The questions guests ask us most

Of course. A solo journey is a beautiful way to experience the sanctuary, with the space held privately for you and the experience curated for you from beginning to end. The Sound Temple was built for immersive sound, and the Sound Temple Sound Journey can be held for 1 guest at $400. If your heart is set on the cave and the cenote, those are open to you too: the Water Temple experiences simply carry a two-guest minimum charge.

No. Our sanctuary is private property, available only by advance reservation. There are no walk-ins, no general admission, no sightseeing and no public swimming. Whether you come for a solo journey or with a group, the sanctuary is held privately for you throughout your experience.

Yes. The sanctuary is a private property, and every visit is hosted by our team. From your arrival through your departure, our staff is here to take care of you and ensure your experience feels seamless.

We welcome groups, but we do not offer public group sessions. If you come with a group, the experience is privately reserved for your group alone.

No. We never combine reservations or place guests into another group’s experience. Your time at the sanctuary is exclusively yours.

Yes. Always. Every experience at the sanctuary is privately booked for you or your group. We do not open to the general public, offer public sessions or combine unrelated guests. When you are here, the experience is yours.

Absolutely. That is what your Frequency Guide is here for. Tell the guide who is coming, how much time you have and what you are drawn to. Whether you are looking for a single extraordinary experience, an entire day in the sanctuary or several days with us, your Frequency Guide can help you explore what is possible.

Yes, and this is how most retreats begin. Reserve on the smallest number you are comfortable committing to: the deposit is calculated on that, and your date is held. About a week before you confirm the final count, the dietary needs and allergies, and the menu at La Mesa if you are dining, and pay the balance on the real number. If you reserve for fifteen and arrive with twenty-seven, you are invoiced for twenty-seven, and guests can be added up to 5 in the afternoon the day before. The committed number is a floor and never falls, which is what the date is held against.

Not at all. No previous experience is needed. Every journey is guided from beginning to end, and many of our guests arrive experiencing sound healing or ceremony for the very first time.

As early as you can. Because the sanctuary is reserved privately for 1 guest or one group at a time, each date has limited availability, and evenings and high-season dates are usually taken first. Last minute is sometimes possible, so write to us and we will gladly check the date for you.

Not necessarily. On some dates we can open a second private experience in the late afternoon, even when the calendar looks fully reserved. Send us your preferred date, the number of guests and the journey you have in mind, and we will tell you what is possible.

Every experience begins at 11:30 AM, Monday through Saturday, so there is no list of hours to choose from: if a day is open on our calendar, 11:30 that day is yours. The sanctuary is closed on Sundays. Because only one group is on the property at a time, a day that has been reserved comes off the calendar entirely. Evenings are held at 7:00 PM by arrangement rather than as a standard time, and we can sometimes open a second session later in the day: for either, tell us the days you had in mind when you reserve and we will write back with what we can do. Online reservations need at least 48 hours’ notice, and same-day reservations are not available.

We are closed on December 24, December 25 and January 1. New Year’s Eve is open at 11:30 AM, though we hold no evening ceremony that night. Valentine’s Day is open, and carries a $500 holiday fee for the group, whatever its size, because our team is here on a day they would otherwise spend with their own families. It appears in your estimate the moment you choose the date.

Your time with us is unhurried, and it sits inside the experience you have privately reserved. 2 guests should plan on about 2 hours: the journey, time to integrate afterward, and time to swim in the sacred waters of the cenote, with towels provided. A larger group should plan on about 3 hours, which allows for changing and for moving everyone comfortably through the experience. When a meal is included, it is generally three and a half to 4 hours. Please arrive on time, because another private experience may follow yours: a late arrival shortens your own reserved time rather than delaying the one after it. If you would like to stay longer, extra private time can be added by the hour as you reserve, with the whole property still yours.

Something comfortable that you can lie down and relax in. There is no dress code. Some guests choose white for sacred ceremony, and retreat groups sometimes enjoy arriving in coordinating colours, but neither is expected. A swimsuit is entirely optional if you would like to wear one.

