A Guide to Visiting Las Coloradas Pink Lake

There’s a lot of places on instagram that look too good to be true and are obviously enhanced with filters. But Las Coloradas Pink Lake is not one of them! The bright water colored by salt and algae is absolutely stunning and just as bright as pictures! But although the appearance lives up to photos,  like many beautiful places there are still some limitations to visiting the flamingo colored lake that you might not know before going.

Firstly, when researching Las Coloradas, I had come across pictures and videos of people going into the water and also some even driving along the sand roads in between the pools of pink water, making for an amazing drone shot. However, when I arrived the entire place was fenced off and there was only one entrance I could find. At this entrance you had to pay a tour guide to walk out to the pink lake with you to a designated area where you could see it and take pictures, but no swimming or even touching the water was allowed. Absolutely sure that I had seen videos of people swimming here, my boyfriend and I circled the property looking for another unknown entrance. Without luck, we didn’t find one. Now from looking online, I realize this tour guide and fenced off situation is a new addition because of the growing popularity of Las Coloradas. So whether its for preservation or to make money, I’m not sure, either way it was the situation I settled for. Don’t get me wrong though, it was still amazing to see the pink water up close, get pictures, and honestly our tour guide was really nice and funny and I really enjoyed the experience (I usually don’t like guided tours as much)!

So do I recommend going?? Yes! But with reservations.. I wouldn’t put it at the top of my Mexico to do list simply because of the effort and time it takes to get there vs how much time you can actually spend there since you cannot swim etc.. So basically, if you have the time, I believe it’s worth seeing the unreal pink water but I wouldn't sweat it if you're unsure or cannot make the longer trip, and I definitely wouldn't skip out on some amazing cents to see the pink lake instead. But if you're up for the trip, pack some snacks and make a playlist for an enjoyable ride!

Getting There

Las Coloradas Pink Lake is on the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. It is 1 hour and 40 minutes from Valladolid, 3 hours from Cancun, 3 hours from Tulum and 4 hours from Playa del Carmen.

Way of transportation is by tour bus or car. My personal recommendation is to rent a car. Not only is it cheaper, but it’s much more fun and allows you flexibility within your own trip. Tour buses leave from Tulum, Cancun and Playa del Carmen, which would be a rather long bus ride and they don’t always take you to the prime pink spot, so I’ve read. If you’re really set on taking a bus though you can book from here: getyourguide.com

Renting a car from Cancun airport is very easy. There are a lot of companies at Cancun airport to choose from or you can book ahead online which is what I recommend. Make sure and compare prices and read the fine print! I made the mistake of booking and paying for “insurance” online when renting my car, when really I should have just skipped that and booked the insurance at the car company when picking it up (which is much more important).

I booked through rentalcars.com and got a car through MEX for $35 a day. Again I made the mistake of messing up the insurance and it being more expensive, but typically cars seem to be around $15-$30 a day. You can also rent from car rentals.com and discovercarhire.com.

If you're renting a car, when putting in directions to google maps be sure to type in Las Coloradas Pink Lake (not just Las Coloradas). Be sure to fill up your gas tank as there are no stations between Valladolid and the pink lake. At the entrance there is parking and you'll see the tour guide stand immediately (if not pointed in that direction by the workers). To go into the lake was about $5.

Where to Stay

Near the coast where Las Colorados Pink Lake resides, there's not much at all; 20 minutes away is Rio Lagartos where you can find some hotels. However, because your visit to Las Colorados will not take long, I don’t believe its worth it to find accomodation all the way out there. The best way is to stay in Valladolid where there’s so much to do, and take a day trip out to the pink lake. This is exactly what I did and it’s very doable and a nice day trip!

Valladolid has a lot of hostels and hotels, with plenty of nicer and/or cheap accomodations available. You can find either on booking.com or hostelworld.com. I stayed in Valladolid for several days and split my time between El Zaguan Colonial Hotel and Hotel Zentik. Hotel Zentik was more of a splurge for my boyfriend and I , but most other places you can easily find for around $40 a night and many times cheaper.