Should you go to Bacalar, Mexico?

After spending two weeks in Bacalar I can, without hesitation, highly recommend that you visit! While not nearly as touristy a destination as places like Cancun and Tulum, Bacalar provides, in my opinion, the perfect balance between experiencing the quiet and laid-back lifestyle that the locals live, and some more lively and exciting activities to make your vacation really shine. If you’re more drawn to unique sleepy towns and spending time with the locals than resort tourist destinations, Bacalar is definitely the place for you.

While we greatly enjoyed spending two relaxing weeks in Bacalar, I’d probably suggest that most other travelers scale their trips back and spend right around a week here. You could probably knock out most of the more popular activities in a few days here but spending a week in Bacalar will allow you to see everything there is to see, try out a few different local restaurants and cafes, and spend some time relaxing, as the hot weather and even hotter sunshine will surely wear you out!

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What Makes Bacalar, Mexico Special?

There are many things that give Bacalar its charm and its rightful designation of Pueblo Magico, roughly translating to magic town. There are around 132 Pueblos Magicos in Mexico. Mexico’s Board of Tourism put together the initiative to highlight different hidden gems in Mexico that exude the magic of Mexican culture and retain much of their original character, architecture, and history. Bacalar certainly does and it only takes a few hours strolling through El Centro or exploring La Laguna De Los Siete Colores to see what makes this place so dang special.

La Laguna De Los Siete Colores

The lagoon is the obvious place to start. It goes by a few names including La Laguna De Los Siete Colores (The Lagoon of Seven Colors), Laguna De Bacalar (The Bacalar Lagoon), and others. The lagoon is the distinguishing feature of Bacalar that has earned it the nickname The Maldives of Mexico. With seven different shades of water ranging from bright turquoise to deep blue, almost black (Cenote Negro), the lagoon is truly a unique ecosystem and is unlike anything else in the world.

How Are There Seven Different Colors Of Water?

The seven different shades of blue on display at the Bacalar Lagoon are a direct result of the wildly varying depths of water and some of the unique organisms found in the lagoon. The lagoon ranges from less than a meter deep to over 100 meters deep. The shallower parts featuring white a white sandy bottom and crystal clear water boast a bright turquoise color and are a big part of what makes the lagoon truly stunning. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Cenote Negro, the deepest part of the lagoon. At over 100 meters deep, the water almost immediately transitions from a light blue-green color to a deep blue, almost black.

What are Cenotes?

One of the incredibly unique things about the Yucatan Peninsula is the Cenotes that are practically everywhere. Cenotes are essentially sinkholes that are connected to an underground river system that runs throughout the entire Yucatan Peninsula. It seems almost too crazy to be true but there are certain places where you can scuba dive underground from one cenote to the next. For more information on cenotes, check out this fascinating article!

What are Chivita Snails?

Along with the varying depths of water, there are a few different organisms present in the lagoon that play a large role in keeping the water clear, fresh, and bright. The two biggest contributors are Stromatolites and the Chivita Snail. The snails help to filter the water and play a key part in keeping the lagoon as clear as it is. They also provide abundant food to the birds that migrate through Bacalar and those that call the lagoon home.

One of the coolest places to see this on display is bird island, an island on the lagoon home to a very dense population of a few different bird species. We swung past this island on our boat tour. It’s hard to see but the island on the right is absolutely covered in birds. Definitely check it out if you get the chance!

What Are Stromatolites?

Do your part in maintaining the ecosystem here so that future generations will be able to enjoy it the same way that we can.

Where is Bacalar, Mexico?

Bacalar, Mexico is situated on the far Southeastern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula. Bacalar It is in the state of Quintana Roo along with other popular destinations like Cancun, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen. It is less than an hour’s drive from Bacalar to cross into Belize. It is important to note, Bacalar is not a coastal town! It is within 45 minutes of other coastal cities like Chetumal but Bacalar is situated on a freshwater lagoon and therefore does not have saltwater beach access.

How to get to Bacalar, Mexico

Despite Bacalar’s location near many bustling tourist attractions, it’s not always a walk in the park to get to. There are a few different options when it comes to getting to Bacalar. They are as follows:

Taxi from Chetumal Airport

We were torn when trying to figure out the best way to get to Bacalar. When we travel we are hyperfocused on keeping a tight budget so that we can continue to travel freely without raking in the big bucks. Our goal was to find the absolute cheapest way to get to Bacalar that would make our travel experience miserable. Along with this, it was our first time in Mexico so we were looking to avoid hitchhiking and other alternative methods of transportation.

