Hidden Cenote Swim: Snorkeling, Sea Turtles and Beachside Lunch

Recommended by 96% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

High interest

Booked 2 times today.

4 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.8

· Terra_R ·

Jan 2026

Great experience, not too physically demanding. Cenote and the turtles were great. The lunch was average.

· Avarie_J ·

Mar 2026

Our tour guide was great and very knowledgeable. Cenote was beautiful and saw plenty of turtles. Would recommend!

Overview

Tulum's unreal swimming holes and snorkeling spots can be challenging to find without a guide. On this tour, a guide takes you to float through caverns and rock formations along the waters of an ancient cenote—a limestone sinkhole perfect for swimming. Afterward, head to Akumal Beach for snorkeling among sea turtles that call the beach home. Finish your morning with lunch and free time at a beach club hideaway.

A morning swimming and snorkeling tour near Tulum
Visit an ancient Maya cenote with caverns and rock formations
Snorkel among resident sea turtles at Akumal Beach
Enjoy lunch and free time at a beach club hideaway

What's Included

Round-trip transportation from most hotels in Cancun and Riviera Maya.
Snacks aboard our vans (water, fruit, and crackers).
Professional bilingual guide.
Snorkeling gear (mask and snorkel).
Life jackets (mandatory).
Entrance to the cenote and the beach club.
A delightful lunch at an exclusive beach club

Gratuities
Souvenir Photos (available for purchase)
Entrance fee - Entrance Fee and Environmental Conservation Fee

$10.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Round-trip transportation is included from most hotels in Cancun and Riviera Maya. IMPORTANT: the Start Time is NOT your Pickup time. It depends on your hotel's location. For your specific pickup details, please feel free to contact us directly.

Operating hours
.9:00 am

Itinerary

Experience the best of the Yucatan’s water adventures on this small-group tour where you can explore both the water inside a limestone cenote, and then go on to Akumal Beach to snorkel with sea turtles.

Pickup from several hotels is provided to keep things running smoothly. You’ll be able to relax for the journey in an air-conditioned vehicle.

Once you arrive at the cenote, your guide will tell you all about the Mayan history of the site and point out the caverns and rock formations inside. Take a dip and enjoy how the light plays in the water.

Later you’ll spend time at Akumal Beach, where besides turtles, you might see tropical fish and multi-colored coral.

Lunch and some relaxation time at a beach club are also included for you to enjoy.

Tulum

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Akumal Beach

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Punta Venado Beach Club by Cancun Adventures

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level

Minimun age: 6 years old
Guests must meet a minimum height requirement of 3.9 feet (1.20 meters).
No devices are allowed inside the cenote
We offer two booking options: Once with the entrance fee and environmental conservation fee included, and one without. Please review carefully before booking.
The pickup time depends on your hotel's location
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

scottrseaton

Swimming with the turtles was amazing! This was also outr 3rd cenote and this was likely our favorite one. Beautiful, mysterious space with lots of interesting passages, including a few tight squeezes. Very clean water and incredible history. Our guide, Omar, even had us sit in the dark for one minute and listen to the space around us - a very surreal experience. The lunch at the end was a nice cap to an amazing day. About Omar (and our driver, Julio) - they are the best! We have had MANY guides over the years and Omar is knowledgeable, fun, and very personable. I highly recommend this tour!

Reviews

4.8

based on 1,267 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Vana's trip

Vana_B, Mar 2026

It's a wonderful tour. And something not to miss. Got to see turtles and swim over the top of them. Will be in my memories forever.

Cenotes and turtles

Joey_P, Mar 2026

The adventure was amazing. Guide amazing as well. What I would suggest for other travellers. A few things to consider if you are thinking, you will be able to take pictures in the water caves or even a go pro they don’t allow you to do so. They have a person that will take pictures for you and you have to buy a package just to have pictures. They are not cheap. Second thing swimming with the turtles amazing experience. But they don’t tell you till you’re on the way there no sunscreen or products on skin. So you don’t contaminate the area that the turtles are swimming their habitat so therefore I would suggest wearing a long sleeve shirt and long swimming pants and then if you have no hair like I do a beanie cap as you’re half in the water and half exposed to the sun, but the experience is wonderful. I even saw a Caribbean stingray so we had to move sliding our feet so we don’t step up sweeping your feet alert, stem of you’re coming and they will just go away but overall great experience just giving tips for the future traveller joining this trip

A thrilling experience!

