Has anyone ever been to Xcaret in Mexico?

So, I found myself down in the Yucatan Peninsula (near Playa del Carmen, Calica, Cancun, Cozumel) this past week....

One of the many highlights of our trip was a visit to a place called Xcaret (http://www.xcaretcancun.com) It you have never experienced Xcaret, you should. We really enjoyed floating down underground rivers, they were amazing. Cool Mayan ruins, exhibits, dolphins, aquariums & beaches. No Tiki to be found but It is phenomenal & needs to be experienced. If you ever find yourself on the Yucatan Peninsula, be sure to stop by this place. Pictures just don't do the place justice.

Well, I was there, but I was rather bored I am afraid to say. If you go, be sure to stay for the night show. That was worth it. Very cool and different. Bring a jacket, it gets chilly. But the reenactment of the rituals and the folk dances and songs was fantastic. I would go back for that part.

I highly recommend "The Original Snorkel Adventure." Private beach, good food, beer included, they play some exotica and smooth old music, and great snorkeling. I always do that one, 5 or 6 times now.

Yup, saw it during my month long excursion of the Yucatan and Chiapas, IN AUGUST! Found San Cristóbal de las Cases in Chiapas to be much more interesting. (it was the height of the Zapatista rebellion though.) Playa del Carmen was still a sleepy village. Cancun sucks.

What else did you see in the Yucatan. Did you hit Tulum? I can also recommend Merida? It's very dusty but has a lot of interesting old attractions.

I was at Tulum, Xelha (awesome) and Chichenitza. I love Cancun, but you have to know where to go and what to do and avoid the annoying parts. Head downtown.

Cancun is like being in America-why bother? Downtown is ok but there are a lot better places nearby like Isla Mujeres.

There is a ton of variety close to Cancun. You can decide each day some different thing to do, like Isla Mujeres. Cancun is a HUGE city.

I am not a big fan of Cancun. I liked many other nearby spots much better.

I visited Xcaret about 10 years ago. I liked the fact that although some of the Mayan ruins in the park are recreations, many of them are real and were discovered quite by accident when the park was built.

From reading the brochure I could tell that in the right frame of mind, and left to my own devises, Xcaret had some real potential (for an ecological theme park, that is). Upon entering the park I soon became “accidentally” separated from my group of coworkers who were hell bent on swimming with the dolphins.

First I visited the Butterfly Garden. It was early and no one else was in there, just me and the butterflies - heavenly.

A troupe of dancers from Mexico City performed in the open air theatre that day. They recreated an Aztec pageant with much attention to historical detail in costuming and choreography which I found enthralling.

In the gift shop I found a cassette tape entitled “Xcaret – New Age Mexicano” which I bought to commemorate the day. It’s one of those musical compilations that’s so bad it’s good. I still listen to it from time to time.

For anyone visiting the Yucatan who likes old ruins, Chichen Itza is a must. There’s an old hotel built in the 1920’s at the site. Our tour bus had lunch there before seeing the ruins. I’d like to go back and stay at the hotel someday. As I understand it has been left much in it’s original state.

After climbing to the top of the main pyramid at Chichen Itza, I saw the sacrificial benches – stone slabs held up by carvings of little dwarflike creatures. On those very slabs countless human hearts still beating were carved from the chests of victims and held high overhead by priests in appeasement to the gods. Truly creepy.