While staying in Valladolid, Mexico, we decided to go on road trips every day. We found Cenote X’Keken (pronounced “esh-ke-ken”) was just over a 10 minute drive from our hotel in central Valladolid, and there are many other cenotes nearby (such as Cenote Samula, on the same property). If you aren’t familiar with cenotes, they are water-filled sinkholes, known for their beautiful clear water and refreshing swimming. 

We drove our rental car (from Avant car rental in Cancun) and used Google Maps to find the cenote without a problem. Keep in mind this is part of the Dznitup group of cenotes.

The roads are good here, and there is a large parking lot as well.

We paid for our tickets at the ticket booth. We actually visited Cenote Samula first, before walking over to X’Keken.

We were given mandatory life jackets, and as with most cenotes, you have to take a shower first to rinse off any bug spray, sunscreen, etc.

Note – the first cenote we walked to was Cenote Samula.

This is Cenote Samula:

Once we were done at Cenote Samula, we headed over to Cenote X’Keken. It is a short walk between the two cenotes.

It was pouring between our trips to the cenotes. However, we were already wet from swimming, and there were spots to stand out of the rain.

There are stairs leading down to the cenote.

The staircase isn’t long, and it is easy to get down to the cenote.

This cenote is mostly a cavern, although it does have some sunlight coming through a spot in the roof of the cave.

There are places to sit, although most everything is wet from people sitting and putting their wet life jackets.

The cenote was a little busy. It took me a while to get a photo without a lot of people in it.

People were mostly clustered in the light rays coming through the ceiling.

There is not much to do here, other than a little bit of swimming, as much of the area is roped off and contains formations in the water.

There are no spots to jump in, no zipline, etc. You are required to wear a life jacket as well.

Overall, this cenote was nice to visit, but not a favorite. There was not much as far as swimming, and it was tough to get to the spot with the ray of light amongst the other tourists. However, most cenotes we visit are predominantly open air (mostly open on top), so it was nice to see the cave formations. There are also shops, bathrooms, and showers here. I would recommend going earlier in the day to avoid any tourist crowds and tourist buses.

Pros: Easy to get to, near Valladolid, good roads and parking, easy walk from the ticket booth, unique cavern type cenote (with ceiling opening)

Cons: Not a lot of room for swimming, a little crowded, you can’t jump in, no zipline

Check out my Tips for Visiting Cenotes

Check out my other Mexico blog posts