Fun plans for Celestun
To visit Celestun is to discover a charming fishing village in the Yucatan Peninsula. This is one of the best destinations to see flamingos in Mexico. Since it is located near Merida, you can visit its biosphere reserve in one day while enjoying its long, quiet beaches. Here are some fun plans for Celestun.
See the flamingos
To see the flamingos in Celestun, you must take a boat tour. It is a small boat with a maximum capacity of 8 people and a driver-guide that takes you through the Celestun Biosphere Reserve, also called Ría Celestún. Here, the fresh water of the Celestun estuary meets the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico and creates a rich ecosystem. There are 300 species of birds, such as ducks, that migrate from Canada, pelicans, ardeids, albatrosses, frigate birds, but the big stars are the pink flamingos.
Doing ecotourism
Celestun is one of the best places for ecotourism in Mexico. Find a tour that focuses much more on bird watching and the effort to restore the mangroves and estuary. Or an eco-responsible tour, which means, not using a motorized boat: no pollution and no stress for the birds.
Fun plans for Celestun: Explore Jaltun Park
Here is another place to visit in Celestun that is unfortunately too often forgotten. It is an ecotourism park dedicated to the preservation of the environment and raising awareness of its biodiversity. It offers guided trips in canoe or kayak to discover the fauna and flora of mangroves. You can also take hiking trails, visit the botanical garden and its orchids, discover the crocodile farm and swim in the natural pool.
Enjoy the beach
The great thing about Celestun beach is that it is much less crowded than Progreso or the Riviera Maya. The beach is wide, the sand is fine, the water is calm and shallow, perfect for the whole family. You can’t expect beach club comfort, but a quiet and clean beach is already a luxury. If you want a cocktail, there are several restaurants facing the beach, close to the main square.
Fun plans for Celestun: Visit the pink lake of salt
Also worth visiting in Celestun are the salt ponds called “charcas”. These pink pools of water with a beautiful mirror effect are reminiscent of Las Coloradas, but the ones in Celestun are natural and not artificial like in Ria Lagartos. The color of the pools and the flamingos is due to the artemia salina, a small crustacean that is found in the water and contains carotene.