The cheapest and easiest way we could find to get to Bacalar was to fly into the Chetumal International Airport and take a taxi from there, straight to Bacalar. This proved to be quite easy. While the Chetumal airport is small and there aren’t a ton of flights going in and out, it wasn’t too difficult to find an affordable flight going there. We also used a few other tactics to keep the price low that we will share in a future post.

We had a very long travel day and weren’t sure how many taxis would be waiting at the airport so we opted to book a shuttle ahead of time to take us from the airport to Bacalar. This cost us a bit more money but felt worth it as we were exhausted and ready to be done with our travel day. You should be just fine getting a taxi out of the airport though. From Chetumal to Bacalar, it will probably cost you around $300MXN – $400MXN as of 2023.

Drive from Cancun

This is another very popular option as sometimes the flights into Cancun are quite a bit cheaper than those going into Chetumal. We kept a close eye on this when booking our flights but booked in the offseason so they were actually a bit more expensive going into Cancun. If you do end up flying into Cancun, I’d highly suggest renting a car and staying a few nights in both Cancun and Tulum before or after visiting Bacalar. After spending two full weeks in Bacalar we felt it would have been nice to have checked out a few other places on the Yucatan. The drive from Cancun to Bacalar is just over four hours.

Drive from Tulum

If you plan to spend time in Tulum on your trip, the drive from Tulum to Bacalar isn’t bad at all. You’re looking at around two and a half hours to drive from Tulum to Bacalar. With that said, unless you have a small private jet, you won’t be able to fly directly into Tulum. Your best bet is going to be to fly into Cancun and make the drive to Tulum and then Bacalar from there. Otherwise, you can fly into Chetumal and drive to Bacalar before driving to Tulum.

Bus from Cancun or Tulum

There are a few different bus options that run from Cancun and Tulum to Bacalar. If you are staying at a large resort, they may offer a tour bus service to some other areas on the peninsula, otherwise, your best option is going to be the ADO bus. You can purchase tickets ahead of time online, they run multiple buses every day, and they run directly from both Cancun and Tulum to Bacalar. Tickets should be fairly affordable as well.

Things to keep in Mind For Your Trip to Bacalar

These are just a few things that are important to have in the back of your mind when planning your trip to Bacalar, Mexico, especially if you don’t spend much time traveling internationally.

Is Tap Water Safe in Mexico?

The short answer to this question is no. Tap water can be used for cooking and making coffee if the water is going to come to a complete boil, otherwise, avoid consuming it whenever possible. The water isn’t necessarily contaminated from the source, but the infrastructure that is in place to get water from the source to your faucet can be suspect at times and can often introduce different bacteria into the water. Your best bet for drinking water is to buy and fill large 5-gallon jugs of water.

You should be just fine using tap water to shower and bath, wash your face, and even brush your teeth if you can do so without consuming a lot of it. If you swallow a drop or two, it shouldn’t be a big deal just make an effort not to be consuming a lot of it.

Do People Speak English in Bacalar?

Again, the short answer to this question is no. Arrive with the expectation that nobody will speak any English and your trip will be much more enjoyable! Make sure that you have a functioning knowledge of Spanish and are able to at least piece together some basic sentences. 75% of the people that you will run into and communicate with in Bacalar will speak very little or no English. Roughly 15% to 20% will speak a little bit of English, and around 5% will speak decent to fluent English. My biggest regret about our trip to Bacalar was that we didn’t take practicing our Spanish seriously enough. With that being said, all three of us spent four years in high school learning Spanish so we already had a baseline and we still struggled to communicate well with locals.

Our assumption was that there would be lots of English spoken while flying out of Ohare Airport in Chicago, a fair amount of English spoken during our layover in Mexico City, and a little bit of English spoken when we landed in Chetumal. This was not the case. The second we reached the international gate at Ohare, very little English was spoken. There was virtually no English spoken in Mexico City even though it is the largest airport in Mexico. Obviously little to no English was spoken in Chetumal and Bacalar. Just be prepared for that!

