Xcaret, Playa del Carmen

We had the time of our lives at Xcaret. However, if you are considering going here are my suggestions: Buy the 2 day pass (first day full price and second day is half off); 1 day is not nearly enough to see everything I would recommend day 1: see the animal enclosures, the shows, the sites and the shops, day 2: swim in the underground caves, snorkel, see the beach, and do any extra activities Bring an underwater camera; the fish are beautiful and you can take it in the underground cave as well If you eat the Mexican buffet for dinner (which is delicious) you can watch the horse rodeo show as you eat If you plan on staying for the night show (and you absolutely should) get there early to make sure you get a good seat Do the Xcaret plus package. It includes your snorkel gear, towels, locker and a buffet. It is definitly worth the extra money. People will be around taking pictures like at other parks, if you wish to look at them, go to the main entrance before closing time to beat the crowd and find your photos much easier Bring handsanitizer, water and flip flops You will put your stuff in a locked waterproof bag while you go in the underground caves that they will transport for you to the exit. They say not to put anything other than clothes, shoes and towels but we put our camera and sunglasses in it and they were perfectly fine. Of course this is to your own discretion but the bags are locked and you have the key. If you don't put your camera in the bag, you will be without it until you get back to your lockers on the other side of the park and will miss great photo ops on the walk back. Otherwise, I would HIGHLY recommend this park. It was a great experience that combined culture, history, water activities, animal encounters, and more. It is appropriate for all ages. Think zoo meets water park meets excitement. LOVED Xcaret.

My wife and visited Xcaret in late august of 2010. We purchased the plus package worth $118USD for each person. This included two drinks or one beer, snorkel equipment, and buffet. First I'll start with the negatives: when we bought our tickets we were told that there were many stands throughout the park that offered free Mexican juices (horchata, aqua de Jamaica) without the use of one of our free drinks...this was no the case. That is the only negative thing I have to say about Xcaret. The other package available costs $69 but I wouldn't recommend it cuz the foodnis not included. We ate at the laguna restaurant and it was buffet style and the food was ridiculously good. The carne asada was about half an inch thick so it was basically steak and it was great. They also served a clam soup that was amazing. The food alone was worth the $118. We were also provided with snorkeling equipment that we could use at their two rivers. However there really wasn't much sea life in the rivers to look at. I was also surprised to find out that beer and other drinks were relatively cheap compared to what you would pay for a drink at a place like Disneyland or sporting events. A beer costs 40 pesos or around $3.25. At dodger stadium in Los Angeles where I live beer costs $15. With our package we were given two water or soda tickets and I was even surprised by the size of the water given. I was expecting a 355ml or 12 ounce bottle water. Instead we were given a 20 ounce. I know that 8 ounces isn't much more but when you go to places like Disneyland they try to suck out every last penny from you. I have to say that we all enjoyed Xcaret and would love to visit it many more times.

Xcaret gathers all the beauty of the Riviera Maya in one place. Nestled among the lush green vegetation beside the beautiful turquoise waters of the Mexican Caribbean there is the most visited site in the Riviera Maya, Xcaret. There’s no tourist coming to Cancun or the Riviera Maya that goes back home without visiting this ecological park that opens a window to Mexico. In addition to its natural beauty, Xcaret features the roots, history, costumes and traditions of México. When you come to the Riviera Maya, rent a car or take a bus to get to Xcaret Park. Since you arrive, you will be immersed in an ecological environment that blends majestic facilities with nature. There are many interesting places in the Riviera Maya but only Xcaret has the all the attractions and fun for the whole family together. You can snorkel in the cove or into the underground river. Indeed, Xcaret is the only place offering Snuba and Sea trek. Also, there is an aquarium showing all the colorful biodiversity existing in the coral reefs of the Riviera Maya with an amazing new exposition of jellyfish. During your visit, as you walk in, you will see different protected animals from the region of the Riviera Maya that are in danger of extinction like macaws, jaguars, monkeys, flamingoes, turtles, etc. Even its sounds incredible, it is possible here to swim with sharks or pet mother dolphins and their babies. Bring extra money for a DVD or pictures, this is a life time experience that you must have in your blog but also part of this money goes to protection programs in the Riviera Maya. Don’t miss the show Mexico Espectacular which is a great performance of the Mexican culture that you won’t find anywhere else in the Riviera Maya. A great tip is that I bought my tickets online, and they were considerably much cheapear than the ones sold in agencies and at the park entrance. This really helped me save some money. Also I recommend you buy the Xcaret Plus admission since it is like an all inclusive package, you get towels, water, chips, buffet, lockers and many other things with this admission ticket. I really reacommend you to go to Xcaret, it's one of the most beautifull sight in Riviera Maya, and you get to experience Mexico in just one place.

