Yucatan, Mexico

March 2017

The pink lagoon exists! Also known as Las Coloradas, this particular lagoon is hidden on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. I was drawn in by the surreal pictures I saw on the internet – they looked straight out of a fairy tale!

I didn’t know anyone personally that had went prior, and I had so many questions. How do I get there? Is it far? Does it look like the pictures I’ve seen?

So I began to research this fantasy spot. Finding information on it was tricky, but I got enough to prove this place is a reality.

Why is the pink lagoon pink? The plankton, red- colored algae and brine shrimp that live in it thrive in the salty environment, causing the water to turn pink.

The best way to get to Las Coloradas is by car, so get ready for a road trip! If you have time ,I’d suggest staying around the Rio Lagartos area, they have some accommodations there.

The first thought that went through my head was, “Road trip in Mexico? Is that even safe?” Then thoughts of getting pulled over by crooked cops and them taking all my cash started to play out in my head. Or, even worse, getting kidnapped but the adult version, eek!

POCKET WIFI

After more research, my desire to experience this unique place grew more than my fear of getting there. I figured if others have done it, then it shouldn’t be so bad. We got pocket wifi, knowing that GPS would come in handy, since Villn (my boyfriend, that’s his b-boy name) and I, both get lost pretty easily. We are the Queen and King of wanderLOST! HAHA

Prior to our trip, we ordered pocket wifi, a mobile battery powered router which enables Wi-Fi-enabled devices to connect to the internet via the mobile network. We used Tep Wireless, which took about 4-5 business days to get shipped to us and it worked great!

Although I was a bit apprehensive about the road trip, I knew I would regret it if we didn’t at least try to find the pink lagoon.

MAP TO LAS COLORADAS

There is no exact address to get to the pink lagoon. We were staying in Tulum and heard rumors that it was 4 or 3 or 2 hours from Tulum. Heck, we had no idea exactly how far it was, or exactly where, but we were down for an adventure!

We rented a car from Mex Rent A Car the morning of our road trip. We also printed out a map of the general area just in case our wifi went out.

THE ROADTRIP

Surprisingly the drive was smooth, nothing like LA traffic. We drove through two small cities, Valladolid and Tizmin, and made one pit stop at a gas station that had a clean restroom, lucky me. About two and a half hours later we were in the general Las Coloradas area. We kept looking around for the pink lagoon and didn’t spot it.

To our luck, we ran into some friendly-looking locals. We stopped, showed them an image of it on my phone, and asked where it was. The man pointed in a direction down the road and said 10 kilometers. YAY! He knew what we were talking about! That was a good sign!

We headed in the direction he suggested and about 10 minutes later we began to see huge piles of salt. I remember someone mentioning online that when you begin to see the salt mounds, you are close by.

PINK LAGOON

We turned in and there it was in all its pink glory! WE FOUND IT!! I had no idea if the area was off-limits, but no one was telling us to turn away so we took that as a good sign.

Villn and I hopped out of the car and started taking pictures of this beautiful and rare sight. It looked just like the pictures I saw on online, but being there in person was even better! There are also other lagoons that surround this area that vary in color from a deep orangey red to pink.

We freestyled in front of the pink lagoon and got some good footage to add to my creative travel videos.

The sky was blue with scattered clouds, which made it the perfect photo spot. The lagoon water was warm and the sand in the water was rock-hard due to the high salt concentration.

This place was absolutely magical! From the road trip to capturing footage and pictures – it was definitely worth the drive!

So, when are YOU planning your road trip to Las Coloradas Pink Lagoon?

Intrigued by this story? Check out the HIDDEN PINK STREAM we ran into the very same day!

“The only trip you will regret, is the one that you don’t take!”