How to visit cenotes from Mérida

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MexicoCassie cenote guides

Tips for visiting cenotes

⭐️ In Nov 2023, the PASAPORTE DE  CENOTES was introduced. I’ve heard absolutely nothing about it since then but it does appear to exist still. 

 The initiative was designed to promote local Maya communities and their economies, educating visitors about Maya culture and environments. As the site says, “La Cultura Maya aún vive alredador de los Cenotes” (Around the Cenotes, Maya culture still lives). There are ten cenotes that can be visited with this passport with a discounted price. These include some of the cenotes in this article such as Santa Barbara and Nohmozon. 

Best cenotes to visit from Mérida

Hacienda Santa Barbara

By far the most well-known and most visited by tourists are the Santa Barbara cenotes. There are four cenotes on site and you can take a horse & cart ride or ride a bike between them.

💙 I love Santa Barbara cenotes and regularly use this place as a ‘starter option cenote’ when guests come to stay as it’s so well maintained and safe.

♿️ The only fully accessibly cenote on the peninsula is here. It was opened in 2023 and has an elevator for people with reduced mobility.

Cenote Cascabel is well-lit, you can swim in a circle around a platform with some shallow areas Getting into the cenote is probably the hardest of the three as you have to duck under a tree and enter through a small opening to reach the stairs. The water is only 10m deep in this fully closed cenote.

Cenote Chaksikin is a much bigger cenote with more swimming space and a wonderful jumping platform. It is semi-open and the water is around 16m deep.

Cenote Cenote Xooch’ is huge, fully open to the sky and has a platform from which you can swim. The water is astoundingly clear and very deep (40m). With awe, I watched someone swim all the way to the bottom of the cenote during my first visit here.

Cenote Pool Coom is the newest cenote on site and is the only accessible cenote on the peninsula. The cenote is 30m deep, boasts artificial waterfalls and plenty of space to swim.

Cenotes Cuzama

This collection of three cenotes at the Cuzama Hacienda is actually pretty well known as a day trip from Merida, and it really is a fantastic way to see different styles of cenote in one trip. 

There are three cenotes on the Cuzuma site, including one that is less suitable for small children or nervous swimmers as the water is accessed directly from the wooden ladder. The cenotes are accessed via a horse-pulled wagon along an old railway line. 

Cenote Chan Ucil – This is a closed cenote, its entrance is marked by a large tree. Metal stairs lead to a cave featuring impressive stalactites and stalagmites, ending in a small, crystal-clear blue water cenote.

Cenote Chacsinicche – A semi-open cenote great for swimming with a large tree at the entrance and roots extending into the water. There’s a platform for jumping and clear waters where stones are visible at the bottom.

Cenote Bolonchojool – A breathtaking cave cenote ideal for diving, this one is accessed through a very narrow opening with metal stairs. It features impressive stalactites and a ceiling with holes for sunlight to stream in. Tree roots reach down to the crystal-clear waters, creating a serene and mysterious atmosphere.

Hacienda Mucuyche

Hacienda Mucuyche is one of the most well-known cenote options in Yucatán. This ex-hacienda offers a tour experience that includes a guided group tour around the old hacienda grounds in either English or Spanish. The tour is actually very interesting. After the hacienda tour it’s time to head to put on your swimming stuff and head down to the cenotes (still guided).

The first cenote, Cenote Carlota, is a typical semi-open cenote but it is linked to the second cenote by an artificial channel that you swim through. At the end of the channel, you get out, grab a mask and enter the second cenote. And, wow. This is a special cenote for sure. It feels as if you’re swimming over a cave you’d normally walk through. 

Top Tip: Don’t be like me the first time I went, be sure to take your waterproof camera or go-pro (this cenote is really well lit so a go-pro will work here). I thought I wouldn’t need it as I’ve been to dozens of cenotes. I really regretted it.

Cenote San Ignacio 

^{photo provided by San Ignacio Cenote}

This is a gorgeous hacienda cenote option as you can actually stay in the luxurious hacienda cottages, practically guaranteeing a private cenote experience (particularly since it’s actually possible to have a night swim in the cenote). The hotel also offers a spectacular swimming pool, 2 restaurants (open to non guests), a playground, small farm and free parking.

This cenote is a fully covered cave cenote with a year-round temperature of 26℃ (79℉). The water depth is fairly shallow all over, between 8m and 1.4m. 

Also on site you’ll find a heart shaped pool, the Río Esmerelda (a lazy river that can be enjoyed in inflatable rings or even in kayaks), and an aerial adventure experience for those who enjoy heights.

If anyone ever wants to woo me (😉) then a romantic dinner at the side of this cenote would work. Just saying.

