Playa Del Carmen RIO SECRETO WITH KIDS: A REVIEW

All photos taken within the Rio Secreto cave system were taken by the on-site professional photographer and are reproduced here with permission

If you’re planning a beach vacation in Mexico (holiday in Mexico for my European readers!) then the chances are that you’re considering heading to Mexico’s Riviera Maya, one of Mexico’s most popular tourist spots. The Riviera Maya, for those who aren’t sure, is basically the Caribbean Coast of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Its most famous areas are Cancun, Playa Del Carmen and Tulum. So, if you’re heading to this region, no doubt you’ll be searching out all the most fun and interesting things to do around one of these areas. Last weekend, my family and I visited Rio Secreto (easily accessible from all three of these locations) in order to get the low-down on it as a potential great family activity in Mexico.

For more information on exploring around Tulum, read my article about it here. 

I have to declare here that we were hosted by Rio Secreto, however, the views in this article are mine, and mine alone. I am very aware that some of the activities available to visitors to this part of Mexico are expensive, prices can be comparable to prices of activities in the USA or Europe and before I recommend them to my readers, I like to have tried them out so I can give an honest review.

That said, there may be affiliate links in this article, which should you click on to make a purchase, may mean I earn a small sum (at no extra cost to you). 

Rio Secreto: What Is It?

As my kids kept informing me (yawn), it isn’t a secret river if we know about it. Technically, they’re correct. Annoying, but correct. But I don’t think the name is wrong since there is no way an individual could find, or enter, this hidden river without a guide.

Basically, Rio Secreto is an incredible underground cave system and nature reserve. There are five cave expeditions (my word, not theirs) you could end up doing and all are slightly different in that the ratio of walking to swimming/wading through water varies. All are spectacularly beautiful and offer a great opportunity to see stalagmites, stalactites and columns up close whilst swimming in crystal clear blue water.

A guide takes small groups through the cave system for around an hour and a half, explaining what you’re seeing and helping you to get the most out of the excursion.

I asked our guide about how the caves were discovered and was treated to the ridiculously brilliant, but true, story about the owner enjoying following lizards around his property. Ten years ago he was doing exactly this when one dived into a group of rocks, presumably to rid itself of the annoying human following it around. The human, on this day, decided he wanted to know where the lizard had gone, so started removing the rocks one by one until he fell through the hole he’d created, into the cave below.

He was smart and immediately asked a geologist friend to come and help him map the caves, both for his own interest and to know if he had something worth opening to visitors. Lucky for him, his friend was honest and helped him establish the successful nature reserve we have today.

If you’re wondering where to stay in Playa Del Carmen, we stayed in the Wyndham Garden Hotel and thought it was really good value: very clean and modern in a perfect location. 

Rio Secreto: Details

You can find out more about prices on the website but the basic price is $79 for adults and $39.50 for kids between 4 and 12. There are other options available if you need transport or would like a different tour. Follow the link in red for more information and to book the tour.

Book your Rio Secreto here now

While this does sound expensive, the breakdown of what’s provided makes it more obviously reasonable:

• Transport to and from the cave
• The loan of a wetsuit, water shoes, life jacket, helmet with torch, walking/poking stick and towel
• Lockers and showers
• Very knowledgeable guide in English, French or Spanish (our guide spoke pretty near perfect English)
• Lunch buffet

You cannot take your own camera into the cave system but there’s always a professional photographer along with every group.

You don’t need to be able to swim to enjoy this adventure. We met an adult who couldn’t swim who had just bravely joined his family in the caves and had enjoyed himself immensely. With the lifejacket on there really is no danger from the water for non-swimmers.

Rio Secreto: My Review

I have to admit that I had no idea what to expect from the Rio Secreto experience. I tend to regard attractions in tourist areas with a healthy dollop of cynicism. My family loves cenotes and caves though so I figured this had the potential to make us all happy. Handily, I was right.

If you enjoy cenotes, Merida makes a great home base for exploring them. 

Everything about Rio Secreto is slick and easy. We showed up, filled in our safety forms and were allocated a guide. You can have a guide in English, French, or Spanish depending on your need. We were originally put in a Spanish group because we were speaking Spanish with staff but once they overheard us speaking English as a family we were immediately asked which language we’d prefer for our tour. I was impressed that they noticed and cared enough to check.

