{"id":908,"date":"2021-12-16T22:20:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T22:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catmantravels.com\/?p=908"},"modified":"2025-09-05T06:51:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T06:51:36","slug":"vacation-in-the-maldives-of-mexico-bacalar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catmantravels.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/16\/vacation-in-the-maldives-of-mexico-bacalar\/","title":{"rendered":"Vacationing in the Maldives of Mexico – Bacalar!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to our Mexico 2021 series, where I will be blogging about our month-long trip to Mexico, where we spent time in Bacalar, Mahahual, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, and Mexico City!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s start this series off with our first ten days, where we spent time in Bacalar & Mahahual!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had an early morning flight from Chicago O’hare airport to the Chetumal airport. One-way tickets were only $115 per person with a short layover in Miami. The total flight time was approximately 6 hours, and as we flew in, we had incredible views of the lagoon and its insane colors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bacalar is often called the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Maldives of Mexico<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Lagoon of Seven Colors\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/strong>, by the locals because it is a paradise with crystalline waters and different shades of blue.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The entry into Chetumal was quick and easy and we only had carry-on bags so we quickly stepped out of the airport, forgetting to exchange our dollars for pesos. TRIP MISTAKE #1. We negotiated with a taxi driver down the road to take us to Bacalar and settled on a price of 400 pesos ($20 USD) which sounded great to us and we also asked the driver if he takes credit cards which he did, so we hopped in the taxi. I would later come to find out that he actually charged us almost $60 (3x the agreed price) on our AMEX card so we ended up disputing the charge and getting all our money back and it ended up being a free ride because he tried to cheat us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Journey from Chetumal Airport to Bacalar is approximately 40mins long.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Aside from being scammed as soon as we landed on the ground, the ride was very enjoyable and the driver dropped us off in the main town square of Bacalar. We were hungry from our half-day of traveling, so we searched for some food. A tiny restaurant named Mr. Taco<\/a> caught our eyes because it was so busy so we grabbed a table when we saw another couple leave. Mr. Taco would become one of our go-to places in Bacalar because the food was so good and the drinks were equally amazing. The prices were also very reasonable as all our meals were between $10-$15. 10\/10 would recommend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ceviche!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The best fish tacos I’ve ever eaten!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

After we filled our empty stomachs, we headed to our hotel. We booked our first night’s stay at Hotel Aires Bacalar for ~$70 USD because it was downtown and convenient. We only booked one night here, despite amazing reviews, because we wanted to stay somewhere with private access to the lagoon. Although Bacalar does have two public piers, they can get pretty busy. That’s not to say Hotel Aires Bacalar wasn’t amazing because it was!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our favorite parts about Hotel Aires include:
* Convenient location in downtown Bacalar!
* Amazing reception
* Big, beautiful, clean rooms with great shower water pressure!
* A rooftop patio with hammocks you can lay on with a view of the lagoon!
* Free vegetarian breakfast!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, we packed up our bags and moved to a different stay I had booked on Airbnb: Tucan Village Bacalar<\/a>
We booked a three-night stay in a small bungalow on the property (There are 4 bungalows total that vary in price depending on the size). The total cost for our stay was around $240 USD or ~$80 per night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What we loved about Tucan Village Bacalar:
* Amazing views! Amazing sunrise and sunsets!
* You get a private dock and access to the lagoon!
* Kayaks and bicycles are free for use!