Jordan_L, Mar 2026

It was a full day of activity. I really enjoyed the water exploration. Our tour guide AK was very knowledgeable and friendly. You can tell he respects and cherishes these areas and animals, which is appreciated. If you pick the morning tour, you may not be able to eat before hand so bring snacks since you are swimming a min of 2 hours before lunch and you don't eat until almost 1pm. Lunch was great and relaxation on the beach was cool but unnecessary given most everyone are staying at a beach resort. The travel to get there was very tiresome, long and bumpy! But it's a must see!

Awesome experience!

Avarie_J, Mar 2026

Our tour guide was great and very knowledgeable. Cenote was beautiful and saw plenty of turtles. Would recommend!

The bus transportation...

Alexandria_B, Mar 2026

The bus transportation was quite tight. My husband had to sit sideways to fit and he is only 5’10”. The cenote was well organized, though crowded. The pictures turned out good and it was beautiful. The boat and swim was not well organized. The waters were crowded and hard to stay with your tour guide. They acted like me not wanting to wear a scuba mask was a problem. I get claustrophobic with anything on my face but went along because my husband wanted to do it and I didn’t mind swimming along. We did see a turtle which was cool, but then they almost yell at you to swim away if it starts to swim towards you.

Loved this adventure! AND every minute of it!

Parvin_Z, Mar 2026

You should be in fairly good health , not claustrophobic with no respiratory problems. If you are a nature enthusiast, this is the adventure for you.

Great experience

Lizette_D, Feb 2026

Great time. Santi was an excellent guide. The Cenote was definitely the highlight of the tour and lunch was fantastic.

Passive aggressive tour guide

Rebecca_F, Feb 2026

My boyfriend and I took the Cenote + Turtles tour, which I purchased as a gift for my boyfriend's birthday. Prior to the cenote, our tour guide Jesus Salas had taken lunch orders for the beach club later and made a mistake with one of our orders. Since we had many hours before lunch, we didn't make a big deal about it in the moment, choosing instead to correct the error separately after the cenote tour. When we did, he asked why we hadn't said anything before, and my boyfriend (not wanting to draw attention to Jesus's mistake) replied, "I must not have been paying attention." Jesus replied saying "yeah, that's the vibe you give off". We were taken aback. We had been very attentive and engaged during the cenote tour, and the comment was extremely passive aggressive. But it didn't stop there. At multiple other points during the rest of the tour, he went out of his way to make rude comments. He re-counted the lunch orders on the bus saying "I have to do this again because someone wasn't paying attention," scolded me in front of the rest of the group for apparently getting off the boat wrong, and then commented to another guest that "those two don't listen" as we walked up a slightly rocky part of the beach. As we boarded the bus again, we heard him talking in Spanish to the bus driver about a couple "ignoring everything he said". He called us "maleducados," meaning uneducated, assuming that neither of us spoke Spanish and wouldn't understand this insult. Unfortunately for him, we're both fluent. There were a lot of good things about the tour - the cenote was beautiful, the burritos at the beach club were really good, we saw several sea turtles, the driver Benjamin was great. But after having passive aggressive comments made to and about us all day, how could we enjoy the experience? It was completely unprofessional and ruined the atmosphere of the entire day. What we thought would be one of the best days of our vacation turned disappointing and embarrassing.

Cenote and snorkeling with Turtles

Greg_K, Jan 2026

The can that we were travelling in broke down twice on the way there. The driver (Ricardo) and the guide ( Henry ) were very good. If you have a moustache beware your snorkeling mask may not fit. Consequently the snorkeling part was a bust for me. The Cenote part of the trip was super Interesting however the pictures that they offered you to purchase at the end you had to buy all of them at 120$ US dollars . You couldn’t just buy a certain package for a reasonable amount. There loss because we would have purchased something reasonable.

