Celestun Beach and Mangrove Boat Ride from Merida: Explore Wildlife and Relax on the White Sands

Embark on a thrilling boat ride through the Celestun mangrove, spotting diverse wildlife such as flamingos, crocodiles, and migratory birds. Then, unwind on the pristine white sands of Celestun beach. Nature and beauty await!

Duration: 10 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Celestun - We’ll enjoy a boat ride trough the reserve of Celestun to spot different kinds of wild live like birds, fishes, crocodiles, racoons and more!

After, a relaxing time at the Celestun gorgeous beach

What's Included
  • Certified guide
  • Round transportation from Merida (could be a meeting point even if the hotel is listed)
  • Boat ride
  • Wild life sightseeing
  • Free time at Celestun beach
  • One dish to choose (fish or chicken)
What's Not Included
  • Drinks at the restaurant
Additional Information

The Celestun sanctuary is a thriving ecosystem, hosting diverse wildlife like migratory birds, flamingos, crocodiles, racoons, fish and many other species!
An excursion on a boat through the mangrove swamps of Celestun is on the cards as our guide will ensure we don’t miss any of the prime attractions in the reserve. We sail where the river gently…

Location
Celestun
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.4
(76 Ratings)
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Sabra_m
Dec 18, 2024
Highly recommend - The tour guide, Tony, was very passionate about what he does. Shared knowledge and top notch customer service. The reserve was full of wildlife including seeing the gorgeous flamingos…breathtaking. The beach, food, boat ride and Mayan mud bath was superb.
Review provided by Viator
Mer
Dec 1, 2024
Awesome day - Our guide was amazing sent us great pictures at the end fun loving personality! I would highly recommend our guide!
Review provided by Viator
Jefferson_f
Nov 12, 2024
A fantastic adventure - We were picked up on time by our fantastic driver Diego and our fabulose guide Fabulola. We drove straigt to the bioreserve, boarded boats and cruised along the coast. We say Ospreys, gray and blanc pelicans, blue herrons, double crested cormorants, and other birds. But the stars of course were the pelicans. I never appreciated them before but to see them walk on their stiled legs was a mind trip. We took a mud bath off the coast, and had a great seafood meal on the shore. Fabulola spoke clear English, was very funny, and full of information. I recommend this for anyone who enjoys nature, but also full of information on Mayan history and culture.
Review provided by Viator
Paul_b
Nov 11, 2024
Great trip - Really great trip. Fabiola was an excellent guide. We would recommend it as a great nature experience.
Review provided by Viator
Janecook
Nov 5, 2024
A day at the beach with flamingos. - A great day in the sun. We saw all the sights. Lots of flamingos and other birds, pods of dolphins, and a lovely lunch at the beach. Our guide was very knowledgeable. Thanks Juan.
Review provided by Viator
Rocky_k
Jan 3, 2025
Great day and great people! - Enjoyed our thorough tour guide and all the arrangements. Great tour, saw lots of birds. Great weather. One thing though, the information from Viator was incomplete. There was no description detailing that we could bring bathing suits and get in the water so we didn’t bring them.
Review provided by Viator
Katharine_b
Dec 30, 2024
Great nature in morning, overly long afternoon - The boat ride and birding were totally awesome. Going fast on a small fishing boat was way more fun than expected and Tony was a wonderful birding guide. Swimming off the boat was also great. We saw a ray jump several times, so cool. Get the grilled fish for lunch, options with sauce were not as good. Agree with other reviewers that there’s too much time at the restaurant/beach; the afternoon could have been an hour shorter and the tour slightly cheaper. All of the tour parts are in the morning and the afternoon is just downtime.
Review provided by Viator
Michael_u
Dec 26, 2024
A pleasant day that might be amazing at other times of the year - Our trip yesterday was overcast and there weren’t a huge number of flamingos at this time of year. We saw dolphins very briefly from the boat which was special, but other than that only a few different birds and mostly at a distance. Being on the beach in the weather that we had was relaxing, but we hardly saw the sun and I had a strong feeling it would be even better on a clear day. This might all sound more negative than I intend, I just got a sense this tour would be an even better choice at a time of year when there are more flamingoes and on a fine day. Of course none of the above is in the tour operator’s control and I would recommend the company we used wholeheartedly. Our guide was fantastic - really enthusiastic, knowledgeable and attentive at all times even at the restaurant, for example. Plus she gave me a sense she cared both about her job and the environment of the reserve. All staff were friendly and made things easy. The bus was clean and everything seemed well organised and relaxed. Pick up was communicated clearly and punctual.
Review provided by Viator
Amalia_m
Dec 1, 2024
Flamingoes and beach. - My only complaint is that we weren’t told by the original tour company (Altus) that we would have free time at the beach. We did not bring bathing suits so we couldn’t get in the water. The tour was actually giving by Viajes Colibrí which I highly recommend. Flamingoes- we saw a few but if you’re coming I would recommend waiting until mid December for more flamingo sight seeing.
Review provided by Viator
Jason_v
Nov 13, 2024
Beware the bathrooms - Juan was nice and somewhat informative, but could have given more info about the history of the beach and culture. The restrooms in Celestun were abysmal, but the boat ride was fantastic. Especially loved the Mayan Bath!
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
January 2025
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