Hi Cathy, But now youre making me hungry, lol. Our driver will pick you up at your hotel in Playa Del Carmen, Tulum, Puerto Aventuras or Akumal. And does the reserve have specific opening and closing hours? Any question about our Sian Ka'an tours ? Very easy to do, not a long walk at all, this was with a 7 and 11 year old. We skipped Sian Kaan last time because of the $$$ price. And yes, it is safe. Happy travels everyone. Nice Trip but we Wouldt do it again just cause its a lot of Money still, but we are only once here so therefore it was fun and Great nature to See. Was a great way to spend the morning! Indeed as we mention in the description of the tour, the road to Sian Kaan is pretty terrible and Bumpy this is part of the Adventure Search for elusive manatees at Boca Paila Lagoon, snorkel on the Mesoamerican reef (weather-permitting) and find nesting birds at Ascension Bay. Not bad at all, for a few bucks more for a more private, intimate experience even being invited into a local home. Just wanted to thank you John for this write up. How would you recommend we make a trip from Barcelo Maya Palace to both Sian Kaan and Muyil in a day or less? Thank you again! It will hopefully help others to avoid potential disappointment with these recently changed conditions. We arrived at the boat launch at around 1 or so. Its been $600 steady for the past four years straight. The colectivo departs at 2:00 pm from the iTour Mexico agency, directly across from the Super Aki supermarket, located right here. So if you are heading down there alone or maybe even in a group of two you may need to buddy up with others and/or hang around until other solo travellers arrive.
Huge park South of Tulum? I didnt realize that about DEET. The entire day was incredible, definitely the best day tour I've ever done! And thanks for the recommendation about the food stands across the street very good to know! Gracias! If you love animals then there really is only one way to get up close to them, and that is by observing them in their natural habitat, and not in captivity. Although its just a half-day trip, its definitely recommended to bring a daypack. Travelled from Akumul on the collective, 110 each, well worth it. When we came back, we went by ourselves through the archeological patch, from the beach to the parking. We then followed your directions to the ruins and spent a happy half hour or so enjoying the peace and tranquility of the site, where we did not see another soul. We arrived at 9:30am directly at the main entrance of the archeological parc, we paid the parc fee and a guide directly proposed us the boat for 1000 pesos.
You can walk hundreds of meters in the crystal clear waters and soak in all of the magnificent beauty. If you dont already own a mask, we can suggest this US Divers mask & snorkel which is a fantastic mask for the price. We paid 36 pesos each to go into the reserve, charged at the arch. Were also from Florida and while Id never feel comfortable swimming in Central Florida lakes, I felt fine in these clear waters. Tulum: the trendy Eco-chic destination in Mexico.
Note: a reader recently (April 2019) reported that the 205-km sign was missing and there is now and Oxxo minimart here. If your not, dont go. Hey whats another MXN2000 at that point. No refunds will be granted either for unused portions of the reservation due to an early departure. Everything was perfect from start to end, from the safe transportation, the boat drivers good eyes for spotting animals and Galas passion and knowledge about wildlife and the nature to Ursulas good management of the trip. Happy travels to Mexico and to Sian Kaan! He comes everyday from tulum to punta at 1pm and leaves back at 3pm. On one end, its ocean. The trip was a wonderful way of experiencing a small part of the Sian Kaan Biosphere. at least visitor guide you would have a guide who speaks something else than spanisn. 50 pesos for the Ruins and back with the colectivo directly from the Main Street at the entrance of the Ruins for 70$ pesos each. I loved the care the tour took to be mindful of nature. So glad to hear this is helpful! At Chedraui, the supermarket, the rate is posted at 16.61P to 1USD. Boat 600 adulte, kids under 7 half price, Sad to see so much washed up plastic after Hurricane Grace. I highly reccomend going early because the lakes are gorgeous that early in the am, and smooth as glass. 600 pesos is still what they charge, and all the compliments are for free.
The prices were exactly as explained and managed to have a wonderful time and experience for a little less than $150 USD for all five of us! Just an idea. I will presume these guys get paid well for what they do, and likewise are very trustworthy. When you are in the hustle and bustle of Tulum, its hard to believe that there is such an impressive nature reserve with stunning wildlife just a few kilometers away. Thanks Cristina! You may be able to ask the Muyil ticket guy if hell securely hold your bags in his office and offer him a nice propina to do so. Thank you for your help. So difficult to find out any of this stuff from the locals. We had a wonderful three hours! We also had no concept of what to expect for pricing and couldnt tell if he was ripping us off or genuinely giving us a deal. We have 2 children 7 and 11. Will be in Akumal/Tulum area in Feb. someone told us to check out this huge park area, south of Tulum. WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS WHEN WE ARE THERE IN APRIL, CANT WAIT! Small group tours with a similar itinerary to Punta Allen run about $140 from Tulum, so your taxi/tour is certainly in line with that pricing. Be careful and listen for othe boats of tourists coming in the opposite direction in the canal. Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews. Its a leisurely float. Hey Peggy! And as you know, time is one of the most precious things we have. We were able to get a slightly reduced-price boat tour for our nine-year old.
Thats just a rough estimate. After the tower, the Canan-Ha trail soon opens up to a dirt road, where youll clearly see the lagoon and boat docks. But again, rather unclear. Thanks for stopping by to let us know! As in Constrictor! We paid $2000 for 2 of us and really enjoyed floating down the channel. Thanks for your input. Ill plan it, and research if there are any centoes near by as a backup plan :-). Take care. We cant thank you enough for this very detailed information! That may also help to avoid any afternoon thunderstorms that may pop up. Hey Zeke, thanks so much for the comment. We are delighted to read you had an amazing experience seeing dolphins, crocodiles and having lunch in paradise. The return collectivo was 40 pesos per person. Thank you for this update of information and were really glad to hear this info was helpful! Sounds like a great way to go and Ill try to update the body of the post soon to include this.
