Cenote Chaak Tun — Attraction in Quintana Roo

60 ft underground, in total darkness, standing in 5ft of water accompanied by bats, catfish, a passing turtle and the occasional scorpion spider, you get a full minute of silent oblivion to decide if you've made the right decision to join this tour.

Or, if you're like me, you get to pretend, just for a minute, that you are, after all, more than just an armchair-David Attenborough, more than a bathtub-Jacques Cousteau. You really are venturing into an extensively as-yet unexplored, underground world.

Wading and clambering past strange and wierd rock formations- is that really a fossilised turtle or eagle? - and moving quietly past fruit bats that cling to the cave roof like forgotten, dusty, party decorations. Beside us are long, fine strands that look like hair and are actually the roots of trees that have somehow managed to creep through 60ft of rock.

A glimpse under the water surface reveals the dark, foreboding entrances to even further depths. The abyss. Welcoming only to proper scuba-divers or the adventurously insane. Or both.

Snorkelling and squeezing under the mass of stalactites feels like you are sliding down the throat and into the belly of some gargantuan, gruesome monster on the latest Harry Potter ride in Florida.

And how bad have we become? Confronted with an awesome, ancient and natural wonder, we think of a ride at Disneyland. Doh.

Except that you're not strapped in. And this one is real.

Fortunately, just as real are the well organised, well trained, professional guides that are - like the best theme parks - making sure you get an enthralling experience without the risk. Ours were the cheery, informative Abel and his quiet, unnamed colleague. Authoritative and wet-suited, this unidentified man-in-black followed us all the way through, like a silent, discrete body-guard. In their good hands, we are back home in the comfort of our arm-chairs and strapped in like at Disney.

Which is what you pay for. At $25 per head, this isn't the cheapest cenote to visit. The almost 2-hour tour takes you through caves, pools and caverns, past stalecmites, -tites and columns, underneath hanging bats and past a scorpion spider hanging around and living off who-knows-what.

And it all culminates in a jungle-like cavern with you diving into a pool of cool, clear water of indescribable freshness and unknowable depth. The cavern once fed and watered the ancient Mayans. The setting would have done proud to both Tarzan and Pochohontas in equal measure.

Is it cheating to put something on your bucket list after you've visited? OK. I don't care if it is cheating. This one's going on my list with a tick and a large asterisk advising me to repeat at the next available opportunity.

Need to know stuff - facts, figures and logistics

We took a taxi from outside our hotel and agreed the price with the driver beforehand. $14 each-way for the 20 minute drive from our hotel in Playacar.

We agreed the time, and the same driver picked us up afterwards

They have all the equipment there at no extra charge. You just need to leave an ID or a $20 deposit.

We took our own snorkels and you definitely need water-shoes.

You don't need a wet-suit.

I took my own underwater camera ... They don't have a problem with that and they don't hassle you to buy their photos

Taking your own photos is - as I discovered - quite tricky. Above water you need the flash on and below water you need it off. Most of my underwater photos came out as a haze of bubbles when I left the flash on...

There are good, safe locker and bathroom facilities for getting changed and leaving your stuff.

There is no food or drink on sale there...

As others have advised, get there late or early to avoid the bigger groups. There were just 5 of us...

Took this tour as a cruise excursion. Highly recommended. What you need to know:

The excursion is on the mainland, so as soon as we got off the boat, we were taken to a ferry to get us from Cozemul to mainland. This ferry ride is very, very rough. Several people got sick, including me. The employees on the boat are readily available with bags. Ride is about 30 to 40 minutes. If you get even a little motion sick, I would take dramamine and something with ginger to suck on. (I didn't let this affect my star rating as this was just the way to get to this excursion)

We had three amazing tour guides, Alex, Luigi, and James, that all spoke English and Spanish. They are there to help you every step of the way once you get off the ferry.

Short van ride to the Cenote site.

The tour is amazing! Definitely wear or bring a swimsuit to change into. (Maybe a towel too) They provide everything else needed, including a locker at no extra charge. You will 100% get wet as you are swimming in the river, which at parts is deep. It wasn't scary, even if you aren't a great swimmer. They provide life jackets for everyone and the swimming parts are fairly short.

Not a lot of history about the Mayans, just enough to explain what the area was to them.

Afterwards, we were served delicious homemade tacos and tamales and different salsas.

The tequila tasting was fun too. All the tequilas tasted super great and at no point do they aggressive sell you.

We ended with a short shopping time near 5th Avenue and a ferry ride back to the island.

Overall, as much as the ferry ride sucked, I am still extremely happy I did this tour. It has a little bit of everything you want to do/experience in Mexico and all the people are wonderful. Also, they have someone follow to take photos which you can purchase for not too...

Sorry guys, just had to share this review. 1st of all, your time for swimming is limited. Most cenotes you can swim until it closes. They do this because they give you a "tour" of the place. The girl said it was because the current is very dangerous, but honestly their is no current. Lol. They try to get you out before the next group comes. 2. Very expensive!!!! Overly priced. 30 bucks per person, when most cenotes charge about 3-5 bucks to go swim. 3. It's actually very small. You can do the whole thing in about 7-10 minutes but they give you a guide and stretch it out to a 45 minute swim. 4. I overpaid for a family of 5, and still was expected to give the tour guide a tip. Because according to them, they live off the tips from the patrons. For a 30 dollar charge I would think they got paid well enough. Sorry to sound cheap, just think you can do a lot more with 150$. The place is nice, they provide flashlights, and a wet suit if you opt for it, but all other cenotes are a lot more affordable. The reason this is over priced is they are adament you leave a good review on trip advisor to keep suckering tourists. If you are looking for a cool cenote experience look somewhere else. The only positive about the whole thing was the facts by our guide. But over all I felt ripped off by the whole experience after paying 5 bucks for an amazing cenote nearby....