Xcaret eco park

[airbear]

Pugmom recommended the Xcaret excursion so I went on the website and it looks awesome. A few questions though... Is the park in Cancun? Also, it looks like a whole day excursion. Is there any places there to shop for t-shirts and stuff? Does the park have a gift shop?

 

[Imaginationsetfree]

I just did this excursion on my last cruise and loved it! It's located in the Riviera Maya, which is about 45 minutes away from Cancun and 15 from Playa del Carmen. It is a long excursion - we met at 8 and were back on the ship at about 3:30, but it was worth it. The underground river you float through was awesome, and there's TONS of stuff to explore around the park - plants, animals, dolphins, caves, beaches, etc. It was totally worth it in my opinion and I was really glad I did it.

 

[lborne]

We did this April 2009 when we were in Cancun and my wife and her friend did it again in October 2009 on their "girl's only" vacation. It is about a 1 hr drive south from the Cancun hotel area.

Totally worth it. You could spend 2 days and not see everything there is to offer. There are gift shops where you can get t-shirts and typical gift shop stuff. My 6 year old had no problem floating down the rivers or doing any of the other activities.

If you'd like to see photos just let me know, but I'm sure you can google plenty.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I stayed at the Resort that is attached to Xcaret eco park and loved going to Xcaret. The underground rivers were a blast. There is so much to do there that you definitely won't get bored, the place is Huge. There is one larger gift shop by the entrance and then a smaller gift shop near the exit of one of the underground rivers that I saw. If you would like to see pictures let me know as I took a few. On the cruise, I don't think you stay late enough, but their Mayan show at night was amazing to watch.

We found a cheaper place to eat there that was out overlooking the ocean. They had the best ham and cheese sandwiches I have ever had with hammocks close by!

 

[jdybnsn]

We did this excursion the place is fantastic BUT there is just not enough time there (a little under 4 hours) to even scratch the surface !
......just on those grounds alone I cannot recommend it as an excursion ...its just too short of a time ...we felt we were rushing round trying to cram stuff in !!

 

[lborne]

I don't know what the cost is if booked with Disney, but if you only have 4 hours at the park (and I assume 2 on a bus), then I agree with the PP, you will feel really rushed. It probably is not worth the bus ride and cost.

 

[pugmom626]

It is true that there is nowhere near enough time to see everything. It's about a 40 minute water taxi ride and a 10 minute bus ride each way, so, yes, it is about 2 hours traveling. If you expect to swim the river, feed the dolphins, feed the sharks, snorkel and see the animal exhibits, you will be disappointed and perhaps even frustrated. But, if you spend some time researching at home and chose a coulpe of things that are must see/do for you, you might be pleasantly surprised to find that you have time to see a little bit more than what you have planned. We wanted to swim the river (that is the biggest attraction there) and check-out a couple of animal exhibits. Even though we were there in July and it was crowded, we had enough time to see all of the animal exhibits without feeling rushed. It felt like we had even more time in February (because it was 2nd time there and we were familiar with the park and because it wasn't crowded at all.) It is an amazing place and you do need more than one day to "do it all" but we did not feel that it was a waste and we would do it again. This and the stingray feeding in Grand Cayman were the highlights of our cruise. I would recommend it for families who want to do more than lay on a beach and play in the sand.

 

[airbear]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. This sounds like an awesome place and the pictures I have seen online are beautiful. I think I will do some research and choose one or two things to do. I know I can't do it all but I'd rather do some things than no things.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

airbear, I am a member of the resort next door, Grand Xcaret, and have gone 3 times. It is so much fun and we love it. If you do your research ahead of time, you will be fine. Like you said, you can't do it all. We usually don't stay much past four hours. Some of the animal exhibits are zoo like so if you have a zoo close to your house then you might just want to skip it. The turtles are fun to see. They have a great aquarium. The butterfly exhibit doesn't do much for us but for others it can. It can be hot so if you can take some water with you that would save some big bucks. I want you to realize that there are two underground rivers not one, both offering different views. The signage is very hard to follow. I would be happy to answer any questions. I have a park map that I can look things up for you. Feel free to PM me. If you don't get the all inclusive package then I HIGHLY recommend the sandwich shop that PoohFriend recommends. I chime in with her that it was the best ham and cheese I have ever had and it was around 8.00USD. It came with very yummy homemade potatoe chips. Oh and another thing....they want you to use biodegradable sunscreen. It is an eco friendly resort and I try to use it. I bought ours at our vitamin cottage but I know you can buy it online or at the Park.

You can get some cheap tshirts if you buy at the main entrance. That is where their clearance items are along with a bigger variety. There are two other shops that I can remember. One where you get out of the river and one I believe is at the turtle exhibit. Those two are much smaller than the front entrance.

 

[pugmom626]

If you book through Disney (a smart thing to do with this particular excursion - you don't want to miss the boat on the way back!) the guide stays with you until you get to the entrance of the river and directs you to the "better" side to go through on that particular day, so plan on doing the river first thing. They give you a waterproof duffell bag with a lock that you use in lieu of a locker. You pick-up the bag at the exit of the river. We didn't need to rent a locker other than this since we kept our small beach bag with us for the rest of the day. The sandwich shop that others have mentioned is the one that you get the meal voucher for. The voucher is good for a cheeseburger, hot dog or salad and non-alcoholic beverage and an ice pop. You can purchase other things off of the menu if you wish. I would recommend bringing smaller bills so you can pay in exact change or use a credit card (sometimes they give you your change in Pesos). Don't forget a tip for the guide, they are VERY appreciative.

 

[PugDad626]

Pics from our recent trip there including Xcaret can be seen at:

www.wthomas33.com/dcl.htm

 

[pugmom626]

Pics from our recent trip there including Xcaret can be seen at:

www.wthomas33.com/dcl.htm

Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and click on "Professional Pictures" to see the underground river pictures.

 

[airbear]

Awesome pics pug couple. I am so excited to go now. Too bad it's like 13 months away. Would go sooner but we're going on an adventure by disney in July which is costing an arm and a leg. On a good note, we got a free 3 night disney cruise with our disney adventure so we'll probably take that before the western caribbean. Hubbie has never cruised before. Gotta make sure he likes it before I take him out for 8 days. I hope these Disney trips are worth it they are getting an awful lot of our money.

 

[su_kraft]

Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and click on "Professional Pictures" to see the underground river pictures.

These are great! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[Tinkermom3]

A full report of our excursion to Xcaret with photos can be found here

We enjoyed Xcaret very much!

 

[pugmom626]

I'm LOVING the fact that we were called "pug couple" - I'm sure my dog would approve!
I have more pictures that I will try to send, but it takes me about a day to figure out how to do that! My DS11 relly wanted to see the bird breeding area. (I don't know why, we don't have birds as pets.) Coincidentally, the bird exhibit was just to the right of the exit to the park, so we were able to hit that area on the way out. WOW! It was soooo cool. There was a behind-the-glass exhibit that showed the birds in various stages of development from 1 day old through adult. Then the path wound around into a magnificent garden where the birds were free. If you were looking at a Parrot on a perch, there would be another one who had shimmied down a nearby branch and was inches away from your face! I was enamoured over the fact that the place could be so unregulated (everything was right out in the open and not caged). I hope that visitors continue to respect the uniqueness of the park so that they are not forced to enclose the exhibits for "safety" reasons.