Cenote Zací, Valladolid: Fee, Swimming and Location

Where Cenote Zací is

Zací fills most of the block formed by Calles 34, 36, 37 and 39, a few blocks northeast of Valladolid's main plaza (Wikipedia). That urban setting is unusual for a cenote, and the site has a restaurant and artisans selling handcrafts. The name means 'white hawk' and comes from the Maya settlement that stood here before the Spanish founded Valladolid in 1543; the cenote was once the town's water source.

Zací entrance fee and hours

In January 2025 the town council raised the fee from 60 to 150 pesos for adults, about 150% more, saying other cenotes in the region charge about 200 pesos on average (Diario de Yucatán, 2 January 2025). The same report counted about 281 visitors a day in December 2024. We found no 2026 figure and no official or dated source for the opening hours, so check the times posted at the gate. Compare other gates on what a cenote costs.

• Adult, 150 pesos — Up from 60 pesos before January 2025.
• Child, 75 pesos — Up from 30 pesos.
• Mexican senior with INAPAM card, 75 pesos — Half the adult price.

Swimming at Zací

Swimming is permitted (Wikipedia). A sloping passage with stairs cut into the rock leads down to the water. The cave is about 150 ft (46 m) across, and Wikipedia gives the water as 25 to 30 m deep in the shallower parts and about 100 m at the deepest, so this is a deep-water swim. Some visitors jump from a ledge, but Yucatán's cenote rules (Decree 193/2014) ban running and jumping inside cenotes. The same rules require a shower before you enter and no lotion or sunscreen in the three hours before, except organic, biodegradable products, and require swimming cenotes to keep a lifeguard and life jackets for rent. Wikipedia noted there were no changing rooms; Diario de Yucatán reported changing rooms in January 2025 that were closed on New Year's Day. See our cenote swimming guide.

Zací on a Valladolid day

Zací pairs with the cave cenotes outside town. Cenote Suytun near Valladolid is 8.3 km east, a cave cenote with a stone platform under a hole in the roof, and Ik Kil is about 40 km west near Chichén Itzá. Our Valladolid cenotes page lines them up.

• Valladolid main plaza — a few blocks, on foot
• Cenote Suytun — about 9 km, 10 minutes by road
• Cenote Ik Kil and Chichén Itzá — about 40 km, 35 to 45 minutes
• Cancún — about 158 km, about 2 hours

Getting there from Cancún

By car it is about 158 km on the route planner, just under 2 hours. ADO runs about 42 buses a day from Cancún to Valladolid, taking 2 h 15 min to 2 h 20 min, listed at about 14 dollars (roughly 260 pesos) for late-October 2026 dates (CheckMyBus). The bus terminal is in the town centre, and Valladolid also has a Tren Maya station (Wikipedia). You do not need a tour for Zací: see visiting cenotes without a tour.

Tours that pass through Valladolid

The Chichén Itzá day with a cenote swim we list (Amigo Tours LATAM, from $57, 4.6 on 8,731 reviews of this tour on GetYourGuide) makes a panoramic visit in Valladolid, and its swim is at Cenote Chichikan, not Zací. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Other days that include Valladolid are compared on our cenote tours page.