Kids loved it. Like others have said, huge thank you for putting this together!! For future visitors, the boat trip is still 600 pesos per person, the bus trip there & back was 56 pesos per person (return). Only update for Feb. 2018 is that the price of admission for the ruins has increased to $45 MX per person. It should be pointed out, however, that Pastor works exclusively on the lagoon side, so if you wanted to see anything of the ocean side, with its different flora and fauna, I suspect you would have to go through one of the agencies and pay the 139 dollars we were quoted by a couple of them! We followed it exactly, and it was perfect. Sian Kaan is home to more than 300 bird species, as well as animals including jaguars, pumas, ocelots, and tapirs. Thank you for stopping back by to let us know. Any recommendations on places to stay? Thats great to hear! Its possible to grab a bite there. Do you think the entree will be open and the guys with the boats will be there? Fantastic guides. If not, Id imagine that they could probably call someone else to come. Looking back, I really wish I would have brought water shoes, snorkel gear, and a waterproof case my phone to capture the awesomeness of this adventure all stated in your tips. We are happy you found the tips to be helpful , Thank you very much, first time i heard about those DIY initials and it is so much useful! indeed it is very beautiful. So would strongly recommend getting there in the morning. Merci beaucoup!!! Lets have a quick look at why. Aside from those setbacks, were happy to hear you had a successful visit and were able to enjoy the beauty of the reserve. I got tourist scammed a lil and didnt get any change for my 50 pesos. But if youre going to wear sunscreen, ensure that its biodegradable sunscreen and does NOT contain oxybenzone and octinoxate. The other one was something else entirely and scared the living daylight out of me nearly stepping on its head! Gracias for informing us on this new development which really helps us to keep this post up-to-date for future travelers to the area. Take a waterproof bag for anything you wouldnt want to leave unattended for an hour. Not sure of the price yet as Ill take it tomorrow but the camping am staying told me around 300 pesos. Thanks fr this resource. Unfortunately it is currently not allowed to enter the Muyil site froom the Lagoon side, which we were using so far. Or you just ran into him at the entrance at Muyil? We had the most Wonderful day Thanks to You!!! Underwater Camera: Bring a waterproof camera if you want to take it with you while floating in the canal. We just came across your blogpost as we are heading to Mexico in a couple of days! Tours are soo expensive do it in your own and you will safe almost twice the Money. I cannot say with certainty that there will be multiple boats ready to go, but I would say that it is very likely. Bus Tours. Regarding your packs theres definitely no left luggage or anything like that. Sian Kaan is home to manatees, turtles, dolphins, crocodiles, various bird species, and even elusive jaguars and pumas, among others mammals. Personally, we thought it was worth it and think that most others would agree. Or are you comfortable with public transportation, exploring on your own, and saving some pesos? Boated across the lagoons to the river float and we were the first boat there. We saw many fish and crabs that we would have otherwise missed during the canal float. If you have any knowledge of that, wed appreciate it. So glad to hear you had an amazing experience! Im down in Tulum right now and was dealing with the same issue of not being able to figure out how to visit Sian Kaan without a paid tour. Thank you for your elaborate instructions! It does seem a bit pricey by Mexico standards, yet perhaps well worth it for all that is included and the great experiences/memories. Despite heavy Christmastime crowds, we were lucky to meet up with Candido president of the Sian Kaan tour guide operator coop at the gates of Muyil, and he led us right to the boat ramp, where we paid $600 pesos each for the boat ride and float. Some birds jump between trees and bushes. It really helped guide us on our trip to Sian Kaan this week. Really neat to hear about your encounter. Definitely bring pesos (not USD) and bring some extra, of course, just in case. We also elected to eat lunch at the tiny restaurant at the end of the dirt road. Great deal if you dont want to wait for the bus, or if the bus doesnt stop for you. During our trip, we went slowly through some canals and sped through other open areas. So glad to hear it helped and it turned out to be a highlight! As a result we, regretfully, could not take the boats. 2) Leave your shoes in plain sight if you do the canal float. Thank you for taking the time to let us know and for an update on pricing and your experience. The water in the canal is super clear and a mask will enable you to see fish, crabs, and other ecology living in the mangroves that line the canal. We really appreciate you sharing your experience with our readers. This site is on the UNESCO World Heritage List!I'm on a mission to visit as many World Heritage Sites as I can. Thank you so much for this information. . Also had the place to ourselves. The water was freshwater and clear and it was like floating in a natural lazy river. Im crediting you in my blog. The float was incredibly relaxing and a really unique experience in crystal clear freshwater. The easiest way to visit Sian Ka'an is by tour and there are two main options from the riviera towns - either by boat to the marine area around Punta Allen, or by road to the lake area around Muyil (the more popular choice). We waited about 20 minutes for the bus to