Cancun Mexico

This Xenotes tour review in Cancun Mexico will look into what to expect on the tour as well as some of the pros and cons of this tour and how to prepare properly for the Xenotes tour so that you won’t be overwhelmed on the day of your excursion. For those that aren’t aware, the term “Xenotes tour” comes from the word “Cenotes” so this means that you will be visiting a variety of different natural ecological cenotes right in the heart of the Mayan jungle.

I did an article that describes what cenotes are, but they are natural bodies of water that were carved out from limestone that opened up from the bottom of the Earth thousands of years ago, unearthing these beautiful bodies of water for your swimming and viewing pleasure.

What is the Xenotes Tour by Xcaret?

The Xenotes tour is a full-day adventure filled excursion that includes a visit to 4 different cenotes, with activities at the cenotes ranging from zip-lining, rappelling down into an underground cenote, kayaking through a long river-like cenote, as well as cliff-jumping down a 40ft. cenote. Lunch is included with the tour, so it is a fully all-inclusive excursion.

The tour guide will take each group to the different cenotes in a small van, our group had about 10 or 12 passengers, and our tour guide was not only our driver, but our guide throughout the event from start to finish as well. So it was a very fun, adventure filled day.

The Xenotes tour also includes a separate photographer that accompanies your group to each of the different cenotes, and will be taking photos of you and your family as well as the group while you partake in all the different fun-filled events at each of the cenotes. This means that you don’t have to carry a camera with you, but there is a separate charge for the photo packages.

It is not a “pushy” type of excursion, so while the tour guide and the group will encourage you to get out of your comfort zone, they will not force you to do any activities or cenotes that you don’t feel comfortable doing. Everyone was very warm and welcoming, I felt like I was part of the team in our group tour.

Going in to the excursion, I had feared the Xenotes tour a bit, due to my fear of heights – but I was glad I did it. Everyone was being super encouraging and attentive, so I was able to get over the fears of both cliff jumping and zip-lining into the cenote waters. My fear soon turned into fun and adrenaline!

How Long is the Xenotes Tour? – A Review of What to Expect

The Xenotes Tour in Cancun is Xcaret’s premiere excursion that does encompass a whole day’s event. This means that if you are planning to add the Xenotes tour on your itinerary, you should plan on this being an all-day tour. It is a pretty long day, so be sure to bring some adequate supplies with you and plan on being at the various Cenotes all day.

The buses going to the Xenotes tour picked us up promptly at 8:40am at my Hotel Xcaret Arte and left no later than 8:45am. The Xenotes tour does include full transportation to and from all the Xcaret Hotels and Resorts, which include Xcaret Mexico and Xcaret Arte.

The buses on the Xenotes tour dropped us back off at the hotel by 5:30pm allowing us just enough time to take a shower and get ready for dinner in which we had reservations at Tah-Xido (the Japanese restaraunt on Xcaret Arte).

Although the Xenotes tour can be booked separately for a separate fee if you aren’t stay at one of the Hotels or Resorts in Xcaret. Those guests staying at Hotel Xcaret have the full transportation included as part of the stay and their “all-fun inclusive” concept. It is definitely worth your while, if you are staying at one of the Xcaret Hotels to book this tour and add it into your itinerary.

Do You Need a Guide for the Xenotes Tour? – An Overview of The Requirements For Xcaret’s Xenotes Tour

While a tour guide is not absolutely necessary if you know all the locations of the Cenotes in the Riviera Maya and Tulum area near Cancun, it is certainly helpful and saves a lot of time and confusion. In fact, a tour guide is included with the Xenotes tour package by Xcaret, and can also be purchased on Viator as a separate excursion if you are not staying at one of the Xcaret hotels.

Those staying at La casa de la playa actually get a private 1-on1 tour guide, compared to a group tour with a tour guide included for those staying at Xcaret Arte and Mexico.

You will often be doing a lot of walking and getting your steps in on this tour through the Mayan jungle, so it is easy to get lost. Having a tour guide with your group can save a lot of that difficulty getting around the jungle and locating the Cenotes.

Our tour guide was super friendly, informative and helpful when we were about to get lost among the many walking paths through the Mayan jungle. Not all the cenotes are clearly labeled and often there are many hidden pathways, and even finding the bathroom and showers at one point seemed like a challenge.

Our tour guide was a local to the area, and took passengers from the bus to each cenote all the way into the cenote – he even went in the cenotes himself with our group!

I did end up getting a bit nauseous after lunch and my Xenotes tour guide was super caring and watchful and made sure I felt better during the last half of the excursions and was still able to do the activities. Our tour guide made sure everyone in our group was ok before, during and after every cenote activity so we always knew what we were doing. I felt like I always had an eye on us through the group tour, and having a tour guide made our experience that much greater and fun.

A Review of What to Bring to the Xenotes Tour

I recommend bringing a few bottles of water, and a change of clothes, as you will be given the opportunity to change your clothes during lunch as well as before you depart back into the tour buses back to the resort.

