Private Sailboat Tour Bacalar Lagoon with Sailing Lesson

Bacalar Lagoon earns its nickname — 'the lake of seven colors' — from the way its water shifts from pale turquoise in the shallows to deep blue in the open sections, a gradient visible from the deck as you sail across it. This private sailboat tour gives your group sole use of the vessel, which keeps the pace calm and the experience fully yours. You cruise past the lagoon's main landmarks at your own tempo, stop to swim in clear, protected water, and scan the shoreline for resident shorebirds and the migratory species that rest here seasonally.

The optional sailing component is a genuine hands-on add-on: you take the helm with the skipper guiding you — a different experience from simply riding along as a passenger. This is a private charter, not a fixed-schedule group tour. It carries a 4.98/5 rating from 598 verified reviews, an unusually consistent score for water-based tours in the region. Priced from $238 USD. Sailing Bacalar on a private boat is the version of this experience most returning visitors say they'd book again.

Unlike most Riviera Maya boat tours that depart from the Caribbean coast, this one runs on an enclosed inland lagoon — calmer, quieter, and a different category of water day entirely. For travelers thinking through how to get to Bacalar: the town sits in the far south of Quintana Roo, a few hours from the Riviera Maya, and most visitors base themselves overnight here rather than day-tripping from Tulum or Cancun. If you're weighing Bacalar vs Tulum, the lagoon is consistently the deciding factor — less commercial, less crowded, and well-suited for a private day on the water. Book the sailboat when your Bacalar dates are set; private departures fill during high season and Semana Santa.