Cenote Dos Ojos
Two Linked Sinkholes (The Two Eyes) Opening Into One Of The Longest Underwater Cave Systems In The World, With Crystal Water For Snorkelling The Lit Cavern, A Bat Cave And Certified Cave Diving. A Private Park With A Fee And A Guide For The Snorkel Circuit, A Half Day Stop Between Tulum And Playa Del Carmen, And Busiest At Midday · Tulum, Quintana Roo
Dos Ojos, the Two Eyes, is a pair of round sinkholes joined underground, about 25 km north of Tulum on the Riviera Maya highway. It is part of one of the longest flooded cave systems on earth, yet most visitors only see the shallow, lit part: clear, blue water at about 25 C, stalactites hanging from low ceilings and shafts of sun dropping into the caverns. A guide leads the snorkel circuit, which includes the Barbie line, a rope that marks the way through the cave, and a dark side chamber where bats roost. Certified divers can book deeper cave dives with a qualified guide, but this is not a place to try cave diving untrained. It is a private park with an entry fee, a car park, changing rooms and a small cafe. It suits swimmers, snorkellers and anyone who has never seen a flooded cave, and it is worth a half-day if you arrive early. It is less rewarding at midday, when tour buses fill the water, and if you only want a quick swim without a guide, Gran Cenote near Tulum is the easier alternative.
Cenote Dos Ojos, a cave-diving and snorkelling cenote on the Riviera Maya highway about 25 km north of Tulum; coordinates approximate, Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
The park is usually open daily during daylight hours, commonly from about 8 in the morning to late afternoon, and last entry is earlier than closing time. Confirm current times locally, because they shift by season. Entry is NOT free: the fee is commonly MXN 400-700, roughly USD 22-40, and guide, life jacket, snorkel and locker hire may be extra. Nothing at the site is free except the car park in some seasons. The cave dives and the snorkel circuit run in scheduled groups and can be CLOSED after heavy rain, when the water turns murky, so call ahead in the wet months.