You will not be allowed to bring sunscreen or bug spray on the tour, because these chemicals can destroy the ecosystem inside the cenote, including the plants and fish that live in the Cenote, so be prepared. You will also be required to take a quick shower prior to your first cenote.

Activity #1 in the Xenotes tour – Rappelling Down Cenote Lu’um (Earth)

The first Cenote took us deep into the Mayan jungle as our tour guide took many winding turns with the jungle surrounding us from all 4 sides. Finally, we arrived at the Cenote where we were told to take a quick cold shower to rinse and clean ourselves before climbing up the stairs to our first Cenote.

We were then instructed to put on our zip-line gear because this Cenote called “Lu’um” would require us to rappel down a rope down about 70-80 feet into an underground cenote

This cenote was a bit intimidating at first, because we needed to actually go up the stairs high up and connect our zip-line gear to the overhanging rope then rappel ourselves down into the deep cavernous cave-like cenote below.

Being fearful of heights was definitely a bit nerve-wracking for me as I climbed the stairs and looked down to where I would be rappelling down into. But my fears were soon calmed a bit as I saw members of my group tear doing it one by one with me and I was able to overcome my fears which I was super happy with.

You can control the speed at which you rappel down the zip-lines and once you are almost down to the cave, make sure you pause for a moment as the photographer will take a picture of you coming down the zip-line as you rappel down.

There is another operator ready to grab you as you come down, so it’s a very safe activity despite the height and how intimidating it looks from the top.

Once you finish this activity, you will the opportunity to swim awhile in the underground cave, lit only by the small opening above and a few small torches. You can also do some small cliff jumps here. It is truly an exhilarating cenote.

Activity #2 in the Xenotes tour – Ziplining into Iik’ (Air) Cenote

The tour guide then ushered all of us back into the bus and we trekked through the Mayan jungle again in the bus, as each turn – the bus made a creaking sound. It felt like something out of a Jurassic park movie.

Finally we arrived at another Cenote: This cenote involved us walking down through more narrow walking paths down the jungle and finally up through the Ridgeline where there were two circuits of zip-lines. 

This cenote is beautiful, because you could see Lilly pads underneath. The tour guide instructed us how to zip-line through this cenote and then land in the cenote. This is one of my favorite cenotes at the Xenotes tour of all the 4 cenotes we visited.

Activity #3 in the Xenotes tour – Snorkeling in Cenote Ha (Water)

The third cenote led us into a small half-open cenote where we were given snorkeling gear. As we descending one of one into a small set of stairs, we climbed into the cenote and put on our snorkeling gear. Here, the cool cenote water led us into the snorkeling session where we able to see all kinds of unique tropical fish that you couldn’t find anywhere else.

There were fish that were both large and small and different colors. It was a cloudy day, so the cenote had a certain mist to it that added to the mystique and allure of this cenote.

It was my first time snorkeling so it was definitely an eye opening and fun experience!

Lunch Break at the Xenotes Tour – A quick review of food served

Lunch is included in the Xenotes tour, so there is no need to bring lunch unless you want to bring a light snack with you. I found that because there was so much walking back and forth down the walking paths through the jungle, it helps to carry less. Also, you will not be able to take your belongings with you on the zip-line so travel light, or minimal if at all.

Lunch was served in a small outdoors hut in an open area right in the heart of the Mayan jungle. The main course was bread and deli meat with some ham, cheese and turkey, a choice of soda, water or even beer. There was a salad bar available too, and some smoked salmon. I did stick with the bread and self-served myself a sandwich from the Buffett style lunch served.

Activity #4 in the Xenotes tour – Kayaking in K’aak’ (Fire) Cenote

This cenote was also my 2nd favorite activity after lunch. We were guided deep into the Mayan jungle again after another short bus ride to this cenote. The activity first started with a water slide deep into a cenote then we were given the option to zip-line a long distance rope and jump directly into the cenote.

This cenote then led to a large river where we grabbed a pair of kayaks and kayaked down the river down to the end and back. This was a great workout as long as you managed not to tip over or bump against the kayak of your group!

Cliff-Jumping a Tall Cenote with a Waterfall

Soon, we reached the end where we able to climb out of the cenote and there was an option to go up a set of steps and then cliff-jump down a tall 40-foot cenote. The height of this cenote was intimidating at first, but it is a fun activity to partake in, especially when you have your entire group encouraging you!

Conclusion of the Xenotes tour

Finally, around 5pm we were done with the Xenotes tour. Our tour guide instructed us to go back to the lockers area and shower up and change our clothes if we wanted to. By this time, everyone was sunburned and exhausted – thanks to the exhilarating and fun-filled day we just had. For me, I was proud of myself that I got over my fears of heights.

The Xenotes tour is a great excursion to partake in if you are adventure seeker, or simply love nature and the cenotes and a great way to spend a full-day in the heart of the Mayan jungle. This is a must do and definitely something you want to add to your bucket list if you are staying at any of the Xcaret resorts – and especially when planning your itinerary here at Cancun and the Riviera Maya area!