Western Excursions @ Cozumel: Tulum verses Xcaret

[stormkrow]

Now that the info on the western excursions is out, the real fun comes with deciding which ones to select. Since our cruise on July 6th is less than 60 days after the first western cruise in May, I won't have the luxury of the first-hand reports on the excursions to help us decide. So . . . .

Our family is struggling with a choice of excursions at Cozumel between Tulum and Xcaret. The kids are excited about going to a real Mayan ruins. From the pictures, Tulum looks great. However, the other cruise lines usually combine Tulum with a stop in Xel-Ha to enjoy the snorkling and swimming there. Joe & Diane were askng about this combination in another thread. DCL is only offering Tulum by itself.

Then there's Xcaret. Barb mentioned (again in another thread) about how much she loved it last time she was there. It combines Mayan ruins with snorkling, swimming, an aquarium, and other activities. It really does sound great.

My concern is that the Mayan ruins that the kids want to see may not be that great at Xcaret when compared to Tulum. Has anyone been to both sites? How do they compare?

Is anyone planning to go on either excursion? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Gretel]

where did you get the excursion info from? I couldnt find it on the dcl site

 

[Gretel]

never mind................I should have known to look in the backyard....................the DIS does it again!

 

[inkkognito]

The ruins in Xcaret were only a very small part of the place. If ruins are the main thing you are looking for, then it probably isn't the place for you. The thing I love best was the natural "lazy river," where you done a life vest and float along an underground river. You drop off your stuff at the beginning, and they take it by horsecart so that it is waiting for you at the end. They also have a dolphin swim, which we didn't do, gorgeous beaches, a butterfly garden, and jaguars and other "big cats." I am an animal and nature lover, so I could have stayed there for hours. They also have horseback riding, which I would have loved to do. The only thing I don't like is that you only get to stay there for three hours...not nearly long enough!
The interesting thing is that you are not allowed to use regular sunscreen there because it contains toxic substances that they do not allow in their "ecopark." They will give you little tubes of natural sunscreen. I burn very easily, but I can vouch for the fact that the natural stuff works.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by inkkognito

The interesting thing is that you are not allowed to use regular sunscreen there because it contains toxic substances that they do not allow in their "ecopark." They will give you little tubes of natural sunscreen. I burn very easily, but I can vouch for the fact that the natural stuff works.

That <b><i>is</i></b> interesting.

 

[patches-4]

When we went to Discovery Cove in 2000 when they first opened, we had to use the natural stuff also the whole day there because of the same reason. I can vouch for it working too, I still had a little left over and used it this past summer and it was still good.

 

[KarenNY]

I visited Xcaret a few years ago while on a Celebrity cruise. We spent the whole day there. It is a fabulous place. But I don't think the Disney excursion allows enough time to fully enjoy all it has to offer. We'll probably skip it on our Magic cruise.

 

[mickybean0816]

When my mother, brother, and I went to Cozumel, we chose to do Xcaret, which turned out to be a great decision. Along with a *few* Myan ruins, the best part was the "lazy river". In fact, I got to go through twice. The water was very cold, but refreshing. You get to float through with a life-vest on...and enjoy the scenery in and out of the cave that the river flows through. If you choose to do this, watch your feet, the bottom is extremely sharp in places (at least you get a warning, I jabbed my foot onto the bottom...ouch). Other than the "lazy river", there is tons of swimming and beach (great fun!)...and rafts and intertubes to rent. You can swim in the little cove areas...the water there is much warmer than the sea. And the views are just gorgeous. The water a beautiful deep blue/green, awesome palm trees...everything about Xcaret is perfect.=)

I don't know a whole lot about Tulum as we didnt' go there...although we did go to Playa del Carmen on a separate vacation, and it was very similar to Tulum (or so I've heard). In Playa del Carmen, we saw lots of ruins...that was definitely more educations than Xcaret.

I'd say either would be a good excursion...just depends on what you think everyone would enjoy more...=)

Mickybean0816

 

[mickybean0816]

Oops...forgot to add some stuff to my previous post before I posted.