Get Used to Using WhatsApp

I had never really used WhatsApp much before arriving in Bacalar but I very quickly adopted it. It seems that many of the locals use it as a means to communicate and it does a great job of bridging the gap for those with international sim cards. Any time we needed to save somebody’s contact information to get in touch with them later, they offered up their WhatsApp information. My recommendation is to download WhatsApp ahead of time, and make sure your account is set up and that you are comfortable using it. Along with that, I would recommend getting an e-sim for your time in Bacalar. It will save you a few headaches and probably some money.

The Mexico City Airport is Confusing

Being that the Mexico City Airport is the largest in Mexico, it serves as sort of a hub for much of Mexico’s air traffic. For us, that meant layovers in Mexico City both on our way to Bacalar and back home to Chicago. Let’s just say we’re lucky our first layover was seven hours because it took us at least a few hours to even get our bearings with how the airport worked.

Our assumption was that we wouldn’t go through customs or immigration until we landed at our final destination in Chetumal. This was not the case. After landing in Mexico City, we had to go through immigration, claim our baggage, and go back through security before we could get to our gate again. The Mexico City airport is notoriously difficult to navigate so just be sure that if you have a layover here, you do your research ahead of time and have an idea of what to expect.

Things to do in Bacalar, Mexico

While not nearly as touristy as some of the other popular spots on the Yucatan Peninsula like Cancun, Tulum, or Playa del Carmen, there is still an abundance of things to do in Bacalar, Mexico. From walking around El Centro and trying out some of the best restaurants in Bacalar or learning about the delicate ecosystem of the lagoon by taking a Bacalar Lagoon Boat Tour or visiting Los Rapidos, the following are some of the best things to do in Bacalar, Mexico.

Los Rapidos

Visiting Los Rapidos was probably our favorite thing we did while in Bacalar. Los Rapidos is a naturally formed lazy river that connects the main Bacalar Lagoon to the southernmost portion of the lagoon in Xul-ha. There are few better ways to relax than slowly drifting down a canal with crystal clear water, stromatolites on either side, and palm trees hanging over you. Los Rapidos is one of the most visually unique and stunning places we’ve ever been, and that says a lot considering how beautiful the rest of the lagoon is!

Upon entry ($150MXN per person) there are life jackets available, lockers to keep your belongings ($50MXN), and a restaurant and bar! Be careful where you sit as a few of the more premium table spots have a minimum spend between $1500MXN and $2000MXN depending on your party size. We were able to snag a little table right by the water and didn’t even end up ordering any food or drinks. The lockers were great to take advantage of if you have towels or phones and wallets that you want to keep dry while floating down the lagoon!

They also have many different items for sale at the front desk including waterproof phone bags, snorkels and goggles, and many other things. My impression was that most of what they sold was pretty cheap in quality and I was skeptical of trusting the life of my phone to the cheap little bag that we got. I was also hesitant to spend the money on the goggles and snorkel as they probably would have found the trash shortly after. That being said, we felt it would have been really cool to have had goggles and snorkels and been able to see under the water a bit more.

Getting to and from Los Rapidos wasn’t too difficult. It’s about a 17 – 20 minute drive and there are generally quite a few taxis hanging around el centro. Our taxi to los rapidos cost us $200MXN. The only difficult thing was getting a taxi back. We made sure to exchange WhatsApp information with our taxi driver so we could call when we needed a taxi back, but we had very spotty cell reception while at Los Rapidos (We have T-Mobile).

This was the only place that we had reception issues while there although I’d probably recommend getting an e-sim just to be safe. To avoid paying for international calls, we made sure to get the WhatsApp information from the taxi driver and were able to text him when we needed a taxi back. Along with this, if we were stuck without reception, Los Rapidos did have wifi available for purchase if needed.

If we couldn’t get in contact with our taxi driver, there was a passenger van in the Los Rapidos parking lot that was labeled something along the lines of “personal transportation” which I believe was used as a shuttle bus of some sort. I am unsure of the cost of this but it could be another option of getting back to where you are staying if you haven’t rented a car!

Boat Tour

If you’re looking to learn about the history of Bacalar or discover some of what makes La Laguna De Los Siete Colores so incredible from a nature standpoint, We’d HIGHLY recommend taking a boat tour. It’s not hard to find one and it seemed that many of the tour guides spoke at least some English to ensure they could sell to anyone that walked by. Boat tours are one of those things that is unionized in Bacalar so any guides near el centro offering boat tours will charge the same price. While we were in Bacalar, that meant $300MXN per person for a fishing boat and $400MXN per person for a pontoon. These prices were for two-hour tours. There were also options to rent out the whole boat for a private tour. I believe these ran around $2,000 MXN but can’t remember exactly.

