Sian Ka'an Adventure

Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve – Punta Allen

In the Yucatec Mayan language, Sian Ka’an means "where the sky is born". Sian Ka’an is one of the largest protected areas in México with 6520 km² (1.6 million acres) and with an enormous amount of biodiversity. The UNESCO program "Man and Biosphere" has three aims: conservation, research and education in order to promote sustainable development. Therefore, people can live within these protected areas and participate in economic activities such as fishing, seasonal agriculture and tourism as long as it is done in a sustainable manner.

With a population of 800 people, the town of Punta Allen is located at the end of a 56 km (35 miles) road strip covered with coastal vegetation, the Caribbean Sea on one side and Ascension Bay on the other side. Fishing for lobster is the main source of income in Punta Allen but tourism has become as important for the local economy because Punta Allen offers an excellent opportunity to experience Caribbean culture and nature.  This is a great tour to explore different marine ecosystems where it is possible to see reptiles such as, crocodiles and sea turtles; birds like frigates, pelicans, boobies, cormorants, herons, egrets, ospreys and many more. Dolphins are a common sight and with luck, a manatee can also be seen.

If the weather allows it, we will snorkel in the Mesoamerican reef (second largest in the world) to enjoy sights of its incredible diversity of fish and coral. When it is time to relax, we visit a beautiful sandbar that the locals refer to as "the world's largest swimming pool". We finish with a delicious Caribbean lunch.

TOUR PROGRAM :

• 7:00 am – 8:00 am pick up
  
•  Once we enter the reserve, we drive 40 minutes aprox. among coastal jungle until we reach the boat dock. Please be aware that the road is unpaved and bumpy.
  
• Laguna boat tour: explore mangrove forests, freshwater springs & the famous Boca Paila where the wetlands meet the sea
  
• Lookout for manatees and crocodiles
  
• Visit cays with colonies of incredible birds
  
• Search for dolphins, sea turtles and more
  
• Snorkel in the world´s second largest coral reef (subject to weather conditions)
  
• Enjoy swimming in the clearest tropical water at ¨Nature's swimming pool¨
  
• Delicious Caribbean lunch in Punta Allen pueblo
  
• 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. return (subject to traffic and hotel/villas localization)

INCLUDED :

• Transportation in Air-Conditioned

• Van with cooler (fruit, water, snacks)

• Entrance fees to the reserve

• Professional guidance

• Boat with snorkel equipment(mask, snorkel and fins)

• The Snorkel activity is not included and is a bonus if the weather is good to do it

• Lunch and non-alcoholic drinks

IMPORTANT TO KNOW : 

Who can participate ? 

This tour is not suitable for pregnant women or very young children (under 6 years old).

If we discover that a women is pregnant at the moment of pick up, our guide won't be able to allow her to go on the tour and there won't be any refund possible.

Minimum Participants:

This tour requires a minimum of 6 people to run the tour. If we do not hit this minimum, we reserve the right to cancel the tour, in which case we will contact you to offer an alternative tour or send a refund.

Pick Up Time:

Please be aware that we will communicate your pick up time via a personalized email and it will vary from the automatic pick up time sent by the booking platform as we have to calculate it manually depending on your hotel/airbnb location.

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Drop Off Time:

Please be aware that drop off time vary depending on hotel/villas locations and the rhythm of each group.

Cancellation Policy:

Each tour should be booked by paying a deposit.

• In case of cancellation more than 24 hrs before the pickup, we do not charge you any cost and will give you back your deposit.

• In case of cancellation between 24 and 12 hrs before the pickup México Kan Tours will take your deposit in order to pay for the costs already made.

• In case of cancellation less than 12 hrs before the pick up or in case of no show we will charge you 100% of the total amount of your tour.

Payments:

Credit card payments have a fee up to 7% depending on Credit Cards. We recommend bringing cash. 
Our prices are in USD. Please be aware that we work with a monthly based exchange rate for Payments in Pesos or Euros.
When you book your tour, you will receive a confirmation email with all the details.