Mexico’s Suytun Cenote: 21 Tips for the Best Visit and Photos
TRAVEL GUIDE: SUYTUN CENOTE IN MEXICO
I can’t decide if this looks like a set from “Indiana Jones” or “Tomb Raider,” but the Suytun Cenote is a natural wonder, and possibly the most Insta-famous of all cenotes in Mexico.
The Suytun Cenote is a favorite among the 5,000+ cenotes on the Yucatan Peninsula. It’s a little more than a one hour drive from Tulum, and is definitely worth a visit if you’re in this part of Mexico.
Cenotes are underground caves, or collapsed sinkholes, often surrounded by limestone rock.
In some cases, the roof has entirely caved-in, but the Suytun Cenote’s rock ‘roof’ is nearly entirely intact. The one hole above allows stunning rays of sunlight in to illuminate the blue water below.
1. Suytun Cenote’s Location
The Suytun Cenote is right near the colonial town of Valladolid, which makes a great “home base” for a few days to explore the Yucatan.
You can use this interactive map to check out hotel and rental options in Valladolid:
If you’re renting a car, here are the driving distances to the Suytun Cenote:
- 90 minutes northwest of Tulum (95 kilometers)
- 2 hours 20 minutes west of Cancun (165 kilometers)
- 2 hours 20 minutes east of Merida (165 kilometers)
- 1 hour 50 minutes west of Playa del Carmen (150 kilometers)
➡️ Great Hotel: Zentik Boutique Hotel, Valladolid
➡️ Great Hotel: Hotel Posada San Juan, Valladolid
2. Cost to Visit the Suytun Cenote
The cost to get into the Suytun Cenote is $150 Pesos, which fluctuates between $7 and $10 US dollars, depending on the conversion rate.
Bring cash to pay!
You can also rent a locker to throw your stuff in, but it’s just as easy to bring it all down into the cenote and leave it on one of the benches. (Not your passport or other important things, of course)
3. Take a Tour to Suytun Cenote
You don’t have to rent a car to visit the Suytun Cenote. You can take a tour from several cities and have someone else do all the driving.
The one thing to keep in mind if you take a tour: you’ll likely be arriving at the cenote during a busier time.
➡️ Book a Tour: Tulum or Cancun to Suytun Cenote, Chichen Itza, and Ik Kil
➡️ Book a Tour: Cancun to Suytun Cenote + Chichen Itza
➡️ Book a Tour: Cancun or Tulum to Suytun Cenote + Pink Lagoon
➡️ Book a Tour: Cancun or Tulum to Suytun + Oxman Cenotes (Private)
4. The Time Limit in the Cenote
The entrance fee allows you to stay underground in the cenote for exactly one hour. The staff will monitor your visit pretty closely and let you know when your time is up.
You can pay for a second hour, or even ask to rent the entire cenote for yourself if you’d like to take photos or video without others around. You can also ask to rent the Suytun Cenote for a private event.
5. Getting into the Suytun Cenote
After parking and paying at the booth, you’ll walk down a dirt path and enter the Suytun Cenote through a rock staircase, which takes you down through a tunnel. You’ll emerge on a wide, rocky ‘beach’ of sorts underground.
6. Safety and lifeguards in the Cenote
Lifeguards are on hand underground to monitor the crowd. The water is well over your head in spots, so lifejackets are mandatory if you go swimming. The staff is mostly on hand to try to move the line of people waiting to take photos along.
7. Suytun Cenote Instagram vs. Reality
While Instagram photos of the Suytun Cenote make it seem like it’s a secret spot where you can have a solitary, spiritual moment to yourself, the reality is quite different!
It’s always very crowded inside.
As for how to get the iconic Suytun Cenote platform photo? A line of people forms on the steps to take photos on the pier. It’s roped-off and organized.
Each person is given about a minute to scamper out quickly down the “runway” through the water to the platform to get their shots, before the lifeguard whistles and yells, “NEXT!”
You can go through the line as many times as you’d like, within your one hour time period.
8. Depth of the Water at Suytun Cenote
You can wade out pretty far from the rocky beach into the cenote, and the water only goes up to your waste.
Out toward the center of the Suytun Cenote, the water is said to be as deep as 16-feet in spots!
Water levels at the Suytun Cenote change depending on recent rainfall. The pier and the platform at the center are often dry and a few inches above the waterline. After rainier weeks, the platform may be entirely submerged.