Just yourself, an open heart, and a willingness to arrive free of judgement and expectation. We provide towels and everything you need for your time with us. On the day, please skip perfume, body oils and lotions before entering the cenote: its waters are a delicate natural ecosystem, and helping us keep them pure is part of caring for this place. Outdoor jungle showers stand beside the cenote for rinsing before and after swimming, with biodegradable soaps provided.

Yes. Time is held after every journey for you to enter the sacred waters of our private cenote, to float, to swim, to integrate, and to be in the stillness of the cave. The crystalline turquoise water is held in Mayan tradition to be a sacred portal, and here it receives the sound, the frequency and the vibration of every ceremony held within the Water Temple, which makes swimming afterward a beautiful way to complete your journey. Swimsuits are welcome, and because the cenote is completely private, swimming is also clothing optional. There are shallow places to enter, so you do not need to be a strong swimmer. Life jackets are not provided, and your time in the water is private and unaccompanied by our team, so each guest is responsible for swimming within their own comfort and ability.

Yes. Your experience is private, and you are welcome to swim in the cenote without a swimsuit if you wish.

We do not currently offer overnight accommodations within the sanctuary. You are, however, welcome to create a full day with us and stay well into the evening.

The Water Temple is held as a sacred ceremonial space, and sexual activity is not permitted there. Intimacy, connection and affection are welcome while honouring the nature of the space.

Cooler than the ocean, the way cenote water naturally is, and warmer than most people expect. There is a refreshing moment as you first enter, and once you are in it is beautiful. Most guests stay in far longer than they imagined they would.

Yes. There is a private bathroom on site, along with our open-air jungle showers beside the cenote for rinsing before and after the water. Biodegradable soaps are provided.

Our sanctuary is tucked deep within the Yucatán jungle, on a private property between Tulum and Playa del Carmen, and its seclusion is part of what makes the experience what it is. Because there are no traditional street addresses in this part of the jungle and digital map pins are not reliable, we recommend the trusted private transport company that has been bringing our guests here for years. Their drivers know the way intimately. They collect you from your hotel or villa, wait while you are with us, and take you home afterward, which makes arriving and leaving effortless.

We are hidden deep within the Yucatán jungle in Xpu-Ha, on the Riviera Maya, approximately 20 minutes north of Tulum. Our exact location is intentionally kept private, as the sanctuary is also a private home and is never open for drop-in visits. Exact arrival details are shared privately with confirmed guests.

No. There is no public location pin or traditional street address for the sanctuary. Guests may arrive with one of our trusted private drivers, who knows the way into the property, or self-driving guests are given a nearby meeting point where a member of our team will meet you and personally guide you into the sanctuary. It is part of arriving somewhere truly tucked away.

Private transportation is priced per vehicle rather than per person, and it is always round trip. The rate depends on where you are staying: as a guide, round trip from the Tulum area is approximately $165 USD per vehicle, with the final rate quoted in Mexican pesos at the exchange rate of the day. Vehicles range from private cars and Suburbans to vans carrying up to 18 guests, and the rate is the same whatever the size. For a larger group, additional vehicles are arranged, so a group of any size is comfortably taken care of. Once you have booked your experience, we send you the transport company’s direct WhatsApp so you can arrange your pickup with them.

Of course. If you would rather drive, we give you a meeting point near the sanctuary rather than directions to the property itself. A member of our team meets you there fifteen minutes before your experience and guides you the rest of the way in. Tell us the make and colour of your car so we know who to look for, and if it is a rental you have not collected yet, message us once you have it. There is private parking on the property.

Ceremonial cacao is a sacred plant tradition with deep roots in Mayan culture. It is prepared warm to an ancestral recipe and served with intention, and it is traditionally used to open the heart, deepen presence and invite a fuller connection to yourself and to one another. It is not psychoactive. The experience is gentle, grounding and heart opening rather than altered.

