Cenotes Before 8am

By Ava Laurent · Tulum, Mexico · 2026-03-19

Rule of this trip: every cenote before 8am. Gran Cenote opens at 8; we were in the water at 8:01, alone with the turtles.

Snorkelling under the stalactites. The water is so clear it looks empty.

Cenote Calavera has three holes in the ground, like a skull. You jump through one.

The Tulum ruins at opening time. A Mayan temple on a cliff above the Caribbean, and iguanas everywhere.

Then Playa Paraíso, the beach the guidebooks are right about.

The beach road is all palm thatch and woven lamps. Very photogenic, very expensive. One cocktail was enough.

Dos Ojos, two eyes into the same cave system. Divers vanished under the rock while I floated above.

A day at Cobá, cycling between ruins under the jungle canopy.

Then north to Chiquilá and the ferry to Holbox. No cars on the island, only golf carts and sand streets.

Holbox town is painted from end to end. Every wall is a mural.

The famous hammocks over the water. Yes, it is as relaxing as it looks.

We walked the sandbar to Punta Mosquito at low tide and found flamingos.

A boat through the mangroves, pelicans everywhere.

The real magic: bioluminescence. Walk into the black water and it lights up blue around your legs.

Last sunrise on the pier. Cenotes before 8am, sunsets on Holbox; I have a new travel rule.