Flamingo Tours — Local services in Yucatán

On the beach there were a group of people under two wooden roofs. We tried to find other tourists that might be interested in joining a tour. Initially we could find any, but the reason was mainly because besides us everyone just sport Spanish. We joined a tour that was ready to go. In total we were 9 passengers and the two of us payed 400 MXN per person.

The tour room about 2 hours, but could have easily been shorter in my opinion. The boat driver spoke only Spanish. We first cruised along the shore where we saw beautiful Pelicans. Then we stopped and had to get off the boat to walk for a bit to get a view of a group of Flamingos. I was hoping for more Flamingos since we came in season, but that was it. Of the two hours we spend at most 5 minutes watching those Flamingos. Then we headed to the Mangrove tunnel which was ok. The interesting part were the red crabs. After this we continued down the shore and we got hopeful for more Flamingos, but we went to a spot, where some Passengers went swimming for a bit. Then we headed back to the beach.

PS: The adventure starts with parking. We parked on the street where a gentleman who didn't speak much English threatened us that if we don't pay him 40 MXN to watch over our car, then some Bandidos might scratch it. We ended up paying and the car was fine.

PPS: at the entrance of the town across the bridge there is a place where you can watch Flamingos without any tour and also with free parking. We were able to get much closer to the graceful...

We were a group of 8 adults who went on the Flamingo Tour. I highly recommend taking the Ría Celestun Tour. You will find it located on the left side of the road right after you cross the bridge. This is located a few blocks before the town square and the beach on the Gulf of México. The best months to see the flamingos at this location: December- March (according to what i read online). We went at the end of February, and the flamingo population was very large. I took a lot of wonderful photos! Our tour guide, Victor, was fantastic. After taking us to the flamingos, he took us to other places on the lake. We saw many wonderful birds, termite nests, crocodiles, beautiful fish, springs, mangroves... Where the tickets are purchased, there are bathrooms and a few vendors. There is not a full restaurant - only snacks, drinks, and some fruits available. Later in the morning, the hats, T-shirts, swimwear, and the normal souvenirs were also available. I would highly recommend taking this tour! I will be happy to return anytime we have out-of-town guests visiting. Also, after the tour, head into town to go to the beach. The water here is so beautiful! It is worth making the time to go for a stroll, and enjoy one of the on the water...

The flamingoes are amazingly beautiful and exciting to watch. Our guide seemed knowledgeable but spoke no English. We got the gist but I’m sure missed interesting details. Here’s the trick: The boat launches for 1800 pesos (about $88). What they don’t make clear is that you can join up with others and fill the boat (which seats 10) for the same price, or about $9 per person. In our case, they offered a “tour privado,” and we didn’t realize until later that we could have saved some money. In any case, for the price, the tour was very brief. It’s a little over an hour in all, but maybe 20 minutes with actual flamingoes. If you drive through the port, you’ll come to a fork in the road. If you go to the right — and it’s a bad road, so be advised, especially if you’re in a rental car — and drive down the side of the lagoon, you’ll come to several points where you can see flamingoes for free. This will only work in the morning, especially if the tide is low. When the sun gets really hot in the early afternoon, the birds...