return to Tulum town, and when it finally came by it didnt stop. Thanks a lot for the detailed info!! Michael Turtle is the founder of Time Travel Turtle. Even the Mayans acknowledged how special this place is, with Sian Kaan meaning Origin of the Sky in their language. Thank you so much for your detailed instructions, we had such a great day! We felt more than safe leaving our belongings on the boat. A cold beer in the heat of Mexico while waiting for the bus is always a great idea in my opinion! The Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, one of Mexico's largest parks, covers more than 1 million acres of coastal jungle or about 20 percent of the state of Quintana Roo's land. Note that we paid $1000/person, including kids ages 7 and up. I can imagine that this would be such a fun experience for kids of that age. Just a quick message to say thank you. Unfortunately it was too windy to go for the boat ride but the board-walk and ruins were nice. We will let you know when there are any changes regarding the prices. We are in Tulum now, and planning to do Sian Ka-an one day, via Muyil. From there follow road 15 (Ruta 15), which is a . These tours of the marine side of Sian Kaan use small boats in attempts to get passengers up close to nature in wildlife. This area of Mexico is filled with mystique and the lack of clear info of transport certainly adds to that! . Ive been hearing pretty consistent reports of $600 pesos, so thats a bit discouraging. (Takes 1 minute.). If youre unsure which part of Sian Kaan to visit, this is the one I would recommend. This is an amazing contribution to the DIY travelers! A bit simple at the dock perhaps, but good enough. Thanks a lot for your advice! There was a couple of your groups bringing people down to use the boats and do the trip. I have one question I am going on this trip with a large family, and we may have more than 6 people interested in joining this part. it was a great experience. Adventure Tours. Its important to locate this particular ruin because it is behind El Castillo where you find the nature trail and boardwalk to the entrance to Sian Kaan Biosphere and the boat docks. Yet the biggest benefit to going on any Sian Kaan tour is the local knowledge youll receive from local experts. Thanks. The entrance to the Ruins have indeed changed to 40 pesos/person. Thats what prompted us to write this in the first place and were so happy to hear that its helping people to find this interesting place in the world. I was able to directly contact a boat operator for the tour from Muyil but he was charging off his website 700 pesos. . Recommended option Tour, bus 3h 40m Take a shuttle bus from Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve to Playa del Carmen The highway in Costa Rica was by far worse! Hope it works out. Itll be so nice to do this on our own. Buy a ticket from the ticket counter (not on the bus) and ask for a ticket to Muyil. Regarding your question I am not aware of any boat from Akumal to Punta Allen. I'm not planning on hiring a car and therefore wondering what is the best way to get there? Hope you had a wonderful time enjoying Sian Kaan! Yes, we also found it peculiar strange that there wasnt much information about Sian Kaan and no one seemed to know anything about it in the area. There is a bus leaving from there every day at 2pm. We skipped Sian Kaan last time because of the $$$ price. ! We are going to the Cancun area next month (our 2nd time). There are a few fishing lodges in Punta Allen and prices vary. They have taken over the temple cash desk for their marketing. This rickety tower allows you to see well above the jungle canopy. Its been on the cooler side this week and I get easily cold in the water. Thanks so much for stopping back by with the helpful added info. In Tulum go to the itour agency in front of the supermarket. We visited Dec 2022, entry to the ruins was 65 pesos pp and boat trip was 1000 pesos pp which we booked and paid for at the ticket desk of the archaeological site. As development began to encroach around the region, a nature reserve was created in 1982. Soon, we will be back again look forward to having more time to see Quintana Roo. The rate probably wont be fixed (for a foreigner) but expect to pay about $30 (US$1.55). There does seem to be tiny bit of wiggle room possible to negotiate with larger groups. And we did the full tour (with the floating etc). The knowledge that Aldo was able to share with us was invaluable. Good to know! Will edit this post again to reflect that. But, with almost no development within the boundaries, theres a good chance of seeing something of interest, whichever part of Sian Kaan you end up visiting. Also, we always love to inspire travel, so thanks for sharing our site with your daughter! We had a great time and nothing went missing. However, upon arrival (11am) we were told that on that day no more boats would leave and that we would have to make a reservation for the next day (or later). With picturesque landscapes full of animals like jaguars, manatees, and vultures, the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve is a stunning World Heritage Site close to Tulum. Although Muyil is on the left, youll see signs for Muyil on the right soon before approaching the archaeological site. This place is not crowded at all, we may be encountered 20 people the whole morning. Spot on! There are also lots of colectivos driving past that will give you a lift. And glad to hear you had a good trip, despite sinking into mud and hopping gates, haha! And did you get a sense that they might overlap the trips so that it would be possible for us to do the float through the canals together (lets say, if like 10 people wanted to do it