Touring Mexico with Zenler 2023 - Part 10 Bacalar final stage of our adventure

David Zenler Author

Jul 14, 2025 |

So finally after nearly two months away we have reached our last destination the small town of Bacalar, see this amazing place with us...

Welcome to instalment 10 of the Travelling Mexico blog series. This is the last one although there will be a summary of do's and don'ts whilst travelling coming out soon, enjoy...

Date Stamp: 19th - Travelling to Bacalar town
We are situated in the town square. Bacalar town is very small and based around the central square. These central squares are found in most Mexico towns and they usually hold markets and live music there most days. 

As mentioned Bacalar is small and similar in size to some of the little towns we visited on the west coast, there are lovely shops and restaurants. And our hotel the Aisilles is perfectly placed to enjoy all the town has to offer.

We booked a lake view which we got just! Never mind we were moving tomorrow to a lake-view apartment, to rest and take it easy for the rest of our remaining days here in Mexico.

It did not take long to look around this quaint little town, after some lunch, we relaxed and wandered aimlessly around the shops.

Date Stamp: 20th - Bacalar Lake view and the Villa Marilu

A short taxi drive after breakfast and we arrived at the final hotel Villa Marilu that we would be staying at here in Bacalar. It's situated on the lake itself with its own jetty. Our room is on the upper front looking out over the lake with plenty of room and a top patio with chairs and tables plus a hammock. A most desirable location, we will be here for six days and seven nights before heading home.

Another family-run hotel with only four rooms. Edwardo spoke extremely good English and gave us an intensive briefing on the area. He runs this with his mum Cissie and Lulu. I strongly advise you to stay here if you fancy visiting Bacalar, although you'll be lucky to get a room as it is highly rated by travel guides.

The hotel supplies free use of Kayaks and life jackets a requirement on the lake. But not if you're swimming - go figure?

After booking a private boat trip around the lake tomorrow we spent the first day sipping cocktails and relaxing on the jetty as we managed to check in early at 12:00.

Date Stamp: 21st - Boat trip and Morning Kayaking

We had a boat trip picking us up from the jetty at 12:30 so plenty of time for me and Adriana to practice a two-person Kayak. Many years ago we tried this and ended up arguing! But happy to say it went really well and we paddled to a Cenote called Cenote Negro, as it is Black. This is part of the lake and if you did not know it is a cenote you would not be the first. Arial maps show the Three Cenotes easily. The other Cenote is called Esmeralda.

The trip only took half an hour, but now we both felt confident to paddle further afield with no major arguments.

So why did we choose Bacalar?

Well, it is based around a 63-kilometre-long lake, with fresh water joined in the middle by the Caribbean Sea. But the salt water does not get in because of the water coming into the lake. Bacalar, meaning Colourful Lake, is famous for its rainbow colours all over the lake. Different hues of Black, Blue, to Yellow can be seen, and this is very evident in the photographs. And as the lake is so huge it can be forgiven to think it is the sea!

12:30 on the dot the boat pulled up at our Jetty for a tour of the Lake, as it was private it was just us two. First, we visited Cenote Negro a Cenote that is part of the lake now, but at one time stood alone lake oration having claimed it a long time ago. This is a deep Cenote and a bit like a well that goes straight down and that is why it has a very dark almost black look to it and is named Negro or black. We also saw a kind of Iguana that was sitting next to a termite mound in the trees.

The next stop is The Pirates Bay. This is a channel that connects the Caribbean to the Lake and was used by the pirates for smuggling. It is truly beautiful and the lake depth can be as little as 40 cm down to 188 cm. The water is really warm and the colours across the whole lake are amazing, we had a little swim here for 1/2 an hour or so.

Next, up Bird Island is situated close to us. Actually, this is a protected area so we could not get too close. But the wildlife is varied here we even saw a smaller version of a flamingo which was lucky as it's not their season. Again another area that is shallow and perfect for a refreshing splash around.