Best Boat Tours in Bacalar Mexico

Amir Boat Tours ($50USD per person)

We highly considered touring with a few different guides as they all seemed friendly and enjoyable to be around. We ended up going with a different boat tour entirely that was outside of Bacalar’s union and offered slightly different services. The boat tour we booked was through Amir Tours on Trip Advisor (about a twenty-minute walk from el centro) and was four hours long with an unlimited open bar and a fruit picnic. This gave us an opportunity to see a little bit more of the lagoon, and, since it was Tyler and Casey’s birthday, having access to the open bar was great!

Our tour guide and captain were genuinely awesome and we had so much fun on our tour! Our Amir Tours guide was named Carlos! Request him if you can :). Both Carlos and our captain (can’t remember his name for the life of me) were a bunch of fun to be around, served generously and graciously, and both had a great sense of humor. They made the tour both educational and LOTS OF FUN!

On our boat tour, we were taken to and given background explanations of each of the following places:

• Cenote Negro / Cenote la Bruja
• Cenote Esmeralda
• Cenote Cocalitos
• Canal de los Pirates
• Bird Island

All of these places were a genuine pleasure to be able to experience and we were glad we took a longer tour and got to see more of the lagoon. With that said, sunscreen is not allowed in the lagoon so for a tour as long as this, make sure to have a sun shirt and other forms of protection as it doesn’t take much to get sunburnt here!

Local Boat Tour w/ Carlos ($300-400MXN per person)

If you decide to save some money, there are still some great options out there for boat tours. Walking along Av. 1, the main road that runs along the shoreline of the lagoon, you’ll find many different tour agencies and tour guides on the street selling Bacalar Lagoon Boat Tours. Since they are all priced the same, it’s really up to you to determine which tour guide you like the best and feel will give you the best tour experience.

Of all the guides we spoke to, we found one named Carlos that we connected with the best. This is not the same Carlos that gave us our boat tour with Amir Tours. Being that many places in Bacalar don’t have Google Maps listings, I’ve circled below a rough estimate of where Carlos runs his tours. From El Centro it’s probably about a five-minute walk at the most. If you’ve reached the Municipal/Public lagoon access (Balneario Municipal El Aderradero) you’ll know you’ve gone too far.

Carlos tends to be there between 9am and 4pm and spends most of his that he’s not giving a tour hanging out by the road speaking with those walking past and offering up his services. The spot that he works out of also has a tiny little 15ftx15ft square general store with a light brown and white pitbull that sleeps around. Carlos speaks great English and has spent lots of time in the United States so we connected with him instantly. If you do end up booking a tour with him, tell him that the three chicos from Chicago recommended him :). We felt bad not booking his tour since we genuinely enjoyed speaking with him!

Rent Kayaks ($200MXN per person per hour)

Renting kayaks is another one of those things that can be done just about anywhere in Bacalar. As you walk down the lagoon’s shoreline, you’ll find two things – Restaurants and tour agencies that also rent kayaks. Within a two or three-minute walk of el centro, you will find plenty of agencies giving out boat tours and renting kayaks. As mentioned before, all of these agencies close to el centro operate like a union so prices will all be the same. With that said, there may be a bit of room to haggle especially if you are renting multiple kayaks or will be out for a few hours or more. Our kayak rentals cost $200MXN per kayak per hour. Prices may vary slightly for two-person kayaks.

Once you’re out on the water, there are a few different places that you can check out! We rented our kayaks a bit later in the day, around 5:00 pm, so we were only able to go out for an hour. With that said, we chose to paddle out to Cenote Negro (Cenote la Bruja) because it was quite close to where we rented our kayaks. Cenote Negro is one of a few cenotes scattered around the lagoon and one of the hundreds on the Yucatan. This one in particular drops off from roughly 1 meter to around 100 meters (325 feet) almost instantly. The depth is what gives the water a deep blue or almost black color. There are a few beautiful Airbnbs on Cenote Negro as well. Definitely a spot worth checking out.

