Beautiful backwater Bacalar

All prices in Mexican pesos ($). £1 = $23.48 at time of writing - Jan 2026

I didn't really know what to expect from Bacalar. It's touted as an eco-conscious alternative to the mammoth resort towns in Rivera Maya (like Cancun or Tulum) - still popular with tourists but retaining that local feel that can be lost with over commercialisation. It was also supposed to be insanely beautiful. Sounds too good to be true right?

After a smooth five hour bus journey from Valladolid, we were dropped off at the Bacalar ADO bus station which sits on the main road that by-passes the town. Convenient for the bus drivers, not so much for us poor travellers. We fought our way free from the horde of backpackers vying to grab their bags from the coach and wandered our way down the dusty streets that led to the slightly more polished town centre. The walk only took fifteen minutes but it felt far longer under the intense mid-afternoon sun.

As we checked into our accommodation, we asked our host for his recommendations for activities on the lagoon. The lagoon, with its picture-perfect vistas and interesting cenote formations, was the whole reason for our visit, after all. This is when we learned that we had picked the worst days for our visit: Wednesdays (the next day) the lake is closed. He made it seem like it was closed only for engined boats and organised tours and we'd be fine to hire a kayak from his contact... but a quick double check on google made us doubt this was entirely true. From what we could see although swimming was still allowed on Wednesday, everything else was banned to allow the lagoon time to rest and recover. So while we were keen to organise kayak hire, we weren't keen on breaking the rules and being bad tourists so we decided to delay.

When we did go out kayaking, we had a lot of fun. Deciding to go our own way, we wandered the street nearest to the lake to find the tout with the best price. $500 for 3 hours on a double kayak seemed to be the cheapest we could find. We considered if 3 hours would be enough time, before accepting the reality that we aren't exactly the fittest of people and that by the end of three hours we'd be more than ready to throw in the towel. The tout offered us the use of a waterproof bag, handy seeing as our kayak had scupper holes in it and our combined weight meant I (and our stuff) was sitting in a small pool of water.

The part of the lagoon we were most interested in visiting was the "Pirates canal", an extremely scenic waterway the was once frequented by (you guessed it!) pirates. Although the area was fairly busy with boat tour groups stopping for a swim, it didn't take away from the beauty of the area. Once we'd found a spot we could tie up our kayak and jump out, we joined the swimmers in exploring - all while keeping an eye out for the crocodiles we knew inhabited the lagoon.

Next we kayaked over to Cenote Negro (the black cenote). There, the unfathomably dark cenote contrasts to the clear turquoise waters that surround it. I found it slightly eerie and was more than happy to stay in our kayak, paddling round the tree lined edges rather than getting in. The only way to see this particular cenote is by boat, and while we kayaked round three boats tours made a very perfunctory lap of the cenote before heading back to the main area of the lagoon.

Feeling ambitious, we started making our way over to the island of the birds, but with the wind picking up and the water starting to get choppy we weren't going anywhere in a hurry. Checking the time we realised that we only had an hour left and with both of us starting to tire it might be better to head back. Perhaps with a four hour time slot we could have made it, but between the lagoon's ban on suncream and my fitness level I was both crispy and exhausted - a good stopping point in my opinion.

I'm glad we went with kayaking over one of the group or private boat tours on offer. Although we didn't get to explore that much of the lagoon, we did it without the dull roar of a boat engine and got to spend time with just the two of us out in nature. I'm not going to lie and say it was completely smooth sailing, both of us like to be in charge of directing the boat, leading to frustratingly zigzagging lines on occasion while we bicker about which exact way to go.

The rest of our time in Bacalar was spent wandering the town, eating, and trying to catch glimpses of the lake. Due to most of the real estate along the lakes edge being developed by hotels, hostels and restaurants, actually looking at the lagoon wasn't the easiest of tasks. From the centre of town you can just about see it from next to the fort, but to actually sit next to it and enjoy it, there are two free piers jutting out into to the lagoon - the rest have an entry fee. The small pier to the north of town was a popular spot to enjoy the sunset; it was free, and although pretty rickety in places, seemed to hold up well enough.

Public pier in Bacalar

Our favourite spot however, was "Ecoparque Bacalar" a private boardwalk set out in a large rectangle shape, providing a walk over the lagoon and also over the vegetation at the lagoons edge. Although while we visited many people were using the provided ladders to swim in the area, we'd read too many reviews that mentioned the area as a regular crocodile hang out spot, so we decided it wasn't for us. At this point I realise I seem slightly paranoid about crocodiles and while I know crocodile attacks aren't that common, Morelet crocodiles (the ones that inhabit Bacalar lagoon) have attacked and caused fatalities before in other parts of the country... and I do tend to have bad luck.

Entry to the ecopark set us back a whopping $20 each, and as long as we stuck to the rules (no drinking, no drugs, no littering) we could hang out for as long as we wanted. Unlike the much more expensive "beach club" piers dotted along the lake, there was no restaurant, no drinks kiosk and no toilets... but it was peaceful, with beautiful views and thats all I can really expect for under a pound. We ended up visiting twice, at both dusk and dawn. Although it was threatening rain the morning we visited the pier, sitting on the boardwalk, dangling our legs over the edge while watching the sun-rise over the lake was a truly beautiful experience.

So that sums up our time in Bacalar. There was so much more we could have done, boat trips, cenote swimming, or even ride the local rapids but we were happy with our simple trip. I enjoyed the activities we did do, and despite my initial misgivings, I came to like the town. Would I prefer that some of the lagoons edge by the town be left undeveloped? Absolutely! However that ship has already sailed, so we just have to accept how the town as it is now, and it's still pretty nice.

Maybe (if there's a next time) we'll hire a car and give the smaller lagoon side town of Xul-ha a go or even splash out at one of the remote eco-hotels. There's still less developed parts of the lagoon to be found, they're just less convenient to get to.