Things to do · Road trips

Bacalar From Playa del Carmen: The Lagoon of Seven Colors

Everyone comes to the Riviera Maya for the Caribbean. Bacalar is the argument for driving three hours away from it.

It's a freshwater lagoon, 42 km long, sitting on a white limestone bed — and depending on the depth and the hour, the water goes through every blue there is, from almost-white turquoise at the shore to deep navy over the cenotes. Hence the name: Laguna de los Siete Colores, the Lagoon of Seven Colors. There's no bus tour that does it properly, which is exactly why it's still worth going.

The drive south

Around 280 km, roughly three and a quarter hours, one road the whole way: Highway 307 south through Tulum, then inland through Felipe Carrillo Puerto and down past Limones. No tolls.

South of Tulum the highway narrows to two lanes and the landscape changes completely — jungle on both sides, small Maya villages, almost no traffic. It's an easy, pleasant drive, and there's really only one thing to plan for:

Fuel. This is the one that catches people out. There are long stretches with no petrol stations between Tulum and Felipe Carrillo Puerto, and again between Felipe Carrillo Puerto and Bacalar. Fill up in Tulum, and top up in Felipe Carrillo Puerto if you're below half.

Time the drive for daylight if you can — three hours goes faster with something to look at.

Go for a night, not for a day

You can do Bacalar and back in one day. We wouldn't. Six and a half hours behind the wheel buys you a few hours at the lagoon in the middle of the day — and the lagoon is at its best at sunrise, when the water is glass, and at sunset, when the colours go orange over the fort. One night turns a long drive into one of the best trips in the region.

What to do on the water

• Paddleboard at sunrise. First thing in the morning the lagoon is completely flat and completely empty. If you do one thing in Bacalar, do this one.
• A boat or sailboat tour. Two to three hours, stopping at the Canal de los Piratas — a shallow channel the pirates once cut through to reach the town — and the deep-water cenotes: Cenote Negro, Cenote Esmeralda, Cenote Cocalitos.
• Los Rápidos. A narrow stretch at the south end where the current carries you along. Sunscreen and repellent are banned in the water here, and for good reason — see below.
• Cenote Azul. Just south of town, right off the highway. Deep, dark blue, ninety metres down, with a restaurant on the edge.
• Fuerte de San Felipe. The small fort in the middle of town, built against pirate raids, with a museum inside and the best view over the lagoon from the ramparts.

Two things to respect

The stromatolites. Those grey-brown crusty shelves along the shoreline are living colonies of cyanobacteria — among the oldest life forms on Earth, and present in only a handful of places worldwide. Don't stand on them, don't lean on them, don't climb on them for a photo. They grow back at a fraction of a millimetre a year.

Sunscreen. Chemical sunscreen and insect repellent damage the lagoon. Rinse off before going in, and use biodegradable products only — several spots won't let you into the water otherwise.

One more scheduling note: the lagoon has a rest day midweek, when boat tours and rentals pause. It's usually Wednesday — worth confirming with your hotel before you build the day around a boat trip.

Worth stopping for on the way

Muyil, 25 minutes south of Tulum, is a small Maya site in the jungle with a boardwalk out to the lagoon behind it, where you can float down an ancient Maya canal on the current. Almost nobody stops. Felipe Carrillo Puerto is the natural halfway break — fuel, a cash machine and a proper lunch.

Heading south past Tulum anyway? Our Tulum day-trip guide covers the ruins and cenotes on that stretch, and the beaches guide has the coastal stops between here and there.

Good to know before you go

How far is Bacalar from Playa del Carmen?

Around 280 km straight south on Highway 307 — about three and a quarter hours of driving, with no toll roads on the route.

Can you do Bacalar as a day trip from Playa del Carmen?

You can, but six and a half hours of driving leaves you only a few hours at the lagoon, and you'd miss both sunrise and sunset — the two times the water looks the way it does in the photographs. One night there is worth far more than the hotel costs.

Where do you fill up on the way to Bacalar?

In Tulum, and again in Felipe Carrillo Puerto if you want a margin. There are long stretches with no petrol stations between Tulum and Felipe Carrillo Puerto, and again between Felipe Carrillo Puerto and Bacalar.

Is the drive from Playa del Carmen to Bacalar safe?

Yes — it's a well-surfaced federal highway, straight and lightly trafficked once you're south of Tulum, and it's one of the easiest long drives in the region. The one thing worth planning is fuel, since there are long stretches without petrol stations.