If you’ve got a bit more time with your kayaks, a guide recommended we paddle straight across the lagoon to check out the Pirate’s Canal or Canal de los Piratas. This is a beautiful section of the lagoon where the water ranges from around .5 meters (1.75 feet) to 2 meters (6 feet). Because it is so shallow with a white sandy bottom, the water is bright teal in color, and incredibly clear. This is one of the areas that gives Bacalar the nickname, Maldives of Mexico. Along with this, there’s an abandoned shipwreck here that a local attempted to turn into a restaurant. Due to plumbing difficulties, it remains abandoned.

Catch the Sunrise at the Public Pier ($FREE)

Getting out early before anyone else is up and snagging the first spot at the public pier for the sunrise over the lagoon was one of our favorite activities while we were in Bacalar! With the unique and beautiful colors of the lagoon, the sunrise becomes even more beautiful here than in many other places. Combine that with the great weather and how warm the lagoon can get, there’s no better place for a sunrise swim!

An added bonus of getting out earlier enough to catch the sunrise is that you can get a great spot at the public pier! there are two piers at the public municipal park, the one pictured above, and the one from which the photo was taken. As you can see there are quite a few spots on the pier pictured above but the other pier is quite a bit smaller. It doesn’t come to a T at the end of the pier. This means that if you are able to snag a spot on the smaller pier, you’ve got a pretty private swimming spot for as long as you want it!

Tour Fuerte de San Felipe ($55MXN – $110MXN)

Book a Sunrise Paddleboard Tour ($

We greatly regret not taking advantage of a sunrise paddleboard tour in Bacalar, Mexico. We got to watch the paddleboarders struggle across the lagoon during sunrise, but it definitely wasn’t the same! These sunrise paddleboard tours aren’t as widely available as boat tours and kayak rentals are but it’s definitely worth finding one! There’s something so special about being out on the water during sunrise and it’s even more special one something like a kayak or paddleboard where you can get out and into the nature that calls the lagoon home. The birds and other animals make their voices very heard during the sunrise and it’s something you will definitely want to experience!

Catch the Moonrise at a Local Restaurant ($Price of Food/Drinks)

This was something that happened totally by accident for us. We were out for dinner on Cinco de Mayo at Kai Pez. It’s a local Bacalar restaurant right outside El Centro on the Lagoon. We were a little sad some nights that the sun doesn’t set over the lagoon and there are not a whole lot of great places to watch the sunset in Bacalar. With that said, it just so happened to be a full moon that evening, and right around 9:30 pm it started to rise over the lagoon. The moon was a deep red color and so large it almost looked fake. We were very glad to have stumbled upon this beautiful and unexpected sight.

With all that said, if you happen to be in Bacalar during a full moon or close to it, I’d highly recommend tracking the moonrise times and making an effort to get out and watch it rise over the lagoon. Unfortunately, the public municipal pier near El Centro closes at 6 pm so you won’t be able to watch it for free. A few cheap beach clubs may be open but your best bet is probably to snag a lakeside table at a local restaurant and drink a margarita or pina colada as it rises!

Best Restaurants in Bacalar, Mexico

La Playita

La Playita ended up being our favorite restaurant during our time in Bacalar for a few reasons. First, the food is great! From authentic shrimp and steak tacos to a few of our American favorites, we felt that every time we stopped by, there was something we were looking forward to! The next thing that we loved about La Playita was the waterfront location. Like many restaurants in Bacalar, La Playita is stationed right on the water of the Bacalar Lagoon and provides a pier for great access to swimming and hanging around the water.

Next, all of the seats and tables at this restaurant are dispersed underneath this absolutely incredible tree. It was giving me Tree of Life vibes from Avatar. It’s massive and the entire restaurant and seating areas are built around it. Lastly, and most importantly, Miguel. Miguel was our waiter our first time at La Playita and he was awesome! Miguel was SUPER FRIENDLY and spoke great English so he was really helpful for us to practice our Spanish! We enjoyed him so much that we returned for our birthday dinner and requested him!

Mr. Taco

Mr. Taco was our second favorite place to eat but probably our favorite quick eat-and-run place whereas La Playita is more of a long sit-down-and-eat dinner spot. Mr. Taco is right off of El Centro making it very easy to access from nearly anywhere you might stay in Bacalar. It seems as though there are even Airbnbs right above Mr. Taco.

