Swimming in the Cenotes near Valladolid: the Yucatán’s Most Magical (Non-Food) Experience
- Rand Blimes
- May 23
- 3 min read
If food is the main reason I travel (and let’s be honest, it is), swimming in cenotes is reason number two—at least in Mexico.
Cenotes are the Yucatán’s natural swimming holes, formed when limestone bedrock collapses to reveal underground rivers and pools. They range from gaping skylit lagoons to cave-like underground sanctuaries. They're also, in my experience, one of the absolute best things to do in the blazingly hot Mexican summer.
Stop 1: Cave Dwellers at X’Keken and Samula
We rolled into Valladolid mid-day, and dropped our bags at Hotel Avila (solid choice, comfy beds, fairly hot showers, noisy first night, much quieter second). We still had a couple hours before check-in, so we grabbed our swimming gear and went cenote hunting.
Our first stop was a combo ticket to X’Keken and Samula—two cenotes that feel like you’ve stumbled into a secret subterranean world (entry fee-125 Mexican pesos for both). Each is a cave with a ceiling that’s mostly intact, except for a beam-of-heaven hole at the top that lets light pour in like a divine Instagram filter. The light bounces off the cool, crystal-clear water in the most otherworldly way.
We were far from alone, but they’re spacious enough that it didn’t feel like a human soup. You swim through the caverns, ducking under stalactites, trying not to think about what might be lurking in the pitch-black abyss below. (Spoiler: It’s mostly just your imagination and a few indifferent fish.)
Stop 2: The Swing at Cenote San Lorenzo Oxman
After a morning of ruins at Chichén Itzá, we drove into Valladolid, inhaled lunch from our usual taco joint, and then made for Cenote San Lorenzo Oxman—though the first sign was missing its "O", so for a moment we thought we were headed to the mutant lair of Cenote X-Man.
This one’s set on an old hacienda, and it’s the kind of perfect Instagram cenote: a huge vertical cylinder, open to the sky, lush vines dripping down the sides, bright water below. There’s a rope swing over the center, which we all flung ourselves off of with varying degrees of grace.
It was cheaper than the previous set (entry fee-70 Mexican pesos in 2018), and more photogenic too. Between the light, the colors, the fish, and the gentle floating ropes stretched across the pool to perch on when your arms turn to jelly, it won our family’s “best cenote” award.
Stop 3: Off the Beaten Path with X’batun and Dzonbakal
After exploring the yellow city of Izamal (worth a wander), we aimed the car at a more off-the-grid pair of cenotes: X’batun and Dzonbakal. These were humble, local, and lovely. No glossy signage, no Instagram lines, no gringo crowds. Just dirt roads, buzzing horseflies, and a couple of hidden gems.
X’batun felt like a wild swimming hole—small, open to the sun, laced with lily pads on one side and watched over by local abuelas. We cooled off and soaked up the quiet vibe.
Then we drove five minutes to Dzonbakal, a shadowy cavern with a half-roofed mouth and a narrow swim-through gap that made me feel like Indiana Jones on holiday. Families floated in the dark water, laughter echoing off the stone. We were the only foreigners there, and it was magical.
Why Swim in Cenotes?
Because it’s like discovering a whole other world, just beneath the surface of this one. Because each one is different—some open, some enclosed, some wild, some developed. Because they’re refreshing, surreal, and a uniquely Yucatecan experience. And because after sweating through ancient ruins or city streets, lowering yourself into a cool blue sinkhole is nothing short of divine.
Because travel, we found one of the simplest joys in the world: floating beneath the earth, watching beams of light dance on the surface, surrounded by fish, family, and the faint thrill of knowing there’s a whole hidden river system just below your feet.