Bacalar - México
Bacalar was not on our list for the road trip. Instead, we had planned to stay a little longer in Tulum or Playa del Carmen, but the waitress at Carolinda Beach Club on Holbox gave us the tip to visit Bacalar. That’s why we made some research on it and decided to give it a try. Oh my, I’m so happy we did as it was one of my favorite stops on the journey, while I’m fine with just haven a day each in Tulum and Playa del Carmen. They are just to overcrowded. We even extend our stay from just two nights to four.
Bacalar is located beside a lagoon that the locals call the lagoon of the 7 colors and we totally got why as in that lagoon you can find all shades of blue and turquoise. It is gorgeous and looks like a tropical beach destination while it is a fresh water source.
Fort San Felipe
In the old town of Bacalar you find an old ford. We didn’t go inside but walked around it.
Laguna de los 7 colores
As mentioned above the lagun is stunning and worth a visit. Not only from the diverse beaches from hotels or restaurants, but I fully recommend a boat tour. We chose one on our second morning and it was gorgeous to sail the lagoon and dip into the water on different spots.
The lagoon is connected to underground water sources and thus also consist of diverse cenotes connected to the lagoon.
We started near the Cenote Esmeralda.
In Bacalar they have diverse cute hotels where you have small ecological houses to live in but they were a little to pricy for our budget.
Cenote Negro, the black Cenote, no one is allowed to swim in it as due to the under current a tourist died here even though he was a good swimmer as he was sucked under water… But the water color gives some insides about how deep it is.
Just beside the black Cenote the water gets less deep very soon.
Canal de los Piratas, a Canal connected to the ocean where pirates tried to get trough in the past to enter the city. But the water was so low, that they hit sand and could be conquered. At least that was what our guide told us. The ship can see down below. We spend at least an hour in this area to swimm, play frisbee and explore the area. It was gorgeous.
We were so lucky to book an early tour that day as in the background you can already spot the rain clouds. The picture below was taken on our way back. We then took out some kayaks to explore the Cenote Esmeralda. As soon as we got into the harbor an hour later, the purring rain started. We relaxed in some loungers where we were protected from the rain and afterwards jumped into the water again. It was so hot and seemed like there hasn’t been a strong rain just minutes before.
Los Rápidos de Bacalar
Another gorgeous spot in Bacalar where we spend a full day. I never thought we would stay that long, jumping into the water multiple times, flowing with the current down the river and then going back to the start trough a boardwalk beside the river. You had to wear a swim west, like in most of the Cenotes. After a couple of times flowing down, we saw a few wearing them like diapers with their legs through the arm holes. We tried and even though it looked funny, it was the best hack ever! Before the life west would come up, as they were all to big and kind of strangle the neck and you had to push it down all the time but that way you could just sit in the water and let the water take you down the river.
Mangroves all around the floating area.
The water in the lagoon was so clear in all places. We had no hesitation to jump in in diverse places for a cool down.
One afternoon and evening was also spent at the restaurant La Playita. You can use their dock to relax and to jump into the water and we had one of the most beautiful sunsets in that area on there with the colors reflecting in the water. Even at night it looked gorgeous. The food was great too. We had a shrimp burger and a tuna steak which was right at point.
Btw. we had a gorgeous breakfast a few times at Madre Masa.
To be honest, our boat tour and the days in Bacalar were the most relaxing ones on our journey through Yucatán, México. Our first hotel was at the start of the town and its location right at the lagoon. The room itself unfortunately was really filthy and the two other ones they showed us not even slightly better… But the view in the morning as you can see on the pictures below was gorgeous! We started with a swim in the clear lagoon. Luckily, we just had booked one night to see if we like Bacarlar and then chose a cute hotel named Hotel Tuparenda, were we enjoyed the next 3 nights.
