Xcaret with Kids: What Works, What to Skip and What It Costs

Is it worth it with children?

For most families, yes. The park is built around water a child can use safely — a life jacket is compulsory on the rivers, which levels the difference between confident and nervous swimmers — and it has a dedicated children's area. Phoebe K. brought an eight-year-old and came back a second time. What it is not is a short outing: this is a full day and a long evening, and small children run out of road before the adults do.

The three decisions that shape how it goes are all made before you arrive. Which admission you buy decides whether lunch and a locker are already paid for. What you put on everyone's feet decides how much of the water you get to use. And what time you plan to leave decides whether the evening performance is the high point of the day or the reason somebody cries in a coach queue. Get those three right and the rest looks after itself.

What children pay, and what they do not

The height rule is the one that surprises people. A tall eleven-year-old pays as an adult and a short thirteen-year-old does not, and the tape at the gate is the only thing that decides. Budget from height, not from birthdays; the rest of the fare questions are answered on the frequently asked questions.

What small children love most

The children's water park, which the operator publishes as Mundo de Niños, is built for under-twelves: slides, suspension bridges, tunnels and cenotes, open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It is the one part of the park designed at a child's scale rather than adapted to it.

After that, the aviary and the butterfly pavilion hold attention longer than you expect, both open until 6:00 p.m.; the sea turtles and the coral reef aquarium run 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and are the cool, shaded hour in the middle of a hot day; and the manatee lagoon and the jaguar enclosure both close at 5:00 p.m., so take them earlier than feels necessary. All of them with their hours are on the things to do page.

What to prepare for

• The walking. Kingston D.'s one piece of advice after a family day was to be ready to walk a very long way. Take the pushchair, or rent one.
• The heat. Dipak P. found it hot and humid and wanted misting fans. Plan the indoor hours for the middle of the day.
• The floor of the rivers. Richard T. warns it is sharp and that sliders and flip-flops are turned away. Water shoes, for everyone.
• The current. Suzanne R. found one of the river swims runs against the current in its second half and would not send weak swimmers down it.
• The finish. The evening performance runs two hours and the park closes at 10:30 p.m. On a coach day the bus leaves at 10 p.m. and the drop-off circuit is long.

What it costs once you are inside

The admission is one number and the day is another. These are the operator's own published rental charges, and a family of four feels several of them:

Which grade suits a family

This is where the money decision sits. The cheaper grade gets everyone in and into the water. The dearer one adds a buffet lunch with a beer and unlimited soft drinks while you eat, snorkel gear on a smaller deposit, and the private changing area — which, as John K. found, comes with its own locker section. With children, lunch and a locker are not luxuries you skip; they are the two things that make a thirteen-hour day survivable.

So price the two grades against a family meal bought inside plus a locker rental, and pick on that rather than on the headline. The visitor guide sets out what each admission covers.

A shape for the day

You will get more out of it by fixing the order before you arrive rather than deciding at every junction with tired children behind you. What works, roughly:

• Arrive at opening. Juan B.'s advice is to get there as early as you can, and the coaches land nearer midday.
• Water first. Marlen C. recommends taking the water activities before the queues build, and the light is kinder then too.
• Indoors at the hottest hour. The aquarium and the turtles are shaded and they hold small children for longer than you expect.
• The children's water park after that. It runs to 6:00 p.m., so it works as the late-afternoon stop rather than the first one.
• Decide about the evening by four o'clock. If anybody is flagging, leave before the performance rather than during it.

That last one deserves a sentence of its own. The evening performance is two hours long and starts after dark, and it is the part families most often either love or regret. If your children nap, plan for the nap; if they do not, plan to leave.

What to skip

Skip the paid animal encounters if your children are small — they are sold separately, they eat an hour each, and the day is already full. Skip the harder river swim with anyone under about ten. And skip the 4 p.m. night ticket entirely: the rivers close at 5:30 p.m. and the children's water park at 6:00 p.m., so a family arriving at four gets the evening and almost none of the water.

Which day out works best

If you are staying in Playa del Carmen, the ticket on its own from $113 lets you arrive at opening and leave when the youngest has had enough. From Cancún, the coach day at $185 removes the driving but fixes your finish at 10 p.m. — Bianca K. reached the hotel very late, and Pajhua T. was surprised by how early the pickup was. Whichever you choose, leave the next morning free, check the weather page before you fix the date, and work out the drive on the page on getting here.

Family days, and what each one puts in the fare

Xcaret Park Day Trip, transportation and Cultural Night Show

The park operator's own coach out of Cancún, with your wristband handed over on the bus and the evening performance before you drive back.

From $185 per person

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Full-Day Tour to Xcaret Plus with Lunch from Playa del Carmen

An air-conditioned bus from Playa del Carmen or Puerto Morelos, the private changing area, a buffet lunch with a beer, and snorkel gear.

From $280 per person

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Xcaret Park Entry Tickets with Cultural Night Show Included

The ticket on its own, in three grades: park entry, the rivers, the beaches and the evening performance, with no transport of any kind.

From $113 per person

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