Thank you Xcaret for providing press tickets for us to experience a day at your park
To end our three-month adventure around South America, Sasha and I took a diversion up north to Cancun, Mexico for some greatly anticipated sunshine, clear skies, Caribbean coasts and cocktails! Unfortunately, this wasn’t quite the scene we were greeted with. Torrential downpours, chilling wind and gloomy skies met us off the plane, but in true British fashion, we swapped the sun hats for rain macs and stubbornly soldiered on. We were determined not to let a bit of bad weather spoil our fun, especially as we’d booked to go to Xcaret!
Xcaret is a holiday resort and ecological tourism park situated just outside of Cancun in the Riviera Maya and is a popular tourist attraction for holiday-goers of all ages. We’d heard rave reviews when researching things to do so popped it on our itinerary without hesitation. Now, if you Google Xcaret, you are met with an abundance of picturesque photos of a tropical paradise. But those pristine pictures are not what you will be met within this post… Our visit to Xcaret was anything but picturesque; bedraggled, soggy, windswept are all more appropriate descriptions for the photos you are about to see. But do you know what? That’s life, not every day can be sunny, even if you are on holiday and in my opinion, it’s those less than “Instagram perfect” days that are the real test of just how good an attraction is. I mean if you can have a great time when the weather is against you then in my opinion that attraction really is worth its salt! So, did Xcaret hold it’s own, even on a rainy day? The answer without a doubt is absolutely yes, and here’s why…
They Have Manatees!!!
Xcaret has a whole host of native species in and around the park for guests to admire and assimilate knowledge. These include tapirs, turtles, sharks, Jaguars, various tropical fish and of course, one of my favourite species; the manatee. Xcaret allows you to encounter and learn about these amazing animals and discover more about their natural habitat in the Americas. There is also a butterfly pavilion and walk through aviary where the cheeky inhabitants swoop above your heads and make for some amazing photos. Viewing the manatees glide gracefully about their lagoon was a definite highlight for me and I can certainly say that Xcaret really delivers on activities for nature lovers!
It’s Something Different
I am a lover of exploration and frequenter of activities and almost any theme park going, but I can honestly say that Xcaret was very unique. The atmosphere the park provided and its ethos was very different to anything I’d come across before and I found it had a very chilled out vibe unlike the usual chaotic hustle and bustle of other activity parks. It was a welcome change and this atmosphere allowed you to really soak in the experience amongst your little group.
You Get A Taste Of Mexican Culture
Its strong cultural element is one of the things that makes Xcaret so unique, the park aims to educate and allow guests to experience some of Mexican culture, in particular, that of the ancient Mayans. The cultural elements are exhibited in a captivating fashion, for example; showing the colourful shrines of deceased loved ones for Día de Muertos and having exhibitors scattered around the park performing ancient crafts. I really like when an organisation works some of their heritage into their guest experience which Xcaret did very well.
If It’s Wet, You Can Just Get Wetter!
We found the rain didn’t spoil our fun at all, sure, in the photos, we looked a little bedraggled but other than that we found Xcaret very capable of catering to all weathers. There were plenty of indoor areas for us to see out the worst of the rain, the restaurants were all undercover and if all else failed, you could take to the water and just get wetter! They had a huge lazy river system which went all around the park and a lagoon to snorkel in so if it rained, you are no worse off at all!
The Photo Pass Is A Fun Souvenir
For our trip, we decided to get the photo pass. I wasn’t sure at first if it would be worth the extra money but after experiencing it first hand, I would say that actually it really was! The photo pass allows you to go around the park using your park entry band to zap multiple pictures at designated photo points around the park. The photos are then stored on your personal account for you to download at will via a special code after your visit. The photos were really good quality and you could have a lot of fun with your friends and family taking silly and memorable snaps. There are also photographers wandering about ready to take your picture as well as cameras placed in the watery areas of the park so this was great for getting photos without sacrificing someone’s phone or camera to the elements. It also meant we didn’t have to carry any photo taking equipment around with us which negates the risk of it getting damaged or lost and was especially useful on the day we visited as torrential rain and electronic devises don’t mix!
They’re Advocates For Sustainable Tourism
This is something which is incredibly important to me and I was really glad when I found out how on board Xcaret were with sustainable tourism. It’s great when a company safe-guards for future generations and has an eco-friendly ethos which Xcaret most certainly does!
So, come rain or shine, whatever your age and interests, Xcaret should be on your bucket list of things to do when in Cancun. If you’d like to check out their website for more information or to take advantage of their great early bird deal click here!
