I often find natural sites to be a bit tricky to visit, especially when they're as large as Sian Ka'an (about the size of the US state of Delaware), have very few roads/trails, and have a range of different ecosystems.

Sian Ka'an is no different, and it does present some difficulties - which is unfortunate because I think it's actually a very important and interesting site, with a reef, other marines areas, dunes along the coast, mangroves, lagoons, forests, and savannahs. It's also home to an impressive collection of animal species, including some that are very uncommon in other parts of the country.

With very few access points, most tourists head for the easy way to see Sian Ka'an, which is from Muyil. There are daily tours there from Tulum or you can easily get there yourself by car or public transport. At Muyil, there are the ruins of a small Mayan settlement and some boardwalks through the forest (including a watchtower you can climb up). The main attraction here are the boat tours, which travel across the lagoons and through canals that connect them, cut through the land by the Mayans centuries ago. Most of the boat tours also offer an experience where they drop you at the start of one of the canals and you float down (probably with a life jacket around your waist to make it even easier.)

I actually really enjoyed the boat tour - and the floating in the canal in particular. From that perspective, you could look at the mangrove ecosystem up close, and there were more animals to see without the boat's motor. Also, getting in the water was fun and refreshing - and it seemed to fit the mood of the Riviera Maya in this part of Mexico. I like that it attracts younger people to a WHS and makes it a cool experience (but is still environmentally and culturally sustainable).

The other main option to see Sian Ka'an is probably with a boat tour to Punta Allen, where the focus is on the reef and marine parts of the national park.

At least there are ways to see the site and at least there are public transport options and tour operators (the same can't be said for all natural WHS). But it's a shame there aren't more ways to access and explore the reserve, considering it's so large and has such diversity. Ultimately I think it's really hard to see many of the reasons that it has been listed.