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Xel-Há: Tips to Help You Make the Most of Your Visit
- andrewsco3
- Mar 4, 2024
- 20 min read
Updated: Apr 4
Are you planning a family adventure at the stunning Xel-Há water park located on the Riviera Maya coast of Mexico? A day at Xel-Há is an unforgettable experience; but with so many fun activities to fit in, you can definitely end up wasting time if you don’t arrive with a plan! Here are our tips on how to make the most of your trip to Xel-Há with kids of all ages. You can also read our related post: Xel-Há Itinerary: Options for Families with Toddlers, Kids and Teenagers for some suggested itineraries to help you plan your day at the park.
While on holiday in Cancun we decided to book an excursion to Xel-Há Xcaret park, which was around a 90 minute coach drive from our hotel. We had an amazing day, but both Susie and I left the park with a feeling that ‘we could have done it so much better’, and spent much of the coach ride back going over in our head how we could have optimized our time there.
We want to share those thoughts with you, so here are our tips and suggestions for you to consider when planning your day at Xel-Há. This will help you optimize your time there, and make sure that you don’t make the same mistakes that we did.
First though, some information about the park. If you'd like to jump ahead to specific sections of this post, please use the links below:
WHAT IS XEL-HÁ XCARET PARK?
Xel-Há is in essentially a huge natural water park. Xel-Há apparently means ''where water is born'', due to the fact that several underground rivers flow into the lagoon at this park, which is actually one of the reasons that this park is so spectacular. It is this converging of fresh water into the salt water lagoon that actually creates that beautiful turquoise colour that makes the park so special! Xel-Há's lagoon stands out for its breathtaking setting, but it also creates a fantastic protected environment for various water activities, especially for kids.
Whether you're into snorkeling, swimming, more adventurous activities or leisurely rafting, Xel-Há caters to all types of visitors. The park is especially suited to families, and there are plenty of activities suitable for children of all ages, from little tots, right up to teenagers.
What sets Xel-Há apart from other water parks is that it is an all-inclusive park, which means that all base activities, drinks (including alcoholic), and meals are included in the entry price. There are optional activities available for an additional fee, such as swimming with dolphins, scuba diving, and taking a ride on the Adrenalina speed boat, although from our experience, there is plenty to do without spending the extra on the additional activities.
XEL-HÁ KEY INFORMATION
Opens: 365 days a year
Opening Hours: 8.30am until 6pm
Lockers: There are five modules of lockers at Xel-Há (all different colors on the map), where you can store your belongings and carry the key with you.
Services and Equipment Provided:
Lockers (Note there is a $25 charge if you lose your key)
Dry Water Bags (to store your things while you do the inner tube activity)
Restaurants
Showers
ATM's
Wi-Fi
Towels
Life jackets
Snorkeling equipment (note there is a $25 charge if you lose them)
Floating inner tubes
Bicycles
HOW TO GET TO XEL-HÁ
Obviously this will vary based on where you are travelling from, but these were the options we considered travelling from Cancun. The drive took around 90 minutes.
By Coach:
If staying in Cancun, the drive to Xel-Há takes anywhere between 90 minutes and 2 hours to get there, depending on the traffic. Most of the organized tour buses leave the hotel zone really early! Our hotel was the first stop and left bang on 6.50am which was definitely a rude awakening on vacation!
On boarding the coach we were given a wrist band, which is what you scan when you enter the park, as well as when you hire any equipment, eat at the restaurants, etc. It’s worth noting that if you have this wrist band then you don’t need to queue in the lines at the park entrance, you can just walk through the gift shop to the main entrance. Our coach stopped at a few other hotels before stopping at a bus depot where we changed buses to a specific coach going direct to Xel-Há (the hotel buses generally have people doing other tours to different places as well).
I have to say that the buses were very comfortable, although not equipped with toilets, so make sure the kids go before setting off (there was a toilet at the bus Depot). The buses had Wi-Fi which was a pleasant surprise. The drive itself was fairly easy and the road for the most part was straight, so thankfully none of our kids got travel sick. It’s worth noting that on the way home the coach dropped people off directly to the hotels and not back via the depot which was nice after a long day. The coach left the park at 6pm on the dot and DID NOT WAIT for anyone who was running late, so make sure you get there on time!
Private Transport:
We looked in to this, mainly because we didn’t want to have to wake up so early, and would have enjoyed the added flexibility that it would have given us. In the end we decided on the coach option as it was quite a bit cheaper, but for those considering this option, we were quoted $120 USD each way from the hotel zone in Cancun. Obviously if you are staying closer to the park then this would be considerably less, but a pretty pricey option.
