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Xcaret Review

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Xcaret

Phone: 998/881-2451 in Cancun
www.xcaret.net

Category: Amusement Parks
Location: Xcaret

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Fodor's Review:

Once a sacred Mayan city and port, Xcaret (pronounced ish-car-et) is now a 250-acre ecological theme park on a gorgeous stretch of coastline. It's the coast's most heavily advertised attraction, billed as "nature's sacred paradise," with its own network of buses, its own published magazines, and a whole collection of stores.

Tthe park has done a good job to showcase, celebrate, and help preserve the natural environment of the Caribbean coast. You can easily spend at least a full day here; there's tons to see and do. Among the most popular attractions are the Paradise River raft tour that takes you on a winding, watery journey through the jungle; the Butterfly Pavilion, where thousands of butterflies float dreamily through a botanical garden while New Age music plays in the background; and an ocean-fed aquarium where you can see local sea life drifting through coral heads and sea fans without getting wet.

There are a Wild Bird Breeding Aviary, nurseries for both abandoned flamingo eggs and sea turtles, and a series of underwater caverns that you can explore by snorkeling or "snuba" (a hybrid of snorkeling and scuba). Riding stables, which have been built to resemble a Mexican hacienda, offer trail rides through the jungle to see Mayan ruins. A replica Mayan village includes a colorful cemetery with catacomb-like caverns underneath; traditional music and dance ceremonies (including performances by the famed Voladores de Papantla—the Flying Birdmen of Papantla) are performed here at night.

The list of Xcaret's attractions goes on and on: you can visit a dolphinarium, a bee farm, a manatee lagoon, a bat cave, an orchid and bromeliad greenhouse, an edible-mushroom farm, and a small zoo. You can also visit a scenic tower that takes you 240 feet up in the air for a spectacular view of the park.

Although Xcaret has nine restaurants, many visitors bring their own lunches and take advantage of assorted picnic tables and palapa-shaded chairs scattered throughout the property. The entrance fee covers only access to the grounds and the exhibits; all other activities and equipment—from horseback riding to lockers to snorkel and swim gear—are extra. You can buy tickets from any travel agency or major hotel along the coast.

Cost: $53
Open: Daily 8:30 AM-9 PM

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