Mérida: Las Coloradas And Río Lagartos With Boat Tour And Lunch

Pink salt flats are unique and an amazing experience but a LOOONG way from Mérida (3 hours each way). Beach was fine but we were there on a chilly day and there was a lot of seaweed. Boat tour wonderful—make sure you dress for the wind—saw crocodiles, hundreds of birds and flamingos. Lunch was excellent

The tour was great but the journey is long! The fact that we were not many, we end up going in a small car that was not as comfortable as expected! The tour guide was really nice and did accommodate everything the group required and it was an overall great experience! We were lucky enough to see a small group of pink flamingos even outside of the ideal timing to visit them!

Our driver/guide Carlos was excellent! Super knowledgeable and very friendly went above to translate everything to English for us :) The stops were so beautiful & a great way to do multiple adventures in one package. I have never seen anything like the pink lagoons! The boat trip through the mangroves was incredible to see all the wildlife!

Positives - transport was comfy with good air conditioning & driver/tour organiser (Abraham) was very friendly & did his job well (he explained he didn't speak much English which didn't bother me as he wasn't a tour guide). The things we saw & did on this tour were amazing. Highlight had to be seeing the flamingos and whizzing down Rio Lagartos on a boat, but all the other parts (Visiting Las Coloradas, the trip to the beach, the lovely meal & even the pit stop at a farm shop on the way back) made it a brilliant day out & worth the long journey. Negatives - The tour guide on the boat either wouldn't or couldn't speak English & didn't even give an initial safety message in English. I learnt zero about flamingos/wildlife/the river from this guy. The tour guide given to us at Las Coloradas could speak English but you had to continually ask for it, whereas the Spanish was given automatically. I was given only a fraction of the information that the Spanish speaking tourists on my tour were given. The trip advisor page for this tour states that the tour is in 'English/Spanish' - I really would suggest that the tour company change this tour description to 'Spanish only' if they continue to use the same guides.

I went on this tour with my mom and we had a great time. The tour was well paced and our guide was profesional and accommodating. Though the drive from Merida is long, the vehicle was air conditioned and comfortable, and ultimately worth it to see Las Coloradas and Rio Lagartos. The local lunch was also solid. Note that the tour does not pickup from airbnbs, so you must elect to pick up at a nearby hotel. We had no problems with the pick up though did have to walk nearly 15 minutes to the nearest hotel.

Carlos (the organiser of the tour and driver) is perfectly fluent in English and Spanish. It was a romantic activity, where you have a chance to take amazing pics. It was divided into 3 parts: 1. Las Coloradas: beautiful artificial salty lakes, with a pink color. There is another guide explaining a bit the context of the lake. 2. A beach: It was a good break as it was too hot and we needed to chill a bit. However, we had to face a ton of mosquitos. 3. A boat tour: We had the chance to see one crocodile. You should see many flamingos, regardless of the season. It was what I was looking for, and it's a good day trip for a honeymoon. It takes the entire day, it's relaxing. I'm usually into more sporty stuff but it was a good break and allowed us to do/see something different.

Our tour guide Carlos and driver Andres were excellent. I recommend this tour. What interesting places to go and see The mangroves the boat tour, salt fields and beaches.

This tour was a really great experience! They were super accommodating and picked us up from our hotel even if it was a little out of the way. Carlos was very professional and communication was great! Every person we interacted with was so kind and helpful. I'd definitely recommend this trip if you love nature and wildlife.

This tour fell short of our expectations and overall, I would not recommend it. I hate to write critical reviews but I would want to know this information if I were booking so here we go. We had a group of 4, 2 of whom spoke very limited Spanish, one of whom spoke on Spanish, and one of whom is fluent. In the total group there were two other guests, both Spanish speakers. The biggest issue at the start is that they were over 40 minutes late to pick us up, without any communication, explanation, apology, or even acknowledgement. We could have had a much nicer morning had we not been sitting at the pick up point waiting with no answers for the better part of an hour. It was a stressful and annoying start and very off putting. Secondly, while the guide was bilingual, he provided MUCH more information in Spanish than in English and then expected the Spanish speakers in our group to fill in the gaps. This was supposed to be a tour in English according to the post when we booked it. If you don't speak Spanish, I would not recommend. Our boat guide didn't speak any English although he was wonderful and tried his best with Google translate. The post also didn't mention that the tour would be heavily outsourced, meaning that the boat driver and river guide, as well as the guide at Las Coloradas, were separate people than our main guide. Our guide was not helpful and really the duo of driver and guide should have been one person because the only service they offered was transportation. They weren't very friendly and even the other people in our group were very frustrated with them as well. While we loved the boat guide and found him to be extremely friendly and knowledgeable, the life jackets did not have functioning buckles. I can swim but for those who can't this would be really scary. Also a big issue with kids. This seems like something the tour guide should have vetted for, frankly it's kind of the least they can do. In terms of the content of the day, the salt lakes are cool but to me not a must see. It's also tricky because if it's not windy they don't look very pink at all. The beach was fine, it was definitely refreshing after a hot morning. The river boat was the coolest part by far and we learned the most then. I would have done a full day tour just focused on the river.

