Excursion to try in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Jasmine-Jaed
Apr 5, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Jul 24, 2024

During my travels to Playa Del Carmen I went on a few excursions, the first was to a water park called Jungala in the Riviera Maya.

We booked directly with TUI rep at our hotel, and discussed we were looking for a child-friendly excursion for the kids (6yrs,11yrs and 13yrs). The rep suggested this newly built water park and we went ahead with the booking. Overall experience, the excursion was OVERPRICED, and the transit was not included either, which was disappointing. Not to mention, both my little sisters were charged as adults because they were over 4ft 1 and over the age of ten? Outrageous! if you ask me. The water rides were too big and fast for the kids. You also cannot bring your own drinks or snacks with you; security will take them on entrance. Additionally, you have to pay to use a locker, and food and drinks in the park were quite pricey. I'd rate it 4/10, they did have a nice open water place, which had automated waves and the park is self is quite modern and everywhere was very clean. Honestly save your money and go somewhere else!

The BEST excursion I went on was to Xel-Ha water park in Tulum. It is an all-inclusive package for a day packed with fun for the whole family. We had transport, food, drinks and entry included in our deal. We arrived around 8:30-9am, just in time for the international breakfast buffet which offers a wide range of foods. The park has three main restaurants, which offer a variety of food selection for the fussy eaters and the food lovers. The restaurants are open all day, so you will never be hungry. Check out my food blog post here to see what I ate at Xel-Ha!

There is an all-day bar service and alcoholic beverages are included in your package deal too. The park is big, on the map there are different colour coded sections where you can find lockets, activities, shops, toilets and bars and restaurants. It is worth mentioning, lockets keys are FREE, unlike Jungula! If you do not lose it, you'll be fine, otherwise you have to pay $20, which is like £17-£18 for us Brits.

Accessibility wise, you can bring your wheelchair, scooter or push buggy. Although, my mum was given a disability friendly map which highlighted all the sections that here electric wheelchair could access with ease. However, there were some sections she was restricted from accessing due to safety reasons. The first time we went, we did the snorkeling, which was amazing. They provided you with towels and all the water sports gear, so no need to worry about bringing your own. There are so many beautiful fish you can see under the water, bring a water camera to get some cool pictures.

The park has a giant lighthouse water slide, which is fun. Although be warned, this water slide was no joke! I am a 5ft 5 adult and a strong swimmer, yet the slide nearly took me out at the end. The ride down is fun, you spin in a swirling motion. At the bottom I was not mentally prepared, the angle I came off the slide at threw me off, suddenly I found myself frantically searching for the bottom of the pool surface to kick-push myself back up. The lifeguard tried to come and save me, but I was fine. My little sister who is eleven, went on the slide and nearly drowned at the end, so be careful.

We also checked out the Lazy River, it was cool. You can join at the beginning of at any of the access points marked on the map. If you are a bigger bodied person, you may find the floats a little bit uncomfortable to sit on. I think the park should invest in different sized floats for all body types. It was fine for me but younger children may struggle and defiantly need an adult to watch them.

There was also a water zipline area, you can go on as many times as you want, and they have water adventure courses and bike activities you can try out. My favorite part was the senote's, we quickly checked them out. Check out my TikTok page here to see my day out in Xel-Ha. You really feel lost in your own world, the experience was so therapeutic and calming. There were underwater caves, but we did not have enough time to see. If you do visit Xel-Ha, defiantly try out the caves.

The park also has 'photo points' everywhere, you can scan your bracelet and take pictures. You will then be able to scan it at the photo machines and see all your pictures throughout the day. The only thing is they are PRICEY to buy. The more people that appear in the photo, the more expensive it will be. If I were to just buy the photos I was in, there would be a big difference money wise. As a group of seven we paid £140, so I made sure we had over one hundred pictures, so it was worth the cost. Overall, I highly recommend a full day excursion suitable for all age groups and people. The park was so good we went twice!

I also went parasailing, overseeing the beautiful shades of Mexico’s blue oceans. It was truly an amazing experience, and the view was tranquil. They cost around £55 each but were worth it. We got to jet ski to the boat before going up in the parachute and it was all legit and above board. Always book excursions with reputable companies and be safe.

Overall, Playa Del Carmen is somewhere you should travel to. There is so much to see, eat and do for everyone. We went for two weeks, for us that was enough time to have fun but also have downtime and chill days in between. I would travel back there again, but maybe my next adventure will be in Cancun.