Mexico, Riveriera Maya - recommendations of things to do

[NicoAndTheNiners]

Have just spur of the moment booked for me and 18yo dd to go for 10 days in July. Am fed up of being scared of never travelling as on my own with dd.

Staying at the Xcaret Occidental which is AI and looks lovely after seeing it mentioned on another thread.

Any recommendations about excursions, etc. Pre book them or wait till I get there. Am planning on getting the discounted pass to the Xcaret eco park next to the hotel, so think I can get passes fairly cheaply for the duration of the stay.

I read it's best to pay for stuff in pesos locally rather than dollars as better exchange, is that right? I guess I won't need much money as it's AI.

But it would be nice to go and have a look round Playa del Carmen one day. Especially as I've read there's a Bath and Bodywork shop there which I'm insanely excited about. In fact dd reckons it's the only reason I've booked Mexico!

Are there ATMs there if I need to take money out? This is why I never go on holiday because I worry too much and all the little details seem overwhelming.

Love the photos especially the monkey ones!

I'm going to have to rein it on on excursion planning I think, the excursions could easily end up costing as much as the holiday otherwise!

I'm thinking getting the discounted passes for xceret maybe just for a week not the full ten days. Mixed reports on how good it is but if we have a day where we don't want to do an excursion it might be nice just to venture out the hotel grounds for a bit and float down the lazy river?

The Coba, cenote swim, Tulum all day excursion.

Xa-ha.

Turtle snorkelling

Monkey sanctuary

Manatee experience at xcarete. Does anyone have any views on whether this is cruel to manatees, etc. I'm thinking possibly it is and if so I don't want to do it. Think you just feed them cabbage, how big is their pool? Or can you go and see them in the wild.

I'd like to do one of the specialised longer cenote things but think due to budget we may have to miss that out.

I think I'm looking at about $1000 dollars of excursions! Which is rather alarming. Add in tips, going to Playa del carmens, any shopping, etc I can see me spending $2000

Xplor I meant, not the xel-ha one.

This was the cenote we visited. It was fantastic.

Thanks for this thread, we're heading to this hotel on Sunday, so excited!! Have unlimited tickets to Xcaret, plan on doing Tulum/Chichen Itza/Xel-Ha and a boat trip.

The 3 excursions we did cost $350 for both of us for all 3 so that's roughly £270 I think for 2 people. The rep in the hotel was great for offering special offers but tui also had reps in the hotel and they weren't as competitive. I'm sure you probably already know about the exit tax but just thought I'd mention it just in case- it was £50 and can be paid in dollars, pesos or pounds but must be cash

We stayed at the Occidental last year and loved it. We got allocated a room on the ground floor right next to a path which was overlooked but we asked to move to another building which they arranged and they gave us a higher room which was great.

We did the dolphin experience tour and swimming with manterays which was fantastic. We also did xsenses which was hilarious and wacky and great fun.

We decided against Chicken itza as it was quite a long drive from the hotel and the taxi drivers told us unless you leave super early the crowds are horrendous.

You can buy a 2 or 3 day pass to xcaret next door. Keep your wristband -You can do it easily in 2 days but go early as it gets very crowded in July. Definitely go back for the evening show at XCaret - it is fantastic - you won't be disappointed.

Little tip - if you use one of the non buffet restaurants on site book it the day before. We ate at them quite early (the Italian one I thought was the best), but if you just turn up and it's later in the evening there an be long queues.

We spent mainly pesos and took a small amount of American dollars just in case.

One word of warning - when you get to your room they will invite you to an information meeting - it's actually an appointment to show you their royal rooms and encourage you to buy what we call a time share. If you want to buy one fine - but if not say no straight away as they take up half of your day!

Have a great holiday! The resort is fantastic! One of the best holidays we've had....

We did the day trip to chichen itza and it was amazing.
We did a jungle adrenaline day involving quad bikes, zip line, abseil and caves.
Enjoyed a morning in playa del Carmen browsing.

I'm there in June. Watching.!

Was thinking of coco bongos.

X-carat

The water parks maybe ....

Tulum?

@magentarocks can you remember which cenote that was, looks lovely?

@thatsepicbro. I'm going with tui, so shame to hear they're not as competitive. I'd heard about the exit tax but thanks for the heads up.

