XCARET Eco Archeologic PArk

[somall]

Has anyone done Xcaret?

As my parents will be cruising with us it seems like a great place for the mixed age group/activity level.

Any comments?

 

[amykay]

My husband and I went there on one our cruises. It is beautiful! My favorite spot was walking up to the open air church that overlooks the water. Awesome! Check out this website http://www.xcaretcancun.com/

 

[OurDogCisco]

We went there on our honeymoon 8 years ago and loved it! I am not sure how kid friendly it is since, we didn't have kids when we went. So, hopefully, someone can help you out in that department. I really like the underwater cave swim. That was a lot of fun. It would be neat to see it again next year on our Western Cruise.

 

[toobusymom]

We just got back from our cruise and very much enjoyed every port. I would caution you about that excursion though because of the time involved in getting there and back. You will spend at least 2-3 hours in travel time (combined there and back).

We did our own excursion to Xel-Ha. First we took the ferry to Playa de Carmen ($15 per person) and a 45 minute ride. Then we rented a car and drove the 30-45 minutes to Xel-Ha. We had a great day at Xel-Ha but wasted 3 hours in travel time!

We didn't get back to Cozumel until 7 pm so we missed our dinner on the ship. We had a FANTASTIC meal at Pancho's Backyard restaurant though. BIG margaritas! By then most of the shops were closed so we missed out on shopping. If I had to do it again, I would probably privately charter a snorkle trip upon arrival and afterward, either go to the park or a beach club for the afternoon.

Tip: If you have a girl in your group they can get their hair braided for much less money in Cozumel. In Playa de Carmen, serveral offered hairbraiding for $20 but we missed that deal too. On the ship it will cost $45 and up!

In Grand Caymen I recomend that you charter a snorkle trip with Stingray City Charters. They take you to 2 great reefs to snorkle and then you go to Stingray City. They pick you up at the designated spot near where you get off the ship and then they take you to their marina. All for $19 per person (adult). When we got back to the marina (at 1:00) instead of going back to Georgetown we asked them to call us a cab and the driver took us to the Turtle Farm and pointed out sights along the way. Our cabbie waited an hour for us while we were at the turtle farm and rum cake "factory". Next time I would not have them wait and just hail another cab. It cost $40 for the cab driver and I think he was with us for about 2 hours. It would have been much cheaper to hail another cab. Also, go to the duty free shop on the ship to get the price list before shopping for liquor in the ports. It looked cheaper on the ship! I even think they had a sale the last day on the ship

 

[mariamard]

XCARET.....IT IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES ON EARTH!! THERE ARE UNDERGROUND RIVERS THAT YOU CAN SNORKEL IN AND THERE ARE ALSO GROTTOS SCATTERED ALL OVER THAT YOU CAN JUST JUMP IN AND RELAX. WE SWAM WITH THE DOLPHINS, ATE A WONDERFUL LUNCH UNDER THE HUGE HUT-TYPE RESTRAUNT. THE WERE PRIVATE SPOTS ALL OVER TO NAP OR SUN. IT IS WELL WORTH THE MONEY, BUT ROUGH ON TIME WHEN A CRUISE. WE HAD A STOP IN COZUMEL, TOOK THE FERRY TO PLAYA DEL CARMEN(ROUGH RIDE BACK FROM PLAYA) AND WENT ON A NICE, LARGE,TOURBUS .WE WERE ON CARNIVAL AND THE EXCURSION WE BOUGHT, INCLUDED LUNCH AS WELL AS GROUND TRANSPORTAION AND PARK ENTRANCE. THE KIDS WILL LOVE THE SNORKELING IN THE INLET AREA (I FORGOT WHAT THAT AREA WAS CALLED). I SAW LOTS OF KIDS 7,8,9-ISH LEARNING. ADULTS WILL BE IN AWE!!MY FRIEND DID GET THE BRAIDS FOR $25 IN FRONT OF THE FERRY ENRTRANCE NEAR CARLOS AND CHARLIES.AND HER HAIR IS LONG.

 

[somall]

Thanks for the info everone. You guys confirmed my decision was right! Can't wait to go.

 

[ErikdaRed]

We went to Xcaret Excursion for our honeymoon. In my opinion you don't get enough time there to make it worth it. We only had enough time to swim the river and get lunch. Top it off with attendents willing to pocket money if you accidently overpay its just not worth it. I would recommend doing something else, like the cave tour which finishes at a great beach, heard nothing but rave reviews of that one.