The Bacalar 7 Colors Lagoon & Cenotes Excursion in Costa Maya, Mexico

We took a Virgin Voyages cruise to Costa Maya, Mexico, which is located on the southeastern side by the border of Belize.

This is about 2 hours south of Tulum.

We are so thankful to Shore Excursions Group for hosting us on the Bacalar Cenotes and Lagoon Exploration Excursion.

This was our 2nd excursion with Shore Excursions Group and it was awesome! The first excursion we did was in the Dominican Republic doing the Damajagua Waterfalls Excursion. We loved the small groups and the ability to do more than the large groups so we decided to go with them again in Costa Maya, Mexico.

Note: I am an affiliate with Shore Excursions Group. When you click on the links provided, it lets them know that I referred you. This doesn't cost you anything extra. If you end up booking the excursion through this link, I will make a small commission. If you do, I want to thank you in advance as every little bit helps me get out and record more adventure videos.

Getting Started at the Costa Maya Cruise Port: We arrived at the port in Costa Maya. After we got off the cruise ship we walked the long pier to get to the port. This is what the pier looks like at you walk to the entrance of the port at Costa Maya.

As we walked the pier we could see the port off to the left. The port looks like an old Mayan village.

As we reached the port entrance there is a big Costa Maya sign.

As we walked in there is a big post with multiple signs hanging from it. You'll also see some people dressed in authentic Mexican outfits.

We saw a green sign that said PreBooked Tours and headed to the right. We found out that this is only for pre-booked tours that are hosted by the cruise ship.

Third Party Excursion Groups are not allowed to meet you in the port, so you have to navigate your way out of the port where they will be waiting for you.

The port at Costa Maya is a little tricky to get out, but the map and signs helped out a lot.

Directly behind the post with the signs is a blue map of the port. Below you can see the path that we took to exit the port.

So instead of going to the right side of the signs, we headed straight and saw some men dressed up in authentic Mayan costumes and just past them a sign that says "Port Entrance".

We walked through the port entrance, which is a shopping area and into the port. We followed the path past some pools and flamingos.

We followed these signs that say "Port Exit". This took us all the way to the exit where you will see a parking lot, a roundabout, and a guard gate.

We walked over to the guard gate, crossed the cross walk to the middle where there is a sidewalk that you can take to the other guard gate at the entrance of the port. This is where Shore Excursions Group was waiting for us with a sign with my name on it.

After we met up with our guide, we walked over to their parking lot where we got into our assigned van along with the other members of our group and headed out.

Our guide told us that we would be stopping at a small village first called Pedro Antonio Santos. This is about a 50 minute drive. (The van shuttle was included with the excursion).

We had a choice if we wanted to get freshly cut pineapple or freshly cooked empanadas. We were all really hungry so as a group we chose the empanadas.

After we ate the empanadas, we still wanted to try the freshly cut pineapple. We asked our guide and she told us that we could, but that we would have to pay for it ourselves since the excursion only covered one. We paid and it was only $2 US Dollars and it was totally worth it. It was delicious.

After eating, we headed to Bacalar which was about a 25 minute drive.

We drove to Papitos Marina where our pontoon boat was waiting for us.

We pulled into the parking area at Papitos.

We got out and we were able to use their bathrooms.

After using the bathrooms, we headed over to the docks.

Along the way we noticed that they have a store and a restaurant.

We walked by those and onto the dock where we met our pontoon boat drive and boarded the boat.

They also had lots of snacks and drinks for us on the boat.

After we were all on the boat we headed out. 

The views were amazing. We saw blues, turquoise, green, and lots of different shades in between.

Our first stop was Cenote Negro. 

We were boating through shallow turquoise water when all of a sudden we reached Cenote Negro that drops 250 feet deep.

Because of that drop off, it looks like a big black hole.

As we explored Cenote Negro, we saw that there are houses that back right up to it.

Then we headed out and farther south to Cenote Esmeralda. Along the way we went through really shallow water that backed up to a lot of rental properties that have their own docks.

This is an aerial view of Cenote Esmeralda. This cenote is wider than Cenote Negro and goes down about 229 feet.

We loved the contrast of the colors around the cenotes.

We then headed over to a shallow area where we put in the anchor. 

We got out of the boat and were able to swim around. The water was only about waist deep.

One of the things we loved about this lagoon is all of the cenotes.

As you look farther south we could see Cenote Cocolitos and Cenote Azul.

We didn't go to them on this excursion, but the views were beautiful.

After swimming and hanging out at Cenote Esmeralda, we headed north to the Pirates Canal/Channel.

On our way up we passed Bird Island. The views along the way were breathtaking.

As we pulled into the Pirate's Channel/Canal, we could see that this is a really popular spot.

The water is shallow for swimming and it has an old structure that was going to be a restaurant, but was abandoned that you can explore and jump off of. This old structure looks like a concrete boat.

Behind the structure is the entrance to the Pirate's Channel/Canal. That's where we saw the most fish. 

This area was absolutely beautiful

We spent about 40 minutes swimming and exploring. 

Then we got back onto our pontoon boat and headed back to the marina.

We had all worked up an appetite and were excited to go to a Mexican restaurant. This was part of the excursion.

We all got back into the van and we headed to El Taco Loco restaurant.

We ordered fish tacos, which tasted delicious.

We also had another person in our group that ordered chicken fajitas.

This was the perfect meal after a long day.

After eating we headed back to the Costa Maya Port.

Overall, we had a great time exploring the Bacalar Lagoon of 7 Colors and the two cenotes.

We would highly recommend booking this excursion on your cruise to Costa Maya.

Costa Maya, Mexico - Cruise Port Map:

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

Papitos Bacalar Lagoon Marina Map:

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

El Taco Loco Restaurant Map:

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

We booked our excursion through Shore Excursions Group. At the time we went, the price was $169 US Dollars per person.

That is a total of $338 for Julie and me. Shore Excursions Group hosted us so we didn't have to pay that, but after going we can say that price is totally worth it.

We did tip our guide $20, the pontoon boat driver $5, and our bus driver $5. That came to $30 in tips. Tips are not required, but it's a great way to show your appreciation.

We also paid $2 for freshly cut pineapple.

Total Cost = $370

These are the things that I recommend you bring:

• Bring your confirmation ticket printed out on paper to show when you check in.
• Wear your swimsuit under comfortable clothing.
• Wear shoes that can get wet. (Watershoes or flip flops)
• Bring your own hat and sunglasses.
• Bring your own towel.
• The Bacalar lagoon has Estromatolitos which are very important in the ecosystem as they release oxygen into the atmosphere and keep the lagoon healthy. Because of this sunscreen is not allowed, so you will need to bring a rash guard or shirt that you can wear in the water if you want to avoid getting sunburned.
• Cash to tip your guide, boat drive, and bus driver.
• Extra spending cash. We stopped on the way back and purchased fresh pineapple for $2 US Dollars.