Okay, made the hotel and air reservations. What should I see while I'm there? Which is better Xel-ha or Xcaret? What a quick trip to ruins, don't want to have the kids out in the heat too long at ruins. Who runs the best deep sea fishing there and what can you tell me about aqua world, dolphin discovery, etc. Thanks for the advice.

We're headed there in April so I am anxious to see replies from folks who have already been...I'm looking at early morning to Tulum, lunch nearby and maybe going to Coba as a day excursion. I'm very interested in kayaking in Sian Ka'an. Have thought about taking the ferry over to Cozumel but probably won't do that - may just hop a bus to Playa del Carmen one day to explore it.

ttt

I'd suggest hitting up some Mayan Ruins. We visited Tulum (the only Mayan Ruin on the Caribbean) and Chichen-Itza (very large, has a huge temple).

You could also go to Cozumel. We stayed at Aventura Spa Palace, and it was no problem to take a taxi to Playa del Carmen and then the ferry to Cozumel. Cozumel has unbelievable snorkeling, and we also went to Chankanaab park (went to their beach and swam with the dolphins). (dolphindiscovery.com) Playa del Carmen is also wonderful for walking around (especially at night), shopping, and sightseeing.

However, Puerto Aventuras has it's own dolphin swim place. Spekaing of which, we thought Puerto Aventuras was very cute. It has a little "downtown" to it, is very clean, and has lots of little shops. It's fun to walk along the water ways and out to the beach.

South of Puerto Aventuras, we went to Tanka Tres & Casa Cenote. You can swim in Casa Cenote for free, and it was a cool experience. There is swimming off the beach at Casa Cenote. http://www.casacenote.com/

Lastly, we also went to Aktun Chen - aktunchen.com - it is an interesting cave/jungle tour.

Here is my review of Tulum: http://www.epinions.com/content_165683564164
At the bottom are links to all my other Mayan Riviera reviews.

I also have a ton of pics from all the places we visited. E-mail me if you're interested, I would be happy to share the link to my online album.

[email protected]

Xel-Ha was a terrific location to snorkle and see an amazing array of beautiful tropical fish. XCaret, on the other hand, had some underground rivers (in caves) that you could snorkle through, but honestly, there was nothing to see but the sandy bottom. However, there were a lot of other things to do (horseback ride on the beach, Mayan games demonstrations, etc.). So I guess it really depends on what you are looking for. If it's relaxing and doing water activities, definately Xel-Ha. Otherwise, XCaret (which is a very large property, by the way). We also went to Tulum and the scenery was stunning. It is also close enough that you can start early and do Tulum and Xel-Ha in one day.