The final destination is the last Cenote called Esmeralda this was a different colour blue and was close to shore just like the first one. We also saw the inlet spring for the lake which is fed from the Yucatan regions hundreds of miles away.

Arriving back at the hotel we spent the rest of the day drinking Margaritas and chilling on the jetty deck, before having a magnificent meal in the Chiltenpin one minute from us.

Date Stamp: 22nd - Azull Cenote

The Azull Cenote is a 45-minute walk from our hotel and is a Cenote separated from the lake but very close. The waters and depths vary but it is a stunning location to enjoy the fresh water and wildlife, hard walk on the way back as it was hot. But we survived and finished the day chilling on the Jetty taking in the beauty of the lake.

One thing I want to point out is the wind really picked up here but on the Cenote, as it is separated and has lots of trees around it was still and calm a good day to visit this Cenote.

Date Stamp: 23rd - Los Rapidos

Los Rapidos is part of the lake and a 20-minute journey down the lake. In this area, the lake closes in so it is very narrow which means there is a current running through it hence Los Rapidos or rapids. But I would not go as far as rapids! It was a gentle glide along, it was fun to do with life vests and without and the location was pretty amazing to dry off and relax.

Date Stamp: 24th - 24th Day off sunrise and morning kayak in wind with pier diving

I got up early to watch the Sunrise which is at 7:12am cloudy but still magical morning are very still the wind picks up in the daytime.

We already planned to revisit, by Kayak, The Bird Island and across to Cenote Esmeralda as there is a small channel that boats cannot go through, but we could in a Kayak a most pleasant experience.

That's about as much as we wanted to do, now is the time for chilling and getting a little work done, as the Wi-Fi is excellent at the Villa.

Date Stamp: 25th - A Chilling Day
Nothing to write about here I will say we had a magical day sunbathing, diving off the Jetty and drinking Cocktails finished off by a lovely meal "Rib Eye Steak" in a recommended restaurant some days are best just doing very little.

Date Stamp: 26th - Another Chilling Day and Sunrise Kayak

Dragged out of bed by my wife to do a Sunrise Kayak, it was a great little trip out on the lake as it was still easy paddling, got some great shots and it was a good way to wake up.

The rest of the day is a mix of cocktails, jumping in the water and sunbathing, what a way to finish off the last day in Bacalar. We will always have lovely thoughts of this place and the Villa Marilu with Edwardo's amazing cocktails. By the way, he ran out of tequila and resorted to Rum, oops think we might have drunk a little too much!

Date Stamp: 27th - Back to the start and Mexico City
Up at 5:00am to catch a Taxi for 30-minute journey to Chetumal Airport, Edwardo was up to see us off and warm farewells were exchanged.

No problems at the airport which was tiny and we managed to get to Mexico City on time.

It felt funny to be back having now practically finished our adventure in Mexico, we decided to stay in the central area again but not at the same hostel. We found a better one that was still central we arrived at 12:00 and check-in was at 3:00, but were told the room would be ready early as is normally the case in Mexico. So we went out to get our bearings which did not take too long.

The traffic and heat have certainly changed in the two months since we were last here, and we were somewhat uncomfortable with the business of the city as we were only here one night we should cope.

The hostel we were now staying at has a good friendly atmosphere and the bed and shower are good with lots of events going on throughout the week, it would be nicer to stay here longer and maybe explore the museums but alas our time is up!

In the afternoon we walked aimlessly for a place to eat finally ending up at an Argentinian/Italian restaurant.

Date Stamp: 28th - A Final Day in Mexico City before the flight back to the UK and Cornwall
Check-out is at 12:00 but we left our backpacks at the hostel as our flight is not until 11:00pm. We planned to spend the day walking around the local markets buying last-minute gifts and eating which is exactly what we did...

Final sign off

Take care and let us know your top tips for travelling and working abroad, and stay tuned for the last part of this travelling with Zenler Blog Series. Where we'll do a summary of things to do and things to avoid when planning a trip to other amazing parts of the world.
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Categories: : Zenler Digital Nomad/Stories