Uber / Taxi:
On our trip we used both an Uber and a taxi on other occasions, and Uber in particular was pretty reasonable for trips around Cancun. However we found that it was expensive to travel to Xel-Há via either of these options, with Uber being around $100 each way. We also worried about what would happen if our return taxi didn’t show up or was taken by someone else? What if we couldn’t get an Uber back to Cancun? The park itself is fairly isolated so if you ended up without a ride it wouldn’t be a good situation, so make sure you have a ride that you can trust. If getting a taxi, always confirm the fare up front before you set off.
Car Hire:
I think if we did the trip again we would consider hiring a car. With this being our first time visiting Mexico, we were a little apprehensive about hiring a car as we really didn’t know what driving would be like. We had also read some horror stories of ‘shake downs’ by police demanding money which put us off a bit. However it really did seem like an easy drive, it was a straight road, and having our own car would have given us some added flexibility on what time we set off to, and left the park.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO VISIT XEL-HÁ?
The cost to enter Xel-Há is as follows (we visited in February 2024):
Adult (without transport): $103.49 USD
Adult (with transportation): $130.49 USD
Children (aged 5-11) (without transport): $77.62 USD
Children (aged 5-11) (with transport): $97.87 USD
Children 4 and Under: Free
It's worth noting that we were able to get an additional discount from our hotel, so saved around $50 USD on top of the prices above. It's worth checking with your hotel if they have any special discounts.
There are also discounts offered if you take multiples tours, as well as discounts on the extra optional activities if you purchase ahead of time:
15% off on the purchase of combinations of two parks or tours.
20% off on the purchase of combinations of three or more parks or tours.
More information on the pricing for Xel-Há is available here
WHAT ARE THE FOOD AND DRINK OPTIONS AT XEL-HÁ?
As mentioned above, as Xel-Há is an all inclusive resort, food and drink is included with the purchase of your ticket. This means that you can eat and drink pretty much whatever you want for free all day, including alcoholic drinks. In terms of food options, there are four restaurants on site, with Xula Vista opening at 9.30 for breakfast and with the others opening at 11/11.30 for lunch/dinner until closing at 5pm.
I've read a lot of reviews about Xel-Há that says the food is amazing. I would say it's 'good' but we did find it dependent on where you eat. The breakfast at Xula Vista was pretty good for a large buffet and had a nice variety of options. However we ate at La Terraza (the fast food restaurant) as the kids were craving some hot dogs and burgers, but the food there was average at best. In general the Mexican food seemed a lot better than the international food, although some of the pasta dishes were ok. The ceviche was really good.
Although this is an all inclusive park with alcohol, please drink responsibly and make sure to dispose of any plastic cups in the correct bins to keep the park clean.
Food Options: (all included in the price of admission)
Xula Vista Restaurant
Buffet (International cuisine)
Breakfast Examples: Pancakes, scrambled eggs, French toast, chilaquiles
Lunch/Dinner Examples: Pasta, pizza, seafood, lasagna
Operation hours:
Breakfast: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m
Buffet lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
La Cocina del Pueblo Restaurant
Buffet (Mexican cuisine)
Examples: tortilla soup, chicken mole, pulled pork
Operation hours:
Buffet lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
La Terraza
Buffet (Fast Food)
Examples: Pizza, burgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, etc
Operation hours:
Buffet lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Jardin Corona Restaurant
Buffet (Grilled food)
Examples: Grilled meats and seafood
Operation hours:
Buffet lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
WHAT SHOULD I BRING TO XEL-HÁ?
It's best to come prepared for your day at Xel-Há, so here are the things we recommend bringing with you:
Reef Safe Sunscreen
Xel-Há is committed to protecting its natural environment, so only biodegradable sunscreen is allowed. Please make sure to do this. I know it is a little more expensive than other sunscreen, but if you buy before you go to Mexico (dare I say on Amazon?) then you should be able to find a much cheaper option. It is expensive to buy reef safe sunscreen at the park and was equally expensive in the supermarkets in the Hotel Zone, so it is best to buy before you get to Mexico. I read on a few blogs that you can get samples of biodegradable cream at the entrance to the park, so if you are in a pinch it might be worth asking when you get there (although I can't confirm if this is accurate or not).
Our favourite brand is Sun Bum and is available on Amazon.
Waterproof Camera / Waterproof Phone Holder
You will definitely want to take photos to capture all the fun you are having, so you need to consider how your are going to do that, be it with a waterproof camera, Go Pro, mobile phone in waterproof holder, or via the service that the park provides. I definitely wouldn't risk carrying around anything not waterproof.
