Celestún
Reserva De La Biosfera (CONANP) · Celestún, Yucatán
A quiet fishing town on the Gulf of Mexico coast of Yucatan, about ninety minutes west of Merida, at the mouth of a long mangrove estuary that is a biosphere reserve. Thousands of American flamingos feed in the shallow water in winter, and the same birds breed at Rio Lagartos on the north coast in summer, so the two reserves are the same flocks at different times of year. Small boats leave from the bridge into the estuary and pass the flamingo flats, a stand of mangrove killed by salt and bleached to silver trunks, and a tunnel of roots leading to a freshwater spring called the Ojo de Agua where you can swim. Isla de Pajaros, the town beach at sunset and plates of fresh octopus and crab round out the day. Peak flamingo numbers run from roughly November to March; outside that window there may be very few, and the Gulf beach is grey-green and windy rather than Caribbean, so come for birds, not for swimming.
Puente de Celestún, Ría Celestún, Celestún, Yucatán, 97367, Mexico
⚠ FLAMINGO BOATS LEAVE FROM THE CELESTÚN BRIDGE AND BEACH through the day and are PRICED PER BOAT FOR UP TO ABOUT SIX - share it. A CONANP reserve fee applies. ⚠ PEAK FLAMINGO NUMBERS ARE ROUGHLY NOVEMBER TO MARCH; outside that window there may be very few, as the birds breed at Río Lagartos in summer. ⚠ GO IN THE MORNING - the wind builds by midday, and winter nortes can cancel boats. ⚠ DO NOT LET THE BOAT CHASE THE FLOCK. ⚠ CROCODILES ARE PRESENT - swim only where the boatmen stop. ⚠ HOURS AND PRICES NOT VERIFIED FOR THIS FILE.