Carwash Cenote Tulum (Aktun Ha): Fee, Swimming, Diving

Why it is called Carwash

The nickname comes from taxi drivers who used to wash their cars with the cenote's water; the official name, Aktun Ha, is Maya for 'water cave' (Couple Travel the World, January 2023). It sits right beside the Cobá road, which is why it was handy for a wash long before it had a ticket booth.

Swimming or diving at Carwash

For swimmers it is an open pool about 3 m deep in most sections and 15 m at the deepest (Couple Travel the World, 2023), with lily pads and turtles (Tulum Times, 2026) and a jumping platform (undated guide). A small alligator lives there and is rarely seen. You must use the outdoor showers first, and sunscreen, insect repellent and alcohol are not allowed. Below the pool is a cave that reaches 27 m, part of a flooded system about 3 km long, and cave diving there is allowed only with an authorised guide (Viajando por el Mundo Mundial, undated). A cavern dive needs at least an Open Water card; going past the daylight needs cave training. La Calypso Dive Center in Tulum lists Car Wash among the cenotes for its two-dive day at 170 dollars, entrance fees included (rates page, 2024). See our cenote diving guide.

Carwash entrance fee and hours

The figures are old or approximate, and there is no official website, so bring pesos in cash and expect the price at the gate to be higher than the 2023 sign. We found no separate fee for divers. Hours were 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in January 2023; an undated guide gives 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., so arrive well before 5 p.m.

• 100 pesos (January 2023) — Price on the entrance sign; staff still charged the old 50 pesos that day.
• 200 pesos (undated) — Viajando por el Mundo Mundial.
• About 15 dollars (October 2026) — Tulum Times.
• Locker, 30 pesos; camera, 150 pesos — On the sign in January 2023; the camera charge was not enforced then.

How to get to Carwash from Tulum and Cancún

Carwash is 8 to 9 km from downtown Tulum toward Cobá, about 12 minutes by car, past Cenote Calavera and Gran Cenote on the same road. From Cancún, ADO buses reach Tulum in about 2.5 hours for 250 to 300 pesos from downtown; the Tren Maya takes 1 h 32 min to 1 h 43 min. From Tulum a taxi or bike covers the rest.

• Downtown Tulum — 8 to 9 km, about 12 minutes by car
• Gran Cenote — on the same road, 4 to 5 km from Tulum
• Cancún — about 130 km to Tulum, about 2.5 hours by ADO

Carwash on a Tulum cenote day

Carwash fits a morning on the Cobá road with Calavera and Gran Cenote. To compare the cenotes around Tulum, see our ranking. None of the six tours we list stops at Carwash; the Tulum ruins and cenote day swims at Cenote Mariposa. Private guides and dive centres are compared on our cenote tours page.