I love Bacalar, because it is super beautiful, the people are nice and it has such a magical vibe that calms everybody down!
Sustainability is really important and everybody takes care of the lake, forest and animals.
From Playa del Carmen you can get there by ADO bus which takes you about 3.5 hours.
There are already a few hostels and low cost hotels to find for all kinds of travelers at Bacalar town and also in its surroundings around the lake. A night costs between 5 and 10USD depending if you want to sleep in a hammock, tent, school bus, dorm, private room or cabaña :)
It is perfect to escape from the loud party city Playa Del Carmen and just get to some chilly hammock over the water in the middle of now where watching the beautiful water or even the stars at night.
Almost every place has a swing and hammocks on the water. People love it to take awesome pictures.
The lagoon, which technically is a lake, is known as the Lagoon of Seven Colors. That´s because on a sunny day you can see lots of different blue and green colors, depending on the different depths of it.
It is constituted by 3 different cenotes located inside of it and officially it is the biggest lake of Mexico considering that its 42km long and 4km wide. Bacalar City is right next to the lagoon. The rest of its surroundings is mostly jungle where you can find lots of birds and sometimes even monkeys.
Mostly people just chill at their hammock all day long and enjoy the beautiful view of the water. Often it just seems like being on the Maldives. If you want to get more active you can also get a Kayak almost everywhere to explore the lake or do stand up paddle.
Whatever you do, don´t miss the beautiful sunrise in the morning!!
To get more around you have to take an excursion which brings you to Pirate Fort or Blue Cenote by boat. Another option is to go and see the Archaeological Site of Kohunlich, which is right next to Bacalar and has a Jaguar Temple.
If you are at the Riviera Maya with time or heading south to Belize or Guatemala anyway this place should be definitely on your bucket list!