The walk throughout the forest is easy accesible and Nice to do for 50 peso p.p. Super-useful write-up. Punta Allen is an adorable ocean front community to stop for lunch, much quieter than the Tulum area, so it was a welcome reprieve. Except our bus trip back was even less expensive 25 pesos each!! We are glad to read you had a beautiful day in Sian Kaan with us and that you could spot all the wildlife you expected to see. Now that I live full-time in Akumal, I wanted to find a do-it-yourself option so I was thrilled to find this post! Am so sorry you were not able to take the trip.
Thanks so much for stopping back by our blog to share your experience. Although beware that during the off-season of the summer months, these camps and even hotels tend to close-up until November. So glad you had a great time! We appreciate it! How annoying about the 90-minute wait. I am just wondering if its possible to store somewhere luggage? Still, it seems there are a few who do speak English and provide more of a proper tour but its luck of the draw. I will be printing this out for our trip next week. Will definitely appreciate it if you stop back by here to confirm this after your experience. Thank You Very Much for your article which made our day!! Stop back by and let us know how it went. Thanks for The Great advice. Well do the Muyil bit in half a day while staying a couple of nights in Tulum, but we also want to have full days of natural immersion, so we want to stay in Punta Allen for 3 nights.
Gracias again! and let's not forget crocodiles! Would you guys recommend we spend 2-3 days at Sian Kaan? You should NOT use a spray with DEET since it will affect the ecology of Sian Kaan. WOW Thank you! Thanks a lot for your advice! And thanks so much for stopping by with the positive feedback! The entrance to the Ruins have indeed changed to 40 pesos/person. We bought beer, our bus showed up in about 20 seconds, so we had to wait to drink our beer later. I know you might not be able to say for sure, but it would be helpful to know if there were several boats waiting to take people, or if there were just 2 (in which case lowers our chances of having 2 boats ready to take us). Thank you! We like to go to Muyil and the boardwalk first to then cool down on the boat ride and the canal. Amazing experience. After doing the tour of Sian Kaan, we went back to Muyil and then walked to the observation tower and then back to Muyil again. Taking full-day jeep & boat excursions to the oceanic side of Sian Kaan can be a very convenient and attractive option to explore Sian Kaans marine environment all in one day. Glad you found the chill to be worth it, and that will likely be helpful to others (like the previous commenter). Note regarding children: While the adult price is firmly fixed, the rate for children is negotiable.
Come back soon for more amazing Had we more time we would have peddled all the way to Punta Allen. If you forget bug spray, the price at the gift shop across the Muyil entrance is 120 pesos, which was way too much IMHO, so I just went without. Understand: Two Different Areas to Explore, Directions Through Muyil Ruins to Boat Docks, Taking a Boat Through Sian Kaan + Canal Float, DIY Adventure to Sian Kaan vs Booking a Tour. We are glad you had an amazing day, and that you would recommend our tour. We are sorry that you did not receive your confirmation message via Viator letting you know your Pick Up time and the extra fee as you were not based in Tulum. Youll walk through the jungle with a knowledgeable Mayan guide that will point the birds you encounter along the way. Let us know if any other questions (or if I missed a miscalculation) and please stop back by this page to let us know how it went or any updates (as things do change). I almost dont want to say how good this is as it seems to be so understated and consequently under commercialised. Coordinates for Muyil (parking) are lat: 20.07889785, long: -87.61378884 I have a friend who used this as his guide and recommended it to me for my trip to the Riviera in July. This was the best info for figuring out this trip. Thx a million. I can confirm the prices, 40 pesos for adults free for kids (ruins) and 600/300 pesos for the boat. Afterwards we walked back to the road and had a lovely lunch at Coco Nita. The man-made channel between the lakes was so cool and the float in the natural channel serene and we saw a few fish with our masks. Charlotte. Discover breathtaking wildlife and natural fauna in Punta Allen. We hope you can come back soon in Tulum ! Also, any clue where to get a fishing license? 2) Leave your shoes in plain sight if you do the canal float. We tipped the tour guides. The guys usually arrive at the docks around 8:00 am or shortly thereafter and the last boat goes out around 4:30 pm. Thanks for this post. Yet the highlight is next when youll have the opportunity to float down an ancient Mayan canal! Worst case scenario, youll still be able to visit the Muyil ruins, take the boardwalk, and see the lagoon. The remainder of this article provides detailed directions and instructions specifically on how to visit the Muyil section of Sian Kaan on your own. Seems like that puddle jumper life jacket would be essential to bring on a trip to this area. I followed the instructions to Muyil and directly onto the boat, and as of July 3rd, 2015 everything was running exactly as you said. Alternatively, for a more direct route, you can simply walk up the dirt road which will take about 5-10 minutes. This blog shares our discoveries & aims to inspire your next trip while maximizing your travel budget! Thank you so much for sharing your experience! Its nice to hear that the seemingly higher cost of the boat trip helps with the preservation of this special place, especially the canal.
So thanks for the heads-up and watch out for that Mama Boa indeed! Your detailed plan was fantastic. Seeing a manatee in the wild for the first time. Thank you so much for this post it was super helpful. John, Great job with sharing all those tips and informations related to Sian Kaan biosphere. Its been on the cooler side this week and I get easily cold in the water. We come to the Riveria Maya for 2 or 3 weeks each year.
Manatees are known to frequent the Boca Paila lagoon area and Ascension Bay, which are in a different location/road than the Muyil departure point that is chiefly described in this post. Sian Kaan was on the top of our gotta do list. I would only caution if that youre looking to have some more in-depth info then you may want to consider a tour. Yes, they absolutely will. We use and recommend: Mask & snorkel: While you can still enjoy the canal float without a mask and snorkel, we strongly recommend to bring a mask. The Sian Kaan Biosphere has two parts to explore: Muyil and Punta Allen. A sign indicates that it should take about 40-minutes to complete the walk, but we believe a more reasonable estimate is 20-minutes or so. Thanks for the added tip about the gate closing at 4:30. This tour also includes: Equipment for the activities, snacks and a box-lunch. Anywho, your blog was a huge help to us in finding out how to visit Muyil and the canal. This means you can use the loo on arrival and departure from speedboat/lagoon trip.
