Palm Leaf Travel

I spent an entire week hopping between all seven Xcaret parks, and what an adventure it was! Each park offers something completely different, from cultural experiences to heart-pounding thrills. Let me take you through the highlights of each one before revealing my absolute favorite that left me completely speechless.

Xcaret Park: The Classic All-Day Adventure

Let’s start with the oldest and most well-known park in the collection. Xcaret Park is an all-day adventure located just minutes away from the Xcaret hotels. Imagine combining a cultural history museum, water park, and tropical zoo all in one place. It truly has something for every age group.

Most guests split their day between wet and dry activities. I chose to do the dry activities in the morning and saved the wet activities for the hot afternoon hours. The variety here is incredible: you can swim in underground rivers, relax on beaches, explore lagoons and natural pools, visit the Coral Reef Aquarium and sea turtle center, wander through the butterfly pavilion and aviary, and spot amazing wildlife like jaguars, manatees, flamingos, spider monkeys, and bats.

The cultural experiences are equally impressive. You can watch an equestrian show, explore the Pre-Hispanic Village, browse the Mexican Folk Art Museum, and visit the Mexican cemetery. As an Xcaret Hotel guest, you also get access to an all-you-can-eat buffet throughout the day.

The grand finale is the Xcaret Espectacular show at 7:00 PM, featuring 300 performers highlighting the rich history of Mexico. My favorite part was definitely the Mayan fire ball game.

Xel-Ha: The Water Lover’s Paradise

Many people struggle to choose between Xcaret Park and Xel-Ha, and I understand why they share so many similarities. While Xcaret Park is right next to the hotel, Xel-Ha requires about a 30-minute drive south near Tulum.

Xel-Ha is perfect if you absolutely love being in the water. Set in a protected inlet, this natural water park offers snorkeling, lazy river floating, zip-lining, water slides, cliff diving, and countless other water activities. When you need a break from the water, you can bike down jungle trails, explore cenotes, or climb the 131-foot lighthouse for a stunning 360-degree view.

The park has a wonderfully relaxed, family-friendly vibe. It opens at 8:30 AM, and I highly recommend arriving as early as possible to avoid crowds. Plan to spend a full day here. Rather than having one standout favorite activity, I simply enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere and incredible variety of water fun.

Xplor: Where Adventure Gets Intense

Xplor is another park located right next to the hotel, but where Xcaret Park and Xel-Ha are laid back and relaxed, Xplor cranks up the intensity. If you love extreme zip-lines, this is your destination. Xplor features the highest ziplines in the Riviera Maya, with the tallest tower reaching nearly 150 feet.

The underground rivers here offer swimming and rafting opportunities, plus there’s the newest attraction: a four-person tube ride that takes you through four different types of drops, including a 72-foot vortex. I particularly enjoyed the amphibious vehicles that you can drive through tunnels, flooded caverns, over hanging bridges, and through the jungle on a 3-mile adventure course.

When hunger strikes, stop at the all-you-can-eat buffet (included with your Xcaret hotel stay). I highly recommend trying the ribs – they were absolutely delicious.

Xplor Fuego: Adventure After Dark

As night falls, Xplor transforms into Xplor Fuego. Take everything you experienced during the day and add extra excitement by doing it all in the dark. Torches light your way around the park, and the ziplines now go through rings of fire. Your amphibious vehicle relies on headlights as you navigate through the dark jungle.

If you can’t find time during the day for Xplor, definitely come at night. It’s probably even more fun and certainly not as hot. I’d recommend both Xplor and Xplor Fuego to anyone who enjoys fast-paced parks with lots of action and adrenaline. If you’re afraid of heights, you might need to sit out a few rides, but there are plenty of other activities to enjoy.

Xenses: A Journey Through Your Senses

Just a short distance away and also right next to the hotels is Xenses, a truly unique park that explores all of your senses, as the name suggests. You’ll encounter optical illusions, navigate mazes, walk through a village where you can’t tell what’s up and what’s down, explore different ecosystems in complete darkness, ride a waterslide that flows into a cave, and experience flying like a bird on the bird flight zip line.

You can also float down a river of salt water and another river of warm clay. Xenses is perfect for a half-day trip with kids. It offers amazing photo opportunities and has something for everyone.

My strategy was to arrive first thing in the morning, beat the rush, enjoy the park, head back to the hotel for lunch, and then visit Xplor Fuego at night. Two parks in one day!

Xoximilco: The Ultimate Fiesta Experience

Xoximilco offers something completely different: it’s basically one big fiesta. You’ll dance, sing, make new friends, and probably do quite a bit of drinking. Despite the party atmosphere, it’s still kid-friendly.

You and a group of people board a colorful boat and move through the park’s canals at night, led by an entertaining host. You’ll experience Mexican culture through music, dance, singing, and games. There’s an open bar and plenty of food where you can sample traditional Mexican dishes.

You can choose your level of involvement in all the festivities. What I discovered is that the vibe depends heavily on which other guests end up on your boat. When the hotel quiets down in the evening, this is definitely a fun place to bring the family, drink, eat, dance, and have a great time. I really enjoyed myself.

Xenotes: My Ultimate Favorite

Now for my absolute favorite and, in my opinion, the best experience of all: Xenotes. This park is a fan favorite, and for good reason. There’s something truly unforgettable about floating in that final cenote with cold water all around you as gentle rain and sunlight stream down through the cavern opening. It created the most serene moment of my entire trip.

Xenotes is simply an awesome experience. You travel to four different types of cenotes, each with a different activity waiting for you. You’ll swim through one cenote, kayak through another, zipline over an open cenote, and my personal favorite: the assisted rappel into a cavern-type cenote.

Some people get intimidated by this excursion, but they should really reconsider. The staff does an excellent job of making sure everyone can participate in one way or another, regardless of skill level.

Planning Your Park Adventures

For convenience, you can’t beat Xcaret Park, Xenses, and Xplor. All three are practically at your doorstep with just a quick, free 5-minute shuttle ride away. The other parks require more travel time but are absolutely worth it. Xel-Ha is about 45 minutes south toward Tulum, while Xoximilco sits roughly 50 minutes north near Cancun. Xenotes takes you about an hour away, 30 minutes west of Puerto Morelos into the interior jungle.

All of these parks include food in your admission, except for Xenses. Since you’ll only spend a few hours there anyway, that’s not really an issue.

Age-Appropriate Recommendations

For little kids, I’d recommend Xcaret Park, Xel-Ha, and Xoximilco (if they don’t mind being around some drinking). Xenses, Xplor, Xplor Fuego, and Xenotes are better suited for older kids and adrenaline seekers, with Xenses being the most tame of those four.

Each park offers its own unique magic, but if I had to choose just one, Xenotes would win hands down. That perfect combination of adventure and tranquility in those ancient cenotes created memories I’ll treasure forever.

Planning a trip to Hotel Xcaret Mexico? Make sure to check out comprehensive travel guides that walk you through everything from booking the various parks to navigating the ins and outs of the resort. Proper planning will help you maximize your stay and make the most of all these incredible park experiences.