Spending the day at Xcaret

Mar 19, 2025

On our second to last day in Mexico, we spent the day at Xcaret. What a place!! I think you’d need more than one day to actually see everything in the part of the park we went to, and there’s more to it, still!!

We hopped on a tour bus in front of the main lobby of our resort, and caught a ride to Xcaret. Driving in, I wish I knew there was stuff to see there! There were these “floating trees” that I was only able to catch a quick picture of with my phone as we passed! So bizarre!

I was kind of surprised to see a guy in full gear out front of the entrance, holding a large firearm. Is that supposed to make us as tourists feel safe? I’m not sure what that’s about…

I was really surprised at how high tech everything is at some of these attractions in Mexico! At Xcaret, you can scan your bracelet at these photo stops everywhere and they take the pictures for you (we did not participate), and at the end of your visit, if you choose to buy the photo package, you get them all.

When you first come in, you go through an enormous gift shop, and you can book “add on” activities that are not included in your day pass. We decided to take part in the dinner that is served during the show in the evening. We were told not to miss the show, as it is spectacular!

We started off our adventure by changing into our bathing suits and then floating down the river. It was fun and refreshing! You see lots of birds as you float by, and when you go through the cave area, there are bats as well.

At one point you float under a beautiful stained glass window, which we found out later you can stand at the railing of the hole looking into the river and see the people floating below. It’s an art piece that took years to complete!

After we floated, we walked around a bit, and then went for lunch. The live entertainment at the restaurant we went to was really cool! I love all the live music in Mexico!

After lunch, we walked around some more, and explored the bird sanctuary, where they are breeding birds to help their populations; and the butterfly area, where they are also helping them to breed and grow! They have a lot of information everywhere, and it’s fascinating to read.

We also walked by the jaguar enclosure, and I was so excited to just catch a glimpse of it! They are so beautiful! I didn’t even get a chance to lift up my camera to take a photo before it disappeared into the foliage. I only was able to snap a quick and blurry pic with my phone. We waited around for a few minutes to see if it would grace us with its presence again, but no. So we moved on.

We walked through the beautiful graveyard, and I was amazed at how much care and detail goes into each grave! It was almost like a miniature village, with little buildings on some of the graves, and beautiful artwork!

When we walked through the bird sanctuary, one couldn’t help but be enamoured by the beautiful parrots! I’ve admired these beautiful creatures for as long as I can remember, and would love to have one as a pet…but I think they are happier living where they can fly freely! Did you know that some of these birds can live to be around a hundred??

When we stopped to talk to them , I remembered a photo series that I had seen, where the photographer took pictures before and after they told their subjects that they were beautiful. Watching the parrots’ reactions was so heartwarming to me! Though I didn’t take “before” photos, I did take them after and while I was telling them how beautiful they are!

One of the first parrots I stopped to talk to was quite curious, and let us get pretty darn close, even posing for a photo with Warren, and seemed quite content. As we walked away, a young boy ran up towards it screaming, and wow, did they let the people know how annoyed they were! It was comical to hear it screeching at the child, and we were wondering what it was “saying”! Ha ha

As we starting making our way to the theatre area, we passed by a town square type area, where there were horses, a church, and a small walk through museum type building.

The inside of the church was beautiful, and had water at the bottom. I would have liked to go closer, but I didn’t want to disturb the people who were sitting and enjoying the peacefulness.

When we walked towards the theatre for the “Excaret Mexico Espectacular Show”, these actors in full costume were just taking their places throughout the entrance. They looked amazing!

The actors took their posts, and their characters seriously! No smiling at the camera for this crew! It felt like they were staring into your soul!

We enjoyed an amazing seven course meal while we were watching the show, and in continuing with Warren’s birthday celebration while in Mexico, they surprised him with an extra special birthday dessert!