Rio Lagartos Reasons You Need To Visit

There are many reasons you need to visit Rio Lagartos Yucatan; for us, it was the opportunity to do some fishing in these untouched waters. Also, the draw of seeing thousands of pink flamingoes here for the nesting season. We looked forward to experiencing an area still connected to the old ways, not like today’s fast-paced world. Rio Lagartos is a quiet fishing village that boasts the densest concentration of flamingos in Mexico. Rio Lagartos means Alligator River; the Spanish got this wrong as there is no river, nor are there alligators but crocodiles. San Felipe is a tiny fishing village,12kms to the west of Rio Lagartos, and to the east 20kms lies Las Coloradas, know for its pink salt lakes and endless untamed beaches, plus flamingos.

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All three of these communities lie within the Ria Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, which was declared a protected biosphere by UNESCO in 2004, being a breeding location for endless species of birds, amazing flora, and fauna. Ria Lagartos Biosphere Reserve is one of the main reasons to travel to Rio Lagartos. The pink lakes of Las Coloradas are gaining popularity as the colors can be breathtaking in the midday sun. Midday, meaning noonish, early afternoon is the best time to see this incredible pink color, truly extraordinary.

How to get to Rio Lagartos

There are no direct busses to Rio Lagartos, so you will need to get to Tizimin first. There are multiple premium class buses serving Tizimin from all directions; ADO is one. We have used ADO many times in the past and highly recommend them; they are cost-effective and comfortable. After you reach the Tizimin bus station, you can catch one of the many local busses going north to Rio Lagartos from 4:30 am until 8:00 pm, daily. There are also colectivos heading north to Rio Lagartos; they are faster but run when full. The cost we heard is around 40 Pesos. The distance to Rio Lagartos from Tizimin is 65 km, but the time it takes to arrive will vary depending on your transportation choice.

Cindy and I rented a car in Merida through Discover Cars, see link below, for a two-week period, which was affordable and convenient. Renting a car afforded us the flexibility and ease of arriving or leaving destinations when we wanted, this just made it easier. This trip to Rio Lagartos was an excursion from Valladolid, where we called home for the next couple of weeks. So for us, this 106 km trip would be a comfortable drive with the added flexibility to stop along the way if we wanted to.

What to expect at Rio Lagartos

Rio Lagartos is a small fishing and ecotourism village on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Furthermore, this area is mostly untouched by today’s fast-paced world; it is a different kind of paradise, more wilderness than beaches and nightlife. This is a safe small town of 3500 souls, and it transports you back to a simpler time, where life moved at a slower pace. Rio Lagartos is a place to come and unwind, get away from Maya Riviera and all the tourists.

That said, Rio Lagartos is not for everyone. However, there is no nightlife to speak of unless you classify gazing at the unbelievable sunsets or being mesmerized by the clear night skies that provide an astonishing backdrop to stargaze or look upon the moon. If you want to experience life up close, stay a while, and converse with the locals. Don’t be afraid to explore; we enjoyed our stay here because of what it doesn’t offer, so enjoy it if only for a moment.

The lack of crowds, the protected biosphere, the chance of seeing thousands of flamingos, and the pink waters of the nearby Las Coloradas make this a great travel destination. Life is easier here in Rio Lagartos, so enjoy. Additionally, there are ATMs, and visa is not accepted everywhere.

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Ria Lagartos

Biosphere Reserve Ria Lagartos. Ria means estuary, is an enclosed brackish water body connected to the ocean filled by a river. In 2004 UNESCO recognized it as a Biosphere Reserve because of its incredible flora and fauna. Nowadays, this is the place to take a Rio Lagartos tour. One of the most popular is the pink flamingo tour; late April is the start of the nesting season, whereas many as 40 thousand birds can be found. Moreover, there are nearly 400 different bird species that can be found in this reserve; including snowy egrets, red egrets, tiger herons, and snowy white ibis, as well as crocodiles. Herons are everywhere – there are 16 species of heron and egret in the Yucatan.