Its funny to think of the Yucatan as chilly but I know the temps do drop every once in a while. But no pickup time was given and extra transportation charge was hidden in the ticket exclusions which caused embarrassment. 40peso the ruins, 50peso adulte 25 kids for the boardwalk. Thanks so much for the comment and providing an update to our readers. Thanks so much for stopping back by our site with your feedback. For more travel tips before your trip, be sure to check out our our in-depth guide to the 75+ Best Mexico Travel Tips to Know Before Your Trip in 2022. Did not seem negotiable especially as there were many groups there going out. There are many tours that visit the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve from Tulum, Cancun, or Playa del Carmen / Riviera Maya, and it can be a bit stressful to find the perfect one or to be sure that the one you choose is trustworthy and offers a good service. We find the Sian Kaan tours can also be worth the cost for the ocean route towards Punta Allen, like this Ocean Safari, where theres snorkeling on coral reefs, other marine life encounters, and a seafood lunch included. Please note that there are no ATM machines in the area, nor do any of the vendors accept credit cards. A guided tour would provide much more info on everything and would be an easier option, but it would come at almost double the cost of this DIY itinerary. ruins muyil sian canals Those are great points about solo travelers and the toilets! We paid 1,150 pesos for the entire boat excursion and float for two people, which is $88.57 USD (at current exchange rate) or a little more than $44 USD per person. When we were last there in June earlier this year, we also did not get any data on our phone and we were even using a local Telcel sim card. We were running low on pesos, and he said he could take dollars instead. It is advised to arrive early in a best attempt to catch a boat and avoid disappointment. Turtles, dolphins, maniti and alligator. Thanks so much for popping back by to confirm costs and let us know. Don't subscribe Merle. But if you feel comfortable leaving your packs with someone at Muyil, Id imagine youll find someone to help you out. Enjoy a great experience with Pixan Kaan., Most visitors who visit the reserve come for the iconic animals like the dolphins and turtles. It was really helpful. Thanks so much for this article we followed your advice and had a fantastic time. $1,000mx boat tour with float. Also at the entrance to the parking lot that takes you directly to the boats (just past the ruins) there is a a little food truck where they sell coconuts its worth a stop!! Many thanks for the information on your site. April 7, 2019 By John Widmer 320 Comments, Known for its complex environment, the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve is a unique natural attraction to visit in Mexico. This policy is especially important during this complicated time when travel plans can easily change. Bring some snacks and water, just in case you arrive at a timing when youll have to wait 1-1.5 hour. However, this didnt spoil the experience rather the opposite, just added a bit more wilderness to it. Would u advise doing the DIY version, if we dont speak Spanish? Yikes, thanks for the update about the price increase on the 4-hour boat tour from Muyil.
Our private wedding tour will take us to the marvellous Biosphere Reserve Sian Ka'an, which is a protected area and covers a size of 1,3 million acres alongside the Mexican Caribbean coast of the state of Quintana Roo. Just took this trip today! The drive to Muyil was 45 minutes. The Mayan ruins are nice but you dont get a real feeling of a jungle walk, it is short and the wooden deck kills the natural feeling. Hi Vera, We did the tour on December 19th. It is wonderful to have reached your site, I may yet get this off my bucket list yet.sounds wonderful. Prices for adults are still fixed at 30 USD or 600 Pesos turns out that children are negotiable however. thanks John. To update a few things. If you go to Muyil and Sian Kaan, or any other preserve, reef or park in Mexico, you should use an all natural bug spray that will not harm the environment. When we went to the bus station, they didnt have an option to go by bus, but steered us to the collectivos at 70 pesos each, one way. (But I wouldnt worry about it. thanks again for sharing tips and pics. If you are traveling to Sian Kaan with a baby, be sure to bring your owninfant life jacket. Its so nice when you can get a boat all to yourself. Be sure to factor in lodging costs too. Can I join an other group on the boat? The jungle section is cool, well worth the extra pesos especially the observation tower! Sorry the colectivo there didnt work out but glad that you ultimately made it!
