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You are here: Home / Mexico / Punta Laguna Nature Reserve Quintana Roo Mexico

Punta Laguna Nature Reserve Quintana Roo Mexico

August 19, 2019 By Cerys Parker

19 Aug

Part of our wishlist for our Mexican Road Trip was to combine a mix of nature, culture (both modern and ancient) with some relaxation. Punta Laguna was one that when it was mentioned by Stubborn Mule I was eager to visit. It didn’t disappoint and our experience was more than I hoped it would be. So here we go our guide to Punta Laguna Nature Reserve in Mexico.

Spider Monkey in the Punta Laguna Spider Monkey Reserve Mexico
Spider Monkey Baby captured by T or J in Punta Laguna Reserve Quintana Roo

Discover More:

  • Punta Laguna Spider Monkey Reserve
  • What Makes Punta Laguna Reserve Special?
  • Activities at Punta Laguna for the More Adventurous
  • How to get to Punta Laguna
  • What facilities are there at Punta Laguna
  • What do you need to Bring
  • How long does the Guided Tour Last at Punta Laguna
  • How Much Does Punta Laguna Cost
  • What the Kids Thought About Punta Laguna
    • J’s Review of Punta Laguna
    • T’s Review of Punta Laguna

Punta Laguna Spider Monkey Reserve

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Punta Laguna is a nature reserve run by a local Mayan village. It’s about an hour and a half from the city limits of Cancun. It’s easy to get to and once there it really is best to take a guided tour of the jungle.

From experience, I know that jungle is notoriously hard to spot animals in.

So although we went with the hope of spotting some of the Spider Monkey’s that the reserve was set up to protect I had prepared the kids for the eventuality that we may not see more.

Kids exploring with a guide in the jungle at Punta Laguna Mexico
Kids following our guide Julio At Punta Laguna Nature Reserve on Day 1 of our Mexico Road Trip

As we followed the guide through the jungle a rustle in the leaf litter alerted us to an animal nearby. At the same time in the distance our guide had spotted something jumping in the trees. We looked down and saw a Basalisk Lizard had been captured by a snake and looked ahead and in the trees across a small valley there was a troop of spider monkeys resting, eating and playing amongst the branches.

Extract from the J’s journal

It seemed my preparation for the kids wasn’t needed and we saw a lot of different animals that I really wasn’t expecting.

Young girl and guide taking pictures of a lizard being captured by a snake at Punta Laguna
T and our Julio capturing pictures of the lizard and the snake in the jungle at Punta Laguna Spider Monkey Reserve

Our guide was just as shocked as us to see the lizard and the snake and like T spent a good amount of time taking pictures of something that he had never seen.

What Makes Punta Laguna Reserve Special?

As we walked around the jungle our guide, Julio explained to us about the reserve and how it had started.

In 1986 the process to protect this reserve by the families was started and in 2002 it became an official nature reserve. Managed and run by the Mayan community these are the people that know the area best.

baby spider monkey in the tree at Punta Laguna
Baby Spider Monkey we took a picture of eating leaves in the trees

Because of how protected this area the wildlife population are thriving. There are spider monkeys and howler monkeys (although these are a little more difficult to see) that move throughout the reserve.

Young Howler Monkey in the tree having a laze in Mexico
Young Howler Monkey captured in the nature reserve

There are also jaguars in the area as well and a small conservation project has been established to research and protect them – don’t however expect to see any of these.

lizard captured by a snake
Basilisk Lizard captured by a snake see the lower jaw of the snake underneath the lizard’s body and the fang piercing the top where it’s pulled in.

There are snakes, lizards, birds and lots of insects including GIANT grasshoppers which although look kind of scary eat the bark of trees and are harmless.

giant grasshoppers in Mexico
The giant grasshoppers were everywhere they eat the bark of the trees and are harmless but BIG!

Activities at Punta Laguna for the More Adventurous

Punta Laguna Lagoo
The beautiful lake at Punta Laguna – you can zip line across it and Kayak back or take a swim off the dock here if you wish.

