Morelos
Puerto Morelos is a small laid back town - it has a beach area and the inland area. It is about 20 minutes by ADO bus from Cancun airport (110mxn one way). The bus stop is at the 7-11 by the main town and it's a short 2.5km walk to the beach area of Puerto Morelo. You can also choose to take a taxi for the short ride for 30mxn - after learning about how the taxi company in Quintana Roo operates like a mafia system, we wished we had just walked instead of paying for their service. Talk to the locals there and they will tell you stories about how the taxi drivers basically created havoc for ADO buses (using violence to stop them from coming close to the beach area) and even drove out Uber by violence.
We rented an Airbnb Casa Pitufo with Alan and Cynthia for EUR32 for 2 nights. It's a nice little house close to the beach and we had a nice spacious room to ourselves (fan operated) and shared bathroom and common space. They come to the house to work in the afternoon but mostly the house is empty. They are excellent hosts and shared a lot of tips with us about where to travel and how to travel around the region - would highly recommend staying with them if you come to Puerto Morelo.
Beach (free!) of Puerto Morelos)
Saw this quimsical looking place (which is a cafe) but never opened...
There isn't much to do but is a nice place to rest after a long flight or to break down the travel from Cancun to down south. The vibe is much less touristy than PDC or Tulum, so you might enjoy having some quiet more local feel to your vacation here. We didn't do much here, though there's one of the best and biggest reef wall you can snorkel just off the beach - a lot of people say it's really good so give it a try if you're here.
A nice little taco shop called BLUE taco is recommended for some good tasting seafood based tacos, cerviche and they are on the cheap side as well! Another nice little shop is called Capitan Kay (at the end of the main road leading to the main town close to where the ADO bus stops - they serve some no frills fish/shrimp tacos and really tasty cerviches for around 60mxn and you get free condiments and salads! We heard good things about Punto Corcho on the main street of the beach area but unfortunately the night we wanted to go, they were closed - so please do visit and let me know how it went!
Plates from BLUE taco
Also, if you are adventurous, you can stop crocodiles really close along Ninos Heroes opposite the Oxxo station (they have signs there so you can't miss it!)
Inside La Noria
We rented a car from Budget ($25/day) and drove ourselves to La Noria (no taxi driver wanted to take us there!). It was the most expensive cenote we went to and frankly speaking it wasn't that impressive after all! The day we went was rainy and not very cenote-ready day and the entrance fee was 200mxn. The cenote is basically a closed one with a hole on the ground so the water is quite cold and smelly and muddy (no clear visibility). We spent some time swimming around there and Ian did his 30m free diving jump off the top.
Diving into the depths by Ian Jones
Tulum
Next day we drove to Tulum to begin our diving adventure. For beer lovers, there is a Pescadores beer factory (Puerto Morelos brewed beer) along the highway as you drive down to Tulum - if you want to visit make sure you don't miss the turn! One thing we noticed is that signs are never really for-warning. They appear right when you need to make the turn for the location or are hidden by trees until it's too late - the advice we got from locals is to follow locals as they know where the bumps and signs are! Case in point - speed bumps! They are so NOT noticeable as you drive down the highway and then when you do (because the sign is right next to the bump and the bumps are sometimes NOT coloured) it is too late. We almost flew over a bump near to Tulum.
The drive itself is easy and follows one straight highway. In Tulum we booked ourselves in another airbnb called Standard Rooms for EUR25/night (they have delisted from AirBnB but available on Booking.com) It is out of the Tulum center but they do provide free electric bikes for all guests which proved to be really handy. The room itself is super comfortable! The best we had in the whole trip - nice firm bed and great shower pressure and warm water. It's about a 2.5km bike ride to the city center of Tulum which is absolutely manageable especially with an electric bike! It didn't feel like a chore going back and forth to the city center.
Biking in Tulum
There are no bike lanes in Tulum but a lot of people do bike there so it is safe to bike on the road side. Traffic in itself is not too busy, except on the main road - but you can bike in a separate inner lane along the big main road. Also it is not uncommon to see people biking on the main road to get to the cenotes. A note on the right of way - in general all roads that are parallel to the main road has right of way (regardless of whether it is going left or going right) - so if you are on the perpendicular road, give way to vehicles driving along the main road (same applies to bikes). We learned this the hard way because there are no signs suggesting if a road is one-way/both way or going which direction.