Wild cenotes near Mérida

Wild cenote tour options

Without access to a car, these wild cenotes are nigh on impossible to reach. These tours can remedy that.

⭐️ MexicoCassie recommended tour to Uxmal and 2 off-the-beaten track cenotes (includes lunch)

⭐️ MexicoCassie recommended tour to Chichén Itzá, Yellow Izamal & magical cenote Yokdzonot (includes lunch)

Cenote Yaal Utzil

Yaal Utzil is a large fully open cenote not too far from the gorgeous Maya site of Mayapan. It is approximately 12m deep on one side & 25m deep on the other – the difference in water colour makes it obvious where this is.

There are life vests for hire and there is a bathroom on site. 

Entrance into the water was from some rocks at the bottom of the steps. There is a small rope to aid exit from the water. There are two jumping platforms, one at about 10 metres and one from the very top. 

The owners also sell home-cooked food and cold drinks for reasonable prices.

🚗 Yaal Utzil is in the Mucuyche area about one hour’s drive from Merida.

Cenote Kankirixche

This semi-open cenote is just 4km from Yaal Utzil. It is a semi-open cenote with decent stairs down to the water. The crystal clear waters range in depth from 2m to 50m, quite the range!

It has changing rooms, toilets and life jackets for rent on-site. 

🚗 It’s 4km from Yaal Utzil so can be approached in the same way although it’s also perfectly possible through Muna on the way home from Uxmal.

Parador X’Tohil

This collection of four cenotes are explored with a classic horse and cart tour.

The first cenote (guarded by a Maya pyramid) is easily accessed and has a mix of deep and shallow waters. 

The second cenote will wow you with its striking stalagmites and stalactites. The water is gorgeously clear. It is possible to swim in this cenotes but most tend not to as it is a very dark cave cenote.

The next two cenotes on this tour are not for the uninitiated: the first has a rope swing that you use to swing out and drop into the water. The final cenote is accessed by climbing down through huge tree roots masquerading as stairs. The water is fairly shallow.

🚗 Parador X’Tohil is some 4 km before Cuzama on the highway from Merida, just 2km after Eknakan village.

Cenote Yokdzonot

Cenote Yokdzonot is not far from Chichén Itzá and is a great option for a post-ruins refreshing swim or as somewhere to spend a full day relaxing and swimming.

The cenote is classed as deep-open and is accessed by a pretty good staircase.  The water is 80m deep and is accessed via a platform about 1.5m above the water and then a ladder or a jump if you prefer!

The site has a lovely small restaurant, a playground, bathrooms, life jacket rental, bikes for rent to enjoy on their bike trails as well as a zip line and rappel wall. 

This cenote makes the list of my favourite cenotes to visit from Mérida because

1) it’s run as a women’s collective

2) it’s generally a lot quieter than nearby Cenote Ik Kil (which is also absolutely gorgeous but often very busy)

3) Yokdzonot is one of the few cenotes that welcomes dogs on to the grounds (they still can’t swim, we’re afraid)

🚗 The cenote is located very close to Chichén Itzá, directly on the Merida-Valladolid road at the 100 kilometre mark (Highway 180). If you’re in the area, public transport is available from Piste.

Cenote K’ax Ek, Tinum

We found this cenote on our way home from Valladolid. It is a little further afield than most others in this article but it’s also the biggest cenote on the Yucatan Peninsula and so very worth your adventure time. It took my breath away when I saw its size.

This is a classic open cenote. It’s so large that photos made us think it might be a lake rather than a cenote but of course there are no lakes in Yucatán. 

The cenote is accessed via some very sturdy concrete steps with good handrails. 

While it’s *only* 25 metres deep, its size is quite incredible.

There are changing rooms on site (very basic), bathrooms and a small shop selling locally made items. Don’t expect to buy snacks or drinks here. 

You can rent life jackets on site.

🚗 To get here you drive through the jungle, following a well-signposted path, for about thirty minutes. We picked up the signs at Tinum. Do note that google maps will tell you that you’ve arrived at the cenote a good 15 minutes of driving before you actually have.

Cenote Noh-Mozon, Pixya

I love Pixya’s cenote so much, this is the most rustic and simple cenote I’ve visited to date. This cenote is completely open and is accessed by an incredibly rickety staircase.

There is a little ledge at the bottom from where you use a ladder to get into the water. There is also a jumping platform some ten metres above the water.

No changing spaces, bathrooms or lockers.

🚗 Head to Telchaquillo along the 184 for around 40 minutes. Head through Telchaquillo to Pixya and then pick up your guide for the last part of the journey.