together)? Thank you for the information. Instead, consider a natural insect repellent like this plant-based Repelthat works well for us at keeping those mosquitos away. Dont get dehydrated. Always glad we could help a fellow traveler. Half-Day Tour Discovering Sian Kaan with Lunch. Hola Daniel! Great article, thanks for writing all this up! We did the Muyil boat with self drive from Tulum. Great! You can see some of the great options here: None of the tours is particularly cheap, and thats partly because youre paying for comfortably private transfers and a guide. We thought it well worth the trip and it was a nice time of day to do it. Now, another $200, yikes. Its relaxing and its fun. They encourage you to do the boat first and ruins after. A word of warning to other parents about the lifejacket situation. We didnt take him up on the offer, we had no plans of spending that much time at this site. Big thumbs up for the structure and details of it. 1 H 19 M Go. Woke up early enough to get to Muyil by 9:30. It was so helpful. That goes for sunscreen as well. Its nice to hear that the seemingly higher cost of the boat trip helps with the preservation of this special place, especially the canal. So nice to have options. It was really helpful. Thanks for your input. Hi Cathy, Thank you for the comment and sharing your experience. Thanks so much for this post. This is where you pay a Sian Kaan entrance fee of $50 pesos, per person, to enter the boardwalk, known as El Sendero Canan-Ha, or the Canan-Ha trail.. Thanks for the heads-up. We took an extra 50 pesos to tip our boat guide though there was no pressure to do this. Check prices and availability at Las Palapas de Punta Allen. Although Muyil is one of the best (and only) places from which to explore Sian Kaan, theres only so much you can do on your own. Shortly after passing through the Mayan Arch (Arco Maya), youll have officially entered Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve. Glad you were able to enjoy the boat trip despite the price hike. Im interested to find out if the price goes back down to 700 on a different day! Going back to town it was very easy to hail a colectivo and this one just charged us 30 pesos luckily. To get from Cancun airport to Sian Kaan, youll first need to travel towards Tulum. when i asked friends here for different price options that the agencies offer, it goes back to different level of comfort or prestations. Thanks for stopping back by with the feedback! We requested entrance for 2 and were told it would be 700 pesos and that wed have to wait for an open boat between tour groups. The other consideration is, when you leave the boat to swim in the lazy river,all your belongings are left unattended as the guy leaves the boat to meet you at the end point. For instance, did you do a float down the canals? Answer 1 of 7: Contemplating a trip to either one in Nov. Walk to ruins and to Sain Kaan as described and we paid our $50 pesos to enter. Travel insurance Its a good idea to have travel insurance, not only for a trip to Sian Kaan but for any trip throughout Mexico. Particularly since some time has past since our last visit. Have a great trip! Thanks for the advice and tips really helpful. Perhaps its because its or a larger group or because its peak season. Its been $600 steady for the past four years straight. Everything is exactly as described, except the entrance fee to the Muyil ruins is now 50 pesos. To get to Punta Allen, I would recommend this day trip, although there are a few other options here: The easier (and cheaper) tour option is to Muyil, and I think this is also where youll find a more interesting variety of things to see. In this post, were giving detailed directions on how to get to Sian Kaan using two different routes and various transportation options. We have been going to Akumal for 30 years and this was he first time we had ever gone to Sian Ka'an. Today, April 19, we went out to see Muyil and do the 2 hr boat ride. My husband and I visited Sian Kaan last week and followed your directions to the letter. This whole tour would cost only a little bit more if you are enough people (preferably six). So glad to hear this was helpful! Still, it seems there are a few who do speak English and provide more of a proper tour but its luck of the draw. That is wonderful, as it hasnt always been the case in our experience. FINDING THE SIAN KA'AN BIOSPHERE RESERVE. Its disappointing to hear. We got there at 8:00 and were back to our car at 12:00. Like many others, we followed your instructions and enjoyed it immensely. But small group tours include the convenience of hotel pickup, snacks or meals, drinks, entrance fees, etc. Perhaps you had some children in your party? Bring it with you or purchase it at the convenience store across the highway from Muyil. Thank you for this great advice! After doing the tour of Sian Kaan, we went back to Muyil and then walked to the observation tower and then back to Muyil again. We are heading down there in a few days, and it will be ou first trip without guided tours. We hope that youre enjoying your time in beautiful Mexico! at least visitor guide you would have a guide who speaks something else than spanisn. Visited the ruins and forest today, April 1st, enjoyed the trip. We had goggles and snorkels, but only saw a handful of fish not worth bringing the gear. So if you are coming on the peak season try to book in advance (I dont know if this is at all possible). Yes, the boat men are there seven days a week ready to take people out through the lagoon and to the canal float. Since its high season we were nervous about getting a boat without a reservation and I guess we got lucky.
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