As well as the nature reserve there is also some activities for those that are thrill-seekers. You can zip line across the lake and then Kayak back to the dock.

Or you can abseil into the cenote in the reserve and then climb in the rope ladder back out.

Due to the weather conditions, we weren’t able to do either as, as our tour finished a big storm rolled in and made these impossible.

How to get to Punta Laguna

Punta Laguna is on the road to Cobra from the Carretera Libre from Cancun to Merida.

It was a fantastic drive out of Cancun and then through the countryside. It was our first full day of driving in Mexico and we were worried about the roads as knew Punta Laguna was on a smaller road.

typical none main road in the Yucatan
Road to Punta Laguna and Coba from the Carretera Libre Cancun to Merida.

But using Google Maps navigation we found it easily and it was no more difficult than driving in the UK on some of the minor A roads.

If you don’t want to drive it is possible to do this as an excursion from Cancun check out a full Punta Laguna Tour, or Punta Laguna and Coba Tours combined below from Get Your Guide

What facilities are there at Punta Laguna

Punta Laguna is a little off the tourist trail so it’s not got lots of facilities but it has just what you need even when with the kids.

There is a bathroom which you can change in as well. This is a drop toilet and basic but it’s clean and does what you need.

A small ticket office, museum and place where you can get drinks that are fantastic and cold perfect for when you return from the tour.

The tour also stopped at a local store where some of the women were selling clothes, souvenirs and jewellery that they had made.

If you are looking for food – then we continued onto Coba which is only 10 – 15 minutes drive away and got lunch there.

What do you need to Bring

This is the jungle – it’s hot, humid, lots of bugs and it’s over a combination of limestone and leaf litter.

So good shoes are a must. We wore our lightweight walking boots. They proved fantastic in Mexico for exploring the jungle and lots of the Mayan ruins as well.

Bug repellent was also essential – the kids wore a Bugwatch each and we all used Incognito Insect Repellent. Neither have DEET in which can harm the environment, plastics and isn’t great for the skin. But, were just as effective.

It’s really important that you don’t add chemicals to the environment so with our plan for a swim we also used our reef-safe sun cream so that all of the chemicals that do pollute the environment wouldn’t be present.

You will also need water. Lots of it! As it was so hot and humid.

Our bags held the water and our swimwear because until the weather turned we were planning to be a little more adventurous.

How long does the Guided Tour Last at Punta Laguna

As we found out this very much depends on you and how you are getting on.

We had about 45 minutes and then Julio asked us whether we wanted to continue as we had only seen Howler Monkeys (the least common to see at Punta Laguna).

Because we wanted to see Spider Monkeys if possible we said to continue on and ended up with a tour of around an hour and a half.

Our kids are used to walking and they are animal crazy which meant that as soon as we started to see more animals in the second half of the tour they wanted to continue on.

If you add in the zipline and the abseil into the cenote then you are looking at between 3 and 5 hours depending on how long you spend exploring and kayaking on the lake as well.

When you get your ticket you can talk to the person there and work out what you want and for how long and the cost was adjusted accordingly.

How Much Does Punta Laguna Cost

The complete Tour and Entrance Fee to the Nature Reserve cost us $500 Pesos per person. That was about £21 for a guided tour.

If you want to see the monkeys it’s the best way. We wouldn’t have seen them any other way.

What the Kids Thought About Punta Laguna

We always like to give the kids view as well as our own when we visit places, especially as a family so I’m handing over to J and T to tell you what they think.

J’s Review of Punta Laguna

It was really hot in the Jungle and I didn’t like the giant grasshoppers one bit. Every time we walked past them they flew up. One even landed on Mummy and it was HUGE.

giant grasshopper on bag
Giant grasshopper on my bag – see how big they were!

But we did see a Basilisk lizard. Although, it was being killed by a snake. But Mummy says that even when she lived in the Jungle in Costa Rica she never saw that.