Us with Gibran on the left
We chose Dive Tulum as they had the most affordable price package. The 4 dives over 2 days (cenotes) package was USD250 including everything (entrance fees, equipment, transport). Food is not included in this package but that is not a problem for us as we easily managed with snacks we brought ourselves. We were very lucky to be paired up with Gibran as our dive guide for all our cenotes diving. Because it is the low season we had a "private" guide for just the 2 of us. We did El Pit, Dos Ojos, Calavera and Car wash for the first 2 days. Gibran is an absolute gem! He is very passionate about conservation and environment and has such a vast knowledge of the cenotes! He is a freelance dive guide (fully certified for cave and cavern diving) so not entirely attached to Dive Tulum but you could possibly ask/ request for his service. Otherwise he also does take people on his own to cenotes (not sure about prices and packages).
Entrance to El Pit
Inside El Pit
Loads of divers gathered around the entrance
Absolutely loved the first day of cenotes diving. It is such a different environment to be in. You don't have to be constantly on the lookout for marine life or be fidgeting with equipment and current because the water is still and doesn't change much! In El Pit, it is basically a sink hole dive and you go to a deep depth where you encounter Sulphate cloud which in itself is such a new experience for me! This is such a popular dive that you are bound to encounter at least 10 divers regardless - which kind of spoil the joy a little...
Barbie line
Almost like cave diving but NOT
Formations in Barbie Line
In Dos Ojos, we did the Barbie Line first and were amazed with all the formation and structure. This one felt a little more like cave diving as you are a little limited by space. Such diving requires a bit of technique skill to control your bouyancy as you do not want to move too much in between formations. If you have a very good video light, bring it! We didn't and therefore couldn't take really great images/videos but we did the best with what we were provided with.
The next day we did Calavera and Car Wash. Calavera was amazing!! the Hylocline is the most amazingly clear I've every seen (where salt water collides with fresh water). Such a wonderful experience and I highly recommend doing this dive! Car Wash was alright, however I felt this cenote was better visited as a snorkel/swim as the dive itself wasn't too impressive. It costs 50mxn to visit the cenote to swim/snorkel.
How to enter Calavera:
Inside Calavera
We made a video of the Calavera experience which will give you a lot more perspective of how amazing it was!
Carwash
Car wash
Note to all who visits Cenotes: Please refrain from apply sunscreen even if it is Bio degradable. Keep the water clean from any chemicals please!! They do put up signs in Cenotes but people (tourists) do not really follow them.. Think about putting bio degradable products into your drinking water - would you drink it? You are doing the same to the cenotes.
Angelita
Are we floating in clouds or in water
Trees grow in the cenotes
We did another 2 cenotes dive - Angelita and Dos Ojos Bat Line. El Pit was labeled the Dream and Angelita apparently has the notion of being the nightmare. And I'm glad I did this dive. Please EVERYONE HAS TO DIVE ANGELITA!! It is such a beautiful dive and so very different from anything you will EVER encounter in cenotes! When you dive down, you see a white cloud layer (the Sulphate cloud) It is so thick and white you feel like you're floating in heaven and not diving! And branches pop out of the cloud. The real experience and surprise comes when you descend down the cloud into complete utter darkness! No wonder they call it the nightmare! You literally go from daylight to complete darkness and feels kind of eerie when you're underneath. This is by far my favourite cenote! Loved it!
A video of Angelita to show you the difference between heaven and hell:
I also recommend doing both lines in Dos Ojos - completely different experience. Bat line is a lot more formations and tighter - the formations are also much more intricate as compared to Barbie line. This cave requires a really good video light as it is quite dark to capture good footage.
