Cenote X'batun and DZONBAKALare within the same area…read more Google maps will make you come from highway 261 from the north side even though a road from the south shows up on the map. That is a private road so if you are coming from Uxmal or Cenotes Hacienda Mucuyché you have to drive up past them - per google maps. You will reach a 'ticket' area where you have to get your temp checked and buy tickets. Then you drive down the road off the pavement onto a dirt road to give your tickets to a guy. Then drive a couple of K until you reach Cenote X'batun. Some have complained that they were over crowded and all, we went in Jan of 2021 and they are really practicing social distancing - we were the only ones in the cenote! IMPORTANT NOTE if you can get to any cenote/Mayan site when they open or before noon - chances are you can have the place pretty much to yourself. Also you don't have to climb down a 100 foot hole in the ground on a sketcy ladder to get to this one. Pretty easy solid stair case to get here. Can recommend if you are in the Uxmal area

My husband and I visited la Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Celestun when we were in Merida for a few…read moredays over the Thanksgiving holiday. The reserve is a protected natural area that is home to nearly 560 species of animals, of which approximately 300 are birds (a third of the total bird species in Mexico)! It's not a river (but a tributary), which is why it's called Ria Celestun! We arranged for a tour from Merida (they picked us up at our hotel and drove us to Celestun), but you can also drive here yourself and arrange for a tour with one of the guides there. The guides at the Reserve take you out on a boat to look for the wildlife that call the reserve home. The main attraction is the flamingos - of which you can see a lot if you're there at the right time/season - but there is a lot of wildlife to see! We saw crocodiles, boa constrictors, spoonbills, egrets, herons, and more! The water itself is an attraction - in certain seasons, it's a clear blue, and in others, it can be pink or red (the high salt content in the water creates an environment ideal for certain algae and microorganisms that produce pink pigments). Then there's the mangrove trees, too! Mangroves are amazing - they grow in equatorial climates, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen and remove salt, allowing them to tolerate conditions that kill most plants! We only saw one flamingo (they're off in other waters now), but we saw lots of wildlife and got some great pictures. It was also just a great change of pace to head out to Celestun for the day (after being in Merida for a few days)! I highly recommend it as a day trip from Merida!

We are fortunate because we rent a car on the weekends to be able to get out of Merida and see…read morethings. This is a pretty easy hour 20 minute drive out of Merida. two lane road for most of the time but pretty much no way to get lost. We went in Jan of 2021 during covid. So I've read sooo much mis-information about tours here and I'm sure there is more than one way to check out the flamingos but here's what we did. Once you cross the bridge over ria celestun (its a female river) the FIRST place to turn off on the left is the the reservdela boisfera ria cleestun - parador turisum on the sign - you can't miss it. Go park, walk in, use the restroom, buy a ticket. The ticket is 1800 pesos to rent the boat. During covid times, it one group per boat - basically the group you came with. I don't know if they allow for combining groups. The price wasn't that much to have the boat all to ourselves - YMMV. By taking the tour from here vs on the other end of town (gulf of Mexico side) you can start out where you need to be vs having to motor all the way around the point and back. Walk down to the pier and the next available boat guy will meet you there. Our guy spoke some English so all the better for me. My wife speaks Spanish so she's been a translator for a couple of weeks now. It took less than 10 minutes to get to where the first batch of flamingos where. on the way over he knew where some crocodiles where hanging out so we got to see like a 4 ft one (head only above the water) kicking back. We've had great luck with guides and today was no exception. it also helped that we were the ONLY boat on the river (it DOES pay to arrive early ;-) - beat the heat and crowds) he got us close to every group of birds he could without scaring them off. We check out some other birds as well. As part of the tour we did the mangroves. He lets us sit on the front of the boat slammed the throttle and powered into a little opening in the mangroves - like a whole different world once you enter. we parked and check out part of a - not really a cenote - but fresh water was bubbling out of the ground and lots of those fish that will eat your toes where there. He said we could go swimming but we had not prepared for that so unfortunately we didn't get to jump in. After that we checked out another 'creek' into the mangroves got out and looked around there. There are walkways to do all of this BTW. We check out every group of flamingos we could except for one which was in too shallow water so we couldn't get close. Headed back after that - gave our guy a great tip for a great ride and headed back to Merida. Good times and we got to see thousands of Flamingos in a natural location along with a lot of other sea birds. Hopefully this will be helpful to others.

What a wonderful experience! It was our first time at any of the cenotes and Alicia was an amazing…read moretour guide! She was wonderful to deal with from the moment I emailed through their website. We arranged a pick up from the house we were renting in Merida and Alicia provided lots of information during the 80 min ride. We visited 3 cenotes, each one unique. Snacks and refreshment was offered after each cenotes. Once done an amazing Mexican lunch was served! I highly recommend this tour. They generally cater to small groups on private property so you can expect VIP service!

From the owner: Los 7 Cenotes San Gerónimo ofrece maravillosos cenotes cerrados, abiertos y semiabiertos, a cual…read moremás bello y mejor conservado. Disfrute de las aguas cristalinas en un entorno de belleza natural. En esta aventura, podrá visitar 2 cenotes y disfrutar de una gran experiencia en cada uno de ellos mientras nada. También podrá disfrutar de las excelentes instalaciones del rancho con vistas a una ceiba con siglos de antigüedad, un hermoso jardín y unos excelentes anfitriones. Es es una experiencia inolvidable en Yucatán, donde las puertas del mundo maya estarán siempre abiertas para usted. (nuestro Desarrollo se encuentra a 80 min de Mérida)

We thought Uxmal actually was so much better than Chichzen Itza with larger area to explore and…read moremore varied, accessible and climbable ruins. A lot fewer crowds possibly because of its more remote location . Beautiful landscape with lots of Iguanas. There is paid parking available. There are couple of Cenotes X'Batun and Dzonbakal on an off beat path to cool down. Definitely a must visit place ! My advice to tourist is to rent a car when in Yucatan and you can actually reach places that are wonders !

Overview: A worthwhile archeological site to visit if you're near Merida. Pros: interesting…read morehistory, impressive site. Cons: Ridiculously inefficient ticketing system. Cost. I was in Merida on work earlier this year and made a quick visit to Uxmal. If you're into archeology and history, this is an interesting place to visit. Note climbing the pyramids is no longer allowed in Mexico. The park requires two separate tickets, and the purchasing process is inefficient. You can buy one ticket from an automated kiosk or stand in line. Then, you must stand in a separate line to purchase the second ticket. Credit cards are accepted, but the lines for using credit cards are slow. Cell service is a bit spotty. Public restrooms are available and they are cleaner than average. Time budget: 1.5 to 2 hours Parking: Parking is not free. Bring some pesos to pay for parking. Tips: Plan to protect yourself from the sun and stay hydrated.

Well kept and very nice sculpture. It's hard to cross over but I enjoyed it from afar.read more

Really nice monument it is an easy walk down to the main avenue which is also worth doing. The…read moremonument is part of a roundabout and is very large and easy to see. I need to go back and take some pictures as I circled the monument in an Uber, but it is way too nice to not spend more time there.

If you're interested in late 19th century and early twentieth century history art and architecture…read moreit would be a good place to visit. This would not be high on my list if I was on a short trip.