If you’re vacationing in Cancun’s Hotel Zone or staying in Playa Mujeres/Costa Mujeres north of downtown Cancun, you may want to consider taking a day trip over to Isla Mujeres. It makes a a great change of pace if you are becoming bored with staying at your resort as well as a way to see a great beach and beautiful water you can actually swim in (the east-facing beach areas in Cancun’s Hotel Zone are often red-flagged making swimming conditions impossible).
Lots of vacationers have either heard of Tulum or have been visiting this Riviera Maya gem for many years. It is an iconic travel destination in itself featuring Mayan ruins, yoga retreats, beach clubs for day trippers, some really great boutique hotels with 5* amenities, and has become a haven for artists from around the world. In terms of all-inclusive resorts, however, it remains uncommercialized in this respect–the only true all-inclusive resort I know about which is actually located in Tulum is the adults-only Kore Retreat and Spa, or Kore Tulum as it is commonly called. While this boutique resort boasts luxury amenities and a great spa, guests are shuttled to another beach since the on-site beach cannot be safely accessed (kind of like staying at TRS Yucatan where you have to go to another resort’s beach to get into the water). The nearest all-inclusive resort to Tulum that has beach access is Dreams Tulum which is just north of the Tulum ruins.
Grupo Xcaret has announced a new addition to their All-Fun Inclusive offerings–a catamaran cruise! My understanding is that the catamaran leaves from La Casa de la Playa (the resort immediately to the north of Hotel Xcaret Arte), but right now I can’t seem to find out more information about the details. The new catamaran cruise is for all guests of Hotel Xcaret Mexico, Hotel Xcaret Arte, and La Casa de la Playa, all Grupo Xcaret properties.
All of these constant oven-like temperatures at my home in southern CA have me thinking of water parks; more specifically, water parks in Cancun and the Riviera Maya since I view that area as my second home, lol. (One of my friends recently asked me why I don’t just buy a condo there…of course, a condo doesn’t cook for me, pour me a drink, clean up automatically after me, or make my bed so I much prefer staying at an all-inclusive resort…) While there may be more upscale water parks in the area (think Jungala at Vidanta resort in the Riviera Maya), there is one very large amusement park south of the Hotel Zone in Cancun called Ventura Park which offers much more than pools and waterslides.
For those of you expectantly waiting for Grupo Xcaret’s latest adventure “park” to open, Xibalba Yucatan Nature Reserve, you will have to wait a little longer. Construction has been temporarily halted due to a lack of environmental permit filings on record.
I posted an article about this water park a couple of years ago, then COVID hit and everything shut down in Mexico and elsewhere. Well, Jungala is up and running and ready to welcome guests at this awesome water park!
I typically post about all-inclusive resorts that have opened or about to open, but just thought I’d give readers a heads up on the status of the new Margaritaville St. Somewhere by Karisma opening up March 1, 2022 on Holbox.
Looking for an alternative adventure park to visit in the Riviera Maya? Check out Selvatica which is located along Ruta de los Cenotes just north of Puerto Morelos.
Xavage Park was one of the Riviera Maya’s last parks to open in 2021 (it opened in 2019, but COVID shut all parks/ruins for awhile due to COVID). If you haven’t gone yet (like myself), it’s supposed to be an adventure park with various rides and experiences for vacation fun and getting exercise while having fun. If the word “exercise” hasn’t yet put you off, read on…
The latest Xcaret attraction, Xibalba Nature Reserve, was originally scheduled to open Dec. 2020 but got delayed due to COVID. Its latest opening date is supposed to be sometime in June 2022 with a capacity reported to be 2,000 visitors. Xibalba is located by the city of Valladolid in the central part of the Yucatan Peninsula fairly close to the Chichen Itza ruins. In fact, many Chichen Itza tours include a stop at Valladolid either before or after visiting the ruins. Count on tours or private drives to take a couple of hours from Playa del Carmen to reach this destination.