About this experience
This 13-hour day trip takes you from your hotel in Cancun inland to the recently excavated ruins of Ek Balam, a Mayan city full of carvings, tombs, wall paintings, and mysteries. Visit a tequila factory for a tasting, enjoy lunch, then head to Rio Lagartos, the Yucatan's famous pink lake—a mineral-rich lagoon where you can take a healing mud bath before cleansing off in the Gulf of Mexico. This private tour by air-conditioned minivan includes entrance fees, bottled water, hotel pickup and drop-off, and a private historian guide.
At a glance
- Duration: 13 hr
- Private experience
Plan your experience
Set aside 13 hr for the experience itself, with additional time to reach your meeting or pickup point.
Compare the available options before choosing: their itinerary, inclusions and pickup arrangements can differ. Check the price for your date and whole group.
Before you go
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Local guides to help you plan
Ek Balam Day Trip From Cancun
Go beyond Cancun to Ek Balam’s soaring Acropolis, hidden carvings, and cenote escape—but the real surprise starts after you arrive.
Rio Secreto From Cancun Guide
Uncover how to choose the best Río Secreto tour from Cancún before one small detail changes everything.
Ek Balam and Cenote Tour From Cancun
Plan an Ek Balam and cenote tour from Cancun with practical guidance on trip length, cenote choices, admission costs, pickup details, accessibility, and what to bring.
What is included
- Entrance fees to Ek-Balam, Rio Lagartos and Las Coloradas national park
- Hotel pick up and drop off: round-trip private transport by comfortable air-conditioned vehicle
- Private boat tour only for your party in Rio Lagartos
- Lunch in a local restaurant in Rio Lagartos
- Private tour with a private professional certificated guide
- Sweet snack, soft drinks & 2 cans of beer/per person
Not included
- Tips
- Towels
Itinerary and highlights
The ancient city of Ek Balam, named after its last governor, Black Jaguar, is one of the last discovered Mayan cities and opened to the public only recently. You will see the places where sacrifices were performed, climb the Acropolis - the governor’s palace, considered the biggest Mayan monument so far, and try to resolve the altar’s mystery, which guards the entrance to the kingdom of dead.
The biosphere reserve Ria Lagartos, where we will wade through the mangroves on small boats, observing flocks of flamingos, Cayman crocodiles and other inhabitants of the reserve searching of the symbol of good luck – the "sea cockroach".
Las Coloradas. It’s a valley of pink lakes. Due to the high content of minerals and salts, the water gains a special pink color and its consistency is like one of the Dead Sea.
Meeting and pickup information
- Pick up from any accommodation (hotel, apartment, AirBnb, hostal, etc) in Cancun, on Riviera Maya, in Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Akumal or Tulum is included in the price. For some hotels in the Tulum Hotel zone a meeting point in Starbucks Tulum is provided.
Languages and tickets
- German — Guide
- ru — Guide
- Portuguese — Guide
- cmn — Guide
- Japanese — Guide
- English — Guide
- Italian — Guide
- French — Guide
- Spanish — Guide
- Mobile Only
Tour operator
- OlMar Travel Mexico
Accessibility and practical details
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
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