@celticmissey. When you say you can do xceret in 2 days do you think it's the sort of thing where if you had unlimited passes for the duration you'd pootle back in for an hour or two to do the rivers, etc most days or is there enough in the resort that you wouldn't miss not having the full passes? I don't want to be lounging around a bit bored and be thinking oh I wish we could wander in and see the birds, dolphins again, etc.

Also are there ATMs there for taking more cash out and if so are they a rip off with charges?

I'm worried about taking too much cash in case it gets pinched. Read a TripAdvisor review where someone had $1000 taken out their hotel room, not sure if in the safe or not.

Our hotel did have atms but only dispensed US $ and charged $9 per withdrawal plus 18% in fees which worked out really expensive. We had no problems using the hotel safe for our cash and also used a US$ prepaid card which could be used everywhere even the market stalls etc

We definitely thought 2 days was enough for XCaret park.the hotel has its own kiosk to buy tickets for XCaret park.It can get extremely busy! You don't have to go in on consecutive days you can choose the days as long as you keep the wristband and there is a 3 day option.

We put our cash in the room safe and it was fine. The security at the hotel is very good. They have security guards patrolling the site with radios. They cycle everywhere as the resort is so big.

There is a cashpoint machine near reception. I used it once - there was a small charge but I didn't think it was horrendous. It did seem to be out of order a lot though because it was used a lot!

We booked the dolphin and manatay experience online and used dolphin discoveries and went to the Puerto aventuras site which is only about twenty
Minutes from the hotel. The company does a lot for marine conservation and the staff are fantastic. You can book a time slot - we went mid morning as it gets so hot. It was one of our best trips!

The only thing I would say is time flies when you are there - we had 2 weeks and it went in the blink of eye! I would choose maybe three or four trips.

The hotel has its own office for booking any trips you would like - we used them for the xsenses trip. Have a great time!

I can’t remember which cenote it was, we went there with the tour guide I mentioned earlier on the way to Chichen itza. As we were leaving loads of tour buses turned up so we got there before the crowds so it was just our group which made it nicer.

That's good that Xcaret doesn't have to be consecutive days. Might just get a 3 day pass then.

Dolphin discoveries website has 25% off for the next few days so going to prebook that and then do everything else when i get there.

Have just realised its hurricane season in July!

Have visited Excellence Playa Mujeres 4 years in a row.

On our first trip we did Chichen Itza and ik kill cenote. It was a really good tour and very informative. It was a long day for us as it was about a 1hr 45 coach ride each way but it was worth it.

We took dollars and changed to pesos at the front desk for smaller bills for tipping.

I have never used ATMS in Mexico as I read once they are all rigged by the cartel to get your bank details (probably BS 😂😂) . So just took cash, kept it in the safe and there was no issue. Anything we used in resort such as massages etc we just charged to the room and paid for on departure with a credit card.

Mexico is such a wonderful country with amazing culture, you will love it. As PP said, it will fly by!

One tip, when you fly in to Mexico, make sure your forms are filled out correctly on the plane. (ask a stewardess if unsure) otherwise if it's wrong or you miss s bit out you have to queue all over again . When you get your bags and head to your transfer, don't stop to talk to anyone in the building. They are all trying to sell you their hotels/time shares etc. Just head straight outside And all transfers are there.

Have a wonderful trip!

Chicken Itza is amazing. We got there early. Had an amazing guide. If you can go, go.

Decided to go to Coba rather than chicken Itza. It's nearer, you can climb the pyramid and I just liked the look of it better than chicken Itza.....I liked it being in the jungle and being able to cycle round.

I've booked a trip which does Coba, a Cenote and then Tulum.

Are they still telling everyone its will be the last year you are allowed to climb up Coba? It must be at least 12 years since I first heard that

They sure are!

I believed it! I thought thank goodness it still seems ok, hope it doesn't get banned before July.

Stock up on : Avon Skin so soft dry oil spray (the mosquitos hate it) especially if you are going near jungle. Also on Jungle Formula. Mosquitos are rife in Mexico. .

I am so jealous you are going, it's my favourite place on earth x

I'll definitely add mozzie repellant to the list, the buggers love me!