Dos Ojos Bat Cave
Dos Ojos Bat Cave - Lovely formations
So another diving we came to Tulum to do was crocodile night diving. Sounds scary? I was initially a little apprehensive but went with it and actually it didn't feel so scary at all. It was a bit eerie just swimming around in a huge cenote at 8pm at night when it's so dark and quiet around - you can't see anything and it's just a body of water with bushes and trees around (sounds so much like a scary movie/slasher flick setup). Koox Diving is the only dive center in Tulum that offers this dive. It is quite expensive for 1 night dive but when you see them crocodiles just idling by the side minding their own business, it is worth it. They have been doing this for a few years and have a near 100% sighting. We were a little unlucky the first night as the crocodiles kept moving away from us, so we were offered a 2nd try for free. The 2nd try night was the worst night you can imagine - Thunder, lighting and torrential rain while we were diving in the cenote looking for crocodiles. But this night we saw! It just laid there not moving and we were admiring it for a few moments. So surreal especially given the conditions.
Crocs!
If you would like to find crocodiles, head to Casa Cenotes where they have a resident crocodile hiding in the mangrove. It was 120mxn for entry into the cenote (hide your cameras if you don't want to pay for camera fees which I think was 50-100mxn). You can also rent snorkelling equipment there. It is an open cenote which is nice to swim along, however we were unfortunate in our hunt for Pacito - couldn't find the crocodile.
Casa Cenote
Goofing around in Casa Cenote
Of course we didn't forget to include some land activities! The Tulum ruins is easily reached by bike and best visited in the early morning. It is 70mxn entrance fee and you can walk the whole area by yourself. They charge for cameras (even goPro) so keep your small cameras in your pockets when you enter.
Tulum Ruins
Tulum Ruins
We also visited Coba which is a 45 minute drive from Tulum. This is the pyramid where you can climb to the top. It also costs 70mxn to enter. After the first area of some smaller pyramids, you can walk to the big pyramid where you can climb to the top - it is a less than 2km walk in shade or you can rent bikes to go around. Of course we chose to walk :) The walk up the pyramid is not difficult just be mindful of the steps as they are a little uneven. From the top you get a pretty good view across as in general the region is pretty flat without tall buildings.
Coba the only pyramid in this area where you can climb
As for food, there were some OK places in Tulum town. We did not venture to discover the beach side of Tulum (except when we biked to the ruins) as it is mostly glitzy, overpriced restaurants for the tourists. We had some pretty good gelato in town, decent and really cheap street food at Tacos Manys (open only at night along Ave. Satellite with other street food stalls), and nice beers at Hermana Republica - ask for free chips when you order your beer (they are not served automatically) and the salsa that is served with it is so delicious we wanted to buy some home but they are NOT selling! We had a glance at their menu and it looked pretty awesome though it is slightly more expensive than other restaurants in the same area. We had some decent Italian food and good vegetarian at El Vegetariano but the rest was ok-ish. The cerviche we had in town were not mind blowing - the way they made it was a little strange for me as they mix it with cooked onions and peppers instead of fresh citrusly flavours. We tried Thai Tulum and was utterly disappointed - DO NOT GO! This is absolutely NOT thai flavours at all and overly priced for what it's worth - worst food we've tried.
Many's late night snack/dinner - great friendly guy
El Vegetariano
El Vegetariano vege burger - Yum
We got hooked on Pescadores in Tulum
YOu get served a huge (refillable) basket of nachos before you order
So was Tulum worth the visit - I'd say YES - the cenote diving was the absolute best! The Town itself is not so touristy and I would recommend staying there instead of by the beach for a more authentic experience. Food and drinks in general are not as cheap as you think - beer costs about 60mxn (Almost European price) and be prepared to pay about 200mxn (or more) for a main course. Cerviches were in general about 120mxn for a small plate (sizing of cerviche can be pretty big so go for small if you're unsure) while tacos goes for 60mxn at restaurants. They were 90mxn for 3 at Many's. But think a lot more if you spend in the beach area. By comparison, we found Portugal (Lisbon and Azores) to be cheaper than here.
We don't eat meat so it is very possible that we missed out the best food of Tulum (think Tacos which are mostly meat based) so don't take our word 100% for the food choices - seen quite a number of YouTube videos of food recommendation for Tulum mostly on tacos (meat based) which looked pretty good and really cheap, so do check out those YouTube suggestions.