Obviously, as the name suggests, the tacos were just great! We loved every one of them. For some reason, though, we gravitated toward the burritos here. They were large and in charge and delicious! It’s making me drool just thinking about them. It seemed as though Mr. Taco was pretty authentic as this was the top place recommended to us by any locals that we talked to. One thing to keep in mind is that Mr. Taco is CASH ONLY and I don’t believe they accept $USD.

KatX

KatX was probably our third favorite place to eat behind La Playita and Mr. Taco. KatX is just off of El Centro right on Av. 1. This means that there is a pier and access to the beautiful water. That’s the main reason you’re in Bacalar, to begin with, right?! The food was quite good and we enjoyed their Pina Coladas as well. They had their music bumpin’ anytime we were there so I’d assume as you get later into the evening the atmosphere might turn into a bit of a party although I couldn’t say that for sure. Nonetheless, the tacos were good and we enjoyed our time there. They accept $MXN and cards.

Best Street Food in Bacalar

Mati’s Burger Stand

We decided to take advantage of Matti’s Burger Stand being literally one hundred feet from our Airbnb when we were craving some food from home. Matti’s is a little burger stand five or six blocks from El Centro. It does have a Google Maps listing making it easy to find. It is run by a very friendly couple right outside of their home. They’ve got their kid outside hanging around with them too! All around just a great atmosphere and friendly people and the burgers, fries, and wedges were definitely better than we were expecting! I don’t believe they accept cards or $USD some come prepared with your pesos. Each burger cost us around $80 pesos.

Marquesitas

Best Coffee Shops in Bacalar, Mexico

If you’re like us then one of the first things you do when traveling to a new location is find the nearest coffee shop! We love seeing some of the different ways that coffee is served around the world and coffee shops are a great place to meet people and of course, get your caffeine pick-me-up in the morning. There are a few different coffee shops and cafes in Bacalar but these two were our favorites!

Cafe Tito

Cafe Tito was definitely our favorite coffee shop in Bacalar and we frequented it! There are a few things that make this cafe so awesome. It is conveniently located directly in El Centro so it’s never far away when out and about in Bacalar. The staff here were incredibly friendly as well! One of them (he seemed to be the owner or manager) spoke pretty good English as well which made communicating with him much easier. They always had smiles on their faces and enjoyed talking and joking with us! Lastly, their coffee is really good! We drank mostly iced lattes but also tried a few smoothies and a Horchata cold brew which was pretty unique but really good.

The prices were pretty reasonable compared to America but I’d assume are on the pricier end compared to other cafes in Mexico. We didn’t attempt to pay in $USD so we’re not sure if they accept it or not but they do accept credit and debit cards.

El Paste

Second to Cafe Tito for us was El Paste. It was conveniently located only a block or two from our Airbnb so coffee was never far from us! This cafe seemed to be focused more on its pastries and empanadas than its coffee but the iced lattes we got here were decent. The barista that worked with us was super friendly and we had a great conversation with her while we were there. We regret not returning to try out their empanadas and would certainly go back if given the chance! They also host a live music night there that seemed really poppin’ when we walked by. That may be something to check out for those of you looking for a laid-back kind of party.

Best Markets in Bacalar, Mexico

During your stay in Bacalar, we’d recommend trying to do most of your shopping at the local markets in Bacalar. This will help support local businesses and ensure that the area remains fun, safe, and tourist-friendly! There aren’t a ton of supermarkets in Bacalar but there were a few different places that had most of what we needed. Along with that, any time we took a new side street we seemed to find another little market with different items.

The Local Markets

When we first arrived at our Airbnb, our host recommended some street markets right down the road from where we stayed. She mentioned that they are open in the mornings and I believe they are six or seven days a week. We kept meaning to check them out but never managed to do better than walk by them. That being said, it seemed like they had a great selection and should probably be your go-to for fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Being that they are local street markets, I’m sure the prices are great! That being said, I highly doubt they’d accept $USD and would assume they don’t accept cards either, although I can’t say that for sure. I’d definitely suggest checking these markets out as they are one of the best ways to try out local foods and support the local economy!

La Tienda (No Name)

Here we are referring to a little shop in Bacalar that was a block or two down the street from El Centro. it was really convenient for us as it was only a few minutes walk and they had a lot of what we needed grocery-wise while we were in Bacalar. We referred to it as La Tienda as there were no markings anywhere that indicated a name and there is no google maps listing. They carried a decent selection of fruits and vegetables, some refrigerated goods, snacks, water, and some other miscellaneous items.

