Xceret - a theme park on the Yucantan Peninsula Mexico

In past posts I have told you how much we enjoyed our two trips to Cancun in Mexico. Undoubtedly, the highlight of both trips was our visit to Xceret (www.xcaret.com).  This is really an amazing place and just spending a day there is not nearly enough.  There are day tours (or multiple day tours which is probably the best option) from the hotel strip in Cancun. Beautiful Xcaret buses come and pick you up. The buses all return after the end of the cultural show in the evening.

So, what is there to see and do in Xcaret? Well, just about everything. It is built on the coast, so you have the most amazing ocean views. There are quite a few beautiful bays with white sandy beaches, so if you want to come all the way to Xceret to lie on the beach, you can do so, but that would be a serious waste of time! There is also a hammock bay with hammocks strung between coconut palms, If you have ever slept in a proper hammock, it is the most amazing thing! Just remember falling coconuts kill far more beach goes then sharks ever could!

Our baby was just to big to get in free

There are various restaurants all with great sea views. Wonderful affordable buffet meals with a variety of traditional Mexican dishes. Mexican food is so much more than tacos and burritos, although when done correctly, are delicious.

As I have mentioned before, the Yucatan Peninsula does not have water on the surface, but has massive amount of water in underground rivers. At Xcaret, you can snorkel along these underground rivers. We did this with out trip with Hardy. Luckily I had my wet suit with me. The water was very cold!

There is a typical Mexican farm setting, with displays of horsemanship. Of course there is the growing of the Agave plants which are used for the making of tequila. There are underground churches and an example of a Mexican grave yard.

Then there are the parrots. Lots and lots of parrots. Daily, they let the big Macaws fly free. An amazing sight to see a flock of these beautiful parrots being released. There is a zoo, where some of the special animals of the region can be seen, like jaguar and tapir. There is a turtle farm and a turtle
bay with a large number of big turtles in. There is a beautiful aquarium to visit and a place where they grow mushrooms. There is also a beautiful butterfly enclsoure. All in all, just too much to mention.

Parrots being released

Queen of the butterflies

In the evening there is an amazing cultural show. This is a very professional show which tells the story of Mexico from the Mayan civilisation, till the Spanish came and conquered Mexico and the conversion of the local people, till today, where Mexico is a vibrant mix of music and dancing. There is also a demonstration of a game which the Mayan people played. It is believed that this was the forerunner of modern football. It this Mayan game, the ball is hit with the hip and the objective is to get the ball through a stone circle. These typical Mayan "football" fields can be seen at all of the ruined sites like Tulum, Chitchen Itza and Coba. It is believed that the "Ball" which was used was the head of a vanquished enemy! It was really interesting to see this game being played, fortunately with a ball and not a head.

Cultural show

 

 

 

 

On the way to the cultural show, the path in lines with various Mayan warriors in traditional war paint. Very nice photo opportunities.

One of the main activities which you can do a Xcaret, and of course we did not do it, was to swim with dolphins. It was quite expensive, but it will be a hell of a lot more expensive to go back there a third time to do it. Must say, I quite like the idea of another trip to Cancun and to Xcaret!