Valladolid
Streets of Valladolid
Valladolid is the starting point for visitors to Chichen Itza. It is an easy drive from Tulum and upon entering Valladolid, you get a totally different feel than Tulum or even Puerto Morelos. This feels very Mexican with the Spanish influenced buildings, and a lot more buzz around the town. We stayed at Ka'an which was right in the center of the action with cheap spacious rooms and good WIFI connection. We had a quick snack in the market place (really cheap and good fruit juices - walk right to the end of the food market for good cheap snacks), and then walked to the cenote Zaci which was right smack in the city center. It is also the cheapest cenote (30mxn) and really beautiful! You can also jump from height into the water. You get a bracelet which entitles you to a whole day entrance so you can go out and come back again all for 30mxn!
Cenote Zaci
At the guesthouse we stayed, you can also use their bikes for free (mind you the bikes are not in the best conditions but useable for short distances). We biked to our dinner place - Ix CAT Ik Traditional Mayan - which we highly recommend for anyone visiting here. They are a little outside of the city center but easily reached with bike or a short taxi ride. They serve traditional Mayan cuisine made with ingredients from their garden. They also give you a short tour around their garden, explaining the ingredients they use and how they make certain sauces and pastes. They are relatively new so it was not crowded when we went but the food was fantastic! It is Maya cuisine served almost like fine dining with beautiful plating. The green juice which is made with Chaya ( a plant) is a must try so refreshing! Prices are a little higher but well worth it!
One of the best meals at Ix Cat Ik
The next morning we drove to Chichen Itza to beat the morning crowd. We arrived around 9am and lucky us the place was not crowded as yet. Chichen Itza is HUGE, and took us close to 1H30mins to walk the entire grounds and stopping for pictures/videos. It is touristy but still I feel it is a must visit when you're in this area. Remember to arrive early - when we exited, there was a big crowd and long lines at the entrance.
Chichen Itza
Witness the echo sounds created by the structure
On our way back we stopped at Cenote Ik Kil (80mxn) where you visit one of the iconic cenotes with vines hanging from the top. You can pay (30mxn) to lock your stuff or bring it down to the cenotes with you and put it by the side. Bring only the essentials and keep the rest locked in your car.
Ik Kil
Ik Kil - the vines make pretty photo
Playa Del Carmen
Driving to PDC there are 2 ways - you could go back down to Tulum and drive up or you could go via the 180D highway towards Cancun. The 180D charges Toll when you turn to PDC (which we didn't know) so go via Tulum if you don't want to pay for toll. It was not a cheap toll.
In PDC, we were recommended Antonio from Scubascool Mexico for cenotes diving. Antonio is a smart guy and provided us with many information to help us with choices. We met with him and discussed our options for cenotes and in the end we chose 4. With Antonio the schedule was a little different - we started late (after 10am) to avoid the morning crowd of divers and also meaning we end a bit later so by the time we start the 2nd dive, most divers would already be done. It was USD140 for 2 dives excluding entrance fee (including sandwich lunch - which was really delicious - and fruits). Entrance fees for diving are pretty expensive for cenotes (minimun is usually 250mxn per pax). Maybe also due to the low season, it felt more flexible and customized according to our needs, and less like the big dive operations which only go to pre-selected locations (no choice for the divers).
Day 1 we did Cenote Chac Mul and Tajma Ha (both charged 250mxn per pax for diving). Of these 2, Tajma Ha was our favourite - it is a multi level dive so you go up and down a few times in the dive and you get to experience Halocline and a really beautiful view of the cenote. The water appears green in the cenote.
Tajma Ha
Green waters of Tajma Ha
The other day we did Cenote Maraville and Zapote - pretty sure you could do this also from Puerto Morelos as they are closer to PM. Maraville is at this moment still a relatively unknown dive hole that is not very much open to public yet. When we went, they were building the infrastructure to welcome divers officially so expect it to be very busy from now on. We were the only ones there then (again 250mxn per pax). Maraville is like the little El Pit - less crowded and less famous but that made it much more enjoyable. You have to go around noon time when the sun is shining to experience that massive ray of light shining through the sink hole.