9. Water Temperature in the Cenote
The water temperature at the Suytun Cenote stays a pretty steady 75 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 24 degrees Celsius.
10. The Best Time to Visit Suytun Cenote
While the Suytun Cenote is open from 9am to 5pm, try to get there early before the crowds and tour buses. You’ll get far more opportunities to walk the pier for photos.
A lot of people try to be underground in the denote when the rays of sunlight come beaming down through the hole in the rock ceiling.
It’s tough to time out exactly, and the rays of light will shift and move through the day. If the sun is shining, they’re most dramatic midday through the early afternoon. Whether the light shines directly down on the circular platform, or into the blue water behind it, the visuals are truly stunning.
11. Swimming and Diving Rules
There’s technically “no diving” allowed at the Suytun Cenote, but a lot of people take a plunge head-first off the circular platform in the middle.
Swimming is allowed, but again: you’ll have to wear a life vest (which is provided when you enter). It’s a rule the staff strictly enforces. They’ll scold you for not wearing your vest, and they’ll scold you for diving off the pier.
Also, the crowd in line for photos will revolt if you swim behind the people posing for photos on the platform, so think twice before you go floating behind their shots.
12. The Fish in the Suytun Cenote
You’re welcome to bring your own snorkeling gear to the cenote.
You’ll see schools of big, black catfish swimming around. The water is so clear, you don’t really need the goggles at all to spot the fish.
13. Keeping the Cenote Clean
Everyone has to shower before entering the Suytun Cenote.
They try to keep the water inside as clean as possible, so to avoid getting a sheen on the water’s surface, you’re asked to rinse off any body oils, hair products, and sunscreen before diving in.
They built a series of makeshift showers outside to use before and after you swim:
14. A second Cenote on Site
The site is home to a second, smaller cenote, which you can also visit.
It’s less impressive, and you can’t swim in it, but it’s worth checking out.
15. Staying at the Cenote
You can rent cabins onsite, take wedding photos on the pier, and more by contacting the owners of the Suytun Cenote.
16. Photography Inside the Suytun Cenote
While most people take photos on the pier from its base, some of the best shots are from the top of the staircase.
I prefer the wider shot from above, because it allows you (or your photographer) to capture the stalagmites and stalactites, plus the pier in the water.
There’s not much light inside the cenote, so the best photos will come from a longer exposure on a tripod.
Iphone and smartphone photos turn out beautifully, but grainy in the low-light conditions.
17. What to Bring to Suytun Cenote
I’d wear water shoes, and also bring a waterproof case for your phone.
They’ll have towels on hand, but it’s probably better to bring one of your own.
They also have plenty of life vests.
18. Suytun Cenote’s History
Ancient Mayans used cenotes for religious ceremonies and sacrificial offerings.
While the pier and circular platform at the Suytun Cenote might seem like they would’ve been part of an ancient ceremony (good or bad) the pier was actually built more recently by its modern-day owners.
More importantly, indigenous people in the region used cenotes as sources of fresh water.
19. Nearby: Chichen Itza
Mexico’s most famous ruins are less than an hour’s drive from the Suytun Cenote. The two sites would make for a great, combined full-day trip.
20. Nearby: Ek Balam
Ek Balam is a lesser-known set of ancient Mayan ruins, and they’re even closer than Chichen Itza.
The site is about a 40 minute drive north of the Suytun Cenote (around 35 kilometers).
➡️ Great Tour: Valladolid to Ek Balam and the Pink Lagoon
It’s far less crowded than Chichen Itza, and another major difference: visitors are allowed to scale all of the steps and climb all over to explore the ruins at Ek Balam.
21. Nearby: Cenote Oxman
The Suytun Cenote is close to a totally different cenote experience. Cenote Oxman is a short drive away. Its roof has completely collapsed, allowing tree roots to grow down into the water.
It’s a far less crowded, especially if you go early in the morning.
Cenote Oxman also features a rope swing you can use to plunge into the water. You’ll be swimming in the beautiful blue water alongside big catfish!
I’d also suggest staying at the hacienda on the property: Hacienda San Lorenzo. It’s a beautiful old home, and it includes special early access to the Oxman Cenote.
Wrap: Is the Suytun Cenote Worth It?
While the Suytun Cenote is more of a drive from Cancun and Tulum than some of the other cenotes in the region, it’s worth the drive if you’re going to also spend time at other nearby sites.
I really loved Ek Balam, and the city of Valladolid in general! It’s worth spending the night in this part of the Yucatan if you’re planning a trip to Cancun.