My tripadvisor review, if it's any help, is below, we just got back yesterday. We did Chichen Itza which was amazing, had unlimited passes to Xcaret which was great as could come and go via the hotel entrance when we wanted inc coming back to the hotel for lunch, one entrance is near the beach buffet, we also did Tulum which was ok but not as nice as pictures make it out to be in my opinion:

The location of this hotel is stunning, greenery and wildlife everywhere. The pool is a fantastic temperature and plenty of shallow spaces for little ones.
All staff were very friendly and helpful, a credit to the hotel, big shout out to our concierge in building 21, Evelyn, she was one of the nicest people.
Also huge shout out to Julio Valdez, Luis Chi and Francisco Chi at the Beach Club, we always made sure to sit in their zone overlooking the sea for breakfast and lunch as they are super friendly and extra attentive, they would see us arrive and get us a high chair and drinks they remembered we liked. Awesome service.
Re the pool, the cleaning product does seem to yellow any white clothing so just be warned. There really are not enough loungers though, that needs reviewing
Re the buffet, personally i did not like the chicken burgers one bit, the fajita's when they were out were good as was the stir fry/pasta station, wasn't a fan of the tortilla wraps though, seemed a bit floury. Personally i think there should be a pasta station every night to allow for those who might not like the mains on offer. Would also have liked to have seen more Mexican dishes at the buffet such as enchilladas/burritos/tacos.
Breakfast buffet was good, omelette station was great, those guys are superstars in how many they can have on the go
The oriental and steakhouse restaurants were fantastic! The food there was amazing, shout to Gamariel in the oriental and his skills with the flaming liquor.
Drinks at all bars were delicious and good measures, will miss those chocolate martini's! The lobby bar is a lovely place to sit and enjoy sunset
Loved the torch lighting ceremony in the lobby each evening.
Wifi - while the speed is good the cost is outrageous! I had to pay it on 2 occasions as needed to do banking, while i can just about understand a charge, $12 for a day for one device is madness, should be something like $15 per room per week. You can go to Xcaret and use the main shop wifi but it is very slow.
We had unlimited Xcaret passes for our 2 weeks and found this very good, could go in c8:30am and come back to the hotel for lunch, avoiding the bigger crowds.
Housekeeping were super and always a clean room.
If staying in the regular buildings be aware the jungle ones don't get sun if on lower floors so it's hard to dry clothing (we had no choice being ground floor as have a toddler and UK agents don't allow you to book a high floor)
The wildlife here is amazing, so many coatis and agoutis running around, iguana's everywhere and the monkeys can be be seen pretty much everyday, had them visit our balcony and swing by round the pool :-)
One day next to beach we did see a GIANT snake which the lifeguard re homed away from everyone.
The beach is lovely, nice sand, lovely sea temperature and a good amount of fish swimming around, yes there can be seaweed but thats nature, the staff did an amazing job job clearing it every day, our second day the entire cove was full of it and they had anyone and everyone available including housekeeping to help clear it which was a fantastic effort, nice to see that holiday makers also got in and helped

If you want to see manatees (and dolphins, rays, turtles and crocodiles) in the wild you can take a trip down to the Sian Ka'an Biosphere which is a Unesco World Heritage site. As well as boat tours to see the wildlife you can also float down Mayan canals and visit Mayan ruins at Muyil.

If you are a big wildlife fan you can take a boat trip to see whale sharks too at the right time of year.

Chicen Itza is busy but is also a stunning place and worth the effort. Other good ruins are Coba (you can climb the big pyramid,) Tulum (small but amazing location,) and further afield there are lots of other sites - Uxmal is very special.

Xel-ha is fab for snorkelling, adventure park stuff and generally relaxing (it's all inclusive for the day and the food and drink is good.)

Xplor is just brilliant - zip wires over the jungle and swimming through underground rivers. You can do it by day or night.

The cenotes are too numerous to list. Ik Kil is the one is pictured above and is very famous (used on various adverts.) But there are hundreds more. This page has lots of annoying adverts but you get a good description of some of the many cenotes in Yucatan.

You can snorkel with turtles at Akumal but make sure you read up one of the many webpages that tell you how to best go about it.

Have fun OP. Mexico is one of my favourite places!