Xel Ha / Xcaret condition

[geraldp]

I hate to bring this up, but...

Some non-diving friends are coming with us this July to the Playa Del Carmen area. They are keenly interested in a "destination snorkel" type location like Xel-Ha and Xcaret. They are very concerned about the post-Wilma condition of these two parks. The web sites says they opened back up in early December, and I found one reference that the Xel-Ha people planted some 10000 trees during the 6 weeks they were closed. So that sounds good, but I was looking for independant (recent) reviews.

Thanks for any input,

Jerry

 

[Pez de Diablo]

We love going to Xcaret and go every couple of months. They have cleaned up the place and it looks really really good. Your friends will love going, it's back to normal.

Dennis

 

[bluewatertoy]

Does anyone know how much the entrance fee to these parks are. the websites all seem to vary.

 

[DET]

If snorkeling is your primary objective for either of these places, stick with Xel ha. It's much better for snorkeling.

 

[94GTStang]

Xel Ha was a lot of fun when we went. Spent all day and did just about everything minus the dolphin thing.
I think it's like $45 to get in. Of course we arranged the trip from Cozumel and it was about $100 for everything (transportation/food/etc).

I didn't hear much about the two places getting hit by Wilma. So I am sure that they look pretty good considering they didn't get the brunt of the hurricane.

 

[geraldp]

Does anyone know how much the entrance fee to these parks are. the websites all seem to vary.

In February '04 we went to Xel-Ha for the day. We paid $100 per ticket to get an all-inclusive entrance including transportation from our condo (North of Playa del Carmen). This included all you can eat/drink from any of the restaurants, bars, and ice cream huts, and included use of lockers, bicycle rentals, etc. It did NOT include things like swim-with-the-dolphins, Snuba/SCUBA, and a few other extra curricular activities. We had a great time, and the all-you-can slurp drinks/ice cream was great fun. The snorkeling was fantastic - lots of fishies.

We haven't tried Xcaret yet - the curriculum looked to be a bit more structured. We might try that next.

 

[Dectek]

In February '04 we went to Xel-Ha for the day. We paid $100 per ticket to get an all-inclusive entrance including transportation from our condo (North of Playa del Carmen).

$100?.... Must have been with Apple Vacations. They pound all the all-inclusive guests on that trip no matter how close or far away the hotel is. $106 for Tulum ruins and half day all-inclusive Xel-ha.

I agree with previous poster...Xel-ha if the main goal is Snorkeling... Xcarat if you would like relax while drifting in the river and then taking in the shows. The evening show there is the bomb. ( I think that is the expression)

 

[Kat]

The evening show there is the bomb. ( I think that is the expression)

It is a great show. I have seen parts of this show done at other places, but Xcaret is the best, by far.