Flamingos at Rio Lagartros
On our August/September 2021 trip to the Yucatan Peninsula, we made a brief stop at the town of Rio Lagartos. We were not sure whether we would be able to spot any of these great pink birds but we needed a break from Pyramids and ancient sites.
Flamingos migrate between two spots on the Yucatan. Celestun is the main feeding ground and the season to visit is mainly between November through March. Rio Lagarto is breeding grounds for the Pinks and the season here is usually April until June. We were, between seasons but wanted a road trip anyway.
Road Essentials
From Cancun or Merida drive to Valladolid. From Valladolid drive North on the 295. This is a 2 lane non-toll road from Valladolid to the gulf waters of Rio Lagartos.
There is a perifrico or ring road around the city of Tizimin that is worth taking as the traffic is very slow inside the city and there ate lots of topes and detours.
For the most part the 295 is straight and in good shape. Expect to drive 60 kmh. The drive takes about an hour and a half and the total distance is 106 kilometers. There are many Cenotes along the way as well as the ancient site of Ek Balam if you want to pack a lot of activities into the road trip.
We drove into town and a dozen or so men tried to grab our attention and stop to take their tours. One followed us on a motorcycle. “We’re rock stars,” I said to Bill. We drove through the town to the water while we searched for a restaurant…there were plenty. Over breakfast we negotiated a tour for two for 1200 pesos – $60usd. (If we had 4 more people with us the price would have remained the same.)
For two hours exactly we trolled the lagoon and spotted many different birds, some crocodiles and of course the flamingos.
Next time an overnight trip would be worth it. There was a variety of hotels and restaurants and there are many activities in the area.