The boardwalk through Sian Kaan was great, saw some interesting fauna ( flora was also exciting for Europeans, but since it wasnt our first selva experience, were not impressed). Two things to add: 1) Be ready to wait for the boats, especially if organized tours are arrivingthey will take precedence. Upon completing the nearly 2-hour boat tour and float down the canal, you can either exit the reverse way you came in on the trail back to Muyil. Thanks for the price confirmations! It was beautiful. Muyil opens at 8:00 am and there are no official hours for the boat guys at Sian Kaan but Id imagine youll find someone to take you out during the times Muyil is open. Going back to town it was very easy to hail a colectivo and this one just charged us 30 pesos luckily. The boat guys are all very nice, friendly, and non-aggressive. For us, we like getting a good deal and dont mind doing a little more work and having some uncertainty to save a few bucks. And thank you for confirming current pricing! It was so helpful. Hey Suzan, thanks for the comment and question. So if there are two people, expect to pay a total of $2,000 pesos and three people will pay $3,000 pesos, etc. Our experienced guides will show you the Sian Kaan biosphere and its impressive wildlife and natural fauna in the area. His email is [emailprotected]. Good to know! Though The Ride Was ABit Much On Way Back. Its nearly a 30 minute boat ride from the shore to the canal that you float down, so that would be one heck of a swim. And please stop back by this post to drop a comment to let us know about this recent change. However we did see a few interesting birds local eagles, giant egrets, an osprey and a stork are the ones I remember and in truth the experience of coasting through the lagoons and floating down the creek was more than worthwhile. This all can help to justify the higher price. We even last visited when it was raining and there were still guys there ready to give a tour around the lagoon. We look forward to seeing you again soon. Such tours embark on a very similar route to whats been described in this post and the cost is roughly double what it takes to do it on your own. That included everything. Glad you found this helpful and thanks to you too for stopping back by with this helpful comment! Also all along the inside of the barrier land looking for Manatee. bus Mayab (Tulum-Muyil): 28 M$ Good luck! Thank you for your feedbacks about your Sian Kaan Adventure with us. Its got to be Sian Kaan! The only few boats we saw were from the men providing the tours. And thank you for confirming the prices! That is scary to hear about boats coming up the canal that you float down. We were ready to go (only 2 in the boat + 1 captain and his trainee) but we waited for another couple that came the same way, with a guide (Pepe). There is now someone who works for the park who will put you on a wait list and set you up with a guide whose boat can accomodate your party or add you to other parties on his boat. Sun protection: The Yucatan sun is strong. So what we encountered with entrance fees was the following: Whichever way you go, just know that the Muyil, lagoon boat tour, and canal float all makes for a great half-day adventure from Tulum. I would also really like to know how to how to get to Punto Allen as we have our own car and speak some Spanish. We were a group of 8 (4 adults and 4 teenagers.) Cancellation requests within 24 hours to the confirmed arrival date or a no-show are 100% non-refundable. I also wanted to mention that we got to Muyil around 9am and decided to do the Sian Kaan reserve first to avoid being out in the midday sun and heat. Filed Under: Destination Guides, Adventures Around the World, Travel Bargains, Travel Tips Around the World Tagged With: Central America, Mexico, North America. The boat ride is about 2 hours, including time floating in the canal. Once in Punta Allen, its fairly easy to hire a boat to take you out to see the marine side of Sian Kaan, for a price, of course. Pleasant day out only downside I did not see much wildlife apart from a few butterflies and fish. But it may not quite satisfy your urge for trekking. Hi Tabea,
THANKS FOR THE AWESOME SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS. We are delighted to read you had a fantastic day in Sian Kaan Nature Reserve and that everything was perfect. Local bus (go) = 27$MXN This is the marine part of Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve to go snorkeling on coral reefs. .
The colectivo making the daily journey takes about four hours to complete the 55-km (34-mile) ride over the rough road, arriving in Punta Allen around 6:00 pm. Expensive, yes, but totally worth it . The boat excursion around the lagoons and canals, as described above lasts about 90-minutes or potentially up to 2 hours. We went to Muyil and Sian Kaan today. The canal float takes about 20 minutes. We rented a scooter in Tulum for our vacation, so that was our transportation. You cannot reach the canals from the shore. The captains/guides had uniforms and official biosphere wristbands. It was quite magical to see them all dancing around. Otherwise everything is still up to date and so helpful for a build your own tour! My expectation of the ruins were surpassed, the boat ride great, and the float the most relaxing thing Ive done in a looooong time. Hey! Glad to hear the blog was helpful and that you had an awesome visit to the Muyil, Sian Kaan and the canal. At about 760 pesos per person, thats just under $60 USD and about half the cost of the packaged tours. Theres nothing to call them out so it felt cool to have spotted them. Great find! Oh no, am sorry to hear you didnt find the path. 2. This option is best for independent travelers who have at least 2 nights / 3 days to spend traveling to & from Punta Allen. Always glad to hear this post is continuing to help travelers! Sian Kaan is a natural reserve classified as a world heritage site by UNESCO. Note: Theres no need to pack bulky fins for Sian Kaan. When the hotels end, youll drive through a Mayan arch. We followed your advice and just loved Sian KaAn. A guided tour would certainly offer a much more information about the wildlife and history of the area. We hope to make it there with our kids and am glad to have detailed information to prepare for this part of our visit should we have time. We had a great time and would highly recommend this trip to anyone visiting Tulum. Hopefully the boat owner will show me tons of wildlife which is what Im going for.
Weve heard some complaints with communications when trying to book such tours with these local operators via phone and email. To come back, I jumped into a collectivo after waiting almost one hour for the bus. Interesting to hear about the collectivos too thats good to know. I asked him about crocodiles, he told me they dont appear in the floating area much more on the ocean shore. [2022], 16 Fun Things To Do in Playa del Carmen in 2022 - Every Steph, [] LOOKING FOR MORE OPTIONS? Price is cheap, 28 MxP one way. The float was incredibly relaxing and a really unique experience in crystal clear freshwater. The snorkeling sounds amazing too and how great that it all culminated in a lobster lunch! As we waited for a taxi, a Collectivo (shuttle bus) drove by, so we hailed it down instead. Cheers! Also, thank you so much for confirming recent prices. Thank you for the information. You two are great! Thanks again guys That goes for sunscreen as well. The only free date in our agenda is 1st of January to do this trip.
It does not venture into the ocean environment of Sian Kaan.
We saw barracuda in the water, but no crocs or manatee. thanks a lot for sharing it.
Thanks that the write up! I had not yet figured out how to get to Sian Kaan easily and have a good day experience at the same time. The only snafu was getting back. Always glad we could help a fellow traveler. On Monday 23 December we had no problem getting two boats for our group of 10 at about 9:am there were 5 at the dock when we arrived, but it seems things tightened up shortly thereafter. Everything was exactly how you described and so much easier to know what to expect with our 6 year old. Unfortunately, Im not familiar with the logistics involved with getting a fishing license. Guides are relaxed and seem very trustworthy wrt to leaving your bags in the boat, so no worries about that. There have been regular buses plying that route for some time. So glad to hear this was helpful and thank you for returning to our site to provide an update. Lunch includes meat, fish, vegetarian, gluten- free and vegan options. Thanks! Its always nice to hear when prices are adjusted downward rather than up! when i asked friends here for different price options that the agencies offer, it goes back to different level of comfort or prestations. I really do want to visit the ocean side of Sian Kaan, but were going to try your suggestion of Muyil tomorrow as Im worried about driving the road to Punta Allen if its a mess. If you give this a try with your backpacks, please stop back by this page to let us know how it went. I would imagine it may be possible. Assuming they mean Sian Kaan, lol! - Laguna boat tour: explore mangrove forests, freshwater springs & the famous Boca Paila where the wetlands meet the sea, - Visit cays with colonies of incredible birds, - Search for dolphins, sea turtles and more, - Snorkel in the worlds second largest coral reef (subject to weather conditions), - Enjoy swimming in the clearest tropical water at Nature's swimming pool, - Delicious Caribbean lunch in Punta Allen pueblo, - Those interested in wildlife observation & photography, exploring the caribbean coast by boat, learning about truly unique ecosystems, - Not suitable for pregnant women or very young children (under 4 years old), - Comfortable clothes and shoes (sandals ok), - Sun block (bio degradable, also consider clothes to aid with sun protection).
