This one is an oldie from earlier this year. Once again my wife and I went on our yearly anniversary cruise vacation. This time we decided to redo a trip that was previously canceled. A few years back we were to visit Cozumel, Belize, and Cayman Islands but we could not make Belize as it was canceled and destination was changed to Costa Maya. This year we did our research and made sure that Belize was still on the itinerary and there were no problems there. Last time visit to Cozumel we went to visit the Mayan ruins of Tolum. This time around we decided this trip would be about Zenotes and Caves so we decided to visit Xcaret. It was an awesome experience and we recommend you experience at least once.

Our trip was cut short, some times the docking takes much longer than anticipated and that can make your excursion a bit shorter. So as always be ready for any last minute changes.

 

We took the Ferry from Cozumel to Playas Del Carmen. The boat ride is only about 30 minutes, but some people not used to boats do and did get sick in this short ride. I recomend that you take your seasickness medicine the night  before and a couple of hours before getting in these kind of boats. Luckily for me I do not suffer from this problem but I know many others do.

We arrived at Xcaret, our driver gave us a few tips on how to make our experience better since we had such a short time to enjoy the water attractions. We chose the underground river that was natural and partly man made, there are other two that are man made as we were explained.

Right when we entered the park there was a nice little shopping center were you can get some arts and crafts to take home or simply enjoy a drink of your choice.

Pass the shopping area we went straight to get our gear and passed by the first entrance of the underwater cave.

     

While inside we were surprised by a beautiful pool and waterfall.

On we went to the river and started to appreciate our surroundings right away.

        

There were several small Cenotes, some man made and most were natural.

Some areas are just awesome to stop and appreciate.

    

    

In the ins and out of the rivers there are areas a bit dark but with enough light for you not to get disoriented, then you can see some ropes on the sides where you can hold as it gets a bit deep for you to walk.

      

 

Past the darkest and deepest areas you will see the mangrove trees, a nice sign that the trip has ended and clear sign that the ocean is on the other side.

    

The water are a bit chilli and crystal clear, it’s just an awesome place. I wish we were able to experience the other two rivers, this one left a great impression, we will be back.

Below are fish therapy tanks, right after turning in our gear you can see these on your right hand side.

Click on the image below to see a full map of the park.

Past the Aroma and fish therapy area is the entrance to the beach. It looks awesome.

In case you get lost you’ll know hot to get back to Alaska or anywhere else.

    

I must say, we ate like kings and tasted the best fish and seafood I have had in many, many years.

      

Past the restaurants there are many other things to see or experience.

    

Below is a panoramic picture of the dolphin area.

On the other side of the dolphin area they have a nice beach and lots of tikis to get away from the sun.

We then found our way to the Coral Reef Aquarium. This place was great, most fish were swimming in what seemed well taken care of system of pools.

      

Below are pics of baby turtles that will be released into the oceans. A sign asking you to not touch them so they will not get used to humans is set on rocks by the pools.

Stingrays swimming.

They have a snorkel are that I wanted to get into but unfortunately was running out of time. from were I was the water was still crystal clear.

Below are pics of the fish tanks, there is a small yet nice area in the shape of a circle with several fish tanks.

    

     Below is a depiction of a Mexican Mayan ruins, an amphitheater, and a depiction of a Mesoamerican ballgame stadium.

past the stadium wand it was back to the shopping center where I just had to have one local refreshment before leaving to the boat.