Like a friend

Tabatha_P, Jan 2026

Was a great experience Jesus showed us around like a friend. Was very kind and informative. The turtles and cenote were fantastic.

Great experience! Just...

Melissa_G, Jan 2026

Great experience! Just enough time at each place. Our tour guide Iker and our driver Luis were fantastic! Very informative and we knew what to expect every step of the way. You have to shower at the cenote site before going in- the water is COLD. Be ready! The snorkeling part you are driven out to the starting spot, jump off the boat and you swim back to the beach. We saw plenty of turtles along the way. Just know there is swimming involved. It’s not jump out, snorkel and get back in the boat. We saw a HUGE stingray and many turtles. Again - great tour, great guides/driver Iker & Luis.

Great experience, average food

Terra_R, Jan 2026

Great experience, not too physically demanding. Cenote and the turtles were great. The lunch was average.

Pick up communication needs improvement

Zehao_C, Dec 2025

Our tour guide Melissa was wonderful! She guided us safely swimming in the Cenote. We had a great the swimming experience, also it’s a little bit dark. My mom didn’t join the turtle experience since she is a little afraid of water. Although they said there will be a boat ride for 3 to 5 minutes and everybody jump in to the water and swim back to the shore. It’s actually turned out that we swim away from the shore and swim back. It’s not that far so if you don’t like the experience before it ends. I would say it maybe five minutes away swim back to the shore. The lunch is pretty good! I saw many reviews said the lunch is terrible. I feel my food is tasty and the server is very nice. I ordered a beef burrito. My mom ordered a shrimp salad. Both taste very well and the serve offered us free lemonade and chocolate snack. The only thing I don’t like is their communication about pick up. They don’t text, call or email you when the bus arrived. We were waiting inside the lobby and the bus waited outside the lobby and then left. so we missed the tour the first day and have to be rescheduled. overall I would still recommend this tour but you may want to call them a day before to confirm the details about the pick up.

Core Memory Made!

Eric_H, Dec 2025

Be prepared for an amazing experience! The cenote is a little chilly but easily adaptable. Seeing the sea turtles and corals first hand is remarkable!

Experience of a Lifetime

Carolyn_L, Dec 2025

We booked thru Viator however our tour was with Cancun Adventure! I highly recommend booking directly thru them, as it maybe a little cheaper, and our guide [5ft long dreads] Omar, a Biologist, is extremely knowledgeable about the area and will provide you all the information you need to know. If you have a question, ask, he knows all the answers! We stayed at the RIU Palace Costa Mujer. The hotel is closer to Cuba than Tulum! The trip from here is 3hrs one way. So be prepared for a long day but extremely worth it! Thank you for an amazing experience! Augustin, our driver is very good too!

Cenote water is very...

Rhonda_T, Dec 2025

Cenote water is very cold. Be prepared. Lots of travel time. Lunch is wonderful and guide very knowledgeable.

Rushed

Terance_D, Dec 2025

Disappointed with what you pay, not allowed to take any pictures of the cenote cave, there was no crystal clear water or coral reef as advertised and even though we were promised big turtles we only saw one small one and was rushed to go back the food was not the best having chicken burrito and potato chips even though I paid for all inclusive they wanted us to pay for drinks {pop} I'm not saying don’t go just don’t put the bar to high as far as were you go and the beach was fantastic. This is just my opinion

Great Time

Chris_K, Dec 2025

It’s awesome and informative. Bring towel for the Cenote caves since some hotels won’t let you take their. Water is cold and you may want water shoes.

Highly recommend

Eden_H, Dec 2025

It was a great experience! Absolutely beautiful cenote and very awesome experience seeing four turtles and a spotted eagle ray! Great tour guide as well

Riding in a van for hours

Kelly_M, Nov 2025

I do not recommend this tour. We were away from our resort for 10 hours, and 7 of that was riding in a van. Our pickup was first and we had to go to other hotels before arriving at the tour company to wait for more people and pick up our tout guide. After a long and bumpy ride, we arrived at the "Cenote." It was more an under water cave than anything. You swim around the cave and have to take pictures they try to sell you (you can't use your own camera). Then another long drive to a busy beach were you are shuttled out to sea and then forced to follow the guide and be kicked by other snorklers to see turtles. Then another long drive and bumpy to a beach restaurant for lunch. You have to purchase drinks and have limited selection of food. Another long trip back to your hotel. The activities themselves were not bad, but not great and not worth the hours of driving.

