The town of Bacalar and the beautiful lagoon of the same name, also known as the lagoon of 7 colours, is a must-see when you are in Mexico. The town is located near the border with Belize and is one of the Pueblo Magico – Magical Town. A cobbled centre with a park in the middle, restaurants offering tasty dishes and small shops selling local products. You won’t see too many tourists there, and life in the town goes on at a slow pace.

The Bacalar Lagoon is actually a beautiful blue lake, the second largest freshwater lake in Mexico. The lagoon is close to the Caribbean Sea, but is not connected to it in any way. You can swim in the shallow water without worrying about the waves. There are no large sandy beaches here, but instead you can use the many platforms and the popular Cocalitos beach club. It is situated right next to the cenote Cocalitos. The Mayans called the Bacalar Lagoon the place where the sky is born and after our visit it’s hard to disagree with this name.

In Bacalar we have a little love-hate relation, we liked very much the boat excursion which we have bought at one of piers. While the second attraction very popular among tourists and locals has left a little bitter aftertaste.

#1 Boat trip

Lake Bacalar and a boat tour of the beautiful lagoon is definitely our highlight in Bacalar.
Hook up with one of the local guides who will not only show you the most beautiful spots on the lake such as the cenotes, birds island or Canal de los Piratas, but will also share their knowledge of these places and the animals that inhabit them.
During our trip we visited five places:

• Cenote Negro
• Cenote Cocalitos
• Cenote Esmeralda
• Isla de los pájaros
• Canal de los piratas

In several places we had the opportunity to jump into the refreshing water of a beautiful turquoise colour. The water is warm and incredibly clear, with different shades of blue, from very dark blue, almost black as in Cenote Negro, to a beautiful turquoise in Canal de los Piratas. This is due to the different depths of the lagoon, in some places the depth reaches 90m, in others it is only a metre. The sand in the lake is mainly white, calcareous thanks to which the lake has such a beautiful colour. The colour of water is also influenced by the water level, which we have already mentioned, it is low in many places, which allows to see exactly the bottom and therefore it is suitable also for children.

We bought our tour from Reventour Bacalar  and it cost us 300 pesos per person.

#2 Kayak

If you don’t want to take the boat trip in a group and want more freedom, you can rent a kayak. The price per hour is about $9 (200 pesos), but remember that it will take you more than an hour to get to all the places on the lake, so in the end it will cost you more than a guided boat tour.

#3 Cocalitos Beach Club

A place eagerly visited by tourists. Since Lake Bacalar does not have a coastline with beautiful sandy beaches, the beach club is a great place to chill out by the shore, swing on a swing or hang out in the lagoon.

#4 Los Rapidos Bacalar

Here begins our love-hate relationship.

The place itself is beautiful, the colour of the water is magnificent, but to get there you have to prepare yourself for not small expenses. First of all Los Rapidos is a restaurant by the lagoon, so to enter the restaurant area you have to pay an entrance fee of $7 (150 pesos) per person. If you want to leave your things in the locker, it is another $2.50 (50 pesos)  plus 50 pesos deposit. In order to sit at a table there is a minimum consumption, which was not small either. If you want to rent a kayak for two people, be prepared to pay the staggering sum of $18 (400 pesos) per hour. Therefore, unfortunately in this place we felt squeezed like lemons and this, among other things, left a bitter aftertaste

Los Rapidos is also a place where stromatolites are common, which look like round rocks but in fact are layers of bacteria that are millions of years old and produce oxygen. Everywhere there are signs to not walk on them, but there is absolutely no other possibility to get into water.

Unfortunately the owners of the facility look only at profits, completely disregarding nature. However, when you manage to get to water and swim with the current, it is really a great experience.

Getting to Bacalar is of course possible with a hired car, but as always we chose the cheapest option, which is to take the ADO bus that leaves from cities such as Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cancun. We took our bus from Tulum and it cost us $15 each.

To get around Bacalar itself you will have to take a taxi in case you did not rent a car.

Since we were only in Bacalar for a short time, we did not visit many restaurants.

• Savora Bakhalal | Delicious Pizza and Ceviche

We stayed at the beautiful Baona Bacalar and can highly recommend it.

The best time to visit Bacalar is during the dry season between December and April. The coolest months are between December and February, but the temperature can still reach averages of 28 degrees.

Los Rapidos is open from 10am, if you arrive by taxi we advise you to arrive a few minutes after 10am as the owners like to be late and it is about 2km from the entrance gate to the restaurant. So if you don’t want to be left by the taxi driver at the gate and walk the 2km, we advise you to arrive when the gate is already open and you can easily drive to the entrance of the restaurant. But do not arrive too late to avoid the crowds.

The prices are per person, except for the accommodation and taxi, which we rent for 2 people.

Accommodation: $30 / night

Restaurant: $11 / meal

Snack: $3 – $6 / meal

Taxi: $4 / ride

Pleasure: $2 – $4 / event

Activity: $7 – $19 / event