My husband and I highly recommend this tour! We were picked up from our hotel in Merida and communication was smooth with WhatsApp. The van was comfortable, and air conditioned- our driver was an expert and we felt safe. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, funny, and kind (and spoke fluent English). From Merida, to the Pink Lagoons, to a clean beach with warm water, a boat ride to see Yucatán’s stunning nature on our way to lunch, and back again to Merida- it was a perfect (full) day. Keep in mind the travel time from Merida to the lagoons is 3 hours (but I promise it is worth it).

Our guide Carlos and our driver were excellent which on a long trip made it go by quickly. Our favorite part was the river cruise. The pint flamingos put on quite a show as a group of young males did some courtship practice. The crocodiles were incredible coming up right next to the boat. We saw pelicans which would ride on the front of the boat. Would liked a little more time slowly going by the edges of the river/lake. A better place to change into our swimming suits would be nice. All in all we had a great experience. Food was really good after the boat trek.

Great experience. We had a surprise rain that altered expectations but made the trip a great memorable experience.

The weather was poor but Carlos was a great guide and helped to make the best of a cold rainy day. He even sought out stores for us to buy warm clothes when the weather took a turn.

I was happy with this tour to the Colorados and Ría Lagartos. It’s s long drive - maybe 3 hours - and in total the trip will take around 12 hours. As advertised, you will see colourful salt ponds - note these are part of a salt making operation, so it’s sort of an industrial site as opposed to a natural lake -

Victor the guide was very informative and friendly for the tour. The pink lagoon and the Rio ligartos, the beach and the lunch was a nice way to spend the day.

Julio and Jesus were great tour guides! Picked us up right at our hotel, drove us to the Pink Lagoons and very very informative along the way. Always were kind and polite. The tour itself was great! We toured the Pink Lagoons, went to a beach, then went on a boat tour where we got a Mayan bath, saw crocodiles, birds, and flamingos. After the boat tour, we were taken to a local restaurant and the. Were able to walk around a bit before driving back to Merida. Definitely worth it!

Great tour to Las Coloradas and a boat tour in Rio Largartos! The pink water was beautiful and very different, and the tour is timed so that you arrive when the sun is close to overhead, when the pink really comes out. The property has its own guide that take over from the tour guide you came with, and the Las Coloradas guides do a great job of sharing history, information, and taking impressive photos for you and/or your group. In between, you stop at a small local beach, just long enough for a short swim. The boat tour in Rio Largartos was especially great for seeing crocodiles and flamingos. I think we spent longer trying to entice crocodiles to come out than we did with the flamingos. The secret there seems to be that some boat guides bring small fish in coolers, and other boat guides splash the water with their hands to mimic the sound of prey.

The company asked for changing the date and despite booking English tour, the specialized tour guide spoke only Spanish. Not sure if this is worth the money and more importantly - 3 hours on the van each way.

Great tour! I enjoy so much with my famly the place! Coloradas is really nice and the lancha tour is great!!

Love this place! It is fantastic and the beach is just wonderful! I want to go back!! It is just magical

I love this place! Is just great for enjoy and for sure take photos!! We had a great time with the tour!

The experience was very beautiful, Las Coloradas and Rio Lagartos are truly beautiful places. The guide and the transfer were very good. The only thing we did not love was the restaurant; the food did not seem good to me and neither did the place, the showers to rinse off were horrible and the bathrooms were dirty. Other than that, we loved the tour; I do recommend it.

Pink Lake is beautiful, you can't imagine it's salt flats, nature is well protected. Locals are very conscious of protecting the natural environment, and tourism has done little damage to the ecological environment.

Excellent, very friendly driver, all service was excellent, safe and respectful, I travel alone and always safe, highly recommend.

The 3 places are amazing and exceeded our expectations. The service is excellent, we were treated very kindly. Mr. Javier is an expert in your work. Thank you!

Overall, the tour was satisfactory. However, you have to be aware that the Pink Lagoon is not a nature phenomenon, but a salt factory and you cannot enter the water there. In addition, “lunch” is not served until 4.30 pm. Unfortunately, we were also unlucky that our bus, despite a tour booked in English, spoke only Spanish. Although the tour guides tried hard and occasionally translated information, many clues were lost.

El tour fue excelente El día estaba precioso, Jorge y el Abeja fueron super simpaticos y atanciosos. El guía en las Coloradas fue excelente nos dio tiempo a mirar y sacó fotos increíbles. El guía de Río Lagartos también nos llevo muy cerca de la biodiversidad y el mergullo cerca del Golfonestuvo espetacular. La comida al final cerró con llave de oro. Fantástico chico, gracias!

Great tour with Carlos, this excursion is worth it despite its fairly expensive price. We saw flamingos, crocodiles etc. The meal is in a restaurant/hotel and it is really qualitative compared to other excursions. On the other hand, there is 1 hour free in a beach and it is in full sun and at midday not great in terms of sunburn. We had a little problem when we returned, the van broke down but Carlos and his driver were very proactive. They made us safe. He also took the opportunity to share some stories with us, it was ultimately a very good moment.

Excellent tour, with incredible landscapes. Bring plenty of sunscreen and a swimsuit to swim in the Gulf of Mexico. And a good camera to take photos of the 🦩 and lizards.

Super recommended, amazing experience and view. The coloradas are beautiful and I got many amazing photos.

Excellent trip I loved!! The place is very good and the guide is excellent. Definitely worth it.

Beautiful place, an emblematic place of Yucatan. We got a very good weather and we could appreciate the beautiful colors