Huge park South of Tulum? I didnt realize that about DEET. The entire day was incredible, definitely the best day tour I've ever done! And thanks for the recommendation about the food stands across the street very good to know! Gracias! If you love animals then there really is only one way to get up close to them, and that is by observing them in their natural habitat, and not in captivity. Although its just a half-day trip, its definitely recommended to bring a daypack. Travelled from Akumul on the collective, 110 each, well worth it. When we came back, we went by ourselves through the archeological patch, from the beach to the parking. We then followed your directions to the ruins and spent a happy half hour or so enjoying the peace and tranquility of the site, where we did not see another soul. We arrived at 9:30am directly at the main entrance of the archeological parc, we paid the parc fee and a guide directly proposed us the boat for 1000 pesos.
You can walk hundreds of meters in the crystal clear waters and soak in all of the magnificent beauty. If you dont already own a mask, we can suggest this US Divers mask & snorkel which is a fantastic mask for the price. We paid 36 pesos each to go into the reserve, charged at the arch. Were also from Florida and while Id never feel comfortable swimming in Central Florida lakes, I felt fine in these clear waters. Tulum: the trendy Eco-chic destination in Mexico.
Note: a reader recently (April 2019) reported that the 205-km sign was missing and there is now and Oxxo minimart here. If your not, dont go. Hey whats another MXN2000 at that point. No refunds will be granted either for unused portions of the reservation due to an early departure. Everything was perfect from start to end, from the safe transportation, the boat drivers good eyes for spotting animals and Galas passion and knowledge about wildlife and the nature to Ursulas good management of the trip. Happy travels to Mexico and to Sian Kaan! He comes everyday from tulum to punta at 1pm and leaves back at 3pm. On one end, its ocean. The trip was a wonderful way of experiencing a small part of the Sian Kaan Biosphere. at least visitor guide you would have a guide who speaks something else than spanisn. 50 pesos for the Ruins and back with the colectivo directly from the Main Street at the entrance of the Ruins for 70$ pesos each. I loved the care the tour took to be mindful of nature. So glad to hear this is helpful! At Chedraui, the supermarket, the rate is posted at 16.61P to 1USD. Boat 600 adulte, kids under 7 half price, Sad to see so much washed up plastic after Hurricane Grace. I highly reccomend going early because the lakes are gorgeous that early in the am, and smooth as glass. 600 pesos is still what they charge, and all the compliments are for free.
The prices were exactly as explained and managed to have a wonderful time and experience for a little less than $150 USD for all five of us! Just an idea. I will presume these guys get paid well for what they do, and likewise are very trustworthy. When you are in the hustle and bustle of Tulum, its hard to believe that there is such an impressive nature reserve with stunning wildlife just a few kilometers away. Thanks Cristina! You may be able to ask the Muyil ticket guy if hell securely hold your bags in his office and offer him a nice propina to do so. Thank you for your help. So difficult to find out any of this stuff from the locals. We had a wonderful three hours! We also had no concept of what to expect for pricing and couldnt tell if he was ripping us off or genuinely giving us a deal. We have 2 children 7 and 11. Will be in Akumal/Tulum area in Feb. someone told us to check out this huge park area, south of Tulum. WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS WHEN WE ARE THERE IN APRIL, CANT WAIT! Small group tours with a similar itinerary to Punta Allen run about $140 from Tulum, so your taxi/tour is certainly in line with that pricing. Be careful and listen for othe boats of tourists coming in the opposite direction in the canal. Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews. Its a leisurely float. Hey Peggy! And as you know, time is one of the most precious things we have. We were able to get a slightly reduced-price boat tour for our nine-year old. Thats just a rough estimate. After the tower, the Canan-Ha trail soon opens up to a dirt road, where youll clearly see the lagoon and boat docks. But again, rather unclear. Thanks for stopping by to let us know! As in Constrictor! We paid $2000 for 2 of us and really enjoyed floating down the channel. Thanks for your input. Ill plan it, and research if there are any centoes near by as a backup plan :-). Take care. We cant thank you enough for this very detailed information! That may also help to avoid any afternoon thunderstorms that may pop up. Hey Zeke, thanks so much for the comment. We are delighted to read you had an amazing experience seeing dolphins, crocodiles and having lunch in paradise. The return collectivo was 40 pesos per person. Thank you for this update of information and were really glad to hear this info was helpful! Sounds like a great way to go and Ill try to update the body of the post soon to include this.
The walk throughout the forest is easy accesible and Nice to do for 50 peso p.p. Super-useful write-up. Punta Allen is an adorable ocean front community to stop for lunch, much quieter than the Tulum area, so it was a welcome reprieve. Except our bus trip back was even less expensive 25 pesos each!! We are glad to read you had a beautiful day in Sian Kaan with us and that you could spot all the wildlife you expected to see. Now that I live full-time in Akumal, I wanted to find a do-it-yourself option so I was thrilled to find this post! Am so sorry you were not able to take the trip.