We decided to use our mobile phone, so purchased a waterproof phone holder at the park. Although it was expensive (around $40 USD), it’s something that we will use a lot for our future adventures so we figured it was worth the investment! If you choose to buy the photo package that the park provides, it will cost around $30 USD per person (if you ask for a discount they will give you one). It does look to be a great set up as you basically scan your wrist band in special areas around the park and it takes a photo for you. This means the kids can have fun taking photo's of themselves throughout the park. However, as it would have been over $100 USD for our family of 4, we decided on the waterproof phone holder as it was the more economical option.
If you are interested in buying one, we really like the brand we bought at the park, but you can find much cheaper here on Amazon.
Water shoes
These really came in handy for our kids! Having waterproof shoes serves two purposes; firstly, it protects the little ones feet when entering rockier areas (such as the caves). It also means that you don't have to return to the same spot that you left your footwear when you entered the water, and therefore have more flexibility to go where you want. I wore flip flops and this was a bit of a pain having to always go back to the same spot I entered the water from.
We bought our kids these waterproof shoes and they both love them. They used them almost daily on the beach too so a really great investment if you don’t already have any.
Sun Hats
We bought these hats before our trip and they are amazing! They are adjustable and waterproof so can be taken into the water when swimming to protect the little ones from the sun, and they don't fall off their heads.
We bought ours from a Mountain Equipment Co-op here in Calgary
Swimwear
This should go without saying at a water park but you will be spending most of your time in the water! I would recommend arriving in your swim gear (under your clothes) so you can minimize the time needed to get going at the park.
Dry clothes
It's definitely worth bringing a change of clothes for the ride home. No one wants to travel 90 minutes on a coach in wet clothes with all that air conditioning. Our kids had cardigans to help them keep warm on the coach ride back.
Stroller
Our kids are past the point of strollers, but it's worth mentioning that you can rent them at the park. It is a fairly large park though so if you have young children it is probably worth bringing your own with you. Nearly everything is wheelchair and stroller accessible.
Water / Snacks (for the bus ride)
While you don't need to bring any food or drink for in the park (unless you have any specific dietary requirements), our kids appreciated some snacks on the bus to/from the park. We ran out of water on the ride home and were pretty dehydrated by the time we got back to the hotel.
If we did the park again we would consider eating our breakfast before setting off, or on the bus, rather than wasting time at the restaurant at the park, so that we could get a head start on everyone else
WHAT ACTIVITIES ARE THERE AT XEL-HÁ?
There is so much that you can do at this park! On the coach down they do try to upsell the 'additional activities' but honestly we barely had enough time to do all of the free things we wanted to fit in without adding any of the paid for extras. Here are all of the things that you can do for free as part of your admission:
River Tour on Float
The river tour at Xel-Há is one of the most popular activities at the park, and is basically a relaxing float down the river in either a single or tandem inner tube. The first part of the river is a beautiful narrow freshwater mangrove and was definitely our favourite part of the experience. After about 15 minutes or so the river widens and converges with saltwater from the sea in the cove. As you float down the river you can stop off at a number of other activities, including the cliff of courage, zip lines and trepachanga (rope course over the water). Alternatively you can float the entire way down the river, getting off at the main food area, or even close to the slide or caves.
To get to the start of the activity you need to either walk, bike or take the bus ride the 1km to the start of the river, where you pick up your life jackets (mandatory) and the inner tubes. Here you can also put any of your belongings into a ‘water bag’, where you are assigned a number, given a key to hang around your neck, and you collect the bag at the bottom of the river. You also have the option to borrow some snorkel equipment as well, although we wouldn’t recommend borrowing the snorkels until after you have finished the tube ride (see What Mistakes did we Make?).
It’s worth noting that, unlike the snorkeling equipment, you can just leave your float in the water (there is no need to return it anywhere) as there are people who go around and collect them.
Snorkeling
As Xel-Há is within a protected lagoon, the water is calm, which makes it the perfect place for little ones to try snorkeling for the first time. The snorkeling equipment was well maintained and there was lots of equipment available for children. The park has several entry points with stairs leading into the water, so accessing the water is safe and easy. There are also life jacket stations at each of the entry points and there was always plenty of life jackets available. The water was very clear and we saw lots of tropical fish as well as some larger ones too. This is where a waterproof camera or waterproof phone case would really come in handy (make sure your phone battery doesn't die part way through the day like ours did). Remember, you need to return the snorkeling equipment or you are charged $25 per set.