Everything you need for this experience is provided. You just need to show up with your swimming stuff and a whole heap of excitement. We were given water-shoes, wetsuits, helmets with headlamps, life jackets and walking sticks. Once your own stuff is safely stowed in a locker and you’re dressed for adventure, the fun begins.

Our guide, Michelle, was superb. Not only did she constantly check in with our kids to ensure they weren’t struggling, she happily chatted to them, and didn’t once get fed up with our six year old demanding to know how much longer we would be in the cave over and over and over and over…as only small kids can. I wanted to ditch him in the cave but Michelle was the epitome of patience.

The caves were truly stunning. They really do look like the pictures on the website and it really is thrilling to swim through stalactites that are almost touching the water.

As I said above, there are five different cave systems, with varying amounts of water involved. I’m a huge water fan so I would have loved to have been in one of the systems with more water but that’s certainly not to say I didn’t love what we did or that we didn’t have plenty of opportunity to swim.

Originally I didn’t love that I couldn’t take my own camera with me. I have an underwater camera so wanted to take it. However, it is 100% the right move to tell people they can’t.

Why?

• You need your hands free for balance and swimming
• If you’re taking photos you’re not going to be watching where you’re going. You might grab onto, or walk into, a million-year-old stalagmite and kill it, or slip and hurt yourself
• It’s pitch black in the caves except for the light from the small headlamps. You’re not going to take decent photos on an average camera anyway
• A professional photographer accompanies every group

Just an accidental touch to the end of a stalegcite can kill it forever

Honestly, it’s sensible. I’d never considered it before but yes, I am now 100% in agreement with this rule. There’s absolutely no hard sell to purchase the photos at all. Once or twice you’re asked to pose but most of the photos are action shots taken when you’re having fun. At the end, you’re invited to go and see the photos of you and your group and then that’s it. Buy them or don’t.

We were given our photos as part of our sponsored visit. It’s probably the first time I’ve ever walked away from an experience like this with a) amazing photos; and b) the purchased pack of photos. I’m thrilled with them and would genuinely recommend them. Not only are there your personalised photos but there are also some general photos of the reserve. Well worth the $25 USD and I’m now converted…as long as there’s no hard sell. I’ll cut my damn nose off to spite my damn face if you give me the hard sell on anything.

A buffet lunch was included in the ticket. Food was plentiful and the selection pretty good. The kids were happy to find pesto pasta and freshly made tortillas while we tucked into salad, soup and traditional meat dishes.

Rio Secreto: Family Friendly?

So, was this a family friendly experience? Yes, absolutely. Staff were kind, all the equipment was available in small kid sizes too (kids can join in from four years old) with no reduction in quality. Our small daughter pretty much fell in love with our guide, chatting to her, and even abandoning me to hold her hand for a while (almost unheard of for our kids). The guide never once showed if she was fed up with the kids, she was consistently kind and thoughtful, helping us get them through the trickier bits and patiently answering all their random questions and statements (yes, of course, there were many).

Did the kids enjoy it? Mostly. They found the caves absolutely stunning (I love that my kids can articulate when they find something beautiful) and loved trekking on the paths and sloshing through the water but they didn’t love swimming in cold water (although I was surprised by this since the water was no colder than our swimming pool in winter and they regularly swim there) and they definitely found it quite overwhelming to swim in a cave but the overall experience was one they enjoyed. I wish I’d had the foresight to warn them the water was going to be cool because with advance knowledge they’d have been fine.

Our kids are susceptible to ear infections so we routinely spray Earol in all our ears as a preventative measure before we swim anywhere. I am certain this water was perfectly clean but we use this as a matter of course everywhere we go.

If you’re considering taking your kids to cenotes, why not check in with my article about how and where first?

So, would I recommend Rio Secreto to visitors to the region?

Yes. Absolutely. I think it is expensive but actually, I also think it’s an experience you aren’t going to have anywhere else. It is a nature reserve and eco-site that takes responsible tourism very seriously. You’re paying not only for the experience but for your experience to be as safe as possible and as ecologically harmless as possible. If you’re visiting the region (or even live here and want to do something different), this is a great way to see a different side of the culture, the land and the cenotes.

If you’re hungry after all that, why not check out this great list of places to eat in Playa del Carmen?

This was truly an adventure we won’t forget in a hurry. A sincere thank you to Rio Secreto for hosting us.

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