The monkeys were funny. The baby was jumping all around the trees and REALLY close to us. I thought at one point it was going to jump on my head.

T’s Review of Punta Laguna

It was amazing – I came face to face with a baby spider monkey. It was so close I could have touched it but the teeth looked really sharp.

Girl having a moment with a spider monkey baby in the jungle at Punta Laguna
You can get really close to the animals in the wild. Here’s T getting up close with the Spider Monkey Baby.

We also saw a lizard – it was really still even when we got close to it. And when we got close to it you could see that a snake had got it. I got my camera in and took a picture of it as I was the bravest and went really close.

J didn’t like the big grasshoppers – I didn’t mind them as if you let someone else walk just in front of you they scare them and you can quickly follow without disturbing them again. That’s what I did and think everyone should do especially kids and then you won’t be scared at all.

Punta Laguna Spider Monkey Reserve Review
Overall
4.3
  • Kid's Review
  • Parent's Review

Summary

This is a fantastic reserve to visit with the kids and take a guided tour. The guides are really knowledgeable, our guide Julio was able to find both Howler Monkeys and Spider Monkeys for us and the kids to see. We also saw toads, insects including giant grasshoppers, lizards and a snake.

Because of the weather (afternoon storms are common in July and August in the area) we were unable to do the abseil into the cenote or the zipline but both of these are available.

Pros

  • AMAZINGLY easy to get close to nature in the park
  • Easy to spot monkeys
  • Take a guide they know the way and can find the animals for you

Cons

  • The giant grasshoppers – they are scary looking and our eldest was terrified of them. But walk through after someone else and they won’t be a problem.
Cerys Parker Travelled so far Mum and daughter on cat in the BVIs
Cerys Parker
Website

Mum of Travelled So Far is Cerys, a budget backpacker pre-kids, marine biologist and teacher.

She leads us into adventures and teaches as she goes.

After living in Greece and Costa Rica if it's off the tourist trail you can bet she's the one reading the map.

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Filed Under: Mexico Tagged With: Eco-Tourism, Mayan, Mexico, Nature Reserve

Previous Post: « Guide to Driving in Mexico
Next Post: Review of Kids Bugwatch – Eco-Friendly Insect Repellent »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. beatravelling says

    September 14, 2019 at 3:21 pm

    I love watching monkeys in the wild! Those giant grasshoppers are insane!! I’d actually love to see them 🙂 But maybe not having them on me 😀 #farawayfiles
    beatravelling recently posted…VIDEO: Double-Faced Panama CityMy Profile

    Reply
    • CParker says

      September 16, 2019 at 4:59 pm

      They were amazing – so big. I’ve lived in the jungle in Costa Rica and hadn’t seen any as big as these before.

      Reply
  2. Clare (Suitcases and Sandcastles) says

    September 16, 2019 at 2:08 pm

    Wow! What an incredible wildlife adventure. I know our kids would love the monkeys and I’d be quite chuffed to have a giant grasshopper landing on me, I think, although our kids might feel the same as yours. This is just the kind of adventure we’d love to have. Thanks for sharing on #farawayfiles

    Reply
    • CParker says

      September 16, 2019 at 5:01 pm

      I didn’t really mind having them on me it was kind of cool. At least on my back not sure if it was my face how I would feel though.

      Reply
  3. Erin Gustafson | Oregon Girl Around the World says

    September 17, 2019 at 6:11 pm

    Sounds like a fabulous day out in the jungle. I think I’m with your son though and would not be keen on the giant grasshoppers either! Love the kids reviews and pros/cons section at the end – so helpful! Thanks for sharing with #FarawayFiles

    Reply
  4. Nikki Turner-Chaplin says

    September 19, 2019 at 11:47 am

    My daughter would absolutely love this – she loves animals of every sort! It looks a stunning place! #mustseeplaces

    Reply

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Instagram post 2123527691659851759_3090857997 Akumal, the place of the turtles in Mayan.
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Instagram post 2122832534266263262_3090857997 Tulum Ruins.
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