What's On in Bacalar This Winter: November to March

Bacalar does winter differently from the rest of the coast. The events are smaller, most of them happen on or beside the lagoon, and the town does not try to compete with Cancún for scale. That is largely the point. This is what is on between November and March, with dates where they are confirmed.

November: Hanal Pixan on the lagoon

Hanal Pixan, the Maya Day of the Dead, is marked here at community scale rather than as a spectacle. Expect altars in the town centre and around the plaza on 1 and 2 November. Our Habitas Bacalar has hosted a curated two day programme alongside it in previous years, with workshops, art, wine and dinner.

December and New Year: the quiet alternative

Bacalar is where people come to avoid the Cancún New Year rather than join it. There is no fireworks spectacular and no beach club lineup. What there is instead: the lagoon, the quiet, and small hotel celebrations across the Pueblo Mágico. If you want midnight somewhere still, this is the place on this coast that offers it.

January: the Gunea Festival

The Gunea Festival is an electronic music and immersive art festival staged on the lagoon in mid January. The 2026 edition ran 16 to 17 January with twenty DJs. No 2027 edition has been announced yet, but the window has been consistent, so mid January is the sensible assumption if you are planning around it.

February: carnival and the Copa Azur

Carnaval Bacalar is community scaled and Maya themed. The 2026 edition, titled Un Viaje al Mundo Maya, ran 6 to 10 February with 187,000 pesos in prizes. Ash Wednesday falls on 10 February 2027, so expect a similar early February window.

The Copa Azur Sailing Circuit races on the lagoon itself, with Hobie Cat and Windsurf classes. The 2026 opening stage ran 14 to 15 February. It is the one event that uses the water competitively rather than scenically, and it is worth watching from the shore even if you have no interest in sailing.

Through the winter: the birds

From December to February the lagoon, the cenotes and the surrounding mangroves draw migratory birds. Catamaran birding tours operate out of Bird Island without motors, which is why they work. It is the quietest thing on this list and, for a lot of people, the best of it.

Planning a trip around it

If one of these has you booking flights, it is worth seeing the place properly while you are here. We sell across Bacalar and the Costa Maya, and a viewing slots easily into a trip built around a festival weekend. The season between November and March is also simply the best time to look: the weather is clear, the town is awake, and you see it at its busiest rather than at its quietest.

Sources: Plalla (Hanal Pixán, Carnaval Bacalar), Riviera Maya News (Carnaval Bacalar, Copa Azur), and organiser announcements for the Gunea Festival. Dates marked as confirmed come from official or organiser announcements. Where a 2027 programme has not been published, the previous year’s dates are given as a guide and labelled as such.