Guardianes de los Manglares de Dzinintún - 97367 Celestún

This was fantastic trip. I will never forget it. Slow Traveling in canoe trough mangrove forest, watching fabulous color changing of water, listening life of forest will be in my memory forever. You won’t get such emotions on speed motor boats. Special thanks to our captain and a great guide - Jose.

Two hour tour by kayak and on foot. Saw numerous flamingos, herons, and countless other birds. Our guide spoke English and was very knowledgeable about the flora, fauna, natural and human history. They help promote awareness to keep this important area free of development and pollution. Oh, and we found an alligator!

Celestun - Guardianes de los Manglares de Dzinintún We were very lucky and followed our instincts not to rent a boat for almost 2000 pesos at the Paradror Celestun to go flamingo photo hunting. Instead we found the team from Guardianes de los Manglares de Dzinintún who are dedicated to reforesting and protecting the mangroves. We experienced one of the most beautiful impressions of nature in Yucatan. Angel led us through the mangroves in a canoe (almost like in Venice) we could observe different birds, crocodiles, fish and enjoyed the silence of the mangroves. After a visit to the raccoons, we visited the part of the mangroves destroyed by the hurricane, which is being restored to nature in idle work by nature and humans. To top it off, we came to a part of the lagoon where the flamingos could be admired in all their splendor and beauty. Thank you Angel for the great guide and we wish everyone reading this experience for themselves.

Very nice tour through the mangrove. Look around you and you will see a lot of beautiful animals. If you look carefully you can find small crocodiles. Tour guide did not talk english perfectly but was understandable. His enthousiasm for his job and him being proud to show us the nature of his country made this tour just perfect.

Besides using the motor boats you can visit the manglares using a kayak or a canoe, which depart from another zone, about a kilometer from the Parador, where you walk through a wooden bridge that take you through the forest until you arrive to small water channels where all the manglar trees and fauna are located. There you take, a small canoe that a guide takes you similar to the gondolas in Venice. The tour crosses 800 meters of manglares, where I was able to ser from lizards, small crocodile and their babies, golden spider and an eagle. After visiting the manglares you exit to the Ría, where the water waves make a shaky ride until you arrive to a small dock, from where the forest recovery area is located (during a hurricane about 20 years ago it wiped an entire area o manglares, where you can see still the remaining of the manglar trees. At this point, moto-taxi (motor bike with a housing), takes you back to where you left your car.

This mangrove and flamingo tour was one of the big highlights of a really great trip to Merida. Jose was an amazing, knowledgeable tour guide who had a conversation with an owl, showed us a nest of baby alligators, and knew every single bird and creature we spotted. He's a great storyteller, especially if you can understand Spanish! The flamingoes are breathtaking, as is Jose's dedication to the mangrove restoration project. I can't do justice to the beauty and peacefulness of the mangroves - you'll have to experience it for yourself. The whole team was so nice and helpful - we even saw them later at the beachfront Celestun restaurant Jose recommended (Pampano)! Be prepared for a beautiful walk on a rickety boardwalk at the end of the loop.

Amazing tour through the mangroves and over the river. Tour guide Isaac went all the way to give us a great experience and even took us to see some flamencos free of charge. Furthermore, he was very knowledgable of the wildlife in the area. The tour is a bit expensive but I would certainly recommend it, especially since the money is used to restore the mangroves. Just give Jose a call/whatsapp and he will manage the rest.

We had a wonderful early morning tour of the mangroves and the river. Angel was our guide and he was wonderful and engaging. We saw baby crocodiles, a possum, flamingos flying overhead and manta rays! It is obvious that the ecotourism cooperative cares deeply about preservation. We paid 1300 pesos for two people on a canoe.