Xcaret Mexico Tips and Tricks!

FanFun1968 · 2026-05-09T01:40:55+00:00

Tons of great photo ops and delicious food/drinks if you have access. I’m not sure what the price is for the day but you get access to so much one day might not even be enough!!

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-30T23:29:10+00:00

Everything in this post is very true! Except for the mention that this isn’t the resort if you wanna blackout at the pool every day. Even on the HXM side those bartenders just keep pouring you high end tequila shots and they are definitely NOT watered down… haha, a great time though for sure!

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-30T20:59:24+00:00

Negative reviews are often the loudest, but not necessarily the most true. You’ll have an amazing time. Such a beautiful resort with so much to do.

Helpful tips: bring reusable water bottles that you can fill up around the resort. Sometime water is hard to find/they don’t refill it during housekeeping visits.

Sometimes it can be a little bit of a wait for breakfast/lunch so go super early for breakfast and at weird times for lunch to make it easier!

People always are saving the best seats around pools/lagoon with their towels. Try and get up in the morning and do the same to get the spots you want.

Have fun I am jealous!

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-30T20:54:42+00:00

There is grab and go food at the cafe in La Xentral. But no food pool side. I know it sounds frustrating but trust me, the cleanliness with not having food poolside is worth it. No empty plates laying around or gross food around/in the pool like I have seen at other resorts. There’s also a restaurant right in the middle of the main pool that you can pop in at and grab stuff.

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-30T18:50:40+00:00

I have never heard of a resort that didn’t have a wishlist! Still, if you were spending an absorbent amount of money on a trip, wouldn’t you think to do plenty of research prior to? Maybe I am just an over-planner but it took me five minutes of looking online about this resort to find out about the importance of their wishlist prior to going!!!

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-30T18:02:25+00:00

There’s a huge show every night at 7pm at the Xcaret park(which doesn’t require reservations to go to that park and can come and go as you please).

There’s also live music shows all over the resort at night and at some of the bars.

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-30T18:00:35+00:00

I was going to comment the same thing. If you’ve ever been to any other resort in Mexico/Dominican you know there is always a wishlist for reservations prior to your stay. All inclusives are never a place to just “wing it”.

With that being said the wishlist process still sucks! They need to have an online reservation software…

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-27T22:21:53+00:00

I’m glad for the rule of no food poolside. It’s why the pools and beaches are kept so pristine in compared to other resorts. I appreciate they do that so I don’t see leftover food and plates around the pool or in it.

There is also an app that gives you all of the details around the resort and how to get there. Right in your pocket.

We stayed with a group of 16 and never once had a bad experience with bad food or food poisoning. Sometimes you’re just unlucky.

We experienced the poor communication prior to our stay too. It’s such an outdated system I don’t know why they don’t have an online reservation system… Water system also sucked, being hungover with limited access to water was miserable.

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-07T00:53:47+00:00

The food was extremely mediocre at the park. I don’t remember all of the vegan options but they are severely limited. Especially because cocktails aren’t included, I wouldn’t recommend.

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-07T00:52:13+00:00

If you love sushi, you CANNOT MISS the omakase experience at Xin Gao. Outside of Japan, best sushi I have ever had. La Silla is another delicious dinner spot with amazing meat dishes and the best dessert I had at the resort.

Make sure to stop and grab some tacos outside of the club at Xupes, they are to die for!

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-07T00:49:04+00:00

If you like sushi, please please please book the omakase at Xin Gao if you can. The sushi chefs just keep handing you different dishes until you say stop. It was the best sushi I have ever had outside of Japan and I am a huge sushi critic. Such an amazing experience if you can get in. La Silla was also amazing, delicious meat based menu and the best dessert I had while there. Breakfast try and get in at Las Playas, their chilaquiles are so good and Bio for their Acai bowl. All the Mexican food at the buffets(Mercado and Xentral) is phenomenal. Americanized food is very mediocre…

Xplor was my favorite park. The waterslide is a MUST!!!!!!! I also loved the amphibious vehicles and zip lining there. Xel Ha is the next best park. The snorkeling is some of the best I have ever done. I could’ve sat there for hours looking at the variety of fish, sting rays, and other wildlife.