Yes. Many of our offerings can be combined to create a more immersive day or multi-day journey. Experiences, workshops, lunch, dinner and evening ceremonies can all become part of the flow.

Absolutely. Some of our guests and private groups choose to spend the entire day with us. Your day might include a ceremony or experience, lunch at La Mesa, time to relax and enjoy the sanctuary, another experience later in the day, and dinner in the evening. A single visit can become an entire day immersed in the sanctuary.

Yes. This is a beautiful way to experience two completely different expressions of the sanctuary. You may begin with a daytime experience, stay for lunch and time within the sanctuary, continue into an evening ceremony, and finish with dinner at La Mesa. Nighttime ceremonies carry an additional evening fee of $500 for the group.

Yes. Both lunch and dinner may be incorporated into a full-day experience, allowing you to remain at the sanctuary rather than leaving between experiences. Lunch is $65 a person and dinner is $85.

Absolutely. We can create a multi-day journey through the sanctuary, with each day offering something different. Your time can unfold through sound, water, frequency, private ceremonies, workshops, dining and spacious time to simply enjoy being here.

Yes. We offer several private workshops, from half-day experiences to more immersive full-day and multi-day trainings. Workshops can be experienced privately one to one or with your own group.

The Water Temple is the heart of our sanctuary: a cave 65 million years old with a cenote held deep inside it. Ancient, elemental and naturally resonant, it is where many of our signature experiences are held. The Sound Temple is an intimate glass-encased temple set in the jungle, built for the resonance of alchemy crystal bowls and planetary gongs, where guests are suspended in silk hammocks and cocooned in sound while the rhythms of the jungle become part of the experience. Two temples, and two entirely different ways to be here.

Many of our guests spend a whole day with us, moving through the sanctuary as the day unfolds. A favourite flow opens with a Cacao Ceremony, which brings the group into heart coherence, then lunch at La Mesa, where gathering around the table becomes a continuation of the ceremony, and then the Floating Sound Journey, where the frequency is felt through the water and the body. There are many other ways to weave experiences, dining and time in our spaces together. Tell us what is calling you and we will guide you toward a flow that fits it.

Yes. When availability allows, our journeys can be experienced in the evening, beginning at 7:00 PM. After dark the sanctuary has an entirely different presence: the Pathway of Illumination leads you through the jungle into a world of glowing basket lights, and the Water Temple is held by candlelight. Evening journeys carry a $500 private evening fee for the whole group, whatever its size, which covers the additional staffing and the candlelit preparation of the sanctuary. For the complete evening, your journey can be followed by dinner at La Mesa, so the experience continues around the table.

Of course. Dining at La Mesa is a continuation of your time in the sanctuary, a chance to gather, connect and linger at our long table in the jungle. Lunch is $65 a person and dinner is $85, served family style, with menus shared with you in advance. For something fuller, begin at La Selva Lounge, our elevated jungle deck, where signature cocktails, mocktails and appetisers can be arranged before your meal. Whether it follows a ceremony or becomes a whole afternoon or evening, dining can be woven into the flow of your visit.

La Mesa is kept for guests experiencing the sanctuary, and it is designed as a continuation of the journeys held here rather than as a restaurant. For private celebrations, intimate gatherings, larger events and weddings, La Mesa can be reserved as part of a bespoke event, and our team will curate the setting, the menu and the flow of the occasion with you.

Yes. Our private workshops, led by our Director of Music, Kit Nidawi, are a chance to go deeper into the art and alchemy of sound, frequency and the instruments at the heart of the sanctuary: The Alchemy of Sound with the crystal bowls and gongs, The Sound Shaman Experience across a cave full of instruments, The Alchemist’s Initiation, a full day that ends at the harp, Voice of the Soul for your own voice, and The Mastery of Sound, 2 days across both temples. No musical experience is needed for any of them. Beyond the workshops, the sanctuary can become the setting for private concerts, celebrations, proposals, weddings and entirely bespoke experiences. For something created especially for you, our Director of Events, Julia Salinas, brings together the setting, ceremony, dining, music and detail. Some experiences begin with a menu, others with an idea. Tell us what you are imagining and we will explore what is possible here.

