First time visitor to Cancun. Which is the best? Xel-Ha or Xcaret? Am planning on doing the all inclusive package at either. Also, is it better to book a tour or try to get there on my own?

Depending on where you stay...take a cab and get there early, you can pay at the gate no need to purchase at hotel. They take credit cards. These places get filled up fast.

Greenie (or anyone else): Does anyone know how much a taxi from the downtown area of Cancun to either would run? THANKS

A cab would be very expensive. I would recommend that you catch the bus in downtown Cancun - it may go just as far as Playa del Carmen. Bus to PDC is cheap. You could then take a cab from PDC or the bus from there. Same thing going back. It's a very easy trip.

Xel-Ha and Xcaret are rather different. Xel-Ha is more of a swimming experience (snorkeling, coming down river on a tube, etc.) and cheaper. Xcaret is around $45 US, but has lots more to see and do (including some swimming) and has a show that does not end until around 10:00 p.m. Both are well worth a visit. If you want to see Tulum, you could do what we did, which was arrive at Tulum just as it opened, spend an hour there and then go on to Xel-ha for the rest of the day.<BR><BR>