I found this map on Pinterest that shows the best snorkel spots. As you can see, most of the suggested areas are by the inlets adjacent to the main lagoon, not the main river. If you want to try snorkeling down the river, you can always start snorkeling without a float and grab a loose inner tube later down the river, as there are plenty. We found it a bit of a pain trying to carry four sets of equipment down on the inner tubes, as of course the kids didn't carry their own.
Cliff Jumping (Cliff of Courage)
If you are looking for a bit of adventure then you can test your bravery by jumping off one of two Cliff's of Courage, into the river from 16ft high! I managed to avoid getting bullied in to doing this by my kids, based on the size of the queue (thankfully), but everyone jumping in looked like they were having a great time! Be prepared to receive lots of 'encouragement' from the rest of the people floating down the river. It is very public!
Salpichanga (Zip Lines)
The zip lines can be accessed either from the river or from the park paths, and there are multiple stations with different types of zip lines. For older children or adults, you can hang on to the zip line bars, but they also have some hammock seats for those not comfortable hanging, and means that even younger children can take part in the fun! Both our kids chose the hammock seat, while I hung on to the bars - it was fun and something we all did multiple times!
Trepachanga (Rope Walk)
This activity is located in the main activity area of the river and consists of two ropes that you need to balance on to make your way across the water. I tried this (and made it across!) but it was fairly difficult to do as the rope hurt my feet quite a bit! Definitely wear water shoes if you have them. I'd say that this is mostly suited to adults and teenagers as you need to be quite tall to actually reach the top rope (our 9 year old wouldn't have been able to do it).
Bike Riding
The bike riding is limited to one specific area of the park, which is a path through the jungle down to the start of the river tour. It's around a 1km path, and if biking isn't your thing you can walk or take a bus, but our kids really enjoyed the bike ride!
A few words of warning though. Firstly, the bikes are equipped with pedal brakes (you pedal backwards to stop) so it felt really strange to brake that way. While we were riding we saw an adult crash off the path and a few other close calls, so take the time to 'practice' braking before you actually need to.
Secondly, there was a fairly large collection of adult bikes but the kids selection was definitely smaller. I didn’t see any bikes suitable for a child younger than around 5 years old. There were helmets available but not particularly great fitting, especially for the kids, so bare that in mind too if your kids aren't confident riders.
Floating Bridge
Our kids LOVED this bridge. As adults, we didn't love it as much! It is basically a bridge that crosses the lagoon, from close to the scenic lighthouse / waterslide to the cenotes and caves on the other side. The bridge is made up of several floating sections, and looks stable enough, but be warned it is pretty wobbly! I would definitely recommend making sure that the kids are wearing life jackets when you cross - I'm sure at least a few people must fall into the water each day as it resembled walking on a ship's deck in a storm!
Children's World
Children's world is a great area of the park to base yourself if you have toddlers or younger children. Children's World is located close to the main locker areas, washrooms and restaurants, so it is close to all of the things you will need. There is a wading pool, rope bridge, seesaws and slides to keep kids entertained... and deck chairs for the adults to lounge in.
However, our kids favourite part was the water slide into the river and the floating lily pad obstacle course. They spent ages crawling over the lily pads and trying not to fall into the 'shark infested waters'. Our kids must have done this at least 10 times and it was the area we went back to right at the end of the day.
Scenic Lighthouse with HUGE Waterslide
When we asked our 9 year old what her favourite part of the day was, it was the waterslide "hands down". I was actually really impressed that she did it as it was by far the biggest slide she's ever ridden! The climb up to the top of the lighthouse is great to see the amazing views over the lagoon and ocean, and is well worth climbing (if you can, there is no elevator), regardless of your intent to take the slide down or not. Adults need to accompany children up the tower and you are not able to be at the bottom of the slide to meet them either (they come out of a gate), so is only suitable if they know how to swim as life jackets are NOT allowed on the slide. The minimum height was 3.5ft tall. You are prohibited from taking anything up the slide with you (wallet, cameras, phones, towels, etc, but there are free lockers to leave them at the entry to the slide.
Underground Caves
This was definitely mine and Susie's favourite part of the park - it was simply stunning. The cave is a beautiful cenote within a cavern and it's an incredible experience to be able to swim through it. There are natural skylights at the top of the cave which means that the cave is well lit and easy to navigate around.
Unfortunately I don't have any photos of this as my phone died just before we did this activity - I'm still not sure if Susie has forgiven me....
Cenotes
Aside from the underground cave, there are two other cenotes located at the edge of the park. These cenotes are protected areas so unfortunately swimming in them is not allowed. We didn't make it this far as we were running out of time, but if we visit again we'll make it a priority.