Rio Lagartos, or Reserva de la Biosfera de Ria Lagartos as it is officially known, is a 60,348-hectare reserve of mangroves, marshes, estuaries, salt flats, dunes, beaches, dry forest, and jungle straddling the north coast of the Yucatan.

Pink Flamingos

Ria Lagartos flamingo nesting season begins in spring, April – May; here, you have the chance to see thousands of flamingos at this time of the season. Flamingos only lay one egg at a time, and both parents will sit on the egg. Flamingos that you will find here are known as the American flamingo. The bright pink color of flamingos comes from beta carotene, a red-orange pigment found in high concentrations within the algae, larvae, and brine shrimp that the flamingos eat.

Las Coloradas

Las Coloradas is a small fishing village 20km to the east of Rio Lagartos that mines salt and has from the time of the Mayans. Using water from the ocean and large settling ponds that hold the water, the sun will evaporate the waters leaving the salt behind. Hence it is these salt ponds that display the beautiful pink colors that Las Coloradas is known for. The salt refinery located just before the ‘pink pools’ is worth a stop to see the mountains of salt.

The algae in the water, along with the sun and extraction process, turn the waters bright pink. The colors are reportedly best in July-August and March due to the 6-month evaporation process. Las Coloradas Pink Lake travel tip, come when the sun is high in the sky as this shows the pink color of the lakes in all their glory.

Just before entering Las Coloradas, on the right is where you can park and view the pink lakes. Here you will find guided tours to view the pink lakes up close. You may have read that these tours are only 50 pesos, well they are not any longer. The cost of entry to view the pink lakes itself is approx. 190 pesos, and if you want to include climbing the observation tower, the total is 263 pesos for both. After paying, you are guided out to the lake and are required to stay on the roadway, meaning no closeup and personal pictures. The allotted time to view the lake is 30 minutes and up the observation tower is 20 minutes; that being said, that is enough time.

Can You Swim In The Pink?

Swimming at Las Coloradas is prohibited, and you’ll see a lot of signs posted to remind you. Technically, these salt flats are privately owned, so you need to follow the rules.

Seafood Lunch

After viewing and taking many pictures of the pink lakes we were in need of some lunch and since we were in a fishing village, a lunch of fish was in order. Driving into town we found this great seafood place Las Gaviotas where we had several Cerveza to wet our parched throats along with a dish of fish and some octopus diabla.

Finding Flamingos

After an excellent lunch, it was time to find some flamingos. Back in the car, we head through town towards the unknown and down a sandy road. Any side roads of this main road are closed and property of the salt mining company. While driving down the road, you see many settling ponds on the right-hand side, so expectations of seeing flamingos are high. We are in luck, as most of the ponds have flamingos feeding in them. Some flamingos are far away, but others are reasonably close to the side of the road, which means great opportunities to take some fabulous pictures. There are security people that do make sure that you follow the rules, so be good. When you reach a building near the middle of the road, you went far enough if driving a car.

San Felipe

West of Rio Lagartos, 10km, you will find San Felipe, another small fishing village that offers a glimpse into an easier-paced life. Here you will find amazing seafood restaurants; we found this restaurant called El Popular Vaselina, where we enjoyed a lovely seafood dinner of Shrimp.

Rio Lagartos Adventures

Rio Lagartos Adventures is a family-run eco-friendly tour company with over 30 years of experience. They offer their guests and visitors the whole package, friendly, personnel tours that cater to you. Diego, the owner, and his family help make your eco-tour experience along with your stay in Rio Lagartos something special. Rio Lagatos Adventures offers many different tour packages, from bird watching to crocodile night tours. I would definitely recommend booking any tours with Rio Lagartos Adventures as they are very professional and friendly.

Fishing Tour

We stayed with Rio Lagartos Adventure at Maya Ria for three nights and booked a couple of tours. First up was our fishing tour through the mangroves, which started at 6:30 am, early enough to see the beautiful sunrise over the town. Easing our way through the thick mangroves, we looked for feeding fish; we managed to hook into several tarpons but could not land anything. This is why it’s called fishing and not catching; you just never know.

