Río Lagartos Tours: 10 to Build a Day On

1.Rio Lagartos & Las Coloradas Day Trip & Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 451 reviews · 12 hours - 1 day · from $104Our pick

Spend a long but rewarding day from Cancún visiting Río Lagartos and Las Coloradas. A bilingual guide such as José, Enrique, or Philippe leads the outing, while a local boat captain takes you through mangroves to spot flamingos, crocodiles, pelicans, and herons. You will also see pink salt ponds, try a Mayan clay bath, eat lunch, and swim at a beach.

“Las Colorados were a sight to see. Rio Lagartos was amazing especially in boats and food in the local restaurant. Hoped to see more flamingos but happy to have seen the few. Carlos was good and the local guides were also very nice.”

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2.Las Coloradas, Río Lagartos and Playa Cancunito Tour from Mérida

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 126 reviews · 13 hours (approx.) · from $119

Spend a full day on Yucatán’s northern coast with Viajes Colibrí Yucatán Tours. You’ll visit the pink salt ponds at Las Coloradas, swim at remote Playa Cancunito, cruise Río Lagartos by boat, watch for flamingos and crocodiles, enjoy a mud treatment, and eat lunch at Maleconcito Gourmet. The tour runs in English and Spanish and carries up to 18 people.

“Amaizing tour. Peter was a geat guide. It was better and more then I expected. The pelicans and flamenco are amaizing”

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3.Rio Lagartos & Las Coloradas Day Trip w/Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 118 reviews · 12 hours · from $104

Travel from Tulum, Playa del Carmen, or Riviera Maya to Rio Lagartos and Las Coloradas with a bilingual guide. You’ll cruise mangroves near flamingos and crocodiles, see pink salt ponds, try a Mayan clay bath, wash off at a beach, and enjoy a fish, chicken, or vegetarian lunch. Guides such as Jose, Noe, and Enrique have earned praise for making the long day informative and easygoing.

“The trip was amazing. Boat trip was very spectacular, the tour guy was very knowledgable about the river and all the animals that lives there. We saw different types of birds, and a crocodile. Mayan bath was such a fun then seeping in the clear waters of Gulf of Mexico. Lunch was very tasty too. We managed to see so much. Definitely worth taking the trip.”

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4.Las Coloradas Pink Lake & Rio Lagartos Guided Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 103 reviews · 12 to 14 hours (approx.) · from $144

Travel from Cancun to Las Coloradas and Rio Lagartos on a 12 to 14 hour shared tour. See salt lagoons, flamingos, crocodiles, mangroves, and a Mayan clay bath, with boat transport, lunch, bilingual guides, and hotel pickup. Guides such as Arturo, Pablo, and Mau have earned praise, but English commentary, pickup times, and vehicle comfort can vary.

“We’ve been to most of the attractions in the Cancun area so decided to take the long trip to Coloradas. The 3 attractions were great. But it was a long trip, made even longer because this operator took us from Cancun to Playa de Carmen before heading north. This added about 90 minutes to the trip each way. Overall our day was just under 15 hours and could have been 12 hours (for 5 hours at the attractions). Again, the attractions were great but you have to ready for a long ride and try to pick an operator that goes direct.”

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5.Rio Lagartos and Las Coloradas: Safari Flamingo Luxury

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 90 reviews · 3 hours

Spend three private hours with Captain Brandon, Guadalupe, Christian, or another licensed local guide in Río Lagartos. You will cruise mangroves, watch flamingos and crocodiles, visit Las Coloradas from the salt-factory side, try a Mayan clay exfoliation, and finish at a Gulf beach. The boat holds up to six people.

“I had an amazing experience on this tour! Everything was so well organized, and I truly enjoyed every moment. Our guide was excellent – extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and very attentive to everyone in the group. He made the whole experience even more enjoyable with his kindness and enthusiasm. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting, it was definitely a highlight of my trip!”

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6.Río Lagartos and Las Coloradas: Wildlife Natural Experience

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 88 reviews · 4 hours

Spend four private hours with a licensed local guide such as Guadalupe, Christian, or Brandon, watching flamingos, crocodiles, and birds by boat. You’ll also visit Las Coloradas, try a Mayan clay bath and fish spa, swim in a cenote and Gulf beach, with the pace adjusted to your group.

“The trip and especially the Funde Guadalup was excellent. with his experience we could see all the animals. He toll us many Information abiut the Living and soecial behaviour of the different animals Livingstone in the ria. I would recommend a trip at the morning.”

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7.Private Ría Lagartos Boat Tour: Flamingos & Crocodiles

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 84 reviews · 2.5 hours · from $75Best value

Cruise private boat routes through the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve with a certified guide such as Martín, Martín Jr., Kelvin, or Abram. Look for flamingos, crocodiles, pelicans, and rare birds, then try a traditional white-clay Mayan bath and rinse off at a quiet beach. Boats carry up to six people.

“This was MAGICAL! We had incredible luck and had the whole boat and our kind guide Kelvin all to ourselves - but even if we hadn’t, the boat only has six seats, so you can be sure of an intimate setting. The landscape in itself can blow your mind: we were gliding on mirror like waters among the mangroves, into the setting sun, only coming across very few other boats. But then it gets better: Kelvin turned out to be an expert in crocodiles and made us meet four or five of them - close-up! We could have touched them… if they weren’t so intimidating. 😉 Any question we had…”

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8.Discover the Fabulous Pink Waters at the Caribean (Las Coloradas+Río Lagartos)

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 53 reviews · 12 to 14 hours (approx.) · from $125

Travel from Cancun to Las Coloradas and Río Lagartos with breakfast, lunch, transfers, a bilingual guide, a salt-lake visit, a boat ride through the reserve, clay exfoliation, and a crocodile-farm stop. Guides have included Pablo, Arturo, Frank, and Dolphino. Expect a very long day, often 12 to 14 hours, with up to four hours each way on the road.

“Hello, the trip yesterday was good but the tourguide frank was horrible. He was very unfriendly and had always a lot of stress. He had from the begining of the trip bad vibes. The most guests from this trip think that he was very bad.”

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9.Nature tour by boat in the Natural Reserve in Río Lagartos

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 37 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $77Top rated

Explore Río Lagartos Biosphere Reserve by small boat with guides such as Miguel, Manuel Pat, or Henry. Expect flamingos, crocodiles, pelicans, hawks, and other birds, plus binoculars, a bird book, mineral-rich clay, and a swim at a quiet beach. English departures run from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

“We were lucky to be just the two of us on the boat so this was like a private tour for us. The guide was very polite and friendly. He was waiting for us on the docks, showed us where to park and even gave us the option to start the tour earlier as planned. There was absolutely no rush and he was always at our disposal. His English is good enough so communication was not a problem at all. He showed us many bird species and also explained a lot in the process, always slowing down the boat so we can hear him and have time to take our…”

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10.Las Coloradas and Río Lagartos with Boat Tour and Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 32 reviews · 11 to 12 hours (approx.) · from $113

Travel from Mérida to the pink salt lagoons of Las Coloradas, swim at Cancunito, and take a Río Lagartos boat ride for flamingos, crocodiles, and mangrove wildlife. Carlos and other local guides lead the day, with lunch and round-trip transport included. Expect a long 11 to 12-hour outing and an extra Las Coloradas entrance fee.

“Our driver/guide Carlos was excellent! Super knowledgeable and very friendly went above to translate everything to English for us :) The stops were so beautiful & a great way to do multiple adventures in one package. I have never seen anything like the pink lagoons! The boat trip through the mangroves was incredible to see all the wildlife!”

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