The MTB Cenote Tour with Bike Around Cancun

25 may 2016
6 Min. de lectura

The Mountain Bike Cenote Tour with Bike Around was the high point of our 5-day trip to Cancun! My teen and I were so glad we went! We enjoyed the challenge of cycling on the rocky jungle terrain, and it was so nice to jump into refreshing cenotes after working up a sweat!

Our guide, DIego, and his driver, picked us up at our hotel promptly at 8AM in the morning, to get us to the tour location, which is the Kin Ha eco park in Puerto Moreles. We brought backpacks, but there are free lockers if you need them, as well as washrooms and water coolers from which to refill your bottles.

After a quick bike fitting and helmet check, we took off along a gravel road, which gave everyone time to get settled on their bikes. After a couple km on the gravel, we hit the jungle trails, which while relatively flat, are somewhat technical as they are basically all rock and rubble with small stretches of gravel. We enjoyed the challenge, and found that whenever we started feeling worn out, we had reached another cenote and time to take a break..perfect!

Diego made sure everyone was doing okay, and shared info on the local flora and fauna in both English and Spanish.

There were five cenotes on this tour in total, some swimmable, some not. Two were truly amazing: 1/ an open air cenote that was a lovely green, surrounded by vegetation, as well as diving platforms and zip-lines; 2/ plus the final one on the tour, the Ki Ha cenote at our “base camp,” which was a gorgeous azure-blue subterranean cenote. While we swam in Kin Ha, Diego ordered our food, so it would be ready when we were done. The eating area is very pleasant, with hammocks and lots of tables. Bonus: There’s a super-friendly and adorable cat that everyone in our group fawned over.

Bike Around’s tour was awesome! Here’s what made it really stand out (besides the beauty of the location, and awesomeness of the mountain biking aspect):

1- The small group size (my daughter plus me, plus a local dad and his two teens);

2- The level of personalization Diego provided us. The other family opted to stay at Cenote #2 on our tour, rather than bike to the others, while my kid and I wanted to do the whole tour. Diego made sure the other family was comfortable at the beautiful green cenote, then took us to see two more cenotes, before we looped back to the other family, got a quick swim in, then went back to base camp together;

3-This tour gives you extended time at your preferred cenote (which will most likely be the two I mentioned earlier). While the ATV tours offered by the park race through these cenotes, Bike Around’s tour lets you linger to your heart’s content. We spent about an hour at the green above-ground cenote, and about 45 minutes at the Kin Ha Cenote. The ATV people were in and out within about 15 minutes per cenote, and they only hit the two most popular ones I mentioned.

During the roughly 45 minute drive back to our hotel in Cancun’s hotel zone, which got us back by around 4:30 PM, I was struck by the food poisoning that I had unknowingly picked up earlier that day or the night before, and I was sick. The driver was very considerate after I required an emergency stop on the road, and afterwards, he drove with extra care to minimize jostling on the gravel. I’m so glad that I got to enjoy this amazing day before being laid up in bed for the next 24 hours, ha ha!

TRAVEL TIPS: –Diego packed water for everyone, but we brought our own refillable bottles. –Be sure to bring biodegradable sunscreen, eco-friendly bug spray, a camera (ideally with waterproof casing), and wear athletic shoes (not flip flops!) and fast drying clothes that are easy to take on and off (since you’ll be going from cycling to cenote-swimming throughout the day!). –Bring a small sport towel to dry your face. —If you are allergic to bees, bring your Epi-Pen. I got stung by one at one of the cenotes! Ouch! (For me—no allergies—it was a small price to pay for a wonderful day outdoors in the jungle!)

I would recommend this tour to anyone of reasonable fitness level, who loves being outdoors, and who wants to “earn” their lunch and hammock time ; )The Mountain Bike Cenote Tour with Bike Around was the high point of our 5-day trip to Cancun! My teen and I were so glad we went! We enjoyed the challenge of cycling on the rocky jungle terrain, and it was so nice to jump into refreshing cenotes after working up a sweat! Our guide, DIego, and his driver, picked us up at our hotel promptly at 8AM in the morning, to get us to the tour location, which is the Kin Ha eco park in Puerto Moreles. We brought backpacks, but there are free lockers if you need them, as well as washrooms and water coolers from which to refill your bottles. After a quick bike fitting and helmet check, we took off along a gravel road, which gave everyone time to get settled on their bikes. After a couple km on the gravel, we hit the jungle trails, which while relatively flat, are somewhat technical as they are basically all rock and rubble with small stretches of gravel. We enjoyed the challenge, and found that whenever we started feeling worn out, we had reached another cenote and time to take a break..perfect! Diego made sure everyone was doing okay, and shared info on the local flora and fauna in both English and Spanish. There were five cenotes on this tour in total, some swimmable, some not. Two were truly amazing: 1/ an open air cenote that was a lovely green, surrounded by vegetation, as well as diving platforms and zip-lines; 2/ plus the final one on the tour, the Ki Ha cenote at our “base camp,” which was a gorgeous azure-blue subterranean cenote. While we swam in Kin Ha, Diego ordered our food, so it would be ready when we were done. The eating area is very pleasant, with hammocks and lots of tables. Bonus: There’s a super-friendly and adorable cat that everyone in our group fawned over. Bike Around’s tour was awesome! Here’s what made it really stand out (besides the beauty of the location, and awesomeness of the mountain biking aspect): 1- The small group size (my daughter plus me, plus a local dad and his two teens); 2- The level of personalization Diego provided us. The other family opted to stay at Cenote #2 on our tour, rather than bike to the others, while my kid and I wanted to do the whole tour. Diego made sure the other family was comfortable at the beautiful green cenote, then took us to see two more cenotes, before we looped back to the other family, got a quick swim in, then went back to base camp together; 3-This tour gives you extended time at your preferred cenote (which will most likely be the two I mentioned earlier). While the ATV tours offered by the park race through these cenotes, Bike Around’s tour lets you linger to your heart’s content. We spent about an hour at the green above-ground cenote, and about 45 minutes at the Kin Ha Cenote. The ATV people were in and out within about 15 minutes per cenote, and they only hit the two most popular ones I mentioned. During the roughly 45 minute drive back to our hotel in Cancun’s hotel zone, which got us back by around 4:30 PM, I was struck by the food poisoning that I had unknowingly picked up earlier that day or the night before, and I was sick. The driver was very considerate after I required an emergency stop on the road, and afterwards, he drove with extra care to minimize jostling on the gravel. I’m so glad that I got to enjoy this amazing day before being laid up in bed for the next 24 hours, ha ha! TRAVEL TIPS: –Diego packed water for everyone, but we brought our own refillable bottles. –Be sure to bring biodegradable sunscreen, eco-friendly bug spray, a camera (ideally with waterproof casing), and wear athletic shoes (not flip flops!) and fast drying clothes that are easy to take on and off (since you’ll be going from cycling to cenote-swimming throughout the day!). –Bring a small sport towel to dry your face. —If you are allergic to bees, bring your Epi-Pen. I got stung by one at one of the cenotes! Ouch! (For me—no allergies—it was a small price to pay for a wonderful day outdoors in the jungle!) I would recommend this tour to anyone of reasonable fitness level, who loves being outdoors, and who wants to “earn” their lunch and hammock time ; )