I was so happy to see the...

Melicia_M, Nov 2025

I was so happy to see the turtles but my camera didn’t want to act right so I’m sad I couldn’t record it I guess I’ll have to try and book again whenever and if ever I come back but the overall experience was fun and I definitely recommend it.

Great excursion cenote was beautiful and peaceful

Juanetta_W, Nov 2025

The turtle swim is very intense swimming about the length of a Olympic pool....able to climb into a boat Also you are not allowed to bring any devices into the cenote

Lovely adventure, be prepared for potential all day event

Maura_L, Nov 2025

Excellent and knowledgeable guide, cenote part of excursion was great. The turtle snorkeling was ok, we were a smaller group of 14, however there were too many other groups out in parallel so everyone kept bumping into others. We were a group of 4, 2 masks worked, other 2 leaked...an inconvenience when out in the water trying to snorkel. We understood that travel time was not accounted for, however we were completely NOT prepared for a 4.5 hour excursion to last 10 hours (picked up at 7 and dropped off after 5). We had to wait for people to arrive at company meet up location and since they were late, our trip time shifted. Once we left beach club and headed back to company meet up, we were told 30 more minutes but it was 90 more. If they were honest, we would have paid to Uber back faster.

An unforgettable cenote...

Rich_W, Nov 2025

An unforgettable cenote swim experience! AK was fun, knowledgeable, and professional as he guided us safely through the underground cave around stalactites and stalagmites. Snacks and water were much appreciated. Snorkeling off shore from a boat to the beach was a guided adventure looking for sea turtles and other ocean life. Our group lunch at a lovely beach venue featured delicious food and drink. The tour was well-timed and organized. Cancun Adventures through Viator is a winning tour!

Wonderful experience!!

Teri_H, Nov 2025

Our tour guide was wonderful!! We had a great time swimming in the cenote, which were under ground. We saw several sea turtles and a sting ray while snorkeling in the ocean. That was my favorite. Then we had a delicious meal ocean side. We experienced lots of wildlife. Several iguanas, the tour guide spotted a large rattlesnake on the side of the road and we stopped to see that and lots of raccoons.

Cesar was a great guide...

Noah_E, Nov 2025

Cesar was a great guide (and very funny!!!). Led us through a beautiful cenote and saw several turtles.

One of the best

Brandon_R, Nov 2025

Absolutely amazing experience. Our guide Henry was amazing and our driver Victor was also amazing. Incredible experience definitely rememberable.

Fun family friendly tour!

Andrea_F, Nov 2025

We took this tour with our 8 and 9 year old kids - we all loved it! The cenotes were beautiful. Our kids had no trouble keeping up swimming through the tour - even through the tight tunnels we explored. The snorkeling was fun - we saw 3-4 turtles and a lot of beautiful fish. I was surprised to see so many people also snorkeling in the same area, though, that part I didn’t love. We enjoyed the lunch at the beach club - the food and service was great.

Very fun with kids but a LONG drive from Cancun

Jennifer_J, Oct 2025

Our guide Josa was very friendly and knowledgeable. The excursion was as advertised. We saw about 4 turtles; which my daughter loved. The only complaint was the smell of gas in shuttle. Made me very nauseous. The lunch settle was beautiful and good very good.

Good snorkeling too!

Ann_M, Oct 2025

It may take a while for drop off and pickup. For example. Our pick up time was 7.50 am and the tour started at 9 am. They pick up at several places. ANDREA was out guide. She was super nice, helpful, informative and spoke English clearly. The water in the cenote is frigid!!! (All year) the turtles were amazing and the reef nearby was awesome. We saw lots of colorful fish, sea anemone, urchin, coral,sea fans. If you want to snorkel but don't want a long boat ride to the ocean like on party boats or something, do this tour! You will still see great life at the reef. Lunch was good too.

Likely to Sell Out