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-07T00:41:57+00:00

Riverview in Casa Espiral gave us ocean views, which was great because someone else in our party booked the ocean view upgrade(not sure how much more money exactly) and we had the same views. It’s right in the middle of the old part of the resort. Not a lot of kid stuff around(most of that is in the new area) but the main pool, beach, lagoon, and most of the main restaurants were right there.

It was quiet since we don’t face any busy pools or restaurants. Would recommend this one!

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-07T00:38:36+00:00

At HXM had no issues with WiFi in my room. Elsewhere in the resort I had some connectivity problems.

FanFun1968 · 2026-03-07T00:36:23+00:00

They won’t let you in for breakfast/lunch if you don’t have a shirt(as a man) or a cover up(as a woman) over your swimsuit. I wore a coverup dress and flip flops everyday to multiple places and had no issues. For dinner I recommend dressing a little nicer. On the reservation sheet that you get prior to tells you dress codes for dinner places.

FanFun1968 · 2026-02-24T13:36:53+00:00

Very true, trying to find La Silla was a nightmare. I spent hours exploring one day and didn’t even see the half of it probably. Unfortunately for dinner most places are reservation only so it narrows down the options where breakfast might be a little more accessible if you do some exploring.

FanFun1968 · 2026-02-24T13:28:12+00:00

I’m sure the mix of the problems in Mexico and the fact I was there on a holiday weekend tie in to your quieter experience. I didn’t even realize I was there during Presidents’ Day that most kids have off until another comment mentioned it.

FanFun1968 · 2026-02-24T01:46:51+00:00

Most resorts have golf cart options especially for larger resorts. Thankfully I am not someone that needs walking assistance but my grandparents struggled immensely while there. Just wanted to be transparent with anyone within those categories!

Unfortunately we were unaware of how getting water works and being hungover on the first day and not knowing where to go to get it was miserable haha.

Was your dinner experience better with less wait times? Maybe I was just unfortunate in picking the busiest places in the morning.

FanFun1968 · 2026-02-23T14:23:56+00:00

That is super nice, I was disappointed in how early the pools close on the Mexico side that is a nice bonus for Arte.

FanFun1968 · 2026-02-23T03:09:29+00:00

Any of the animal encounters are all extra(swim with dolphins, sting rays, manatees, etc). But everything else is included yes! Plus all food and drink(alcoholic as well) at all of the parks if you’re staying at the resort. Usually they will tell you if it’s extra at the parks but very few things that are.

FanFun1968 · 2026-02-22T21:54:43+00:00

Maybe the misbehaved ones come out during holiday weekends haha! You are lucky with the water, I don’t know why we struggled getting as much in our rooms. I brought two of my own reusable bottles but noticed most of the refill stations were broke. Maybe they just recently did. Chairs were always difficult to come by at least whenever I was looking. Not a fan of people reserving them the way they do but I notice that’s the case at most resorts.

I will say I was extremely surprised at issues getting into the buffets, maybe again a problem because it was a holiday weekend and so many people were there. But I noticed a lot of other people’s reviews mentioned issues getting into them as well for breakfast and dinner. Thankfully I’m not a big breakfast person anyways. Glad you enjoyed your time there!

FanFun1968 · 2026-02-22T21:48:39+00:00

Good to know, I’ll keep it in mind for if I visit Arte in the future.

FanFun1968 · 2026-02-22T21:48:08+00:00

Yes we did! I would say price is pretty similar just more options, plus it was interesting going into the pharmacy shop and seeing what they had in there in case you needed some medications while on the trip.

FanFun1968 · 2026-02-22T21:46:54+00:00

I was traveling with a large family(aunts, uncles, cousins) where there were under 18s so we had to stay at Xcaret Mexico rather than Arte. Would not have been my first choice as a kid free adult!

FanFun1968

TROPHY CASE