Thanks so much for stopping back by our blog to share your experience. Although beware that during the off-season of the summer months, these camps and even hotels tend to close-up until November. So glad you had a great time! We appreciate it! How annoying about the 90-minute wait. I am just wondering if its possible to store somewhere luggage? Still, it seems there are a few who do speak English and provide more of a proper tour but its luck of the draw. I will be printing this out for our trip next week. Will definitely appreciate it if you stop back by here to confirm this after your experience. Thank You Very Much for your article which made our day!! Stop back by and let us know how it went. Thanks for The Great advice. Well do the Muyil bit in half a day while staying a couple of nights in Tulum, but we also want to have full days of natural immersion, so we want to stay in Punta Allen for 3 nights.
Gracias again! and let's not forget crocodiles! Would you guys recommend we spend 2-3 days at Sian Kaan? You should NOT use a spray with DEET since it will affect the ecology of Sian Kaan. WOW Thank you! Thanks a lot for your advice! And thanks so much for stopping by with the positive feedback! The entrance to the Ruins have indeed changed to 40 pesos/person. We bought beer, our bus showed up in about 20 seconds, so we had to wait to drink our beer later. I know you might not be able to say for sure, but it would be helpful to know if there were several boats waiting to take people, or if there were just 2 (in which case lowers our chances of having 2 boats ready to take us). Thank you! We like to go to Muyil and the boardwalk first to then cool down on the boat ride and the canal. Amazing experience. After doing the tour of Sian Kaan, we went back to Muyil and then walked to the observation tower and then back to Muyil again. Taking full-day jeep & boat excursions to the oceanic side of Sian Kaan can be a very convenient and attractive option to explore Sian Kaans marine environment all in one day. Glad you found the chill to be worth it, and that will likely be helpful to others (like the previous commenter). Note regarding children: While the adult price is firmly fixed, the rate for children is negotiable.
Come back soon for more amazing Had we more time we would have peddled all the way to Punta Allen. If you forget bug spray, the price at the gift shop across the Muyil entrance is 120 pesos, which was way too much IMHO, so I just went without. Understand: Two Different Areas to Explore, Directions Through Muyil Ruins to Boat Docks, Taking a Boat Through Sian Kaan + Canal Float, DIY Adventure to Sian Kaan vs Booking a Tour. We are glad you had an amazing day, and that you would recommend our tour. We are sorry that you did not receive your confirmation message via Viator letting you know your Pick Up time and the extra fee as you were not based in Tulum. Youll walk through the jungle with a knowledgeable Mayan guide that will point the birds you encounter along the way. Let us know if any other questions (or if I missed a miscalculation) and please stop back by this page to let us know how it went or any updates (as things do change). I almost dont want to say how good this is as it seems to be so understated and consequently under commercialised. Coordinates for Muyil (parking) are lat: 20.07889785, long: -87.61378884 I have a friend who used this as his guide and recommended it to me for my trip to the Riviera in July. This was the best info for figuring out this trip. Thx a million. I can confirm the prices, 40 pesos for adults free for kids (ruins) and 600/300 pesos for the boat. Afterwards we walked back to the road and had a lovely lunch at Coco Nita. The man-made channel between the lakes was so cool and the float in the natural channel serene and we saw a few fish with our masks. Charlotte. Discover breathtaking wildlife and natural fauna in Punta Allen. We hope you can come back soon in Tulum ! Also, any clue where to get a fishing license? 2) Leave your shoes in plain sight if you do the canal float. We tipped the tour guides. The guys usually arrive at the docks around 8:00 am or shortly thereafter and the last boat goes out around 4:30 pm. Thanks for this post. Yet the highlight is next when youll have the opportunity to float down an ancient Mayan canal! Worst case scenario, youll still be able to visit the Muyil ruins, take the boardwalk, and see the lagoon. The remainder of this article provides detailed directions and instructions specifically on how to visit the Muyil section of Sian Kaan on your own. Seems like that puddle jumper life jacket would be essential to bring on a trip to this area. I followed the instructions to Muyil and directly onto the boat, and as of July 3rd, 2015 everything was running exactly as you said. Alternatively, for a more direct route, you can simply walk up the dirt road which will take about 5-10 minutes. This blog shares our discoveries & aims to inspire your next trip while maximizing your travel budget! Thank you so much for sharing your experience! Its nice to hear that the seemingly higher cost of the boat trip helps with the preservation of this special place, especially the canal.
So thanks for the heads-up and watch out for that Mama Boa indeed! Your detailed plan was fantastic. Seeing a manatee in the wild for the first time. Thank you so much for this post it was super helpful. John, Great job with sharing all those tips and informations related to Sian Kaan biosphere. Its been on the cooler side this week and I get easily cold in the water. We come to the Riveria Maya for 2 or 3 weeks each year.
Manatees are known to frequent the Boca Paila lagoon area and Ascension Bay, which are in a different location/road than the Muyil departure point that is chiefly described in this post. Sian Kaan was on the top of our gotta do list. I would only caution if that youre looking to have some more in-depth info then you may want to consider a tour. Yes, they absolutely will. We use and recommend: Mask & snorkel: While you can still enjoy the canal float without a mask and snorkel, we strongly recommend to bring a mask. The Sian Kaan Biosphere has two parts to explore: Muyil and Punta Allen. A sign indicates that it should take about 40-minutes to complete the walk, but we believe a more reasonable estimate is 20-minutes or so. Thanks for the added tip about the gate closing at 4:30. This tour also includes: Equipment for the activities, snacks and a box-lunch. Anywho, your blog was a huge help to us in finding out how to visit Muyil and the canal. This means you can use the loo on arrival and departure from speedboat/lagoon trip.