Yes. Cenote Sagrado opens for extraordinary private celebrations, weddings and events, with the sanctuary reserved exclusively for you and your guests. From an intimate ceremony to a layered celebration, our Director of Events, Julia Salinas, works with you from the first vision to the final detail, bringing together the setting, dining, music, ceremony and our finest partners. Couples considering Cenote Sagrado for their wedding are welcome to experience the sanctuary privately: personal tours are available by advance appointment, so you can walk the spaces and begin imagining the celebration here.

Of course. The sanctuary is available for private photo shoots, with exclusive access to a remarkable collection of settings inside one property: the jungle, the woven lights of our reception, the cave itself, the edge of the cenote, and the crystalline water you can be photographed floating on. Every part of it gives a different backdrop and a different atmosphere. Private access is $500 for up to 2 hours, with more time at $200 an hour, arranged in advance. To make a day of it, you may add lunch at La Mesa after your shoot and stay a little longer with us.

Our signature sound journeys and ceremonies are held by our own musicians and facilitators, each chosen for their artistry, their experience and how deeply they understand these spaces. To protect the integrity of the work and of the rooms it is held in, we do not host outside sound healers, musicians or ceremonial facilitators. For retreat leaders and private groups, our team will gladly help you choose from our experiences and shape a flow that complements the intention of your retreat.

Very much so. Children often find the sanctuary a wonder, and many have loved the Cacao Ceremony and the sound journeys alongside their families. Children under 5 come free, ages 5–12 are half price, and guests of thirteen and older pay the full price. We ask only that children stay attended by an adult throughout their time here, so everyone can enjoy the experience. For babies and very young children, write to us first and we will talk it through.

Yes. Many of our experiences can be adapted for pregnancy, so you receive the sound, the stillness and the deeply nurturing atmosphere of the sanctuary in a way that is comfortable for this chapter of your life. In the sound journeys that means we do not play bowls on the belly and we will not have you stand inside one. Certain experiences are not offered during pregnancy, including the Quantum journeys, and others may be modified. Tell us privately that you are expecting when you book, and our team will guide you toward the experiences that suit you best.

Because of the natural landscape of the sanctuary, the property is not wheelchair accessible. The experience moves through a jungle setting with natural terrain, uneven pathways and stairs throughout. We do have a golf cart that helps across parts of the property, so if mobility is a concern, write to us before booking and we will talk honestly about what your visit would be like.

Yes. Well-behaved pets are welcome in the sanctuary. We ask that they stay on a leash and in your care at all times, and that you clean up after them anywhere on the property. To keep the Water Temple pristine, pets may not swim in the cenote.

Our experiences are held in English and in Spanish, and our team is glad to welcome you in either. Tell us which you prefer when you book, so your experience feels easy from arrival through ceremony.

A Quantum Journey is an expanded expression of our signature sound experience, for guests who wish to move further into the music, the vibration and the frequency of the journey. It is held by our Medicine Musicians, who tend the energetic container the whole way through, so the journey unfolds with an added dimension of activation, connection and immersion. Quantum is an add-on rather than a journey of its own: it may be added to the Water Temple Sound Journey in the cave, the Floating Sound Journey on the water or the Sound Temple Sound Journey in the glass temple. It is $400 per guest, plus the Quantum Bar, one per group of up to 4. Our intention is for a Quantum Journey to stay light, blissful and carefully held: it is meant to deepen the felt relationship with the sound already moving through you, never to become heavy or overwhelming. Quantum experiences are for guests 18+, and are not available during pregnancy. Before your reservation is complete, every participating guest fills in a confidential health questionnaire, and we ask privately about prescription, antidepressant, anti-anxiety, antipsychotic and GLP-1 medications, and about any history of psychosis. We do not decide from a form whether an experience is right for you, and we never advise anyone to change prescribed medication. What we do is talk with you first. The preparation is our own, from natural ingredients, and nothing may be brought from outside. Each guest is responsible for giving us complete and accurate information before joining.

