Relaxing Swim But The Cenote Felt Like The Size of a Small Bathtub - Pricey Admission and Not Much to Explore Here.
Cenote Zacil-Ha is a small, open-air cenote located on the highway between Tulum and Coba. I visited this cenote as a solo traveler during the afternoon of November 13th.
The cenote was a lot smaller than I was expecting it to be and it resembled a perfectly circular/round natural-looking bathtub or tiny swimming pool. It felt artificial and manufactured to me, and not natural. You could really only swim around in circles, and there were nothing else to explore (no cave-like areas, etc.). To its credit though, the colour of the water was absolutely gorgeous - crystal clear and a beautiful turquoise colour. The water was cool and refreshing and the environment was peaceful and relaxing.
The cenote and surrounding property felt pretty developed and included an on-site restaurant, bar, washrooms, changing facilities, and picnic tables. There were also sun loungers beside the cenote for relaxing.
I visited the cenote in the afternoon and had the entire place to myself, which I enjoyed. I did not spend too much time here, as there was not too much to do or explore.
Getting to the cenote from Tulum was easy - I found a taxi along Tulum's main avenue and asked the driver to take me to this cenote. The one-way cost was 80 pesos and the entrance fee for the cenote was also 80 pesos (a little pricey for what is offered, in my opinion).
After I had finished visiting the cenote, getting back to Tulum proved to be much more difficult as there were no taxis that wait in the parking area of this cenote and colectivos do not drive that route. The staff at the cenote informed me that they did not have a phone for me to call a taxi. I ended up waiting along the side of the highway for a taxi for a little while but when none passed by, I began getting worried and started walking towards Tulum along the highway, in hopes of someone giving me a ride. Thankfully, a friendly local stopped his car for me and gave me a ride back to Tulum, free of charge. I was apprehensive about getting into a stranger's car, especially as a solo female traveler in Mexico, but I was very grateful that everything turned out okay, and I was not prepared to walk all the way back to Tulum.
In hindsight, I should have asked the taxi driver who brought me to the cenote to wait in the parking lot until I was finished so that he could take me back to Tulum.
I suggest having a plan for getting back to Tulum in advance and not just winging it, as I did.
This cenote definitely wasn't my favourite that I visited in Mexico, due to its very small size, lack of uniqueness and places to explore and the difficult challenge of finding transportation back to Tulum. I prefer visiting cenotes that have a more natural setting or are underground and have interesting rock formations.
For what it offered, I felt that the admission price to this cenote was pretty steep and expensive at 80 pesos, considering that I visited much more interesting cenotes in the Yucatan for only 30-50 pesos.
Overall, Cenote Zacil-Ha did not have a wow factor for me. It was just okay but did not offer the impressive natural beauty that many other cenotes in the Yucatan do. This cenote would be ideal for families with young children, but as a more adventurous solo traveler, I would probably not return to Cenote Zacil-Ha in the future. read more