Rio Secreto, courtesy Rio Secreto.com

Interested in newer cave cenotes near Playa del Carmen?  Check out Rio Secreto, or “secret river” which was discovered in 2007.  It is an eight-mile long system of semi-sunken caves connected by an underground river with plenty of stalactites and stalagmites.  Guided tours are required here; this is not a “do it yourself” kind of experience.  Vacationers can swim/snorkel through the cenotes with the basic tour (the Rio Secreto tour); the Rio Secreto Plus tour includes biking through the jungle then rappelling down into the cenotes to swim/snorkel, along with the addition of experiencing the Salon de la Paz (Room of Peace), or the newest guided addition, Rio Secreto Wild Tour.  This tour adds a complimentary breakfast, biking through the jungle and several caves, hiking through the jungle, as well as swimming/snorkeling through the cenotes (this is an all-day tour).  There is also the Privilege Tour, a personalized guided experience, but it is way more expensive ($289 USD p/person for parties of 2-4).  All tours include locker use, life jacket, wetsuit, helmet with headlamp, water shoes, towels, and a buffet lunch with non-alcoholic drinks.  You can book tours through outside tour companies which may include transportation as well; the website also offers tours with transportation included.

Just a few extra FYI’s:

• tour groups are limited to 10 people
• personal cameras/phones are not allowed on the tours–Rio Secreto sends along a professional photographer with each tour group so that you can buy photos after the tour has ended
• no jewelry allowed
• Rio Secreto has approximately 15 natural outlets, or places where tours can begin and end, so it makes tours seem more intimate unlike other tour group cenote experiences such as Ik Kil
• If you decide to rent a car and drive there or hire a taxi, you can always buy a guided tour when at Rio Secreto–however, you risk there not being room in a guided tour (book in advance and then travel there yourself, best bet).  Here are the tour hours for each package (without transportation included)–9 a.m., 10, 11, 12, and 1 p.m. for the basic package; 9 and 11 a.m. for Rio Secreto Plus; 9 a.m. for the Wild Tour.

Here’s a short video of Rio Secreto–it’s the Wild Tour so it gives an idea of the jungle and cave biking as well as the jungle hiking in addition to the cenote experience.  What do you think?  Would you go to Rio Secreto?