Sometimes when we are in vacations. We don’t know what to do in this beautiful places, due to I will show you the best places to visit in Cancun and what to do on them.
Xel-Ha
Xel-Ha is a popular aquatic park in the Riviera Maya of Mexico. It features a large fresh water river, a salt water inlet (bay), and some cenotes. Aside from nature, there are plenty of cool activities and sights throughout the park. There’s snorkeling, tubing, zip lines, water slides, cliff diving, bike rides and more. Xel-Ha gives visitors the opportunity to explore the beautiful coastal waters while participating in these activities.
The River
The river at Xel-Ha runs into the main bay, also known as an inlet. From the start of the river, you can choose to tube or snorkel. This is the only place where you can grab a tube to go down the river. You can also snorkel down the river; this is one of the several places in the park where you can get your snorkel gear. Keep reading to see why I recommend tubing down the river first.
At the entrance of the river, there are secure bags where you can store your stuff. The bags are locked right there in front of you, and you’re given the key. You can take your bag at final. Besides once you’re done snorkeling or tubing. You can give them your key and they unlock the bag in front of you. It’s super safe and convenient, I left my phone and some cash in there, and I had no issues. If you don’t want to use the bags, you can always use the lockers.
Snorkeling & Tubing
You will snorkel down the river. But once you get past the mangroves, there wasn’t much to see in the river because the water was a little murky. Once you get to the inlet, that’s where you start to see lots of fish, corals, and reefs; so the inlet is the best spot for snorkeling.
Tubing is slower, but a little easier than snorkeling down the river. The current is very gentle, so you’ll probably have to use your hands to steer and paddle.
Best places to visit in Cancun
Knowing all this, I recommend taking the tube down the river. Then getting your snorkel gear to go snorkeling around the inlet. That way, you get to experience both activities without having to go down the river twice.
The fresh water from the river, and salt water from the ocean meet and mix within the inlet. That, combined with the calm water creates the perfect snorkeling conditions. When snorkeling around the inlet, look for reefs or flags, because that’s where the majority of fish are.
If you can’t swim or you’re not in good physical shape, I suggest taking the tube down the river instead of snorkeling. The river is long, so swimming the entire length can get a little tiring.
Cenotes & Caves
There are several cenotes you can check out, and a rope swing to jump into the water. The cenotes are quite nice, but a little small, and you’re not allowed to swim in most of them. There’s also a cave that you can swim into, but I didn’t get a chance to check that out.
If cenotes are of particular interest to you, then you may want to check out the Xenotes tour which is run by the same company that manages Xel-Ha. The cenotes at Xel-Ha were beautiful, but a little underwhelming compared to the ones I experienced at Xenotes.
Xcaret
Xcaret means “little cove”, but this one offers you a sea of possibilities to have fun as you never imagined.
Perhaps together with Chichén Itzá and Tulum, Xcaret is one of the most visited places in the Riviera Maya. Each year it receives around one million visitors, over an extention of 80 hectares and has attractions that were carefully planned for more than 60 months. Since 1998, they have received several awards ranging from environmental education programs, prizes for working conditions, accreditations for their care of the environment, tourism excellence awards and even world records for the preservation of local species, among others.
Meet the river
Walk along at least one of its 3 underground rivers. Azul, Maya and Manatí are the names of the underground rivers that are part of the network of channels that lie under the Yucatan Peninsula and that extend for more than 650 meters, during the journey you will discover Mayan cenotes, rock formations and marine fossils.
Best places to visit in Cancun
Cintact with flora and fauna
Contact with flora and fauna. There are several places in Xcaret that give you the opportunity to get in touch with the flora and fauna, among them you can choose:
The Mariposario, a controlled hatchery to count on average the flight of around five thousand butterflies
The Aviary. This place is home to 77 species of Mexican birds, among which the red macaw stands out as a local emblem.
Best places to visit in Cancun
The living orchid museum. Here more than a hundred plants are cultivated, among which there are 89 species of orchids, many of them in danger of extinction.
Wild animal sighting. The unique characteristics of this park allow for a tropical jungle environment, this facilitates the sighting of several wild animals such as: Moreletti crocodiles, bats, jaguars, white-tailed deers, pheasants, tapirs, raccoons, spider monkeys and howler monkeys among others.
Enjoy the environment
Sighting of sea creatures. The warm waters of the Caribbean are home to several species of tropical fish and other marine creatures that you can observe in:
The Coral Reef Aquarium. This place is one of a kind, thanks to the care of its hábitat, visitors can learn about the ecosystem of the underwater gardens, made possible by the permanent pumping of seawater that allows the controlled entry of plankton and sponge larvae, corals and molluscs, This venue has more than five thousand living organisms that have been colonizing this exhibit in a natural way.
Best places to visit in Cancun
Xcacel turtle camp. With a permanent program for the preservation of sea turtles, Xcaret nowadays has one of the most advanced camps in the careo f these animals, which allows the release of 300 thousand pups per year.
Manatee Lagoon. Meet Pompom and Nohoch, two manatees that inhabit the crystalline water of Xcaret lagoon, they are two marine mammals of the species Trichechus manatus that are currently in danger of extinction.
In the afternoon
Swimming at the Beaches, the Cove or in the Natural Pools. One of the great advantages of Xcaret is that it has ample spaces for swimming in which each traveler finds the adventure they want to have. The natural pools with seawater and subdued waves are the right place for families with children, seniors and people with little experience as swimmers; for young adults and people with previous experience with snorkeling, the Caleta is recommended, its depth is 1.20 meters and the waves and currents are controlled.
Visit a plaza or venue of interest. After strolling, swimming and sunbathing, your appetite will surely be wanting you to stop somewhere to eat. Some packages, like the Xcaret Plus, include a buffette meal service that you can enjoy in any of its 6 restaurants with this type of service, or if you wish, you can explore the culinary possibilities in any of its restaurants with different gastronomic specialties, cuisines, services of fast food or bars and even carts with snacks. After lunch, we recommend a walk through any of the public squares and venues such as: the Main Square, the Hacienda Henequenera Yucateca, the Museum of Popular Mexican Art, the Mayan Village, the Plaza del Vitral, the Chapel of Guadalupe, the Bell Tower, the Chapel of San Francisco de Asís and the Revolving Scenic Tower.
Historic adventure
Visit an archaeological site. Polé, today Xcaret, has more than a thousand years of history and that’s why it has archaeological ruins of the Mayan culture. The ruins are dated to the late post-classic period (1400-1517 AD), which must be covered if you want to have a complete tour.
Archeological ruins. You can choose to visit the different structures of the main square. There are four large groups. You can find buildings, temples, murals with pre-Hispanic paintings and monumental platforms.
Pre-Hispanic ball game court or Tlachco. It is a detailed replica of the Copán’s ruins in Honduras.
Best places to visit in Cancun
What are you waiting for? Come and take a long and relaxing vacation in this real paradise. Then don’t forget check out our main page www.mycaribbeandeals.com.