Photo courtesy somethingoffreedom.com

If you’re in the Riviera Maya near Tulum, there are several cenotes that visitors should make a concerted effort to visit.  Gran Cenote is one of them.  Located a little over three miles from Tulum town center on the road to the Coba ruins, Gran Cenote is actually a couple of cenotes in one–there is both a cave and more open-air cenote experience with lots of fish, small turtles, bats, and birds to see.  The water here is crystal clear (as a result of limestone filtering the water) so you don’t necessarily have to snorkel to see underwater life.  If you want to snorkel, however, this cenote is one of the more popular spots in which to do so; if you didn’t bring your equipment you can rent snorkel gear here.  Scuba diving is also allowed (but not as popular with water depth only being around 30 feet), while swimmers will find this spot less challenging than at some other cenotes due to buoyed lines, shallower areas, and pieces of the cave ceiling which have collapsed and make a nice surface on which to stand.

You can bring food and drinks here, plus there are lockers to make your belongings secure.  Since this is a very popular cenote, make sure to come early (the cenote opens at 8:10 a.m.) before the tour groups start to arrive.

How to get to Gran Cenote?  Here are some options if you are near Tulum:

• take a taxi from Tulum for around 100 pesos.  You can pay the driver to wait, or hope there is alternative transportation on the way back.
• take an organized tour.
• rent a bicycle in Tulum and bike here in about 15-20 min. (bicycles are very popular in Tulum).
• The Mayab and ADO bus route from Tulum to Coba leaves from downtown Tulum (the first one is around 7:20 a.m.) and will stop at Gran Cenote if you ask.
• colectivos do run from Tulum to Coba and will stop at the cenote; however, they are a less reliable form of transportation with respect to this destination.
• walk it and bring plenty of water (not advisable during the months of May through October).  It will take you about an hour.

If you are leaving from Playa del Carmen and trying to come to Gran Cenote, you can always take an ADO bus or colectivo to downtown Tulum and then follow the suggestions above.

I’ve posted a video so you can see what visiting this cenote would be like.  What do you think? Would you want to see Gran Cenote?