Prices were very reasonable here and they accept $MXN and $USD if needed. I believe they accepted cards as well but can’t remember for sure. The staff was friendly during our visits and we’d highly recommend this place. Produce can be hit or miss here considering it’s all open air and some of it gets hit by the sun occasionally. There were a few days that the produce was really fresh though so just keep an eye on it. The approximate location is below. It is right next door to the Six convenience store and down the street from a few shoe shops.

Super Willies

Super Willies is a little convenience store that has most of the essentials that you might need for your stay but won’t carry more niche items that you’d find elsewhere. Most pantry goods including cereal, snacks, rice, beans, and similar items were available along with some refrigerated items like milk, yogurt, and other things. That being said, they don’t offer any fresh foods like fruits and vegetables or meat and cheese (aside from a few funny-looking sausages and a weird-looking block of cheese). They’ve got bags of ice and large jugs of water as well which were super useful during our stay!

Along with food, Willies offered a few other items including shampoo, body wash, and sunscreen. There’s a pharmacy right down the road that offered many of these same things as well.

The prices here seemed quite reasonable. They accept $MXN and $USD, however, the staff didn’t seem very well trained in accepting $USD (a few of them weren’t all that friendly either) and the conversion process seemed a bit confusing. I’d try to avoid paying in $USD if possible but it’s an option if really needed. They did accept credit and debit cards as well, although I believe it was limited to Visa and Mastercard.

Best Airbnb in Bacalar, Mexico

Laila’s Cottage ($

Our stay in Laila’s Cottage was absolutely incredible! If you are uninterested in staying in a hostel or are looking to be a bit more intertwined with the locals, this is the place to stay! There are so many things that made it perfect for our stay and it was still a work in progress! Once everything is fully completed, this will surely be one of the best if not THE BEST place to stay in Bacalar, Mexico. Also, It has A/C! Need I say more? That was an absolute game-changer!

One of our favorite things about this Airbnb is its location. Laila’s cottage is a beautiful and spacious cottage just a few blocks from the town center in Bacalar. While being very close to the best restaurants and lagoon activities in Bacalar, it is quietly tucked in a little neighborhood in which you get to live among the locals. We really got the best of both worlds while staying here. We got to experience the quiet lifestyle in the area which was perfect for getting some R&R. We were also close enough to the town center to be able to walk anywhere we needed. It only took a few minutes to walk to the nearest supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, and even the public lagoon access and boat tours.

Second, only to the location, the design and architecture of the cottage were just awesome! This cottage was built to reflect the Mayan roots of the Bacalar and the Yucatan Peninsula. Every part of the cottage was built by hand using only genuine Mayan materials. The use of concrete and mortar in the floors, shower, and kitchen countertops is reflective of the most common building material in the area. Concrete is used everywhere in Bacalar and the Yucatan. Along with this, all of the Mayan wood and stone used in the cottage were hand-cut and crafted specifically for this cottage. It’s not hard to see how much work was put into building this home and the quality of materials and beauty of everything coming together is a genuine pleasure to experience.

This cottage also implements the organic thatched rooftop that is so common in the area. Not only is it unique and pretty to look at, but it’s also surprisingly functional. We actually experienced a thunderstorm during our two weeks in Bacalar with heavy rains at some point and not once did we see any water leaking in. With that being said, it did make for an interesting experience while sleeping in the second-floor loft. You could hear everything that was happening outside while in bed. Part of this is due to the way the roof is built, part of it is due to just how lively things can get at night. There are far more people out and active late at night than there are early in the morning.

One final thing that made our stay so great was that there were those that are involved in keeping the house so great! Laila, the host was very helpful in the booking process and shared tons of information with us beforehand. When we arrived, Andrea, the architect of the cottage was around quite a bit to help us with anything we needed and was super helpful in recommending restaurants, supermarkets, and activities for us in Bacalar. Lastly, Jorge, who actually lives on the property, does a great job of keeping the property in good shape and being helpful in lots of areas. Being that we were there for two weeks, he helped us with our trash and compost and even made us feel just a little bit safer that he was on the property. He was super friendly and seemed to know the locals in the area pretty well.