Playa del Carmen: Tours & Tickets

Our tour guide, Chris, made the entire experience worth it. He was very nice and open to our questions and requests, and he helped make sure we were comfortable, rested, and hydrated! We got to see the more touristy ruins of Tulum as well as the lesser traveled but “more authentic” Cobá and cenote in the area. The food was great during lunch! Some advice about the trip: either eat breakfast beforehand or bring some snacks because almost everyone in the group was talking about how they were feeling very hungry before we had lunch. Another tip is that this trip is probably more manageable if you are staying in Playa del Carmen or closer to Tulum because the ride from Cancun is quite long, and you’ll be in the van (which is quite comfortable, at least) for a long time waiting to drop off people in Playa del Carmen/Tulum. Maybe try Chichen Itza! However, if you enjoy car rides where you get to see many lesser-explored areas that you wouldn’t otherwise see, I would recommend going anyway!

Purchased through GYG and got tickets without a problem. E-mailed the local provider and got a confirmed time and location for pick-up 2 weeks in advance so that I could have everything printed and to hand before departure. 4 similarly confirmed trips, with different provider, all went without a single problem. 15 mins after supposed pick-up I reluctantly called the provider on my mobile- international rates! After 27mins, and many £s, I finally got told there'd been a 'delay' but we'd be picked up in 20 mins. An hour and 15 mins after we'd supposed to have been picked up we were underway but they had no tickets for us, unlike everyone else onboard. They obviously weren't supposed to be picking us up originally and were luckily just passing by with spare seats. A Xel Ha employee found us as we got off the bus with tickets and we got into the park fine. The park was great and getting back to the hotel was effortless, as they know what they're doing at these parks with transfers.

It is pricy but totally worth it. The cheapest tickets are those bought in advance, do choose the transportation option which will give you more time at the park. Very accessible with ADO bus as well but you loose about an hour in the morning. Meals and drinks are included ( that includes alcoholic beverages) and both are excellent. You get a locker and key as well. I chose to snorkel but you can also tube down the river. There are several access points to get in/ out of the water wherever you want. The trail along the cenotes is very nice as well but can be slippery on wet water shoes, look for the small caution triangles. I was in the water by 10 am, used a bicycle to get to the beginning of the river. I did the whole river to lagoon once and then spend time in the lagoon exploring the marine life near the rocks and watched the folks on the zip lines etc It’s huge! I had lunch in about 30 min, walked the trail for about 45 min., and spend the rest of the time in the water.

Tour staff were very knowledgeble, we learned about coral reef and how to keep the enviroment safe and clean for sea life. Staff was very friendly and always trying to keep the boat ride upbeat with music and dancing. Coral reef is really cool, lots of fish, corals, turtles and crystal clear water. Contoy Island is paradise, white sands and clear water. It may get busy sometimes with other tours but was good but not as bad compared to Isla Mujeres. Food was good too. Nice breakfast once you get to the marina, drinks from water to beer and nice lunch which include fish and/or chicken with rice and salad. We recommend for other people to bring sunglasses, hat and long sleeve shirt because sunblock is not allowed.

The tour was sold as being a full day, 06:30 to 18:30, ie 12hrs it was in fact 9he's but this fitted perfectly for the time to look around Tulum before moving on to a centre for a swim and lunch. The trip then on to Coba. There was plenty of time to visit all we had expected to. Downside on the day was 12 persons squeezed into a mini-bus. The guide had limited english but with only 2 Spanish people in the group delivered most of the information in spanish. Overall I would recommend this tour company