Flamingo/Bird Viewing Tour

Our second tour with Rio Lagartos Adventures was a Flamingo / Bird viewing tour; this too was an early morning start, which found us heading east towards Los Coloradas. Traveling through the mangroves, there are many different bird species to be seen, and Diego was able to identify and explain a little about each one that we came across. We saw many different types of herons, egrets, and even some parrots that were here for breeding. We were lucky enough to see a crocodile that was eyeing up a bird dinner.

Once past the bridge that crosses over the lagoon that leads to Los Coloradas we travel past El Bano Maya, the Mayan mud bath, we would stop here on the way back but for now, it was off to find some flamingos. Passing the extracted salt mounds and the pink lake pond we near where the flamingos could be found, and rounding a bend we see some, first a small flock flying near that I was able to get some good pictures off as most of the time they are so far away or the wrong angle. This was perfect.

El Baño Maya

After leaving the flamingos and heading back, we stop at El Bano Maya to experience a Mayan mudbath. Mayan bath consists of visiting the mud mounds that are presumably beneficial for the skin, and that being natural, they hydrate and soften. Being a natural exfoliator, tourists love it and have made this place one of the main points on their itinerary and cannot miss the opportunity to visit it. Our guide Diego stopped at the beach before returning to the docks, so we could splash in the water a bit and wash off.

Petén Mac

Petén Mac is one of the visits you can make while in Rio Lagartos. It’s a small park where you can walk around the mangrove on a wooden walkway and see this wonderful ecosystem. There’s a water pond at the end of the walk where we saw two crocodiles. This is a nice 30-minute stroll that takes you into the mangroves.

Final Thoughts On Rio Lagartos

• We enjoyed our trip to Rio Lagartos and the surrounding area; visiting locations like this helps bring into perspective how enjoyable life can be once you have the opportunity to slow down. In addition, life is simpler here, and given a chance; nature shows you all of her beauty when you have the time to look.

Our Positives

• The sheer beauty of the location, nature everywhere you look.
• The seafood plentiful and tasty
• Our time spent at Rio Lagartos Adventures, both bird viewing, and fishing tour
• Finding and seeing thousands of flamingos
• Being able to take some great pictures of the wildlife and sunsets

Our Negatives

• Las Coloradas pink lakes are overrated and very costly for what you get. If you are in the area, a better choice is Laguna Rosada, east of Progreso Yucatan by about 35kms. Free and more accessible with a beautiful Mayan ruin Xcambo just 3km down the road.

Would have, Could have, Should have

• Maybe we could have made El Cuyo part of this excursion. There is always next time, as I’m sure that we will be back again.

Next Stop

We are basing ourselves out of Valladolid for about 10 days, where we will be visiting Ek Balam, Chichen Itza, the many cenotes in the area, and of course exploring the Valladolid city itself. So please join us as we continue our adventures in this beautiful location. After our stay in Valladolid will be off to Isla Mujeres before leaving Mexico to go back home to Canada.

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Recommended Travel Essential

Cindy and I call ourselves nomadic so with this lifestyle, we use certain essentials to make this way of life easier and more comfortable. With this in mind, we have composed a list of what we feel are essentials and some tips you might use to plan or take your next travel adventure.

• Travel Packing Essentials to help organize and make this task less stressful
• Travel Safety Essentials to make your life on the road a little safer, giving you peace of mind
• Living Essentials to make life a little more comfortable, be this resting, working, or playing.

Accommodation Options While Traveling The World

• Booking.com is one of our go to’s when we are looking for a place to stay for a couple of days or longer
• Agoda.com we find is best to use when in Southeast Asia, but hey you never know what you might find
• Airbnb.com used to be our go-to but some of their cancelation policies are reasonable, give them a try as well

Travel Insurance

We always travel with some sort of travel Insurance be it just medical or complete trip coverage. We use Heymondo as we find their costs reasonable. Remember don’t travel and without coverage, the savings are not worth the possible costs.

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