Sailing on a sailboat in the Bacalar lagoon is not only one of the best…
Canal de los Piratas of Bacalar

There are several attractions offered by the Magical Town of Bacalar in the state of Quintana Roo. Many of them are concentrated around the Laguna de los Siete Colores. It is a large body of water with shallow waters and smooth sand.
It is there where the interesting Canal de los Piratas of Bacalar is located.
Why it is worth visiting the Canal de los Piratas in Bacalar?
Touring the Bacalar lagoon by sailboat is one of the best alternatives for tourist enjoyment that are at hand in the Mexican Caribbean.
The lagoon has gentle waves in turquoise tones, a detail that has made the place famous on a continental level. It is something related to the crystals present in its sandy bottom and the intense luminosity of the sun.
The best thing about visiting the Laguna de los Siete Colores in Bacalar
Indeed, it is in the Laguna de los Siete Colores where visitors can find the Canal de los Piratas, Isla de los Pájaros and many other places of interest that should be visited by sailing in the area.
About 42 kilometers long and 2 kilometers wide, the Bacalar lagoon has a water mirror of 311 hectares.
Travel across the Bacalar lagoon on a sailboat
Laguna de Bacalar is emerging as one of the few bodies of permanent surface water in the Yucatan Peninsula.
It is a territory of calcareous soil that does not favor the surface retention of water, giving rise to cenotes and underground rivers.
This did not fully occur in the southern part of the state of Quintana Roo, where large bodies of water such as Laguna Milagros and Laguna Guerrero can be found.
The Canal de los Piratas and the tourist offer of Bacalar
The Canal de los Piratas is a place created by human activity with the aim of commercially linking the Mayans who lived in the north with the Central American Mayans.
Thanks to this canal, a remarkable commercial dynamic was made possible, in order to exchange bird feathers, varied foods and fine wood.
Historical background of the Bacalar lagoon
Later, in colonial times, the canal was called Canal de Salamanca and was used as a communication route between America and Europe.
It was then that the site began to attract the interest of well-known pirates at the time, such as Francis Drake and Henry Morgan.
These famous buccaneers tried to take advantage of the commercial magnet of the canal to carry out their nautical misdeeds and to get wood to build and repair ships.
Tips for exploring the Canal de los Piratas in Bacalar
Currently, the Canal de los Piratas is a site of great natural beauty that attracts all those who visit the Magical Town of Bacalar as a tourist.
In addition to the above, the waters of the area have a considerable content of minerals, many of them valuable for skin exfoliation.
Bacalar is a Magical Town that stands out in the Mexican Caribbean for its many fascinating sites related to ecotourism and nautical activities.
It is worth knowing that Bacalar is located in the southeastern part of the country, about forty kilometers from the capital of Quintana Roo, three hours from Playa del Carmen and about four hours from Cancun.
Recommendations to visit the Pirates Channel
To understand the relevance of a place like the Canal de los Piratas, it is advisable to know more about its role in the development of Bacalar. The latter is a town that was founded by the Mayans around the year 415 of our era. It remained inhabited until the year 496.
To a large extent, the fascination that Bacalar and its formidable lagoon arouses among travelers has to do with the mysticism of the area, its historical background and the pre-Columbian legends linked to the region.
Tips to travel across the Canal de los Piratas
The visit to the Canal de los Piratas is one of the obligatory tours for all those who visit Bacalar. This route takes place along 148 kilometers through the Chaac estuary, a wild channel that links the Hondo River with the Laguna de los Siete Colores.
Throughout this excursion, travelers will be able to discover the arrival areas of pirate ships, the places most frequented by buccaneers, and the places where important battles took place.
How do I get to the Bacalar lagoon?
Bacalar is located about 40 kilometers from Chetumal, the capital of the state of Quintana Roo. This is sixty minutes by car. From the Cancun air terminal, it is a 333 kilometers car trip.
Therefore, for those who plan to vacation in this part of the Mexican Caribbean, it is advisable to arrive by plane to the city of Chetumal and from there board some transport that takes you in a short time to the Magical Town of Bacalar.
Another route widely used by tourists who are on the coast of Quintana Roo is to hire a one-day tour from Playa del Carmen or Cancun, although in this case you must be aware that you will have to travel longer.
The Canal de los Piratas and the Fort of San Felipe
In a complementary way, we suggest you visit the Fort of San Felipe, an important military construction whose origins date back to 1729 and which currently serves as the headquarters of an important historical museum in Bacalar.
In this cultural dissemination area, a collection is exhibited that includes ammunition, maps, plans and weapons used by the pirates who roamed the area a few centuries ago.