Tulum Mexico vacation, February 2023
Adventure for Noel and Lionel Space, Nanaimo BC
Gran Cenote, 2/18/2023
(Photos can be clicked on for a larger view)

This cenote is only about 10 minutes NW of downtown Tulum. It gets rave reviews ("the most beautiful cenotes in the region", "like going to paradise", "one of the most important cenotes in the sector"). Being so close to Tulum and raved about by on-line sources, they probably figure that anyone heading there already knows where they are going. There are absolutely no signs on the highway or at the actual entrance to indicate it's existence. The only thing that gives some confirmation that this was indeed the Gran Cenote is the large parking lot along the highway. There are a couple of people standing around a shacked entrance and we asked if this was "Gran Cenote" and they say si, si (I'm still skeptical). There is a ticket booth with no signs, only an entrance fee of 500 pesos ($38 Cdn) per person stickered to a large one way glass pane with a small depression at the bottom to slip cash into. A few seconds after hesitantingly slipping 1000 pesos into the hole, some fingers appear with our tickets, which we hand to a guy 2 meters away at a turn style that scans them and lets us in, standing next to a "No refunds" sign; very strange.
 
Nondescript entrance. 
 
 

Once inside, the only signs visible are for no smoking. I still was not sure we were at the Gran Cenote. We had read previously that there was a bath house and required outdoor showers if you were going in the water (very cold). After the showers, a cabana is visible where people had gathered and a lawn area where people were sun bathing. Off to the left we spot a man near a rack of swimming vests and we each suit up. The stairs down to the mostly open cenote are just beyond the vest dispenser and we follow the crowds. It finally looked a bit like the pictures we've seen on the Internet. Not really so "Gran" though; probably a third of the size of Taak Bi Ha that we visited a couple of days ago. There were a LOT of people there.
 
Cabana and sun bathing area. 
 
Swimming vests and stairs down to cenote. 

There is a vendor shack at the bottom of the stairs that will rent a small locker for 30 pesos so that someone doesn't walk off with your stuff. A little dock to the left past the fresh water turtle viewing area (we saw about 3 in the water and some more sunning themselves elsewhere) is the best place to start. There were two ladders with rungs about 2 feet apart and covered in moss and algae; it's safer just to take a leap and jump in from the dock. It was difficult to not get bumped by others in the water. Across from the dock was what appeared to be a cave to explore, but it didn't go any farther than you could see from the dock. Between the dock and this cave is the only deep spot in the cenote, maybe 20 feet, within a very small area.
 
Lockers under stairs. 
 
Entrance dock. 
 
First cave (it does not really go any farther). 
 
Looking straight down on a person diving down in the deepest pool; not much to see. 
 
Move 2 meters over to look to the North to see the next way to go. 
 
Turtles sunning themselves. 

Pictures from up on the dock show better colors in the water.
 
View from South dock to first cave with Dave in water. 
 
 
 
 

Heading past the dock about 5 meters, being careful not to bang your legs on the boulders, one can see the tunnel that pops out at the other dock, about 30 meters away. The rest of the cenote is not very deep, so silt is stirred up by the many visitors, deterring underwater shots, but there's little of interest below the surface anyway. The tunnel is the most interesting part of this park, but not extremely exciting. There are lots of bats residing in the roof, which you can definitely smell (and they worry about us taking a shower first).
 
Crowds creating cloudy water. 
 
Tunnel entrance. 
 
Entering the tunnel. 
 
 
 
 
 
North Dock looking back towards the tunnel. 
 
North pool is rather small. 
 
Noel, Dave, and Dorothy after swimming the length of the cenote. 

Dave and Dorothy swam back to the original dock, while Noel retrieved our belongings from the locker. We spent a little while enjoying the heat of the sun on the lawn before heading back home.
 
Sun bathing area. 
 
A few large iguanas roamed the park. 

We were not impressed with this cenote based on our expectations. Perhaps if we'd not seen Taak Bi Ha, it would have seemed amazing. It was somewhat crowded, expensive, small, and a mysterious entrance. However, it was close to town and one of the things we had wanted to check out.

Tulum main page