Caves and cenotes
The best places for caves and cenotes are Belize City, Aruba, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Athens, Mykonos and Kusadasi. Belize City offers cave tubing on a river that runs underground, Aruba has the walk-in Quadirikiri and Fontein caves, and Cozumel has the Jade Cavern, a swimming cenote on an island.
Where it's best
Cave tubing is the draw: you float on an inner tube with a headlamp down a river that disappears into underground passages and through the dark stretches of the cave. Tours also pair it with a zip line or a jungle trek with lunch.
Arikok National Park holds Quadirikiri Cave, with two large chambers lit by openings in the ceiling, stalactites, and bats roosting in the dark corners. Fontein Cave, near San Nicolas, is a shallow cave with reddish-brown pictographs on the ceiling, reachable in a regular car, with a park guide usually at the entrance.
The Jade Cavern (Cenote Chempita) is a calm freshwater pool enclosed by limestone walls, where you can swim and jump from low cliffs about 6 to 10 feet above the water. Unlike the mainland Yucatan cenotes, it sits on an island, and the Maya used the site for ceremonies.
Crystal Caves are spectacular caves set in a lush tropical forest, visited on a caving tour. Boatswain's Beach has the Blue Hole, a sunken cave on the same grounds as the turtle farm, and Bodden Town has the pirate-themed Pirates Caves.
Vouliagmeni Lake fills a cave, fed by mineral currents from underground, and the water stays cool and clear even in winter.
The Dragonisi caverns are underwater rock formations reached on dives, not a walk-in cave. You go down with a guide from a dive centre.
Zeus Cave sits at the entrance of Dilek Peninsula National Park: you scramble down a rocky slope to a 10 m deep brackish pool stained deep blue by minerals, and you can swim in it. The Cave of the Seven Sleepers is a short visit on foot near the Ephesus site, outside the ticketed area.
Tours to book
Prices are per person, booked with our partner, Shore Excursions Group.
Nassau City Highlights with Cave and Rum Tastings