Anyway, also at Xcaret, they have swim with the dolphins. I remember my mom and I just sittin' there watchin' everyone else swim with the dolphins for hours...debating or not whether we should do it...we finally decided to...it was about $75/person approximately...but definitely worth it. There were about 7 other people in our group. At first we were all scared to get in...finally we did, and the dolphins swam around and around us...they were very friendly. Once acquainted with them, everyone got a turn to hold onto their fin while they swam the length of the pool (at a rapid speed). Finally, we all stood (floated) in a row, as the dolphins jumped over us. Of course, they took pictures of us with a dolphin (I was lucky enough to have 2 dolphins in my picture). You can purchase the photo also to take home with you! I must say, this was the best experience I've ever had on a vacation...and I would do it again in a heartbeat!=) I would suggest if you'd like to do this, to make reservations as soon as possible as they fill up very fast.

Mickybean0816

 

[Lavne]

DH and I were lucky enough to go on an all expenses paid trip to Cancun about 6 years ago that he earned through work. It included a number of excursions, and we did both Tulum and Xcaret (I think in the same day).

Tulum was interesting, but it is a fairly small area and not too much to see. From what I recall, most of the structures were roped off, and most crumbling piles of rocks look pretty much like the next, especially when it's hard to understand the "English-speaking" tour guide who's telling you what you are looking at. (We also had an excursion to Chichen Itza, which has a big pyramid and lots of really cool stuff to see, so Tulum paled in comparison). The neat thing about this site is that it's on a cliff, but you'll be seeing plenty of gorgeous water views throughout your cruise. The $90 per person cost seems quite high to me! Check out this website for an overview photo of the area:
http://www.locogringo.com/destinations/tulum.html

Xcaret was nice, sort of a cross between a very low-key amusement park and a zoo. We also did the river, most of which is underground through caves - yes, the bottom can be quite sharp - wear water shoes! The thing that really surprised me there was that I didn't see any park workers monitoring the course, and it's quite long. That would never fly in this country or they would end up with all sorts of lawsuits, I'm sure! We also looked at the animals and walked through the butterfly garden. I don't remember seeing any ruins there though, so either they were forgettable or I missed them and I can't comment on their quality. It was quite a beautiful and peaceful place. Here is their website:
http://www.xcaretcancun.com/index.html

Having been to both, and looking at the excursion list, I think I would be more inclined to pick one of the options that combine a stop at ruins and some water time. The 'Cozumel Ruins and Beach Tour' (half the cost of Tulum) sounds more interesting to me personally.

I would definitely recommend that you do some surfing on the web and check out some other travelers sites/photos and such to help determine which looks the most interesting to your family.

Hope this helps.
Enjoy!

 

[stormkrow]

Thanks for all the information. I discussed all the points raised and the vote is to go to Xcaret!

We'll be sure to give a full report when we get back.

 

[inkkognito]

One warning about Xcaret...
DO NOT drink the "rice water!" We ate there, and that was one of the beverage offerings. It was delicious...it tasted like coconut milk, and I had two or three glassses. Bad idea! Montazuma's Revenge was not long in following. Hubby had coffee and he was fine.
Also, most of the workers are not terribly fluent in English (after all you ARE in Mexico). I know a very tiny bit of Spanish, and it was helpful. The only problem was that when I would ask something in my halting Spanish, they would reply with a rapid string of fluent Spanish that I could barely follow! I'm going to brush up on my language skills before our 5/25 cruise--it will be very helpful.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[stormkrow]

Thanks again, Barb.

 

[albiats]

My DW and I went on a Carnival cruise in Feb 2001 specifically because she wanted to see the Mayan Ruins. We didn't like the Carnival ship very much, but she did like the shore excursion to Tulum.

Carnival ships make a 30 minute stop in Playa del Carmen so that people taking the shore excursion to Tulum can get on a tender ship for a short ride to Playa del Carmen. Then we boarded an air conditioned bus and had a ride of about 60 minutes to get to Tulum.

We toured the ruins at Tulum for about 90 to 120 minutes and then we boarded the bus to get back to Playa del Carmen again. Then we had to take a water taxi over to Cozumel where we could get back on our ship again.

DCL will not be making the additional tender stop so it will add more time to the Tulum excursion and will take up most of your day there.

We have some photos from our trip to Tulum and I'll try to find them and post them here in the next day or two. It was really very interesting.

 

[Wendy]

Can someone who has been to Xcarat please explain the underground river? I'm having a very hard time visualizing what this is. Do you actually go below sea level? Is it dark? I can't imagine what this is like!

 

[stormkrow]

Wendy,

Check out the Xcaret website at www.xcaretcancun.com. They have pictures (mini-slide show) that should help.