Top Things to do in Valladolid
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What to do and see in Valladolid, Yucatan: The Best Hidden Gems Things to do
Discover the best top things to do in Valladolid, Mexico including Casa de los Venados, Ichi Birding Tours, Zazil Tunich, Cenote Samula, Hacienda San Lorenzo Oxman, Cenote Maya Park, Cenote Palomitas.
Restaurants in Valladolid
1. Casa de los Venados
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,054 reviews
Reviewed By lgmountford - Calgary, Canada
Instead of group tours, they are conducting private tours with your own group of cohorts. What a fascinating and fabulous place to visit and to make a donation to a very worthy cause. The owners have opened their private home and private collection of Mexican art to anybody who wants to visit and only ask for a modest donation that goes towards local charities. It is impossible to absorb everything and only one visit as there is so much of interest to look at. A big shout out to the owners for their vision and generosity.
2. Ichi Birding Tours
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 100 reviews
My name is Ismael Arellano Ciau, but my nickname is Ichi. I am a professional guide specialized in bird watching and nature in general, I will take you on an extraordinary adventure in the Mayan jungle to get to know the flora and fauna, as well as the Mayan communities that are around them.
3. Zazil Tunich
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 193 reviews
AN EXPERIENCE IN THE MAYAN UNDERWORLD Over millions of years, nature has sculpted works of art in Zazil Tunich Cave that the world can marvel at today. Twenty meters underground, a passage leads for 200 meters into the depths of the cave. Along 80 meters of the path, you’ll see stunning stalactites and stalagmites then you’ll enter XIBALBA where there is a sacred cenote with shallow, crystal-clear waters. Before you reach the pool, you’ll pass through the Crossing of the BESO MAYA (Mayan Kiss) formed by the capricious tilt of a giant stalagmite and the CUEVA DEL ALUX (Guardian of the Caves), next to the platform of the LORDS OF XIBALBA, the Mayan Underworld. You are embarking on a journey, an unforgettable experience in the Maya Underworld that is full of tranquility, mysticism and awe at nature’s creation. Caves and cenotes were holy places in Mayan mythology and considered gateways to the home of the gods.
Reviewed By Mykatravels
Our trip to Zazil Tunich was worth every penny! The tour itself provided the most historical and spiritual context I’ve encountered thus far. The cenote itself was large, with many unique formations and plenty of room to swim. Even the grounds outside of the cenote were impeccably maintained. However, the highlight was truly the staff. I was having trouble with booking online, but was able to connect with the staff through WhatsApp and they had our tour scheduled within minutes. I could’ve asked for a better all around experience, and would recommend Zazil Tunich to anyone traveling the area!
4. Cenote Samula
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 599 reviews
Reviewed By mariaalicen2015 - Sao Paulo, Brazil
The cenote is located in a place where there is another cenote (the entrance fee is 125 pesos for the two of them) and the place is great - located in a very peaceful area, with bathrooms available (not the cleanest ones though). The water is great to swim, you just need to be careful and ask where you can swim since some parts are a big more shallow. The water is in a good temperature and just a beautiful thing to see. I went there at the end of the day - around 15:30- and there were very few people.. which made me enjoy it even more. I definitely recommend it! Tip: some guy/girl at the entrance may offer to take you to the cenotes and stick with you for the whole time, waiting for a tip. Don’t accept it: he/she will only disturb your experience, since you won’t be able to stay in the cenotes as long as you would really like to.
5. Hacienda San Lorenzo Oxman
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 280 reviews
Beautiful town hacienda from 1746. Marvel at the beautiful blue cenote waters is excellent for swimming and relaxing by the songs of birds and their beautiful surroundings. We service restaurant and bar where you can meet some of the local cuisine at very reasonable prices. If you have kids do not think, because we have pool and palapas just next to the cenote where we sure will spend a very pleasant day.
