Waterfalls and Mayan Ruins: Explore Agua Azul and Palenque

Today, allow yourself to be captivated by the stunning natural beauty of the Agua Azul waterfalls and the magnificent Mayan structures at the Palenque archaeological site.

Duration: 19 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Cascadas de Agua Azul - Begin the day with an early morning journey to Palenque, pausing at Agua Azul. This stunning series of waterfalls is formed by the Otulún, Shumuljá, and Tulijá rivers, which have carved shallow canyons flanked by steep cliffs. If time permits, enjoy a swim and explore the various areas of this breathtaking natural setting….
What's Included
  • Spanish driver
  • National Park fees
  • Hotel pickup
  • Transport by air-conditioned minivan
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Hotel drop-off
  • Guide
Additional Information
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not recommended for those with walking disabilities
  • The duration of transfers are approximate, the exact duration will depend on the time of day and traffic conditions
  • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Location
Cascadas de Agua Azul
Reserva Especial de la Biosfera Cascadas Agua Azul
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.6
(47 Ratings)
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Culture43987907595
Apr 4, 2026
One of kind experience - The route to Agua Azul is extremely beautiful. However, the roads are very bumpy. Not advisable for people who have back or neck problems. The traveller bus is cramped, and not enough leg space. But definitely worth the travel. The place is exotic!! Worth it for the money. The whole tour is from 3.30 AM to 5 P.M ending in Palenque. The return trip is at night and seems a little unsafe. Also, if there are accidents on the roads, it takes almost midnight to reach San Cristobal. There is a lot of travel, so I suggest staying in Palenque and doing the return trip to San Cristobal the next day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eric
Dec 10, 2025
Great experience - Fantastic visit to a wonderful town from the early colonial period. Good restaurants and friendly people were abundant.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joeangler
Nov 23, 2025
Excellent cafeteria! Super fast service — no lines.Great coffee spot! Super fast service — no line at all - English Great coffee spot! Super fast service — no line at all. The coffee is excellent, and the pastries are really good too. Perfect place to get a boost and keep working. Highly recommended. English Excellent cafeteria! Super fast service — no lines. The coffee is delicious and the pastries are very good. A perfect place to recharge and keep working. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katrina_s
Apr 6, 2024
Would recommend. - Great trip. All in Spanish but someone kindly interpreted. Prompt pick up. Breakfast stop efficient. Bumpy roads but so worth it. I was dropped off at Palenque and jumped straight into a swimming pool to cool off. Would recommend. Prompt pickup so be up and ready to go. I took swimming stuff but didn't go in.
Review provided by Viator
Peternrbk_h
Feb 8, 2026
Exciting - Great and interesting tour, the only complaint is that it is just long enough (19 hours). Palenque which is the last stop gets a little pressured.
Review provided by Viator
Ria569
Nov 11, 2025
Great all together, some minor quibbles - In a word: great! Booked three tours through Jalapeño Tours (Sumidero, Palenque from San Cris and Bonampak) and they were all amazing! Read the instructions well- when they talk about bumpy roads, they mean bumpy! Karla, who helped us with the first booking (San Cris to Palenque with drop off there) was amazing with our special requests and questions. They were very punctual for pick up- or even early! The food was ok, except for the Bonampak tour, where it was great! Roberto, our driver/guide to Sumidero as well as Palenque was absolutely lovely and patient with our limited English. At the Bonampak tour the driver/guide spoke very good English at first, but when we and an other guy got stuck with our Spanish he would barely help out. We were aware that we might get shifted from bus to another, seems to be common for Palenque tours where some stay and others go back to San Cris. Makes sense but took a while to do.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Destinyhoodie
Aug 8, 2024
It was fun, but long, day - It was such a fun day. We were the first ones picked up and the trip started around 3:30 am and we didn't get back until about 11pm (it was a long day). Luckily, the van was fairly comfortable and we ended up sleeping a lot during the drive. The road through the mountains is very windy so make sure you take some dramamine if you have motion sickness issues. David the driver was really great. he didn't speak english, but we really didn't expect him to. He still tried to help us out the best he could. all three locations were really great. We didn't end up swimming at Misol Ha because we were only there for about 45 minutes, so it would've been nice to spend a little more time there. Palenque was the final stop and we spent about 2 hours there. Plenty if you don't do a guided tour (optional) but we did an english guided tour and we felt a bit rushed towards the end. On a side note, the English-speaking guide, Carlos, was really great and knowledgeable. Showed us the ruins buried in the jungle and we even saw Howler monkeys! If you do this, make sure you take some snacks. Apart from a stop at a cafe for breakfast, we really didn't make another meal stop. But, tbf, the bus voted on whether or not we would stop to eat. I'm glad we didn't stop before palenque since we were already a little rushed as is. the bus voted to stop at a gas station with a few food vendors out front for our final stop and then the last leg of our trip was a non-stop 5.5 hour drive back to San Cristobal. Just a heads up, there is a hotel in Palenque and you can choose to stay there and find another way back if you don't want to have such a long day. there was one couple on our bus that did that, and honestly, I kinda wished we did too. Overall, for the price especially, we would recommend. Everyone was really nice and helpful.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
768noorv
Aug 7, 2025
Nice environment - tour operator did not contribute to this - We left early in the morning (3:30am) to drive a long way. The driver drove very fast and swerved over the mountain roads. He seemed in a hurry and would not stop when this was necessary due to motion sickness. This was a really unpleasant experience. The falls are beautiful (especially the Agua azul) and Palenque is a beautiful experience. However, the combination is too much in one day. We ended up staying in Palenque (and didn't go back to San Cristobal = highly recommended if you're passing through!).
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cecile
May 28, 2024
Great sites but dodgy van trip home. - The start of the trip was great. We had a punctual and pleasant driver. We felt safe with him. It was a huge day, which we knew in advance. The sites were amazing. We had just the right amount of time for each site What ruined it for us was the trip home. We thought we would just sleep, but a little way into the trip home, we picked up a number of people that were definitely NOT part of the tour! So we were packed in like sardines! I’ve had more leg room and private space in an economy budget airline! Impossible to sleep. And everyone was hot and sweaty. It was cooler outside than inside the van
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ussama_j
Mar 24, 2024
Viator failed - Viator does not care about safety or contract obligations and I have a chat that confirms so recommed to all to book directly with local operators
Review provided by Viator
From $95
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).