For a really detailed description, do read my article, but basically follow your guide into the jungle in your car. Drive along for twenty minutes or so being absolutely convinced you’re insane to follow strangers into the jungle until you reach the cenote entrance.

Cenote Suhem

Also in Pixya is Cenote Suhem, another large, open cenote that will take your breath away. We actually camped in the jungle next to the cenote here to make a weekend of a trip to a cenote. 

The cenote is around 12 m deep, which isn’t as deep as many open cenotes. 

⛺️ Camping overnight gave us the fabulous opportunity to swim in the same cenote at different times of day: afternoon, dusk and early morning. At dusk we swam with swallows dipping and diving around us while our early morning experience of swimming in the fresh morning air with birds of prey flying overhead was really quite an experience too.

At Suhem there is an old staircase that makes a great jumping platform for the more daredevil among us though personally, I prefer marvelling at stunning reflections to throwing myself into deep water.

With advance warning, you can book a delicious meal on site.

🚗 Cenote Suhem is not impossible to find alone but when you camp there you’re met at a point in the village of Pixyá (not far from Telchaquillo and Mayapán).

Cenote Xlacah – Dzibilchaltun

In early 2025 the site of Dzibilchaltun is open but the cenote remains closed to swimmers. 

This is actually primarily a Maya archaeological site but it also happens to be pretty much the closest cenote to Merida (apart from the small one in Costco carpark, of course).

The cenote itself is a small, open cenote that was a lot of fun to swim in the few times I went.

One end is really shallow, about 50cm, and the other end is extremely deep and has rocks that people use for jumping into the water.

🚗 Easy thirty-minute drive from Merida. It is possible by public transport.

Cenotes at El Corchito

Just by the second roundabout along the 27 between Progreso and Chicxulub Puerto is El Corchito, an ecological reserve with three cenotes.

The swimming area is reached by crossing the ría in a small boat. 

The three pools are shallower than most cenotes – two are around 2.5m deep and one is shallow enough that both my kids could stand in it. 

Sunscreen and food are not permitted on site. Food is prohibited because of the greedy and fearless raccoons and coati and sunscreen because it pollutes the water. 

Homun Cenote Circle

Homun cenote tour options from Mérida

⭐️ MexicoCassie recommended Homun cenote tour – spend the day swimming in 4 of the Homun cenotes and enjoy a traditional lunch on this full day tour from Mérida

⭐️ MexicoCassie recommended private tour of Homun’s cenotes

Homun guides

🛺 If you do have a car it’s also easy to pick up a guide in Homun. They can take you, either in your car or in a moto-taxi/tuk-tuk, to explore the cenotes around town.

You’ll probably manage 3 or 4 cenotes and lunch if you get there early enough (before 10am). Each tuk-tuk tour costs around $400 pesos and can carry up to 4 people. The tour will generally include the ride to the cenotes and a life jacket. You’ll have to pay to enter each cenote separately though – usually around $100 pesos per person.

Cenote Canunchen

This is one of our very favourite cenotes because it has a huge rope swing that is fit for adults and brave kids. We always have a great time swimming and swinging here. 

 You enter this fully covered cenote via a ladder and then go down a spiral staircase. Exit is a straight-up staircase.

This cenote has bathroom facilities on site as well as hammocks, showers and a small snack store. Life Jackets are available for rent.

Cenote Hool Kosom

This is a pretty cenote with an island in the middle and one roof opening for light. If you were hoping to see the Instagram famous Cenote Suytun outside Valladolid but don’t have time, this is not a bad option.

Cenote Santa Cruz

Between Homun and the cenote ring, on calle 19 (direction Huhi), on the left-hand side of the road is cenote Santa Cruz. I particularly like that this is run as a cooperative and that the members of the cooperative see themselves as the guardians of the cenote rather than the owners.

The cenote itself is very small and, in the words of the owner, ‘perfect for children rather than adults’. I’d recommend wearing water shoes here as the floor of the cenote is rough in some spots. The stairs down are very well maintained and sturdy.

What sets this cenote apart is that it also has a temescal (you can read about our Oaxaca temescal experience here or my Tapalpa temescal experience here) and a tirolesa (zip line).

Kat Ku

Cenote Kat Ku is a brand new cenote that just opened in 2025 – it is a gorgeous cenote with hundreds of stalactites and exfoliating mud. Sadly, I haven’t visited as it was only recently discovered by a local family on their farmland. Entry is currently $70 pesos per person.

✏️ If you do visit and feel like sending me photos and updated info on Kat Ku, I’d be super grateful.

Have a great time exploring Yucatan’s cenotes and do let me know which is your favourite!