Cenote Zací Tours

Cenote Zací tour options

Zací is the easy one: you can walk to it from your hotel in Valladolid or add it to a morning cenote circuit. It suits a short break from sightseeing.

A tour would typically combine it with Suytun or Dzitnup, or with a visit to the town's historic sites.

Zací is the best answer for travellers who say they do not want to drive anywhere. Even a short visit between lunch and an afternoon walk is enough.

What Cenote Zací is like

Zací is a wide cavern with a hole in the roof and stalactites hanging above the pool. The water is deep in places, and visitors enter by stairs. Local history links the name to a Maya settlement that preceded the colonial town.

It has a more built-up, park-like surrounding than most cenotes, with a path and a small restaurant.

Local tradition says that Zací was the Maya name of the settlement on which Valladolid was built. The cenote lies inside a walled park and has a large cavern with stalactites and a deep pool, partly open to the sky. Birds fly in and out of the cave.

The park has a small restaurant, a handful of craft stalls and cleaner facilities than many rural sites.

Cenote Zací tour itinerary

A town-centred morning.

• 09:00 Walk from the plaza to Zací
• 09:15 Swim
• 10:30 Coffee and a stroll
• 11:30 Convent of San Bernardino de Siena
• 13:00 Lunch in the centre

Cenote Zací tour prices

Zací is the cheapest cenote entry in the area.

Swimming at Cenote Zací: rules & facilities

Life jackets may be available, so check on arrival. The steps down are wet, and the pool floor is uneven.

Rules are posted at the entrance. Swimming is normally allowed, but check on the day because water conditions and maintenance can change. A shower before swimming is required.

Stairs are steep in places, so people with limited mobility may find them tiring.

Best time to visit Cenote Zací

Late mornings are quieter than mid-afternoon in the heat. The cenote stays cool all year.

Go early or late to avoid the middle of the day, when tour groups arrive. A swim here makes a cool break during a hot afternoon of sightseeing.

The cenote is usually open daily, but hours differ, so we confirm them.

Nearby cenotes & sites

The Convent of San Bernardino de Siena and Calzada de los Frailes are a short walk away. Suytun, Oxman and Dzitnup lie a short drive out of town.

Valladolid is also a launching pad for Chichén Itzá and Ek Balam.

The Convent of San Bernardino de Siena and Calzada de los Frailes make a short walk. The market, the plaza and the church of San Servacio are also in the centre.

For more swimming, Suytun and Dzitnup are a short drive.

• Convent of San Bernardino de Siena
• Calzada de los Frailes
• Suytun and Oxman
• Dzitnup cenotes

Cenote Zací FAQs