Visiting Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve independently

For the final days of our road trip around the Yucatán, we’d booked accommodation in Tulum and were counting on a couple of relaxed days. However, we quickly realised that hanging around Tulum with the tourist crowd was not how we had imagined ending our trip. One of the potential day trips I’d earmarked, but not really investigated was visiting the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. A quick look on Google confirmed that this lush network of lagoons, connected by ancient Mayan built canals was exactly how we wanted to spend our last full day in Mexico.

Tour operators taking you to Sian Ka’an from Tulum are plenty, but since we had a rental car and recent poor experience with tours in the Yucatán, we were set on visiting Sian Ka’an independently. The excursion to Sian Ka’an was a full, active day involving a boat ride on the lagoons and floating in an old Mayan boat channel. It was hard to find good information on the practicalities of this, so we mostly winged it. In this blog post, I’m capturing how we made our independent visit to Sian Ka’an a success.

Entry points to Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve

Sian Ka’an is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Riviera Maya in the Yucatán. The name means “Origin of the Sky” in Maya. The site includes tropical rainforest, mangroves and lagoons. The inland facing section is a freshwater labyrinth of lagoons connected by Mayan built canals used for transport of supplies. You can even spot remains of ancient trading posts! The ocean facing section is saltwater area that encompasses a part of the barrier reef – excellent for snorkelling!

Animal diversity in Sian Ka’an is excellent. Although we didn’t see any of the cats that allegedly roam the jungle, I enjoyed spotting the variety of birds. If you visit the ocean side, chances of seeing dolphins and turtles are good.

The Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve has got two entry points, depending on which section of the protected area you want to see. We visited the freshwater section from Muyil and skipped the ocean side, because this was too complex to as a day trip.

Ocean side – Punta Allen

Visiting the ocean side of Sian Ka’n looks like an amazing thing to do, but because of time constraints we did not manage it. The entry point to the ocean side is Punta Allen, a sleepy fishermen’s village at the end of Highway 15 from Tulum. On Google maps, this looks like an easy drive, but based on local advice we decided against it. The road conditions are allegedly extremely bad (parts of the road seem to be washed away) and the road is inaccessible without a 4WD. There are (few) colectivos, i.e. shared minivans, going from Tulum to Punta Allen. However these take the best part of the day, meaning you have to spend two nights in Punta Allen if you want to have a full day to explore.

For the Sian Ka’an ocean side, I’d consider an organised tour. It is more expensive, but you are sure to have safe transport.

Fresh water side – Muyil

The freshwater side of Sian Ka’an is much easier to reach and makes a perfect day trip from Tulum or other locations on the Riviera Maya. We drove our rental car up highway 307 and parked at the nearby Muyil Ruins. If you don’t have a car, buses from Tulum to Muyil are plenty and they take an hour at most (depending where in Tulum you get on). You don’t get to see the ocean when accessing Sian Ka’an from Muyil, but you get to float in the Mayan canals and see lots of birdlife instead.

What to pack for visiting Sian Ka’an?

Facilities and services in Muyil and Sian Ka’n are limited to non-existent, so if you are visiting Sian Ka’an independently, make sure to pack the following essentials.

• Food: bring plenty of water as well as your lunch and snacks. We stopped at a small supermarket on the main road just before reaching the Muyil ruins. This was just a basic grocery store, but we found all we needed for the day. If you want options, it is best to do your food shopping in Tulum. Once you enter the ruins, there is no opportunity to buy food or drinks;
• Bathing suit and towel: you will have the opportunity to swim in the Mayan canals, so come prepared. If you have a snorkelling mask, bringing this is a good idea as the views underwater are interesting;
• Sunscreen, hat and all the other protective gear: it’s likely to be a hot day and even if the sky is overcast you will feel the sun whilst on the water. Come prepared.
• Binoculars: birdlife in the lagoons is excellent and binoculars are essential if you want to watch the birds.

Steps for visiting Sian Ka’an independently

Arrival in Muyil

The drive from Tulum to Muyil to us about 30 minutes from our hotel on the “wrong” side of Tulum. If your accommodation is on the right side of Tulum and you can avoid the town centre traffic, it may be less than 20 minutes. Drive up Highway 307 until you reach Muyil (the Mayan name Chunyaxché is used widely as well). There is free parking at the Muyil ruins. The car park is not huge and does fill up. Plan to visit in the morning to avoid having to park away from the ruins on the main road.

Muyil Archaeological Site

The Muyil Archaeological Site is small, but I enjoyed visiting it. It’s quiet and pretty (in a cute way). Entry to the site is 50 pesos per person. Apart from seeing the ruins, this will also give you access to a nice jungle trail to the boat docks.

If you just want to go on the boat trip and skip the ruins, there is byway (just past the ruins if you’re coming from Tulum) that takes you straight to the boat dock. You can park the car there.

Arranging the boat tour

The ticket booth of the Muyil ruins is where you will be approached by a boatman asking if you want to go on a boat tour of the biosphere reserve. The business of the boat tours is very organised. One boatman hangs around at the entrance, approaching tourists and collecting the money. His mates are at the dock, manning the boats and taking tourists on the tour. There is a level of trust involved as we paid the money for the tour to the man at the ruins, who phoned another man at the dock giving a loose description and vague timing of when we were coming.

The outline of the tour is standard and so is the price. The 1200 pesos per person (around 25 USD) is non-negotiable. I tried asking for a deal for the two of us, but no success. The cost of the boat is pretty steep compared to other entry fees and activities, but our day was still a lot cheaper compared to what we would have paid for a tour. Also, it was totally worth it. The lagoons and canals are unique and our friendly guide knew everything about birds and other wildlife in the area. 

Mayan road and board walk

We wandered around the ruins for 30 minutes before leaving the site and entering the jungle trail leading to the boat dock. The jungle trail starts behind the main structure of Muyil Archaeological Site, El Castillo. It is signposted “Sendero Mirador Laguna”.

For the first part, you are actually following a “sacbe”: an ancient road constructed by the Mayan people. Quickly you will reach the official entrance of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. You have to buy an entry ticket (50 pesos per person). Once inside the reserve, you’ll follow a wooden boardwalk built in the marsh. The jungle is thick and pretty here and I felt much more remote than we actually were!

The boardwalk leads straight to the dock where the boats depart. Depending on how much you linger, it will take you 30 – 50 minutes to reach the boat dock from the entrance of the reserve. There is no need to hurry – there are several boats and the likelihood of having to wait is small. We took the time to climb the rickety watchtower built alongside the boardwalk for a first view of the lagoon.

Boat tour in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve

The boat tour follows a standard route that takes about two hours to complete. It you skip the floating, you’ll be back earlier, but it is a really enjoyable experience that I recommend. We had a boat to ourselves and a friendly, knowledgeable guide. When I got my binoculars out and asked about the birds he got super enthusiastic. Don’t expect your guide to speak a foreign language – Spanish it is.

We sat in the boat for about an hour, crossing two lagoons and following canals. We got to see a variety of, sometimes surprising, vegetation. Then came the best part. We docked at a small island inside the reserve. We explored the ruins of a Mayan trade post, but quickly our guide pointed to the narrow canal next to the ruins. This is where the floating starts. The clever built of the Mayan canals includes a soft current taking you down the canal effortlessly. The depth of the water varies around 1 – 1.5 metres. I took my snorkelling mask to explore below the water surface. The float was super relaxing. From the endpoint where you exit the water, a boardwalk through the marsh takes you back to the trade post and the boat. From here, our boatman took us straight back to the dock.

We walked back to the car the same way we came, stopping again at the Muyil ruins for some photos in the evening light.