We enjoyed every minute of it. We got there before it opened due to the time change from where the cruise ship docked at Calika. We got a Taxi there and back from the ship for about $15.00 round trip.Everything was well organized, Very helpful friendly employees. The snorkeling was great in both in the underground rivers and in the bay. Beautiful aquarium. Lots of information about recycling, environmental issues, endangered species. Beautiful orchid greenhouse, botanical gardens, open air zoo with animals native to that part of Mexico. The buffet included with the ticket price was the best meal we've had anywhere in any country. The only problem we had was having to leave to get back to the ship before we saw everything. Was definately worth every cent.

I love Xcaret! It is beautifully designed, well maintained and very clean. On my last visit I went 2 days in a row and it still wasn't enough time there. The night show is really spectacular so if you do visit make sure you stay for that. If you are not into swimming all day then wear some comfy shoes as you will walk alot. Also visit the Mayan village, the cemetery and the church. They are all in the same area and very cool. It's not cheap but if you go 2 days in the same week your second visit is half price. I thought that was a good value.

This was great family fun. It had a little bit of everything. The only problem was that we had to leave!!! From the food to the activities, everything was A+

It is a beautiful place, if we'd had the time to see it all ( for the price). It is not too well equipped for people not being able to walk the distance even tho there are wheelchairs. someone has to push. and that gets old real quick. A lot of paths are down hill then up. not a good feeling for someone in a chair.

We spent pretty much a whole day visiting Xcaret and I am sure there is much more we could still see. I loved walking through all the different exhibits. The colors and ruins were amazing to see. You could just daydream and image past civilizations and what their life might have been like. I especially enjoyed the show that was performed in the evening. It gave me inspiration to read more about the Mayan civilization and learn more before our return trip in 2008. Definitely worth the price of admission - you won't be disappointed.

Xcaret practically sponsors tourism in Playa Del Carmen, so you can't throw a rock without hitting a gigantic ad for the place everywhere you look. My wife and I had been the Xcaret about 10+ years ago and really enjoyed the beauty, the snorkeling, and the history of the area. That was on a cruise stop and we were only in the park for about 4 hours. Recently we went back to QR for a vacation and thought we would revisit Xcaret and some of the other local sites. What we found this time was a tremendously expensive (but beautiful) tourist trap that was much larger than it was before, but also a lot more cheesy in our opinion. The excellent snorkeling we had experienced here before was gone, replaced with dead reefs that were almost lifeless in comparison due likely to tourists like us and poor conservation practices by the park. Make sure you bring money, because a towel + snorkel equipment will cost you a $40 US deposit (or you can give up your ID, which we weren't willing to do). In fact, if you have your own snorkel equipment you still have to deposit $40 per person just to get a plain blue towel! Also, although the park sells itself as 'all inclusive', entry fees ($75 US per person) only include 1 meal and 2 20 oz. non alcoholic beverages. Additional drinks are $3 US, and all but the most basic water activities cost additional money. The flora of Xcaret is truly beautiful, and there are plenty of little coves, hidden hammocks, and chairs with beautiful views of the ocean. There are some very small ruins to look at, an aquarium that takes 20 minutes or so to see, and other captive sea life like dolphins and turtles. For the area, there is no other experience like it that I'm aware of, but for the money, I would say it's not really worth it.

I had such a great time. It was so beautiful. I really enjoyed the animals and the butterfly exhibit. Everything about it was awsome. I would recommend xcaret to everybody and would recommend the snorkeling.