No. Nothing may be brought into the sanctuary for use during an experience. Anything included in a journey is prepared by our own team, to our own protocols, and held inside the container of the experience. This boundary is essential to the safety and wellbeing of every guest and facilitator present. Bringing or using anything from outside during your visit ends the experience.

All of it, before anything is booked, along with anything relevant in your history. Disclosing something does not mean the answer is no: it means we may want more information first. We will never ask you to stop, skip or change a prescription, and we do not give medical advice.

Reservations are paid securely by card through Stripe, in US dollars. A non-refundable deposit reserves your date exclusively: for most reservations it is 50% of the total, and for retreat leaders bringing seven or more guests it is 25%. Within seven days of the date, the full amount is due at booking. The remaining balance is due seven days before your experience, and at that point the reservation becomes final and the date can no longer move. Because reserving the sanctuary for you means holding that time exclusively and turning other guests away, all payments are non-refundable.

Yes. Before the seven-day final payment deadline you may ask to move your reservation, and we will do our best for you. The new date must fall within 30 days of the original and depends on availability. Because the sanctuary is privately reserved and many dates are held well in advance, particularly in high season, an alternate date cannot be promised. Once you reach the seven-day deadline, your reservation is final and the date can no longer be moved.

Yes. Guests may be added until 5:00 PM the day before your experience, subject to the capacity of the experience you have chosen, and paid for at the time they are added. After that, additions need approval from our team and cannot be promised, because preparation for your day is already underway. If your group becomes smaller after the reservation has been paid in full, you are of course welcome to come with fewer guests, though the total price remains unchanged.

Our experiences are priced to reflect the private nature of the sanctuary, the calibre of our musicians and facilitators, and the preparation that goes into every visit, so we do not discount our signature experiences. For groups of more than twenty guests, custom group pricing may be possible. Write to us and we will gladly look at what we can do for your group.

Never expected, always appreciated. If you feel called to leave something for the team who cared for your experience, cash is the simplest way, and it is shared among them.

Yes, and one signature covers the whole reservation. Whoever made the booking signs it, or the retreat leader acting for the group, on behalf of everyone coming. We do not ask each guest to sign separately, and nothing about your reservation waits on it.

Our cave and ceremonial spaces are alcohol-free, which keeps the intention and the integrity of the experiences held there. For celebrations, alcohol can be part of the dining and gathering: wine with dinner at La Mesa, a champagne toast, mezcal or tequila at a wedding. This is a place for ceremony and meaningful celebration rather than a party venue, and everything we serve is considered in that spirit.

Of course. Photography is welcome throughout your time in the sanctuary, including during your journey when the moment allows and without disturbing it. If you share your time with us, we ask only that you tag the sanctuary itself, @soundhealingtulum or @cenotesagradoevents for a private event, rather than individual musicians or facilitators, so the experience stays connected to the place and to the whole team who created it. A professional photographer is welcome and simply needs to be arranged with us in advance: they do not count toward your guest total, though they are counted if they join you for a meal.

Of course. An experience here can be bought as a gift certificate, paid in full at the time of purchase. Whoever receives it contacts us within a month to choose their date, and the experience itself takes place within three months of receiving the gift, subject to availability. We take care of the rest, which makes it a beautiful way to give someone an experience rather than a thing.

Rain has never stopped us. Much of your time with us unfolds inside the cave and the temples, where the experience continues beautifully whatever the weather is doing, and we have never cancelled an experience for rain. Unless you hear from our team directly, plan on your visit going ahead exactly as arranged.