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE FOR EXTRA COST
Adrenalina Speed Boat
Take a speedboat adventure out onto the water. It looks to go seriously fast and makes some pretty crazy 360 turns. I don't think you'll stay dry on this one! Teenagers would love it I'm sure.
Sea Trek Discover
An opportunity to walk on the seabed wearing what looks like one of those old scuba diving helmets. Would be an interesting experience for sure.
Power Snorkel
This is basically snorkeling on the back of an underwater jet pack! Looks a little bit like something out of a James Bond movie! Looks like lot's of fun but you must be 12 years of age to do it, so our kids were too young.
Zip Bike
Of all the extra activities available at the park, this is one that I think we would consider if we went back. The activity combines riding a bicycle on a zip-line that goes through the trees. Pretty cool concept and would give an entirely different perspective of the park.
Manatee / Sting Ray Encounters
Xel-Há has a rescue program for these beautiful animals, and this activity allows you to interact with them in the water. Even if you are not doing the activity, I'd recommend seeing the manatee enclosure as you can get a view of them from the side of the enclosure.
Swimming with Dolphins
it was possible to swim with the dolphins but we chose instead to watch the dolphins from the side of their enclosure. Although the kids loved seeing them, this was probably the part of the park that we didn't like as the enclosures were fairly small.
Snuba Diving
This activity is basically a mix between scuba diving and snorkeling and thus named "snuba" diving. The air tank floats on the surface (rather than being attached to your back) giving you more freedom to swim and explore wherever you want to go.
Fish Therapy
if you happen to enjoy fish eating the dead skin off the sole's of your feet then this activity is for you! We've done this before in Indonesia and honestly just found it a bit weird!
WHAT MISTAKES DID WE MAKE?
We arrived too late at the park - as we were arriving via coach, this was out of our hands on this occasion, but we didn’t arrive until almost 9.15, which meant that we lost almost an hour in the park, and started our day at the most congested time. Next time we would try to drive ourselves so that we could get there for closer to 8.30 to make the most of the day.
We wasted time eating breakfast – this was probably a by-product of us arriving to the park late, but we spent around 15 minutes queuing up for breakfast, so by the time we were finished eating, it was already 10.30. This meant that we were starting the river tour right at the busiest time of the day.
However if we were to redo the day, we would either eat breakfast before we left the hotel, or take some snacks for the coach ride and skip breakfast entirely (heading for an early lunch/brunch), or at the very least, make sure we got to the restaurant bang on opening time, so as not to waste time queuing.
We followed the crowd - After breakfast, we found ourselves doing seemingly the same as most people, which was head to do the river tour first after eating breakfast.
In hindsight, we would have done some other activities in the morning (perhaps the water slide and caves), and save the river tour for the afternoon when it seemed much quieter.
With this in mind we have created two itineraries; one for families travelling with toddlers and young children, the other for older kids or teenagers here: Xel-Há Itinerary: Options for Families with Toddlers, Kids and Teenagers
Don’t hire snorkels for the river tour (unless you definitely intend to use them) - We hired four sets of snorkel equipment at the start of the river tour, but ultimately ended up carrying the equipment down most of the river tour in our inner tubes. Quite a few people took out the snorkels at this point, but I would really recommend not doing so, especially if you have young kids that aren’t likely to carry their own. What ended up happening was the girls wanted to swim and Susie ended up holding 3 pairs of snorkels while trying to navigate the river. The top of the river really wasn’t very good snorkeling anyway as we didn’t see any fish at all. We would highly recommend just heading to either the yellow or red stations and hiring the snorkels later in the day.
Don’t leave your snorkels lying around – we got lucky! We left ours by the side of the path by the zip lines and when we got back, they had been taken. Luckily, our snorkels didn’t get scanned out properly so we didn’t get charged the $25 USD per set for losing them, but when I was returning another set later in the day, I heard someone pleading their case with the staff. Our advice is hire for the time you want to use it, then take it straight back to the station.
Buy anything you need prior to arriving at the park - we came prepared with our reef safe sunscreen but we didn't consider what we were going to do with our phone so that we could take pictures. We probably spent around $30 extra than we would have if we had just purchased on Amazon in Canada.
Make sure your phone is charged – My phone died half way through the day. Not sure Susie has forgiven me. Enough said about this one!
SUMMARY
We really enjoyed our visit to Xel-Há, and would definitely consider returning next time we are in Mexico. Hopefully you have found the information above useful! Remember, if you would like some ideas for a specific itinerary for your day in the park, we have written this post especially here: Xel-Há Itinerary: Options for Families with Toddlers, Kids and Teenagers
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