* There are only 4 bungalows on the entire property so we rarely ever saw any other guests!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we didn’t like:
It’s about 10-15 minutes from downtown Bacalar and there aren’t any nearby restaurants so we had to take a taxi. Still, each trip only cost us about 70 pesos or $3.50 USD a trip if we wanted to explore or grab something to eat in town but that is the price you pay for seclusion so we can’t really complain. We did bike into town one night but the roads weren’t the greatest which made the 25-minute bike ride not as enjoyable as it could be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For the next 3 days, we spent our days hanging out on the hammock on the private deck and going on kayak rides.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We also booked a private 4-hour pontoon tour of the lagoon for $100 for the two of us. The guide took us to all the sites of interest around Bacalar and although he didn’t speak English, we got by with google translate and thoroughly enjoyed our time out in the lagoon! Did I mention that the colors of the lagoon are insane?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Almost every afternoon, we would catch a taxi, ride into town for dinner, and explore the downtown area. There was always something going on, not to mention the abundance of food and dessert carts. We explored the local Bacalar fort and caught a free concert one night, and on another night we caught the local Christmas celebration festival where there was a live play for the locals! Another restaurant we can recommend in Bacalar is Navieros Bacalar<\/a>! They serve delicious fresh seafood! I highly recommend the Arroz Marinero (Seafood with Rice) and their whole fried fish! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On our very last day at Tucan Village, we went on a sunrise kayak adventure where we went to the infamous abandoned hotel, which was super eerie! If you’re wondering why the lagoon has such magnificent colors, it’s because Lake Bacalar is home to an ancient population of stromatolites that are around 3.5 billion years old (seen below on the right). The stromatolites resemble cauliflower \u00e2\u20ac\u201c big, pillowy beige structures that grow upwards from the lagoon’s limestone bottom of the lake. They look like rocks, but they are actually living things. The sediment layers itself with the aid of photosynthesizing organisms called cyanobacteria until the structures turn into a rocky underwater growth that can be seen on the surface of shallow water. The cauliflower-like stromatolites only still exist in a few locations globally and Bacalar’s population reveals history frozen in time, such as the temperature or the geochemical composition of the water millions of years ago. (source<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After our final morning of exploring the lagoon with our kayak, we packed our bags and took a taxi downtown to the ADO bus station, where we booked a bus to take us to Mahahual<\/a>, a fishing village on the Riviera Maya coast. The journey was a little over 1 hour, and the ticket per person was around 120 pesos or $6 each. We booked two nights at Aquastar Unique Hotel and Apartments<\/a> for an amazing price of $37 per night! We spent the next two days relaxing by the pool, enjoying the beach, and eating local food! Mahahual is a cruise port, so it can get busy with tourists during the day, but we still enjoyed our time here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Plus, we discovered the best vegan restaurant at Tierra Verde Organic Vegan Restaurant<\/a>, and that’s coming from two meat lovers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After two days in Mahahual, we once again headed back to Bacalar for our final three days in the region, so once again, we hopped on the bus to downtown Bacalar and then, from there, we grabbed a taxi to the southernmost part of the Bacalar Lagoon called Xul-Ha<\/a> at a placed called Bacalar Sunrise Villa<\/a>. We booked a two-night stay for ~$55 per night. Below is a map to understand the areas we stayed in during our time in Bacalar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The area of Xul-Ha is even more secluded and tranquil than the first two hotels we stayed at, so if all you want to do is relax, I would highly recommend the Bacalar Sunrise Villa. Again, we soaked in as much of the lagoon as we could for our final two days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bacalar Sunrise Villa was a dream!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I should note that there are no restaurants in Xul-ha! At least not any that we could find, so we went grocery shopping and cooked our food instead, which turned out to be a nice change of pace! Most other guests did the same. However, the stay does include complimentary breakfast, so we only had to worry about making our lunch and dinners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fresh produce and we made homemade spaghetti and ramen noodles!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our week and a half in Bacalar flew by in the blink of an eye. We felt so relaxed and rested towards the end of our time here that we were ready to continue our adventures in central Mexico. On our very last day, the hotel arranged for a taxi to bring us to the airport and catch our flight to Mexico City. We flew with Viva Aerobus, and the one-hour journey from Chetumal to CDMX cost us around $65 USD per person. We plan on taking a bus from CDMX to San Miguel de Allende and spending the next few days exploring the #1 voted best small city in the world!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the cost breakdown for our week in Bacalar and Mahahual:
Flights (ORD to CTM): $233.42
Hotel night 1 (Hotel Aires): $70
Hotel nights 2-5 (Tucan Village): $242.41
Private 4 hour pontoon tour: $100
Hotel nights 5-7 (Aquastar hotel Mahahual): $74
Hotel nights 8-10 (Bacalar Sunrise Villa): $156.39
Food and snacks: $200
Transportation (Taxis and Buses): $75
Flights (CTM to MEX): $130.87<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Total cost for two adults: $1,282.09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catch you in the next blog!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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