Its funny to think of the Yucatan as chilly but I know the temps do drop every once in a while. But no pickup time was given and extra transportation charge was hidden in the ticket exclusions which caused embarrassment. 40peso the ruins, 50peso adulte 25 kids for the boardwalk. Thanks so much for the comment and providing an update to our readers. Thanks so much for stopping back by our site with your feedback. For more travel tips before your trip, be sure to check out our our in-depth guide to the 75+ Best Mexico Travel Tips to Know Before Your Trip in 2022. Did not seem negotiable especially as there were many groups there going out. There are many tours that visit the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve from Tulum, Cancun, or Playa del Carmen / Riviera Maya, and it can be a bit stressful to find the perfect one or to be sure that the one you choose is trustworthy and offers a good service. We find the Sian Kaan tours can also be worth the cost for the ocean route towards Punta Allen, like this Ocean Safari, where theres snorkeling on coral reefs, other marine life encounters, and a seafood lunch included. Please note that there are no ATM machines in the area, nor do any of the vendors accept credit cards. A guided tour would provide much more info on everything and would be an easier option, but it would come at almost double the cost of this DIY itinerary. ruins muyil sian canals Those are great points about solo travelers and the toilets! We paid 1,150 pesos for the entire boat excursion and float for two people, which is $88.57 USD (at current exchange rate) or a little more than $44 USD per person. When we were last there in June earlier this year, we also did not get any data on our phone and we were even using a local Telcel sim card. We were running low on pesos, and he said he could take dollars instead. It is advised to arrive early in a best attempt to catch a boat and avoid disappointment. Turtles, dolphins, maniti and alligator. Thanks so much for popping back by to confirm costs and let us know. Don't subscribe Merle. But if you feel comfortable leaving your packs with someone at Muyil, Id imagine youll find someone to help you out. Enjoy a great experience with Pixan Kaan., Most visitors who visit the reserve come for the iconic animals like the dolphins and turtles. It was really helpful. Thanks so much for this article we followed your advice and had a fantastic time. $1,000mx boat tour with float. Also at the entrance to the parking lot that takes you directly to the boats (just past the ruins) there is a a little food truck where they sell coconuts its worth a stop!! Many thanks for the information on your site. April 7, 2019 By John Widmer 320 Comments, Known for its complex environment, the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve is a unique natural attraction to visit in Mexico. This policy is especially important during this complicated time when travel plans can easily change. Bring some snacks and water, just in case you arrive at a timing when youll have to wait 1-1.5 hour. However, this didnt spoil the experience rather the opposite, just added a bit more wilderness to it. Would u advise doing the DIY version, if we dont speak Spanish? Yikes, thanks for the update about the price increase on the 4-hour boat tour from Muyil.
Our private wedding tour will take us to the marvellous Biosphere Reserve Sian Ka'an, which is a protected area and covers a size of 1,3 million acres alongside the Mexican Caribbean coast of the state of Quintana Roo. Just took this trip today! The drive to Muyil was 45 minutes. The Mayan ruins are nice but you dont get a real feeling of a jungle walk, it is short and the wooden deck kills the natural feeling. Hi Vera, We did the tour on December 19th. It is wonderful to have reached your site, I may yet get this off my bucket list yet.sounds wonderful. Prices for adults are still fixed at 30 USD or 600 Pesos turns out that children are negotiable however. thanks John. To update a few things. If you go to Muyil and Sian Kaan, or any other preserve, reef or park in Mexico, you should use an all natural bug spray that will not harm the environment. When we went to the bus station, they didnt have an option to go by bus, but steered us to the collectivos at 70 pesos each, one way. (But I wouldnt worry about it. thanks again for sharing tips and pics. If you are traveling to Sian Kaan with a baby, be sure to bring your owninfant life jacket. Its so nice when you can get a boat all to yourself. Be sure to factor in lodging costs too. Can I join an other group on the boat? The jungle section is cool, well worth the extra pesos especially the observation tower! Sorry the colectivo there didnt work out but glad that you ultimately made it!
The boardwalk through Sian Kaan was great, saw some interesting fauna ( flora was also exciting for Europeans, but since it wasnt our first selva experience, were not impressed). Two things to add: 1) Be ready to wait for the boats, especially if organized tours are arrivingthey will take precedence. Upon completing the nearly 2-hour boat tour and float down the canal, you can either exit the reverse way you came in on the trail back to Muyil. Thanks for the price confirmations! It was beautiful. Muyil opens at 8:00 am and there are no official hours for the boat guys at Sian Kaan but Id imagine youll find someone to take you out during the times Muyil is open. Going back to town it was very easy to hail a colectivo and this one just charged us 30 pesos luckily. The boat guys are all very nice, friendly, and non-aggressive. For us, we like getting a good deal and dont mind doing a little more work and having some uncertainty to save a few bucks. And thank you for confirming current pricing! It was so helpful. Hey Suzan, thanks for the comment and question. So if there are two people, expect to pay a total of $2,000 pesos and three people will pay $3,000 pesos, etc. Our experienced guides will show you the Sian Kaan biosphere and its impressive wildlife and natural fauna in the area. His email is [emailprotected]. Good to know! Though The Ride Was ABit Much On Way Back. Its nearly a 30 minute boat ride from the shore to the canal that you float down, so that would be one heck of a swim. And please stop back by this post to drop a comment to let us know about this recent change. However we did see a few interesting birds local eagles, giant egrets, an osprey and a stork are the ones I remember and in truth the experience of coasting through the lagoons and floating down the creek was more than worthwhile. This all can help to justify the higher price. We even last visited when it was raining and there were still guys there ready to give a tour around the lagoon. We look forward to seeing you again soon. Such tours embark on a very similar route to whats been described in this post and the cost is roughly double what it takes to do it on your own. That included everything. Glad you found this helpful and thanks to you too for stopping back by with this helpful comment! Also all along the inside of the barrier land looking for Manatee. bus Mayab (Tulum-Muyil): 28 M$ Good luck! Thank you for your feedbacks about your Sian Kaan Adventure with us. Its got to be Sian Kaan! The only few boats we saw were from the men providing the tours. And thank you for confirming the prices! That is scary to hear about boats coming up the canal that you float down. We were ready to go (only 2 in the boat + 1 captain and his trainee) but we waited for another couple that came the same way, with a guide (Pepe). There is now someone who works for the park who will put you on a wait list and set you up with a guide whose boat can accomodate your party or add you to other parties on his boat. Sun protection: The Yucatan sun is strong. So what we encountered with entrance fees was the following: Whichever way you go, just know that the Muyil, lagoon boat tour, and canal float all makes for a great half-day adventure from Tulum. I would also really like to know how to how to get to Punto Allen as we have our own car and speak some Spanish. We were a group of 8 (4 adults and 4 teenagers.) Cancellation requests within 24 hours to the confirmed arrival date or a no-show are 100% non-refundable. I also wanted to mention that we got to Muyil around 9am and decided to do the Sian Kaan reserve first to avoid being out in the midday sun and heat. Filed Under: Destination Guides, Adventures Around the World, Travel Bargains, Travel Tips Around the World Tagged With: Central America, Mexico, North America. The boat ride is about 2 hours, including time floating in the canal. Once in Punta Allen, its fairly easy to hire a boat to take you out to see the marine side of Sian Kaan, for a price, of course. Pleasant day out only downside I did not see much wildlife apart from a few butterflies and fish. But it may not quite satisfy your urge for trekking. Hi Tabea,
THANKS FOR THE AWESOME SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS. We are delighted to read you had a fantastic day in Sian Kaan Nature Reserve and that everything was perfect. Local bus (go) = 27$MXN This is the marine part of Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve to go snorkeling on coral reefs. .