With Antonio at the entrance of Cenote Maravilla
Little El Pit - Maravilla
Zapote is a cenote made famous by the discovery of a mammoth sloth bear and also at 350mxn per pax very expensive location to dive but totally worth it. In Maraville we saw some hell bells but to fully experience hell bells you have to go to Zapote. It is a very deep dive where you descend in a narrow column that slowly widens after you hit the sulphate cloud at 33m and hell bells appear. That meant that our dive was actually very short as once you ascend from the sulphate cloud there was NOTHING to see as it is just 1 narrow column. But the hell bells are truly an amazing site that you don't see in other cenotes. Such weird conical structure hanging underneath. Wish we had nitrox so we could spend more time in the depth.
Diving with Hell Bells
A short clip of the hell bells in action:
Because PDC is right opposite Cozumel all dive centers also offer you the choice to do day trips for 2 dives - either by the normal passenger ferry or by fast dive boats. With dive boats you cut short your trip by half a day however it is weather dependent and would not operate if the sea is rough. In the end, we had to choose the passenger ferry and we paid 150USD to dive with Plongee (all arranged by Antonio) but with our own personal dive guide. The corals in Cozumel are surprisingly very well maintained and healthy! Palancar reef was pretty amazing with his columns and swim throughs. Did 2 dives, didn't really see much great stuff but was a nice and different feeling to finally be back in open water. In the end, we felt that we made a better choice doing the day trip diving than staying in Cozumel for a night or 2. Overall, not too impressed by the diving in Cozumel - I guess I've been spoilt by South East Asia.
What is PDC like - it is definitely a lot more lively than Tulum with HUGE shopping centers and shopping streets. It is definitely also a lot more touristy and you can definitely feel that hippie vibe here with lots of boutique cafes, healthy food and urbanites walking around. The walking streets feel like you could be anywhere in the world but also because of that, you get a pretty good mix of food choices. We think we ate better in PDC than in Tulum! However, our accommodation was not the greatest choice.
Our first choice La Galeria by Bunnik which looked really good on paper and also upon arrival didn't cut it right because the WIFI did not work at all for all 3 days we were there. Yes, we should disconnect and relax while on vacation but without WIFI, we couldn't contact our dive center and we couldn't also look up restaurants or places to go or how to get where! So we do need WIFI. If you're not fussed about WIFI, it is a nice hotel as it is close to a lot of restaurants and huge supermarkets. We moved to an AirBnB for half the price - though the room is much smaller and the shower a lot weaker but at least the WIFI worked. No complaints.
Food wise, we had quite a few good meals! Right next to La Galeria, you have a really good vegan restaurant Clorofila - our first night we had some really good choices with the Enchiladas, Tapenades and the Del Mar. All dishes hover around the 90-110mxn per plate price range. We ordered also the zuchinni noodles another night but were not impressed with the taste and they were a little too greasy.
Los Hijos amazing seafood tacos/cerviche - so huge and yummy
2nd night at Clorofila was a little disappointing - the zoodle was oily as you can see
Sushi so good we came here twice! Sushi Club!
We also had really good sushi at Sushi Club. It was the most expensive meal of the whole trip but the quality was really good (rolls were ranging from 165mxn). Another great place for good seafood tacos and cerviche was Los Hijos Del Mar. They serve creative seafood tostadas and one of the best cerviches we've had in the trip. Good service as well! Highly recommend to visit and ask for recommendations because the menu (only in Spanish) is pretty extensive and you'll be spoilt for choice!
So when is the best time to visit here? There is no one fixed answer - it depends on what you want to see. We missed the bull sharks and the whale sharks by 1 month which is a bummer but also we came at the low season which means cheaper, less tourists, cenotes were less crowded, you have more time to shop around for best values and more flexibility because you don't need to pre-book. Still did not regret visiting in October although diving with the bullsharks would have made it all the more awesome, still the cenotes experience made up for everything! Everyone told us to avoid Cancun so no comments on Cancun here. Tulum is definitely worth a visit and TBH PDC I think is also worth staying a few nights for some amazing cenotes diving! The beaches no comments as most if not all of them are not free (you pay to lounge by the beach) and at that time, they were infested with seaweeds. The water is really warm though (28C) which I like. But for sure the highlight for us was the cenotes diving - I had no idea what it would be like and how I would feel but definitely they blew my mind away! I mean Angelita - just never thought something like that would exist! If you're a diver, if you're not claustrophobic or afraid of the dark, you cannot miss the cenotes - they have to be on your bucket list of places to dive.
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