Reviewed By LuanaBiddulph
My husband and I visited the Oxman Cenote in Feb. 2020 as part of a day tour that also included Chichen Itza, a Mayan cultural center and the village of Valladolid. This was one of the coolest tours we have been on, and we would love to bring our kids back and do it again! The Oxman Cenote was definitely a highlight. It was unlike anything we had ever seen before, and was incredibly beautiful and fascinating, and a must-see for visitors to the Yucatan peninsula, especially if you come as far as Chichen Itza. We were staying in Playa del Carmen, so it made for a long day, but was so worth it, and we would do it again in a heartbeat! The hacienda is an unexpected little oasis set back off the beaten path and through the jungle, but not too far from Chichen Itza, and DEFINITELY worth the trip. The hacienda as a whole was both very charming and very clean, and had all the needed amenities—bathrooms, changing rooms, food & drinks, and even a beautiful swimming pool. The cenote itself is deep down in the ground, and you can get an awesome view of it from above before descending down the steps on the inside. (Pictures don’t do it justice.) Once down inside the cenote, you feel like you’re in some kind of jungle adventure movie, with the damp stony walls, the deep blue-green water and the jungle vines hanging down everywhere. Although there were several people there, it didn’t feel crowded at all. There are free life jackets to use (recommended) of all sizes, and there were plenty available. You can enter the water either from steps that go right down to the water, or be more adventurous and use the awesome jungle rope swing (recommended!) and swing out from a platform over the water and let go. (It kind of makes you feel like Tarzan!) The water is a little on the cool side, but definitely refreshing—especially after a hot morning at Chichen Itza. It was all absolutely perfect, until we had a little mishap. But read on…it all ended better than we could’ve hoped for! I jumped in first, from the rope swing, while my husband took a video of me. Then he jumped in from the rope swing, with my iPhone in a waterproof phone pouch, with the strap wrapped around his wrist and clutching the pouch the best he could in his hand (not recommended!). When he hit the water, the impact was hard enough that it broke the pouch off the strap, knocked the pouch out of his hand, and what we thought was a floating pouch sank down, down, down, complete with all the pictures from our whole Mexico trip and also my heart (this happened one day before we came home). And ironically, my photo cloud backup had not been working right since we had come to Mexico, so none of those pictures were backed up. I’m not sure why we didn’t think through that whole scenario before jumping into a 260 foot deep body of water, but I think we were too excited about how cool the place was and wanting to capture it all on camera. (We recommend you do that from the side, not from the rope swing!) We borrowed a snorkel mask from someone, frantically searching for the phone and hoping that maybe it would float up like it was supposed to, but with no luck. Our guide and the workers at the cenote were sympathetic and all tried their best to help us, but without scuba gear, the water was too deep to go down and search, and the phone didn’t turn up. Unfortunately we spent the rest of our time there searching and trying to figure out what to do, so we didn’t get to enjoy the rest of the hacienda like we would have liked to do (another reason to go back!). Finally it was time for our tour to leave, so all we could do was leave our contact info, in case by some miracle my phone showed up, and we were given the cenote owner’s phone number and email address. The next day on our way to the airport, we called and spoke to Juan Pablo, the owner, to see if by chance it had turned up, but still nothing. He asked me to email him when I got home, so I did. He told me they send divers down once a month to clean out the cenote, and that he would have them look for my phone the next time they did. But with as big as the cenote was, and with as much as things settle in the fine sediment down that deep, and with a waterproof pouch that first of all wasn’t rated for that deep, and second, definitely wasn’t rated for underwater protection for that long, we knew it was a long shot. About three weeks after we returned home from Mexico, we got the happy news that one of the divers cleaning out the cenote had found my phone. My phone was passcode protected, but he charged it to see if it would still even turn on, and it did. The phone seemed to be in perfect condition, although the pouch was completely destroyed. They found it at about 200 feet deep, so all we can figure is that the pressure that deep must have been so much that it basically vacuum packed my phone in the pouch—destroying the pouch, but protecting my phone from the water for three weeks. But even more remarkable than my phone being found and in perfect condition was the fact that everyone was so honest about it and intent on returning it to me. Juan Pablo paid about $60 (US) up front to send my phone via Intl. FedEx Express from Mexico to the US, even though he didn’t know me and had no way to know if I would really reimburse him. Then he sent me a picture of the FedEx package with its labels (addressed to me, and with the cenote’s return address) and the tracking number and shipping receipt. Within about four days of that, I had my phone back, miraculously in perfect condition, and complete with all the pictures from our Mexico trip! (Told you it had a happy ending! And of course I reimbursed him, with some extra as a thank you.) So not only was the cenote itself absolutely incredible and one of the coolest places we have ever been, but also Juan Pablo, the owner, is honest, kind, helpful, and has given us some of the best customer service of anywhere we’ve been. He and his staff definitely went above and beyond in helping us with a mishap that was entirely our own fault, and thanks to them, our story had a very happy ending, and now we have our Mexico trip photos to enjoy for years to come so we can remember all our great adventures! The Oxman Cenote is definitely worth checking out with the whole family (those who aren’t adventurous enough to get in the cenote water can just enjoy some lunch or the beautiful pool there!) Go visit this cenote, not just because it is an amazing place, but also to support the awesome locals that own and work there. They have earned our trust and loyalty, and we hope it’s not too long before we can return with our kids to show them this unique hidden gem!
6. Cenote Maya Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 370 reviews
Reviewed By Hunnfam
A unique experience! We enjoyed learning about the cenote from our guide JJ. Had a blast rappelling and zip lining. Highly recommend this excursion!
7. Cenote Palomitas
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 180 reviews
Reviewed By Melco360 - Switzerland, null
When we visited the place we had it for ourselves, what an experience! It is really a place worth a visit and spending time.