The colectivo making the daily journey takes about four hours to complete the 55-km (34-mile) ride over the rough road, arriving in Punta Allen around 6:00 pm. Expensive, yes, but totally worth it . The boat excursion around the lagoons and canals, as described above lasts about 90-minutes or potentially up to 2 hours. We went to Muyil and Sian Kaan today. The canal float takes about 20 minutes. We rented a scooter in Tulum for our vacation, so that was our transportation. You cannot reach the canals from the shore. The captains/guides had uniforms and official biosphere wristbands. It was quite magical to see them all dancing around. Otherwise everything is still up to date and so helpful for a build your own tour! My expectation of the ruins were surpassed, the boat ride great, and the float the most relaxing thing Ive done in a looooong time. Hey! Glad to hear the blog was helpful and that you had an awesome visit to the Muyil, Sian Kaan and the canal. At about 760 pesos per person, thats just under $60 USD and about half the cost of the packaged tours. Theres nothing to call them out so it felt cool to have spotted them. Great find! Oh no, am sorry to hear you didnt find the path. 2. This option is best for independent travelers who have at least 2 nights / 3 days to spend traveling to & from Punta Allen. Always glad to hear this post is continuing to help travelers! Sian Kaan is a natural reserve classified as a world heritage site by UNESCO. Note: Theres no need to pack bulky fins for Sian Kaan. When the hotels end, youll drive through a Mayan arch. We followed your advice and just loved Sian KaAn. A guided tour would certainly offer a much more information about the wildlife and history of the area. We hope to make it there with our kids and am glad to have detailed information to prepare for this part of our visit should we have time. We had a great time and would highly recommend this trip to anyone visiting Tulum. Hopefully the boat owner will show me tons of wildlife which is what Im going for.
Weve heard some complaints with communications when trying to book such tours with these local operators via phone and email. To come back, I jumped into a collectivo after waiting almost one hour for the bus. Interesting to hear about the collectivos too thats good to know. I asked him about crocodiles, he told me they dont appear in the floating area much more on the ocean shore. [2022], 16 Fun Things To Do in Playa del Carmen in 2022 - Every Steph, [] LOOKING FOR MORE OPTIONS? Price is cheap, 28 MxP one way. The float was incredibly relaxing and a really unique experience in crystal clear freshwater. The snorkeling sounds amazing too and how great that it all culminated in a lobster lunch! As we waited for a taxi, a Collectivo (shuttle bus) drove by, so we hailed it down instead. Cheers! Also, thank you so much for confirming recent prices. Thank you for the information. You two are great! Thanks again guys That goes for sunscreen as well. The only free date in our agenda is 1st of January to do this trip.
It does not venture into the ocean environment of Sian Kaan.
We saw barracuda in the water, but no crocs or manatee. thanks a lot for sharing it.
Thanks that the write up! I had not yet figured out how to get to Sian Kaan easily and have a good day experience at the same time. The only snafu was getting back. Always glad we could help a fellow traveler. On Monday 23 December we had no problem getting two boats for our group of 10 at about 9:am there were 5 at the dock when we arrived, but it seems things tightened up shortly thereafter. Everything was exactly how you described and so much easier to know what to expect with our 6 year old. Unfortunately, Im not familiar with the logistics involved with getting a fishing license. Guides are relaxed and seem very trustworthy wrt to leaving your bags in the boat, so no worries about that. There have been regular buses plying that route for some time. So glad to hear this was helpful and thank you for returning to our site to provide an update. Lunch includes meat, fish, vegetarian, gluten- free and vegan options. Thanks! Its always nice to hear when prices are adjusted downward rather than up! when i asked friends here for different price options that the agencies offer, it goes back to different level of comfort or prestations. I really do want to visit the ocean side of Sian Kaan, but were going to try your suggestion of Muyil tomorrow as Im worried about driving the road to Punta Allen if its a mess. If you give this a try with your backpacks, please stop back by this page to let us know how it went. I would imagine it may be possible. Assuming they mean Sian Kaan, lol! - Laguna boat tour: explore mangrove forests, freshwater springs & the famous Boca Paila where the wetlands meet the sea, - Visit cays with colonies of incredible birds, - Search for dolphins, sea turtles and more, - Snorkel in the worlds second largest coral reef (subject to weather conditions), - Enjoy swimming in the clearest tropical water at Nature's swimming pool, - Delicious Caribbean lunch in Punta Allen pueblo, - Those interested in wildlife observation & photography, exploring the caribbean coast by boat, learning about truly unique ecosystems, - Not suitable for pregnant women or very young children (under 4 years old), - Comfortable clothes and shoes (sandals ok), - Sun block (bio degradable, also consider clothes to aid with sun protection).