x-caret
 

Has anyone been to X-caret lately? WOuld appreciate any feedback.

We went to Xcaret last week and really enjoyed it. There is a little bit of everything at Xcaret, you can swim with dolphins, walk through botanical gardens, see a diverse collection of animals, laze on a beach, sit in a hammock and watch the ocean, check out a baby manatee, etc. Xcaret isn't cheap, but we had a good time.

Xcaret is very close to Playa del Carmen, with plenty of parking. We arrived early, right after opening, and stayed most of the day.

And now, for a completely different opinion!

Xcaret and Xel Ha are both touristy, over-crowded, expensive eco-disasters, and I would never go back.

And please, do not even consider the swim with the dolphins! It's right up there in animal cruelty levels with cockfighting and dogfights as far as animal mortality levels go - yuck.

On the plus side, if you have kids under 10 and love Disney, it may be perfect for you.

Xcaret is touristy, but we enjoyed it. This comment will probably spark debate, but I didn't think the dolphins looked all that upset too me.
Regardless of your opinion on dolphin swims, I think Via Delphi (the group operating the swims at Xcaret and Xel-Ha) runs a clean, eco-friendly operation. This is one topic where I'll agree to disagree.

That said, the park is kid friendly but expensive. So there you go Bettie, two completely different opinions. Anyone else want to comment?

Because dolphins are not capable of "looking upset," I doubt that their facial expression gives much of a clue to how they feel.

In order to make an informed decision about the dolphin programs, please visit the Humane Society's of the United States' info on the practice. It is:

http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/w..._in_captivity/

I can't imagine anyone being thoughtless enough to engage in this practice after reading this information.

Swimmr, your comment about Via Delphi made me laugh to see their name in the same sentence with "eco-friendly". Via Delphi is responsible for the capture and maintenance of more than 40 dolphins.

Here is some information for anyone considering swimming with the dolphins in Xcaret. (Hope you're not eating lunch...)

"The quality of the water is bad. The tourists are in water contaminated with bacteria from the faeces and urine of ten dolphins kept in different tanks. It does not look like an appropriate place to do this activity."

Source: http://csiwhalesalive.org/csimexcapen.pdf

I really didn't care for Xcaret. Thats just my opinion, I'm sure that some people would disagree. The day we were there it was packed. In fact there were so many people in the underground river, you could not swim because if you did you would kick someone. I would have to say that the show at the end of the day was excellent.

I hope that in our lifetime , this is a practice that we will see disappear . It is becoming more and more contarversial , and as more light is shed on the un-pleasant aspects , less people will visit .

We actually preferred Xel-Ha to Xcaret. (We didn't swim with the dolphins...) At Xel-Ha, the lazy river is very fun, and finding all the little inlets is kinda neat. We thought Xcaret was just a big zoo and the swimmimng/snorkeling area was quite small for the number of guests they admit. Also, their "culure" show was the most boring thing I've ever seen.

Wherever you go, arrive early to beat the tour busses. Also, don't feel obligated to buy an "all-inclusive" pass if you go to Xel-Ha. We saved a considerable amount of money taking a taxi from Playa del Carmen, buying our admission tickets and paying for everything else a la carte. (The taxi was one of those "group" ones where they pick up and drop people off along the way- was only $5pp one way from Playa del Carmen to Xel-ha)

Where are these places? What towns are near by?

Thanks

These are between Playa del Carmen (south of Cancun) and Tulum on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico.