Discover Bacalar 7 Colors lagoon & Ponton Boat Ride from Tulum

South of Tulum, roughly half an hour from Chetumal, the small town of Bacalar is known for the shifting blues of its lagoon, and this day trip is built around getting out onto that water. Pickup and drop-off from Playa del Carmen bookend a day that combines a two-hour boat ride on the lagoon with stops at a fort, a bird island, and two of the area's natural swimming spots.

Out on the water, the boat passes through what's known locally as the pirates' channel, an artificial waterway that once linked Maya communities in the north with those farther south in Central America, and continues past the bird island before the group heads toward the Fort of San Felipe. Built during the era when pirates worked this stretch of Caribbean coast, the fort now anchors the center of town and offers a vantage point over the lagoon, along with free time to wander the surrounding downtown streets and take photos.

The tour then shifts from history to swimming. Cenote Azul, positioned between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, is an open-air, L-shaped cenote known for its turquoise water and varying depths — a pair of shallow, shaded pools near the entrance lead into a larger natural pool split between a deep section and a shallower one, making it one of the more spacious cenotes in the Riviera Maya. From there, the group moves to the Cocalitos area, a stromatolite sanctuary along the lagoon where a beach club setup includes hammocks and swings for relaxing in the water before heading back.

This is a good fit for travelers who want a slower-paced nature day built around water rather than adrenaline — swimming, floating, and a boat ride stand in for hiking or climbing, and the tour is described as suitable for all physical fitness levels. It isn't recommended, though, for anyone with spinal injuries, poor cardiovascular health, or who is pregnant. What sets it apart from a typical cenote-hopping day is the boat ride itself: two hours on the lagoon gives a different vantage point on Bacalar than you get standing at its edges.

Included in the package are breakfast and food at the restaurant, hotel pickup and drop-off from Playa del Carmen, entry to both Cenote Azul and Cenote Cocalitos, and the two-hour sailing portion of the day on the lagoon. Not included are beverages at the restaurant and any other incidental expenses that come up along the way.

Bring a swimsuit under comfortable clothing, along with a towel and a change of clothes, since the day moves between the fort, the boat, and multiple bodies of water. Sunglasses and biodegradable sunscreen are recommended given the amount of time spent on open water and at the cenotes. Total tour duration runs around 720 minutes, so plan for a full day away from your hotel.

The pickup logistics are worth knowing ahead of time: smaller vehicles first collect guests from their individual hotels and bring everyone to a central meeting point, where the group then transfers onto the main bus for the rest of the journey to Bacalar. That extra transfer adds a bit of time at the start of the day but is how the operator consolidates guests coming from different parts of the Playa del Carmen area before heading south.